Yohz Software announces the release of DB Doc 1.0 on January 21, 2014, and is available for immediate download.

DB Doc benefits:

• Create accurate and up-to-date database documentation faster, in an otherwise tedious and error-prone task.
• Fully customizable layout.
  
• Document your database objects in HTML pages or a single compiled HTML file.
• View and inspect dependencies between objects.
• Supports PostgreSQL 8.3 to 9.3, without the need for any additional database drivers.

For more details about DB Doc, visit the product page here.

REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 16, 2014 — RCS MediaGroup, the leading Italian multimedia publishing company, primarily operating in Italy and Spain, has modernized and unified its communications infrastructure and enabled flexible, cloud-based collaboration through a comprehensive Microsoft technology solution that includes Microsoft Office 365, Windows Azure, Microsoft Lync 2013, Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft SharePoint 2013.

“With the benefits of a consistent approach for the end user, complete transparency for the delivery and the availability of Office applications, there will be more and more opportunities for our employees to continue to deliver new, innovative ideas,” said Umberto Tonelli, chief information officer of RCS MediaGroup. “For the IT department, this is a win-win situation; we are protecting our investments in technology, diminishing the risk of a massive deployment and finding new space to introduce innovation.”

RCS, longtime partner with Microsoft, turned to Microsoft Corp. because it needed to modernize its existing infrastructure while maintaining the security and quality of its business data and systems. With Microsoft cloud solutions, RCS has benefited from security-enhanced cloud storage, improved its disaster preparedness through the protection of relevant assets such as digitized historical archives of newspapers, simplified its communications infrastructure, and provided agile project management offerings for a mobile, distributed workforce that is using these solutions to manage more than 200 projects within its Digital Product Development Department. Moreover, using modern Windows apps and storage in the cloud, RCS has developed a solution for the sales force of its book publishing company, RCS Libri, that allows sales agents to retrieve the new books catalogue while on the go and present it interactively to their customers. Using the modern Windows app, they can directly place orders from the catalogue in front of the customer, dramatically reducing the selling cycle. After an agent’s visit, the modern Windows app allows the customer to review the catalog through a Web interface and place additional orders. The sales agents benefit as well from using Office 365 and Lync to communicate with their network, within and outside RCS.

Moreover, the new platform provides the marketing teams with a new collaborative environment, based on Office 365, where they can invite selected customers to focus groups to discuss and vote on the new digital products that RCS is planning to release.

Using a combination of Office 365 cloud environment and SharePoint 2013 on-premises, RCS will transform its intranet from a pure top-down communications tool to an interactive self-service feature for virtual desk. In addition to company information and self-service features for administrative tasks, it provides all employees with tools that support their business activities, allow them to collaborate with their network, contribute to and search the enterprise knowledge base, access their personal productivity tools (email, calendar, tasks, etc.), and manage their personal profile, information and files. The integrated solution enables RCS employees to share documents and images, manage projects, and communicate from virtually any location with mobile technology tools that support access from smartphones, tablets and other devices. Employees located in Italy can use Lync to quickly and easily connect with fellow employees in other locations around the world, such as the U.S., Spain, Mexico and China, as well as with vendors and partners. Ultimately, the company has been able to create a better and more productive working environment for its employees.

More information about how organizations are turning to Microsoft technology is available on the Microsoft Customer Spotlight newsroom.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

Editor’s note – Jan. 16, 2014 – The quote from Ya-Qin Zhang in the press release below was updated post-publication.

SHANGHAI — Jan. 16 , 201 4 — Microsoft Open Technologies Inc. (MS Open Tech), a subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. dedicated to bridging Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies, on Thursday announced the opening of a subsidiary in China, Microsoft Open Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (MS Open Tech Shanghai).

January 15, 2014 Jean Paoli, President of Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc., during his keynote at the launch of Microsoft Open Technologies in Shanghai, China on Jan. 16, 2014.

Downloads: Web

MS Open Tech Shanghai will have a robust team of engineers, standards professionals and technical evangelists with roots in open source and open standards. The Chinese subsidiary will focus on facilitating interactions between Microsoft proprietary development processes and the company’s open innovation efforts on services and devices by advancing the investments in interoperability, open standards and open source.

