Thursday, September 21, 2006

Shares of Riverbed Technology Leap in IPO

The San Francisco-based company, which makes network infrastructure products for computer systems, saw its stock rise $5.55, or 57 percent, from the IPO price to close at $15.30 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Riverbed's shares opened at $14.60 on the Nasdaq, well above the IPO price of $9.75 a share.

A total of 8.8 million shares were sold to investors, and the deal priced above the expected range of $7 a share to $8.50 a share. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managed the offering.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Accessing the Inaccessible - Quintessentially




Quintessentially is first and foremost a club, a club for those who believe that life is too short to waste time on the mundane or second-best. Members are given a membership card which brings with it a huge variety of benefits, many of which are worth a great deal of money.

Focused on 'accessing the inaccessible', they aim to make life that much easier, that much richer and that much more fun. With over 20,000 suppliers, Quintessentially offers great discounts and insider information for their members around the world.

24 hours a day and 365 days a year, experts are on hand to save their members time, hassle and money. With brand new offices in Cannes, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Moscow joining their existing ones in London, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Beirut and Oslo and fixers and research teams in all other major cities, Quintessentially is able to look after its members wherever they are.

Quintessentially’s main aim is to satisfy any last-minute requests, from front row seats at fashion shows and spur of the moment chartered yachts, to impossible-to-book theatre tickets or dinner reservations. The benefits of a Quintessentially membership are endless: members receive automatic access and exclusive privileges at the finest gyms, spas, restaurants and nightclubs around the globe. Their travel department is also a fountain of globe-trotting knowledge and they have the best hotels, villas and even private islands at their fingertips and often with money-saving discounts.

Events

Membership

Monday, September 18, 2006

Riverbed Technology Inc to IPO this week


Riverbed Technology Set for IPO (RVBD) As Companies Look to Boost Performance of Wide Area Networks NEW YORK (AP) -- Riverbed Technology Inc., which develops technology to help boost the performance of applications shared over networks, is set to go public on the Nasdaq this week, as demand for its products grows along with competition.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. is the performance leader in wide-area data services (WDS) solutions.

By enabling application performance over the wide area network (WAN) that is orders of magnitude faster than what users experience today, Riverbed is changing the way people work, and enabling a distributed workforce that can collaborate as if they were local.

The Wall Street Journal named Riverbed the winner of its 2005 Technology Innovation Award in the Network/ Broadband/Internet category. In addition, InfoWorld has named Riverbed's Steelhead appliance "Technology of the Year" in both 2005 and 2006, as the "Best WAN Accelerator".

Riverbed's award-winning solutions are available worldwide from resellers who are members of the Riverbed Partner Network, from Riverbed OEM partners, or directly from Riverbed.

Riverbed was founded in 2002 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Riverbed Technology, Inc. (IPO) [RVBD]
Click on the link to view the Riverbed Technology, Inc. (IPO) presentation at
RetailRoadshow.com.
retailroadshow - http://www.retailroadshow.com

Wal-Mart Plans to Add RFID to 500 More Stores

Wal-Mart Stores on Sept. 12 said it plans to bring another 500 stores online with its RFID (radio-frequency identification) initiative by the end of January 2007.

That will bring the total number of its retail locations using RFID to more than 1,000, though that represents about one-fourth of Wal-Mart's more than 3,900 locations in the United States.


A recent internal analysis of Wal-Mart's RFID efforts "reinforces the value of this technology for Wal-Mart, our suppliers and ultimately our customers," Rollin Ford, executive vice president and CIO, said in a statement.

"We're aggressively moving forward with the expansion of RFID-enabled facilities."

Saturday, September 16, 2006

$100,000 Electric Car, 0 to 60 in 4 seconds

Tesla Motors announce the arrival of the Tesla Roadster Signature 100 edition, sold out!

As a result, they have opened up reservations for an additional series of the next 100 produced Tesla Roadsters. These vehicles, like the Signature 100, will be fully loaded versions of the Tesla Roadster:

  • Removable hard top and soft top
  • Navigation system
  • Mobile charging cable
  • Upgraded leather interior
  • A/C, power locks and windows, cruise control
  • Heated seats, stereo w/ CD player, iPod connector
  • Valet mode to limit car’s range, acceleration and speed
  • Security system
  • Dual airbags, ABS brakes, traction control
  • Tesla-branded floor mats
These next 100 Tesla Roadsters have an anticipated delivery date in the fall of 2007. As with the Signature 100, these Tesla Roadsters will be priced at $100,000 (excluding taxes and other governmental fees). To secure a spot, they require a reservation payment of $75,000 which can be applied to the sales price at the time of delivery. This reservation payment is fully refundable at any time up to and including the day of delivery.

If you happen to live outside of a 100 mile radius of one of their initial Customer Care Centers (locations will be in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Miami), they will be charging a one time out-of-service area fee of $8000. This fee will allow you to receive the same high level of service that customers within 100 mile radius will receive and will cover the cost of sending a Tesla Motors-trained technician to your home or transporting your car to their nearest facility for servicing if necessary.

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To confirm your interest in reserving a Tesla Roadster, send an email to reservations@teslamotors.com.

For general comments and inquiries, refer to their Frequently Asked Questions located at www.teslamotors.com/learn_more/faqs.php.



Google Gets Going aGain

Google had lost 18 per cent since the shares peaked at about $475 in January.

Relentless stock sales by the internet search company's executives were said to be the blame.

Its managers have been dumping stock since February 14, 2005, the expiration date of the biggest and final restriction on insider sales following its initial public offering.

Three weeks ago, Google's stock price languished at a mere $373

Google shares broke the $400 mark Wednesday, riding a four-day market rally, in spite of some skepticism about Google's non-advertising ventures, analysts have returned to more bullish positions on the stock.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Steve Irwin Stingray accident

Is it safe to dive with Stingray?

The circumstances surrounding the Steve Irwin accident are very unusual. Steve was in an area of wild Stingray's unfamiliar with human interaction and in very close proximity to Sharks. Sharks are a predator of the Stingray which would have made them extremely anxious and defensive of any type of interference.

I dived with the Stingray in the Cayman Islands this year, at Stingray City, the Stingray's are only there because people feed them and this is not an area renowned for sharks as the water there is very shallow. They have been accustomed to people feeding and petting them for over 40 years and despite thousands of people visiting every month, there has never been a fatality there due to a Stingray.

If you are ever fortunate to visit the Cayman Islands I strongly recommend you take a trip to Stingray City the experience is one you will treasure for the rest of your life.

This video is me having a bloody good time with the Stingray!