Bringing this exciting new feature to organizations that use the IHP to manage their members’ health and fitness and to individual users in the LifeSpan Fitness Club makes it easy to track all physical activity in one central online location. Users can upload workout data automatically saved by any IHP certified device including Garmin activity monitors and LifeSpan fitness equipment and health monitors, as well as directly enter exercise results from other fitness activities such as cycling, swimming or group exercise classes.

Comprehensive yet easy to use, the IHP online health and fitness management program (www.InteractiveHealthPartner.com) makes it simple to track exercise and analyze the effectiveness of fitness efforts over time.

Connecting online fitness tracking with users’ preferred activity monitors and exercise equipment is core to the IHP strategy. Peter Schenk, President of PCE Health & Fitness, believes “Technology will change how Americans think about exercise, by raising awareness of daily physical activity levels and changing how they manage health and fitness. We are dedicated to being a leader in this behavioral shift, using the power and reach of the internet.”

The IHP continues to join forces with the best exercise equipment, activity and health monitors, and exercise programming to improve the health and fitness of its members. Integrating with popular devices such as Garmin is the latest example of utilizing technology to provide easier, faster ways to upload data from a variety of health and fitness devices.

No matter what the goal, from losing 10 pounds to lowering cholesterol or blood pressure, the IHP is a simple and affordable online solution that engages users in their health and fitness so they can be successful in achieving their personal health and fitness goals.

More information: www.InteractiveHealthPartner.com .

Many Plangarden blog visitors have commented favorably on the White House garden: http://plangarden.wordpress.com/2009/03/20/your-take-on-the-obama-vegetable-garden/. Some have suggested establishing a square foot gardening system which conserves water and space, as well as other design and produce variety considerations.

Not just for “celebrity vegetable garden voyeurs”

“With all the talk about tainted produce, sustainable gardening, reducing food miles, and the resurgence of victory and community gardens, new features are continually being requested and added to assist vegetable gardeners,” according to Plangarden creator and avid gardener, Roy Stahl.

A new, multiple garden area feature is especially popular among community gardeners who can collaborate under one user account. Plangarden provides up to five different gardening areas, each with a maximum gardening area of 5 acres (~2 hectares). Each gardening area has its own harvest and journal information.

For inexperienced gardeners, the new plant spacing feature takes the guesswork out of how far to plant seeds or seedlings from each other. But these parameters can be overridden for different gardening technique.

Plangarden also just released a handy online tool, “Grow Your Own Vegetables – Value Calculator” that estimates the value of produce from your vegetable garden in supermarket, farmer’s market, and organic produce dollars. This can help calculate how much can be saved on groceries as more families are being squeezed in this economic downturn. Variables, such as vegetable costs, can be modified by the user to best reflect local costs and currency units.

Vegetable garden design software helps visualize and plan layout in small yard spaces

New vegetable gardeners like L. Richardson, a blogger from South Carolina, have found Plangarden software useful in figuring out how much yard space can be allocated to her vegetable garden.

“I was able to pull out our plan and show my husband exactly how (our garden) would look and assure him that the expanded garden would take less than one third of the back yard. That bit of information even averted a marital dispute!” she laughs.

About Plangarden

Over 19,000 users from all over the world have discovered Plangarden, the first Web-based vegetable garden design application, that assists gardeners in visualizing, planning and recording gardening activities. Plangarden has been member-tested and recommended by the National Home Gardening Club. Users can sign up for a free 45-day trial. A full year subscription is available for $20/year or $36/3years. More information: http://www.plangarden.com .

Users can pick the Mood that reflects their current state of mind and then write an entry describing why they feel the way they do. The Mood and the entry are then saved on the user’s iPhone, creating a personal log of one’s feelings. Later on the user can take advantage of Moods snapshot analysis tool, which shows users how often they felt a certain way in a given day or month.

Travis Choma, Mogelli founder, developed the idea for Moods earlier this month after noticing that the people around him seemed less upbeat than usual. “We live in a world where we can be plugged in 24-hours a day to news and views,” he says. “On the whole I think this is positive. Yet in bad times it can also lead to people losing sight of their own reasons to be happy. Or vice versa. I wanted to give people a practical tool for being more tuned in to their own state of mind, instead of being dragged along by the feelings of the crowd.”

Choma also wanted to allow users to easily share their Moods with others. “If a user chooses he or she can e-mail their Mood and the accompanying entry to a friend, which creates a more personal kind of feedback and can lead to even better understanding of those closest to you.”

