Saturday, 25 February 2012

Travel warnings might surprise you; Check out U.S. State Department travel advisories before heading beyond our borders.(TRAVEL)

Byline: KERRI WESTENBERG; STAFF WRITER

Fred and Karen Walker of Minneapolis watched on television as protesters took to the streets of Cairo, and their hearts sank. They knew that their long-planned February vacation to the Land of the Pharaohs was doomed.

"It is silly to go on a trip if all you're going to see are tanks and burning cars," said Fred Walker.

While scenes of the uprising blasted across TV screens, there was a subtler indication of Egypt's growing instability: The U.S. State Department had issued a travel alert Jan. 28, three days after the first demonstrations, and upgraded that last Sunday to a travel warning that urged U.S. citizens to avoid travel to the country.

Egypt may be the most obvious country to warrant concern, but it is far from the only one. Mexico, Kenya and Nepal are among 31 countries that have garnered State Department travel warnings, which make travelers aware of dangers they might not have expected and suggest ways to reduce risk.

Travel alerts are for short-term events such as demonstrations or an outbreak of H1N1. Warnings are issued due to unstable government, intense crime or frequent terrorist attacks, and when "we want you to know the risks of traveling to these places and to strongly consider not going to them at all," according to the State Department website. The site, at www.travel.state.gov, lists all alerts and warnings and offers detailed descriptions of countries worldwide, including traffic safety, medical facilities, entry and exit requirements, crime and security. Travelers can also call the State Department for such information at 1-888-407-4747.

Even popular spots, where most Americans travel without problem, can offer surprises at the website. The information on Mexico, for instance, warns that drug-related violence has increased in Acapulco, some of it in areas frequented by tourists; that Mazatlan has seen a surge in violent crime, and that "rape and sexual assault continue to be serious problems in Cancun and other resort areas."

Warnings should be read closely not only for safety information, but also because it may pertain only to certain areas. In Mexico, violent crime is most prevalent at the border with the United States. The travel warning issued for the country doesn't mention Cancun or Acapulco, but suggests that U.S. citizens defer unnecessary travel to Michoacan and Tamaulipas and to parts of Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango and Coahuila. The warning also says, "Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year. ... The Mexican government makes a considerable effort to protect U.S. citizens and other visitors to major tourist destinations." It notes ways to bolster safety, such as traveling on main roads during daytime hours and minimizing displays of wealth.

"We think it is important as U.S. citizens that we use [the State Department website] as a source," said Lori Moline, co-owner of CrossingBorders, a Bloomington travel company that organizes faith-based tours to Israel and other Mideast countries. All people traveling with the organization sign a form indicating that they've read the State Department warning for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza as part of the registration process.

"I'd encourage people, especially independent travelers, to pay attention to what the warnings are saying about government personnel who are working there. When personnel or families have been encouraged to leave or avoid certain areas, that is a pretty significant statement," said Moline, who has been parsing the warnings for years. U.S. embassy personnel are allowed into the West Bank only for approved missions, for example, and are restricted to certain roads there. In Colombia, they can travel between major cities usually only by air. The State Department ordered the departure of all non-emergency personnel and family members from Egypt when riots turned violent last week.

Moline also ensures that her clients are registered with the State Department through its Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (travelregistration.state.gov). The service helps the department contact citizens if there is a crisis where they are traveling. It's best to register before departure, especially because some volatile situations leave travelers without Internet access, as was the case in Egypt when the government there blocked cell phone and Internet use.

Kerri Westenberg - 612-673-4282

New and Improved Gift & Home Decor Website CollectionsEtc.com Makes Holiday Shopping & Gift-Giving Fast, Fun and Frugal.