A July 26, 2013, Gartner Research report, titled “Global Data Point: Gartner, Hype Cycle for ICT in China, 2013,” states, “There is growing interest in China in the evolution of cloud technologies, open-source software, shared services, data center technologies such as the software-defined network, smart cities and green IT/sustainability.”[1]

As interest in cloud computing and open source technologies increases in China, Microsoft is focused on providing local customers with greater choice and opportunity to work successfully in heterogeneous IT environments. Through its operations in Shanghai, MS Open Tech will play a pivotal role by driving investments in interoperability and standards in Microsoft products, contributing to the open source community, and enabling open source software on Microsoft platforms, such as Windows Azure.

Jean Paoli, president of MS Open Tech, said, “We are committed to fostering Chinese innovation. Our new subsidiary will offer more flexibility to iterate and release open source software created in China, participate in existing open source and open standards efforts, and collaborate with the community of open source developers in China.”

Mr. Zhao Zhuping, Governor of the Minhang District of Shanghai, extended his congratulations to MS Open Tech Shanghai and said, “The development of open source software and the open source community requires long-term commitment. We are delighted to see the investments and efforts that Microsoft has made to advance the local open source ecosystem, which will enhance interactions between the local and global open source communities and help cultivate local talents.”

January 15, 2014 Government officials, industry leaders and Microsoft executives celebrate the launch of Microsoft Open Technologies in Shanghai, China on Jan. 16, 2014. From left: Samuel Shen, Chief Operating Officer, Microsoft China; Yang Genxing, Chairman, Shanghai Software Industry Association; S. Somasegar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Corporation; Mr. Zhao Zhuping, Governor of Minhang District; Jean Paoli, President, Microsoft Open Technologies, Inc.; Lu Shouqun, Honorary Chairman, China Open Source Software Promotion Union (COPU); Lang Sheng Yun, Managing Director, Microsoft Open Technologies Shanghai; Shen Wen, President, Shanghai Zizhu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Downloads: Web

Qiu Shanqin, chairman of China Open Source Software Promotion Union (COPU), said, “MS Open Tech China will enhance the collaboration between Microsoft and China technology companies in the area of open technologies. It will elevate technology innovation, promote the development of software industry in China and become a driver of economic development. MS Open Tech will also help attract more talent, which is the foundation of any community. I hope MS Open Tech will participate in and become an active member of the open source community in China and cultivate the Chinese open source community into a leading community in the world.”

Ya-Qin Zhang, corporate vice president, Microsoft China, said, “China is a strategic market for Microsoft. Over the past few years, Microsoft has significantly expanded the scope of R&D in China to not only help build global products but also help address the needs of China customers, partners and government. The establishment of Microsoft Open Technologies Shanghai is another key milestone in this journey, providing more choices for customers and developers, and more technology innovation for businesses, governments, and consumers, in particular in the era of cloud, big data, mobility and social.”

MS Open Tech works globally with many Microsoft product groups to ensure that open source technologies work well with Microsoft products and open standards are supported. MS Open Tech is helping developers reach more people in more ways across multiple devices by engaging with a variety of standards organizations, such as DMTF, ECMA, IETF, OASIS, W3C, ISO/IEC, and open source communities, including Apache Cordova, Apache Qpid, Blink, Cocos2D, Doctrine, Drupal, Joomla, JQuery, MongoDB, Mozilla, Node.js, Ogre3D, Outercurve, Redis, Symfony, WebKit and WordPress.

MS Open Tech plays an active role among standards-setting organizations, including initiatives for interoperable cloud services and the future of the open Web. In many cases, the subsidiary submits open source prototypes to test a potential standard’s use and interoperability.

More information and updates about MS Open Tech Shanghai are available by subscribing to the MS Open Tech Blog or visiting the MS Open Tech Chinese subsidiary website.

About Microsoft Open Technologies

Microsoft Open Technologies Inc. (MS Open Tech), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corp. dedicated to advancing the company’s investment in openness including interoperability, open standards and open source. MS Open Tech is focused on providing our customers with even greater choice and opportunity to bridge Microsoft and non-Microsoft technologies together in heterogeneous environments, because we’re convinced that openness is good for our customers, good for the community and good for our business. For additional information on MS Open Tech, visit www.msopentech.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

[1] Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose .

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

SANTA CLARA, CA - NVIDIA today announced that it has named David Shannon, who serves as general counsel and executive vice president of Human Resources, to the newly created role of chief administrative officer.