Moods is featured in the Lifestyle section of Apple’s online app store and can be downloaded and enjoyed by owners of all iPhone and iPod Touch models.

More information: http://www.mogelli.com/moods/index.html .

[tags]Mogelli Ltd, Moods iPhone app, software for iPod Touch[/tags]

He goes on to explain that he was not sure how the music was lost, but was wondering if the product could help. He was so distraught he could not sleep.

The information technology staff at EASEUS reacted quickly and suggested that he give Data Recovery Wizard a try.

One day later, staff received an e-mail from the same gentleman. He happily reported that it worked and found all lost music files. He added, “I can have sweet dreams from now on.”

Combined with a module of “Complete Recovery,” the purpose of Data Recovery Wizard is to find lost data. When the software is launched, the user simply chooses the “Complete Recovery” button and it begins to recover lost data and files.

Prior to recovery, a preview of all files is revealed to ensure the user that these are the wanted files.

The user interface is easy to use. There are three modules in the stat interface: deleted file recovery; complete recovery; and partition recovery.

Deleted file recovery quickly recovers deleted files after emptying the recycle bin. Complete recovery finds lost data caused by formatted partition; and a crashed file system. Partition recovery gets data back when the file system crashes; partitions are mistakenly deleted or hidden; drives had a failed operating/file system; or drives suffer a computer virus.

The company specializes in data recovery software for Windows OS. Data Recovery Wizard supports Windows 2000, XP, 2003 and VISTA. The software supports Hardware RAID, SD, MS, and more.

For more information, visit: http://www.Easeus.com.

[tags]EASEUS Data Recovery Wizard, recover music mp3 files, restore RAID drives[/tags]

Unfortunately the program was only available for Windows users, but now, photographers who use Mac-based software can take advantage of the unique software that comes with the PhotoTrackr kit.

Mac PhotoTrackr software

The PhotoTrackr is an impressive GPS camera tracker that many professional photographers have taken notice of. It is lightweight, uses lower power, has an automated photo slideshow function, and allows users to keep track of all of their digital photos with satellite precision. It is even possible to synchronize up more than one camera to the system, allowing multiple users to document their digital photos quickly and easily.

There are currently a number of different GPS camera trackers available to purchase on the market, but the makers of PhotoTrackr say that their GPS camera tracker is one of the best on the markets for the simple fact that it is affordable, and that it is designed to work with almost all digital cameras available on the market today, making it the perfect technical gadget to purchase for yourself or for any of your friends and family.

For more information about the new Mac PhotoTrackr software, visit: http://www.gisteq.com/MACsoftware.php .

[tags]Mac PhotoTrackr software, GiSTEQ Corp, GPS camera tracker, Eric Liu, photographers who travel[/tags]

Noted Sandy Shore, founder of SmoothJazz.com and SmoothLounge.com, “We’re very excited about the immediacy of information and purchasing opportunities that SelectRadio is offering our listeners with their software. It doesn’t get any more exciting than to be out in the world, listening to Internet radio on a mobile device and discovering new artists and music that you’re actually able to buy on the spot if you desire. That’s really putting the music directly into the hands of the people!”

According to the 2008 Arbitron consumer survey, “The Infinite Dial: Radio’s Digital Platforms,” the number of consumers who learn about new music from the Internet vs. terrestrial radio or TV has grown by 277 percent in the past six years. At the same time, new artists are finding outlets for their work on Internet and satellite radio channels with large, dynamic playlists and an audience hungry for music discovery and purchase. SelectRadio’s data highlights popular channels that are inspiring users to request more information about the music they discover while mobile.

Initial six-month data shows which channels are driving the highest number of SelectRadio user requests for additional song information (i.e., more than the song title and artist info displayed by default) in the most popular music genres.

SelectRadio User Top Music Discovery Channels by Format/Genre

Genre/Format :: Top Channel for Music Discovery
Adult Contemporary Hits :: XM Radio Flight 26
Alternative Hits – Cross Genre :: Sirius Hits 1
Alternative Rock :: Sirius Octane
Classic Rock :: Virgin Radio Classic Rock
Country :: Radioio Country
Decade – 70s :: Radioio 70s Rock
Decade – 80s :: AccuRadio A Flock of 80s
Hip Hop :: AccuRadio HitKast
Jazz :: SmoothJazz.com

Results are based on 11/07 to 05/08 SelectRadio user song info requests from preset channel groups – currently AccuRadio, BBC, Inside Jazz, Radioio, SelectPicks, Sirius Internet Radio, and XM Radio Online.