Collections Etc. Inc., a leading online gift and home decor retailer, recently launched its all-new, consumer-friendly website just in time for holiday shopping. The new site, www.CollectionsEtc.Com offers even faster, easier access to thousands of affordable and unique gifts, including holiday & seasonal items, religious products, and novelty and gag gifts, to name a few. The site includes some 3,000 products with over 1,500 items under $14.99. Some of the enhancements to the site include a contemporary logo and an overall updated look that focuses on the theme of "Smile More. Pay Less." The site also features improved navigation and product categories that are organized for easy and hassle-free shopping. The categories include: Bed & Bath, Kitchen & Dining, Outdoor & Garden, Clothing & Accessories, Health & Wellness, Pets & Animals, Kids & Toys, Religious & Inspirational, and Novelties & Collectibles. "Our mission at Collections Etc. has always been to help our customers smile more and pay less. Now we can add the goal of making their online shopping experience easier and more enjoyable with our new CollectionsEtc.com website," says Todd Lustbader, President of Collections Etc. "The Collections Etc. team is a fun, caring group that focuses on creating and finding quality products for our customers-all at an affordable price. We felt our web site needed to better reflect this attention to quality, affordability and fun-the essence of the Collections Etc. brand. The new CollectionsEtc.com site offers a content-rich, highly intuitive shopping experience for our customers."

Other changes to the site include larger product images; easier-to-read buttons and instructions; product stories, tips and features; and the ability to share pages with friends and family on social-media sites such as Facebook and YouTube. In addition, interactive sections have been added to the site to elicit more customer involvement and feedback and include: Deal of the Day, Customer Favorites and Stories & Tips. Deal of the Day offers shockingly low prices on selected items for 24 hours. When the time is up, the deal is gone. Customer Favorites allows customers to save money on best-selling, seasonal items. Stories & Tips provides helpful articles and ideas such as decorating on a budget and choosing unique gifts for the person who has everything. About Collections Etc. Collections Etc. is a privately owned catalog company located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Although the company was founded over 40 years ago, the Collections Etc. catalog began in 1997. The success of the Collections Etc. Catalog has led to the creation of several new specialty catalogs, including 21 Mallory Lane[R], featuring our Home Decor Collection; How Helpful[R], featuring our Household Solution Collection; and Gifts & Grins[R]; featuring our Gifts Collection. For more information, please visit www.CollectionsEtc.com (see also Collections Etc. Inc.).

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6092399&lang=en

Keywords: Collections Etc. Inc., Women, Other Consumer, Department Stores, Discount and Variety, Technology, Online Retail, Internet, Home, Wellness

This article was prepared by Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week via NewsRx.com.

Gordon appoints Snyder as 'Open Records Officer'.

Byline: John E. Usalis

Jan. 10--GORDON -- The Borough of Gordon has a new "Open Records Officer" to comply with Pennsylvania's "New Right-To-Know Law." During Monday's meeting, Gordon Borough Council designated Paul L. Snyder, who serves as the borough's secretary/treasurer and borough manager, as its first open records officer. The resolution to appoint Snyder and establish the criteria the borough must follow to comply with the new law was passed unanimously. The law, passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Ed Rendell on Feb. 14, 2008, went into effect Jan. 1, provides "for access to public information, for a designated open records officer in each commonwealth agency, local agency, judicial agency and legislative agency, for procedure, for appeal of agency determination, for judicial review and for the Office of Open Records; imposing penalties; providing for reporting by state-related institutions; requiring the posting of certain state contract information on the Internet; and making related repeals." In explaining the resolution, borough solicitor Mark Semanchick said, "Since he (Snyder) is the custodian of your municipal records, he would be the most appropriate to respond. The resolution identifies what the business hours, the costs, the process the open records officer will follow, the right of appeal should any request be denied, and all the sections that must be considered as part of the new act." "My question is who do I call to find out what I don't need to reply to," asked Snyder. "I think it's fair to say that you should assume generally that whatever is being requested should be made available," Semanchick replied. "There are exceptions, and they are very specific." "That's what I'm asking about," said Snyder. Semanchick will supply Snyder with a summary of the law that will include the specific exceptions. According to the www.openrecordspa.org Web site, the new law accomplishes three major things: --For the first time, establishes that all records kept by local and state government are presumed to be open to the public, with some exceptions. No longer is access restricted to just "accounts, vouchers or contracts" or "minutes, orders or decisions." --For the first time, puts the burden of proving why a record should not be released on government agencies. No longer do citizens who are denied records have to prove why they should have them. --For the first time, there is an independent agency charged with arbitrating open records disputes. No longer do citizens have to go to court when they feel their request has been unjustly denied. The state's new Office of Open Records, under the direction of executive director Terry Mutchler, will hear appeals and issue rulings when there are disputes. And, although the new law went into effect Jan. 1, records from any year were newly available as of that date. Gordon's resolution stipulates the following criteria:

--All documents deemed public records will be available for inspection, retrieval and duplication at the borough office during established business hours (8 a.m. to 1 p.m.), with the exception of weekends and holidays. --Requests should be made in writing to Snyder on a form provided by the borough. --Paper copies are 25 cents per page per side. The certification of a record is $1 per record. Specialized documents, including, but not limited to, blueprints, color copies and non-standard-sized documents, will be charged the actual cost of production. If mailing is requested, the cost of postage will be charged. The borough will require prepayments if the total fees are estimated to exceed $100.

--The borough will make a good-faith effort to provide the requested public record(s) as promptly as possible. The open records officer will cooperate with those requesting records to review and/or duplicate original borough documents while taking reasonable measure to protect borough documents from the possibility of theft, damage and/or modification.

--The open records officer will review all written requests for access to public records. As soon as possible, but no later than five business days after receiving a written request to access public records, the open records officer will respond to such requests in writing consistent with the act. --If access to a record is denied, the response will include a reason for the denial. --If the request is denied, the requester may file an appeal with Office of Open Records Executuve Director Terry Mulcher in Harrisburg. Appeals of criminal records should be made to Schuylkill County District Attorney James Goodman at the county courthouse in Pottsville. --Appeals must be filed within 15 business days of the mailing date of the borough's response or within 15 business days of a deemed denial, with the appeal stating the grounds why the record is a public record and should addresses any grounds stated by the borough for delaying or denying the request.

To see more of The News-Item or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsitem.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, The News-Item, Shamokin, Pa.

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Calling Future Wall Street Leaders: Clear Indexes Announces Second Student Contest for Best Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Idea.

$5,000 Award, a Paid Internship, and the Chance to See Idea Become a Published Index

NEW YORK -- Calling all aspiring student investors and future leaders of Wall Street for a chance to win $5,000 and a paid internship in the Second Clear Next Generation ETF Contest run over Facebook and the internet. The contest, created by Clear Indexes, LLC (Clear Indexes), www.ClearIndexes.com, a creator and developer of indexes and benchmarks for investment products and institutions, is seeking the most original and marketable ETF index idea (Index) from students. The winner will have the chance to participate in the ultimate development of the published Index.

The first Clear Next Generation ETF Contest, run in October and November 2007 and limited to three select colleges, was so successful that Clear Indexes has upped the prize money and extended the contest to other colleges.

Any student with a valid email address at Johns Hopkins University, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, Cornell University, York University, Middlebury College and Pennsylvania State University is eligible to enter. The contest is being run with the participation of professors, student activity offices and career centers at the respective schools.

"The first contest proved that college students are an untapped and extremely capable resource for ideas in the investment world," said Andrew Corn, CEO of Clear Indexes. "Frankly, we were amazed at the quality and diversity of ideas. And, it's a great opportunity for students to put into practice what they've learned in the classroom."

Participants may submit up to five ETF index ideas. Each idea theme must be described in detail, including its appeal to investors and the investment thesis behind it. Judges will examine each idea for its uniqueness, differentiation, scalability and ease of explanation to investors. In addition to the grand prize, three runner-ups will receive $1,000, and 10 honorable mentions will be named.