NEW YORK — Jan. 13 , 2014 — At the National Retail Federation (NRF)’s Annual Convention on Monday, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq “MSFT”) showcased the latest release of Microsoft Dynamics for Retail. The release features innovation in modern, mobile commerce, catalog and call center sales, as well as advanced operations for warehousing and transportation and logistics management. Managed by a true omni-channel commerce engine, these new capabilities further enhance the unique end-to-end value proposition of Microsoft Dynamics for Retail to help businesses such as Ashley Furniture Industries Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Jean Coutu Group Inc. deliver amazing experiences that make happy customers.

Building on its commitment to deliver complete shopping experiences, Microsoft announced new alliances with Vantiv Inc. and Sitecore, as well as an expanded relationship with IBM. In addition, the company highlighted solution innovations on Windows Mobile devices and Microsoft Surface 2, reinforcing the company’s unique position as a retailer and developer of enterprise hardware and business applications. All of this helps ensure that customers get industry-leading solutions that help them reduce costs and complexity and enable them to always be ready for what’s next.

“Success in a retail environment that is modern, mobile, global and ‘always on’ requires businesses to create the personal and highly differentiated customer interactions,” said Kirill Tatarinov, executive vice president, Microsoft Business Solutions. “Microsoft is committed to helping businesses deliver amazing retail experiences today. It is at the core of our vision for the retail industry to help businesses connect without compromise across channels, on any device, anywhere.”

Industry-leading mobile commerce options and complete end-to-e nd e - c ommerce solution

As part of Microsoft’s alliance with Vantiv, a leading provider of payment processing services and related technology solutions, Microsoft Dynamics for Retail will deliver a new range of solutions for mobile POS and cloud-connected payments that can help businesses maximize their customer reach at any scale, end-to-end. From simple mobile payment collection in the field and individual direct-sales transactions to retail store operations and more, the combination of Microsoft’s technology with Vantiv’s scalable, integrated payment processing services and technology will make it easy for businesses to take advantage of their most important asset, people, to offer seamless, best-in-class experiences.

“Our alliance with Microsoft is a great example of how Vantiv is extending payment and POS innovation to our merchant partners,” said Elizabeth Rector, senior vice president of e-commerce and mobile at Vantiv. “Microsoft Dynamic’s POS leadership and reseller network combined with Vantiv’s omni-channel payments platform and vast distribution channels enable an entirely new scale of mobile payment solutions, delivering a true 360-degree experience to mid-market and enterprise merchants across any vertical.”

Offering customers the first end-to-end, enterprise e-commerce solution based entirely on Microsoft technology, the company also announced an alliance with Sitecore, a global leader in customer experience management software, to integrate its leading customer experience platform with the leading omni-channel commerce capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics. This combined solution will give businesses the ability to design completely connected online experiences optimized for the behaviors, devices and preferences of visitors with complete, real-time, omni-channel order management.

“This alliance is a game-changer for the retail industry. The integration of Sitecore’s best-in-class experience platform with Microsoft’s powerful, proven commerce solution will allow organizations to harness the power of real-time data insights to personalize and deliver compelling, consistent brand experiences — online, in-store and across any channel,” said Darren Guarnaccia, chief strategy officer for Sitecore. “Sitecore and Microsoft both offer trusted enterprise solutions globally and have a strong foundation of exceptional technology and joint customer success to build from.”

Microsoft and IBM team to deliver innovation and value to retailers

Microsoft also announced an expanded relationship with IBM, combining the powerful capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 in retail and distribution with IBM’s proven global leadership in delivering integrated, enterprise retail solutions. The relationship also includes plans for IBM to develop and deploy differentiated intellectual property to offer unique, enhanced value to customers around world.

“IBM’s expanded collaboration with Microsoft will deliver innovative technology solutions that will help retailers seamlessly connect to their customers while delivering an exceptional brand experience,” said Brian Minnix, partner, Worldwide Retail Competency Center Lead, IBM. “We look forward to teaming with Microsoft to design differentiated retail solutions and services for today’s connected customers.”

More information on the new capabilities of Microsoft Dynamics for Retail can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics/retail.aspx.