SelectRadio software is compatible with all popular Windows Mobile 5 and Windows Mobile 6 devices including smartphone models such as the Samsung Blackjack, HTC Excalibur, Motorola Q and touchscreen models such as the UTStarcom 6800 and HTC Touch series. SelectRadio software requires a network connection via either the handheld wireless carrier or WiFi connection. SelectRadio software is priced at $25 for a device-specific license.

A free 10-day fully functional trial is available for evaluation prior to purchase at http://www.selectradio.com.

[tags]SelectRadio, Windows Mobile smartphone software, Mobile Music Discovery[/tags]

RECIFE, Brazil — D’Accord Music Software, the Brazilian leader in music software, announces a new version of its award-winning software – iChords – that recognizes and presents chords from any MP3, WMA files or CDs. By using iChords 2.0, the new version, musicians can learn how to play any song on keyboard or guitar. It also exports song videos to iPods(TM) and mobile phones.

Popular features enable users to automatically retrieve CD chords, and those from MP3, WAV and WMA files. It also creates WMV or MP4 videos with the song, chords and lyrics.

“Musicians throughout the world adopted the first version, and we are excited to release iChords 2.0,” Americo Amorim, D’Accord’s Executive Director, said. “Our users will love the new features such as exporting videos to their iPods.”

D’Accord’s iChords 2.0 is a musician’s dream come true. Chords, in any song, are identified without searching for tablatures or sheet music. The software is easy-to-use and after opening a song file, it automatically processes and extracts the chords.

The new export video feature generates a file with the song being played on the guitar or keyboard and allows musicians to create personalized transcriptions. For instance, they can change the transcribed chords and add song lyrics in a karaoke-like style. If lyrics are added and chords transposed, they can be printed together with chord diagrams. For each chord, the software presents fingering and notation.

Novice players can configure the difficulty level of the presented chords and choose from easy, medium or difficult; it’s possible to play from simple harmonies to complex musical pieces.

For guitar players, there are four different guitar-view modes, including one for left-handed players. And, users can control the tempo, according to skill.

D’Accord relies on experienced researchers, software engineers and musicians to work together to develop innovative products and services. Its products are among the most popular on several download sites such as Download.com and are used by millions of musicians in more than 65 countries.

The software is compatible with Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003, XP and Vista.

A trial version of iChords 2.0 is available for download at: http://www.daccordmusic.com.

[tags]export song videos to iPod, iChords 2 music transcription software, DAccord Music Software[/tags]

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — My Reward Board today announced it has made an arrangement with Microsoft for a special 30-day trial version of the My Reward Board children’s allowance and chore tracking system to be made available to Microsoft Money Plus customers.

The My Reward Board program emphasizes a positive approach for encouraging kids to complete their chores, achieve their goals, improve their behavior, and save their money. A special 30-day free trial version of My Reward Board is available to Microsoft Money Plus customers at www.myrewardboard.com/money.

“My Reward Board is a unique way for customers of Microsoft Money Plus to educate their children about the value of the dollar,” said Chris Jolley, group manager of the Financial Products Group at Microsoft Corp. “This solution helps parents share an appreciation and understanding of money with their children, ultimately giving them life-long skills on how to responsibly handle their finances.”

*(Photo: http://www.myrewardboard.com/images/mrb.jpg)
*(Photo Caption: My Reward Board Allowance and Chore System)

With My Reward Board, parents can configure the program to conform to their own parenting style, controlling how and when allowance is awarded, how frequently rewards are earned, and which rewards are available. Achievement certificates – suitable for hanging on the refrigerator – are printed at the end of each week, and an animated piggy bank squeals in delight when allowance is earned or a savings goal has been met.

“We’re excited to be a part of Microsoft Money Plus, the latest release of the popular Microsoft Money product line,” said Barton Listick, President and Founder of My Reward Board. “Children today are immersed in a culture that’s saturated with consumer-driven materialism. Parents need all the help they can get to encourage a responsible approach to earning, spending, and saving money, and we’re proud to provide this critical support to Microsoft customers.”

For more information, visit www.myrewardboard.com. My Reward Board is available as a free trial or for purchase.

About My Reward Board
My Reward Board is the leading provider of family-centered incentive, chore tracking and financial education software. Its mission is to provide the tools that parents need to help raise responsible, motivated and successful children.