The winner of the first Clear Next Generation ETF Contest, Jimmy Baker, 18, a New York University English major, is currently helping to develop his idea into a published index at his paid Clear Indexes internship. "The experience has been awesome," said Baker. "The contest provided me with an outlet to apply my knowledge of world events to my idea. It's exciting to have the chance to develop my concept into an index."

An honorable mention winner has also been granted an internship and Clear is interviewing other contest winners for summer internships as well. The contest runs from February 25 through April 4. Submissions will be reviewed by Clear Indexes and its advisory board. Winners will be announced on Clear Indexes' Facebook group and via a press release.

Visit www.ClearIndexes.com/etfcontest.aspx for more information. Eligible Students can submit their ideas at www.clearindexes.com/contest.

About Clear Indexes LLC

Clear Indexes LLC creates and publishes custom indexes using a combination of qualitative research and quantitative methods. Clear Indexes designs custom indexes to quantitatively measure specific market segments. The indexes are used for custom institutional benchmarks and investment product design. Clear Indexes is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Clear Asset Management Inc. For more information, please see www.clearindexes.com and www.clearam.com.

Friday, 24 February 2012

Fall Focus: Making Media Meaningful to Address Media Personalization and Consumer Habits.

DALLAS -- Parks Associates today announced the preliminary topics for Fall Focus: Making Media Meaningful, an executive conference on media personalization and consumer habits that will take place Nov. 9-11, 2005, at the Fairmont San Jose in Calif.

Hosted annually by Parks Associates, Fall Focus: Making Media Meaningful will address changing consumer habits in this era of digital entertainment and media personalization. The event will feature industry-leading speakers who will discuss in an interactive environment the opportunities, successes, and obstacles in this evolving digital domain.

"The notions of media personalization and easy access have changed significantly from the days of the remote control and car radio presets," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst for Parks Associates. "Fall Focus will provide attendees with analysis and commentary from many companies shaping the future of media delivery and consumption. Attendees will leave with a fresh perspective on the critical role of the consumer in determining the success of new solutions for both self-created and commercial media."

Fall Focus sessions will address the following issues, among others:

--Does having high-quality digital content at home decrease the consumer's propensity to go to movies and concerts?

--Does ownership of wireless technology affect other consumer habits -- TV viewing or consumption of music, movies, and news?

--Do easy access to local information and the ability to buy movie tickets online tend to increase, decrease, or have no effect on movie attendance and movie rentals?

--If consumers have the ability to skip commercials, do they actually use it? If so, how can advertisers reach these consumers?

--In an era of pop-up ads, spam, product placements, and additional advertising beyond the traditional broadcast model, which methods are working, and which need adjustment?

--Since digital technology allows for the creation of identical high-quality copies of commercial content, are people getting what they want from friends or family, or does the increased exposure to high-quality content increase their purchase of DVDs?

--What influences changes in consumer habits? Are changing habits a combination of product and Internet, a function of Internet alone, a function of comfort and time with these new tools, or some combination of the above?

--Are there specific market segments that based on discovered habits, demographics, or product ownership patterns show predictable patterns in the acquisition and use of today's advanced products and services?

Keynotes, presentations, and discussions at this event will cover topics such as software tools for media editing and sharing, new designs and functionality for user interfaces (both graphic and physical), the growing role of niche content, and the changing nature of advertising and marketing in the digital age. Parks Associates is currently accepting speaker submissions through the Call For Papers form at www.fallfocus.com. Deadline to submit is July 28, 2005.

Fall Focus events host 250-300 executives and provide a full analysis and evaluation of the "focus" topic. Early sponsors for Fall Focus 2005 include Gold Sponsor Entropic Communications and Silver Sponsor Digital 5, Inc. For more information on attending this event or participating as a sponsor, visit www.fallfocus.com.

About Fall Focus

Hosted annually by Parks Associates, Fall Focus provides a full analysis and evaluation of the "focus" topic. This executive conference features speakers who are leaders in their industries, with Parks Associates' analysts providing consumer data and analysis of the topic. The moderator creates an interactive forum for each session, providing attendees with time to ask questions, network with peers, and actively investigate the "focus" topic. A Display Area showcases the Fall Focus sponsors and their technologies and products.