About Microsoft Dynamics

At the heart of every successful business are the people who make things happen. Microsoft Dynamics designs modern business solutions that empower individuals with intuitive tools that allow them to do their best work. Our proactive, easy-to-use business applications adapt to the way people and systems work, enabling businesses to rapidly deploy and be forward-looking in an ever-changing world.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

REDMOND, Wash. , and SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Jan. 13, 2014 — GoDaddy , the Web’s top platform for small business, and Microsoft Corp. announced on Monday a long-term strategic partnership to offer Office 365 as GoDaddy’s exclusive core business-class email and productivity service to its small-business customers. This partnership supports GoDaddy’s ongoing push to deliver premium small-business management solutions. Serving 12 million customers worldwide, GoDaddy has created a simple experience for small businesses with industry-leading productivity tools backed by best-in-class customer support at an affordable price.

“Combining our small-business expertise together with Microsoft’s productivity offerings opens new doors for small businesses to easily get the tools they need to get more done in their day,” said Steven Aldrich, senior vice president of Business Applications, GoDaddy. “We’ve created a simple way to attach Office 365 to a domain name, helping small-business owners look professional and work anywhere, making the business of running their business easier.”

The strategic agreement between Microsoft and GoDaddy provides small businesses with seamless access to professional email connected to their domain names, cloud storage and a full suite of Microsoft productivity solutions. Plus, with GoDaddy, users receive around-the-clock live customer service, helping save time best spent focusing on their business. Also as part of the agreement, Microsoft created a unique offering of domain-based email and storage especially built with GoDaddy’s very small businesses in mind.

Office 365 offers business-class email, shared calendars, instant messaging, online conferencing and access to the most up-to-date documents. These capabilities are delivered as a cloud service available to users wherever they are, online or offline and across a variety of devices, offering access to the most up-to-date versions of the files and tools they need to get things done. Unlike some offerings designed for consumers or small businesses, Office 365 includes built-in security features that help deflect malware, spam, phishing attacks and other threats.

“We’re excited that GoDaddy has chosen to exclusively offer Office 365 to its small- business customers, giving them easy and supported access to productivity tools being used by some of the most successful businesses in the world,” said John Case, corporate vice president, Microsoft Office. “GoDaddy’s relationship with small businesses combined with Office 365, the fastest-growing Microsoft product in history, will help bring the benefits of Office 365 and modern cloud services to even more companies, whether they’re seeking to modernize how they do business or simply starting up.”

There are an estimated 28 million small businesses in the U.S. alone[1] and 125 million worldwide.[2] Of those 28 million, 92 percent of businesses have fewer than four employees. According to a Boston Consulting Group global study commissioned by Microsoft, if more small and medium-sized businesses adopted the latest in IT tools, it could potentially boost their revenues by a combined $770 billion and create more than 6 million jobs.[2]

Office 365 from GoDaddy is currently available in the U.S. and Canada and will expand globally within the next three months.

About GoDaddy

GoDaddy now serves more than 12 million paying customers worldwide and is the largest Web hosting and domain name registrar on the planet. GoDaddy leverages its award-winning talent and personalized approach to help small business owners create their digital identity, build websites and grow online. To learn more about the company, visit GoDaddy.com/PR.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

[1] GoDaddy research; U.S. Census Bureau, Longitudinal Business Database 1977–2010, 2009 County Business Patterns, 2010, http://censtats.census.gov/cgi-bin/nonemployer/nonsect.pl, http://www.sba.gov/advocacy/849/12162

[2] Source: International Finance Corp., member of the World Bank Group, “Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises

Around the World: How Many Are There, and What Affects the Count?” 2010

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

Version 0.8.7 of restSQL, an open-source persistence framework, was released on January 12, 2014. The release adds auto-increment/sequence-based column support and extends function-based column support to PostgreSQL. See the Release Notes for more detail.

See http://restsql.org for an overview, developer documentation and binary distributions of the framework and the SDK. The source code is licensed under MIT and hosted on github.

restSQL is a very unconventional, ultra-lightweight data access layer for browser, mobile, desktop or server-based applications. For many applications, conventional ORM is heavyweight and inflexible, and conventional Web Services (WSDL/SOAP) are cumbersome. restSQL substantially lightens the middle-tier. It is targeted at the 80% of data access that is basic CRUD (Create-Read-Update-Delete), making it faster and simpler to develop distributed applications.

restSQL is not an object-oriented view of the database. It presents flat or hierarchical "views" of relational database tables. These views are query-able and updatable through a simple REST-based HTTP or Java API. The HTTP interface is based on REST principles, which use HTTPT's built-in features, rather than abstracting away from them.

http://restsql.org

restSQL - Trim your middle!