[tags]My Reward Board, Barton Listick, Microsoft Money Plus, children’s allowance and chore tracking system[/tags]

“We are proud of our SIA nomination,” Americo Amorim, D’Accord’s Executive Director said. “Since 1992, these awards honor and acknowledge the best software available.”

According to a group of computer music researchers, hearing a song and writing out chords is challenging enough for experienced musicians, so imagine how difficult it is for a computer? While difficult, they agreed it was not impossible. These researchers took the challenge, and after more than three years of research and development, created a software that identifies chords from any audio source.

D’Accord’s iChords is a musician’s dream come true. Chords be identified in any song without having to search for tablatures and sheet music.

Musicians also save time when transcribing “by ear.” iChords makes fast and harmonic transcriptions. The software is easy-to-use; after opening a song file it automatically processes and extracts the chords.

To surpass its competitors, iChords offers additional features beyond chord transcription:

* iChord displays the chord being played at the moment as well as the next one;

* For each chord, it presents fingering, notation or intervals;

* Users can control the tempo according to their skills, playing slower or faster;

* Four different guitar view modes are offered, including one for left-handed players;

* Lrics can be added and chords can be transposed and printed together with chord diagrams; and

* Chords can be exported to create a personal song library

D’Accord relies on experienced researchers, software engineers and musicians to work together to develop innovative products and services. Its products are among the most popular on several download sites such as Download.com and are used by millions of musicians in more than 60 countries.

This year’s SIA winners will be announced during the Software Industry Conference in July, 2007. For more information: www.siavoting.com/sia.php.

A trial version of iChords is available for download at: http://www.daccordmusic.com.

[tags]DAccord Music Software, iChords sound program, Americo Amorim, Shareware Industry Awards[/tags]

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – CA WORLD — HostBridge Technology, the provider of HostBridge software for XML-enabling CICS, today announced that CA has certified the HostBridge integration software as interoperable with CA Telon Application Generator (CA Telon) and CA Gener/OL, enabling organizations to integrate their mainframe applications with Web services platforms, application servers, or other host applications.

Running under CICS on the mainframe, HostBridge quickly and cost-effectively integrates proven mainframe business logic with modern platforms and interfaces. It allows Web server applications to invoke CA Telon and CA Gener/OL transactions using standard interfaces and returns data as XML documents or Web services in a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

CA Telon is used to design, generate and maintaining mission-critical COBOL and PL/1 applications. CA Gener/OL is used for developing high-volume CICS transactions.

“Customers want to Web-enable their mainframe applications in ways that are cost-effective and that readily accommodate change in the underlying code,” said Maurice Donegan, vice president of marketing at CA. “Building on previous integration with CA Ideal, HostBridge has leveraged CA Telon and CA Gener/OL to deliver a solution that fulfills this demand.”

HostBridge enables developers to integrate applications using field names from the CA Telon and CA Gener/OL applications rather than row/column coordinates from screen scraping. Web-based applications call these transactions without any changes to existing programs, which protects organizations from the risks and costs of altering their trusted mainframe code.

HostBridge has received the ca smart seal of excellence, which is awarded to products that integrate seamlessly with CA solutions, enabling customers to exploit best-in-class enterprise technologies while minimizing cost, time-to-benefit and risk.

“As with most good ideas, our integration with CA Telon was customer-driven,” says Russ Teubner, CEO of HostBridge Technology. “Customers have been successfully using HostBridge with their CA Telon applications for several years and provide the proof that our solution works in a production environment. Following our certification with CA Ideal and CA Telon, we recognized that other mainframe development environments might also be difficult to integrate into modern XML and Web services architectures. So, we worked with CA to identify develop an easy integration solution for CA Gener/OL customers.”

About HostBridge Technology
HostBridge Technology provides software for IBM S/390 and zSeries customers with an ongoing investment in CICS applications. Using the HostBridge U.S. Patented software, any middle-tier application can securely invoke CICS transactions and receive their output as an XML document. By providing real-time XML access, along with high-performance process automation, HostBridge allows enterprises to take a quantum leap forward in integrating CICS applications into other business processes or offering CICS applications as Web Services.

HostBridge customers include Delta Dental, Navy Federal Credit Union, New York City Department of Education, MetLife, Experian, Farm Credit Services, Konica Business Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Main Street America Group, and others. HostBridge is a trusted brand in the mainframe integration market.

For more information about HostBridge, please visit: http://www.hostbridge.com.

All trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.

[tags]HostBridge Technology, CA World 2007, XML and Web services[/tags]