Thursday, 23 February 2012

Armchair Aviators Fulfill Their Fantasies with Flight Simulator Software.

Byline: Mary Lou Pickel

Nov. 28--Paul Higginbotham scans the flat Florida terrain from the pilot's seat of his Cessna 182.

He just took off from Cedar Key, Fla., in balmy 89-degree weather. Blue seas break against the beach as he climbs to 2,500 feet.

The flight is progressing smoothly when a strange noise enters the cockpit. It's the sound of workmen building Higginbotham's house addition. Then Higginbotham's white cat races by.

The illusion is shattered. Higginbotham is back in the real world at his dining room table in Peachtree City, looking at a computer screen and using a joystick to control his virtual plane.

Scores of flight simulator enthusiasts --- don't call them gamers --- take vicarious flights every day in metro Atlanta. Many, like Higginbotham, work in aviation or have a pilot's license.

Most use Microsoft Flight Simulator, one of the biggest-selling entertainment software programs ever conceived. The giant technology company has sold 21 million copies in the past decade. It recently issued an update, subtitled "Century of Flight," to take advantage of the hoopla surrounding the upcoming Wright brothers' 100th anniversary of flight on Dec. 17. It includes virtual versions of various historic planes, including the Wright Flyer.

Flight Simulator has spawned a huge online community of spinoff sites, shareware and add-on products.

Enthusiasts can join virtual airlines online, receive flight schedules and respond to instructions from virtual air traffic controllers. A Flowery Branch man flies online with a friend from Tennessee, talking on the radio back and forth. A retired Delta pilot in Cobb County puts on his 3-D glasses and jumps back into the cockpit.

Flight Simulator aircraft, which range from Cessnas to Boeing 747s, are as difficult to maneuver as the real planes --- more or less --- and include realistic engine sounds.

Higginbotham, 44, flies about 14 hours a week. He's taking his Cessna around the country and started in Maine two months ago.

"My wife knows this is an obsession with me," the Delta Air Lines mechanic explains.

"I don't drink, and I don't smoke," he adds. "My wife says it keeps me off the streets."

On a recent morning at his house, he switched from the Cessna to a Learjet and glided over the Ford plant in Hapeville to land at Hartsfield-Jackson International. His landing wasn't perfect. The plane slid off into the grass beside the runway but quickly recovered.

Pilot friends have given Higginbotham old approach plates for every airport in the world, and he has navigational charts that help him set his course.

Higginbotham also likes to tool around in a Lockheed Vega 5B (pilot Wiley Post flew one around the world in 1931), a McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom fighter ("You can go really fast in this thing") and a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter ("I love vertical flight").

Higginbotham used to fly hot-air balloons and says his goal is to take a few helicopter lessons.

"I know I could jump right in and fly it. I just have the feel for it."

Flight simulation software was created by a company called Sublogic in the 1980s. Microsoft later bought the program, which has become a huge business in itself.

The latest version comes on four compact discs and contains 5 million lines of code. Teams of flight engineers, pilots, navigation data companies and artists work to create the most realistic flight experience possible, Microsoft spokesman Darryl Saunders said.

The open architecture allows fans to add planes and scenery from the Internet.

Steve Halpern, 43, of Atlanta has built a business around that idea. He first started using Flight Simulator in 1993 and was dissatisfied with the quality of the clouds. They were too two-dimensional, like billboards.

His quest to create a better virtual cloud developed into a company called Flight1.com. Halpern and his six associates now create virtual planes, cockpits and scenery and distribute it from a Marietta warehouse as well as online commerce sites here and abroad. The company sold at least 50,000 units last year.

"It's a great little fantasy world," Halpern says. "It becomes a way of life for many people. This becomes their main hobby."

Chris Buff, a 43-year-old computer consultant in Suwanee, decided to create a reproduction of a Lockheed L-188 Electra. He's one of the many freeware creators.

More than 8,000 people have downloaded his plane so far, he says. "I've received feedback from people in Brazil, Taiwan, England, Holland, Canada and Australia. You find out that people all over the world share that same passion and sense of awe about flight. It really has a universal appeal."

Some "simmers" around the country supplant their joysticks with real yokes, rudder pedals, throttles and even multiple screens. The New York Times recently featured a California man who acquired an entire Boeing 737 nose, put it in a shed and set up his simulator inside.

Buff has the yoke and pedals but draws the line there.

"Even I look at some things and think, 'I don't think so.' "

To see more of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.ajc.com

(c) 2003, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

TICKER SYMBOL(S): MSFT

Emulex Announces Support for Cisco Data Center Fabric with Comprehensive High-Performance Connectivity and Management.

Emulex OneConnect UCNAs and LightPulse HBAs Support New Cisco Nexus Switches and new Nexus and MDS Multihop FCoE Modules

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX), the leader in converged networking solutions, today announced that its OneConnect[TM] 10Gb Ethernet (10GbE) Universal Converged Network Adapters (UCNAs) and LightPulse[R] 8Gb/s Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) support the enhanced Cisco Data Center Fabric, announced this week as a culmination of three years of innovation.

"Cisco continues to help drive network convergence in the data center, particularly with new director-class, multihop FCoE capabilities that will bring convergence to life for more enterprises today," said Shaun Walsh, vice president of marketing, Emulex. "Leveraging Emulex connectivity within the enhancements offered by Cisco's Data Center Fabric help enable customers to take advantage of the high-performance connectivity they're accustomed to, while protecting existing infrastructure investments."

Cisco continues to tightly integrate Unified Computing, Unified Fabric, and Unified Network Services into the holistic Cisco Data Center Fabric designed to be simple, scalable and secure, delivering any application across any location, within the data center, across data centers, or to the cloud.

Cisco Unified Fabric delivers network management convergence and "wire once" agility from the server to the storage array for physical and virtualized environments. Emulex connectivity solutions are supported across the following enhanced technology innovations components of the Cisco Data Center Fabric, a tightly integrated, flexible, high-performance, highly secure, shared infrastructure:

* OneConnect UCNA support for Cisco Nexus 7000: Emulex OneConnect UCNAs support Cisco Nexus 7000 Series, Cisco's flagship Ethernet Storage Director that now provides Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) support for the first time. Emulex OneConnect adapters offer multiprotocol support and hardware offload, which removes the overhead from the CPU and helps enable more virtual machines (VMs) per server.

* OneConnect UCNA and LightPulse 8Gb/s HBA support for Cisco Nexus 5500: Emulex provides comprehensive support for the enhanced Cisco Nexus 5500 fixed switches, enabling flexibility for customers to leverage their existing SAN connectivity investments, and utilize Emulex OneConnect UCNAs for protocol-agnostic connectivity. With Unified Ports, a multiprotocol universal port design, customers now have the flexibility to use either an HBA or UCNA adapter to meet their ever-changing data center needs.

* Support for Adapter FEX and VM FEX within Cisco Nexus 5548UP and 5596UP Switches: Emulex also plans to support the new AdapterFEX and VM FEX functionality across the new Cisco Nexus 5548UP and 5596UP Switches. AdapterFEX helps enable partitioning of a physical server NIC into multiple logical NICs, while VM FEX offers these capabilities to virtual machines.

* OneConnect UCNA support for enhanced Cisco MDS 9000 switches: Emulex UCNAs support the new MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches. FCoE Module, which offers increased bandwidth and seamless interoperability with the Nexus platform, while bridging Converged Networks to FC SANs.

* Broad management support across Cisco Nexus and MDS switches: Emulex OneCommand(TM) Management Framework help enable IT managers to manage their adapters across any platform. Leveraging open APIs, the Emulex OneCommand Management Framework supports the new converged management solution from Cisco, for a 'single pane of glass' view into data center connectivity.

"Cisco, together with our technology partners, are arming customers with a powerful, flexible, cloud-ready infrastructure enabling the next-generation data center," said Jackie Ross, vice president of Marketing, Server Access and Virtualization Technology Group for Cisco. "Emulex's comprehensive portfolio of adapters are the multiprotocol 'glue' connecting servers to the network and the network to storage arrays."

Emulex OneConnect UCNAs provide optimized 10GbE network performance with Emulex vEngine(TM) technology. Emulex vEngine technology offers full hardware protocol offload support for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), iSCSI and FCoE and optimizes virtualized servers with support for virtual queues, multiple NIC PCI functions and emerging Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) standards. This results in 20% more virtual machines (VMs) per server to optimize infrastructure investment.

Emulex LightPulse 8Gb/s Fibre Channel HBAs offer the throughput, scalability, and reliability necessary for I/O intensive applications and high-density virtual server environments. Emulex LightPulse HBAs offer common drivers and virtual HBA technology based on industry-standard N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV), which provides VMs with independent access to the SAN through shared HBA resources, enabling customers to leverage critical SAN management tools and best practices within virtualized server environments.

The Emulex LightPulse and OneConnect[TM] families of storage and network adapters are available across a wide portfolio of Cisco solutions, offering wide interoperability and management support.

Resources:

For more information on Emulex solutions for Cisco, please visit: http://www.emulex-cisco.com.

Follow Emulex on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/emulex.

About Emulex

Emulex is the leader in converged networking solutions for the data center. Our Connectivity Continuum architecture provides intelligent networking services that transition today's infrastructure into tomorrow's unified network ecosystem. Emulex provides a single framework that intelligently connects every server, network and storage device within the data center. Through strategic collaboration and integrated partner solutions, Emulex provides its customers with industry-leading business value, operational flexibility and strategic advantage. Emulex is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:ELX) and has corporate headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. News releases and other information about Emulex Corporation are available at www.emulex.com.

Emulex Safe Harbor Statement

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: With the exception of historical information, the statements set forth above include forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, among other matters, statements concerning Emulex's acquisition of ServerEngines Corporation, including anticipated benefits expected from the acquisition, expected impact on Emulex's results of operations and financial condition, and expected market opportunities; Emulex's business outlook, as well as expectations of other future events and future performance. Emulex wishes to caution readers that a number of significant factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include among others, the anticipated benefits of the combined companies may not be achieved, the combined operations may not be successfully integrated in a timely manner, if at all, and other risks inherent in acquisitions of businesses, including unanticipated costs and expenditures, potential changes in relationships with strategic partners, potential contractual or intellectual property issues, and potential accounting charges and write-downs; as well as changes in economic and industry conditions and the effects of ongoing global economic uncertainty, changes in end user demand for technology solutions; the effect of any actual or potential unsolicited offers to acquire Emulex; Emulex's dependence on a limited number of customers and the effects of the loss of, or decrease or delays in orders by, any such customers, or the failure of such customers to make payments; the emergence of new or stronger competitors as a result of consolidation movements in the market; the rapidly changing nature of technology, evolving industry standards and frequent introductions of new products and enhancements by competitors; the effect of rapid migration of customers towards newer, lower cost product platforms; slower than expected growth of the storage networking market or the failure of Emulex's Original Equipment Manufacturer ("OEM") customers to successfully incorporate Emulex products into their systems; delays in product development; the highly competitive nature of the markets for Emulex's products; Emulex's ability to gain market acceptance for its products; any inadequacy of Emulex's intellectual property protection or the potential for third-party claims of infringement; Emulex's ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; and Emulex's reliance on third-party suppliers. These and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are also discussed in Emulex's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its recent filings on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q. Statements in this release are based on current expectations and, except as required by law, Emulex undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements for any reason. All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.