ITMemos
This Week in Tech News
Awards/Editorial Opportunities
Speaking Opportunities
Sam Whitmore on Fortune and BusinessWeek's Potentially Historic Redesigns
This Week in Tech News
Acquisition rumor mill: IBM is rumored to have NetApp in the acquisition crosshairs. Novell is also rumored to be on the auction block, with Oracle as a potential suitor.
Going Green East at the Four Seasons in Boston could be the source of some green tech news this week. The Boston Globe already mentioned the event in the context of the current venture capital interest in energy start-ups.
There are at least two big news items happening at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Crytek will be demoing a new 3D engine for the extremely popular Far Cry series. 3D coverage should continue to intensify through the year as new 3D televisions keep rolling out in tandem with 3D gaming engines and graphics cards. Also at the Game Developers Conference, the speculation is that Valve's platform may be arriving to Mac. If you've never heard of Half-Life or Team Fortress, this means nothing to you, but one of the knocks on Mac is that it's been so far behind in serious gaming titles - so this would be a major development that could trigger a lot of interest in gaming on the OS X platform.
Speaking of Apple, the company recently sued HTC for 20 infringing patents, which many see as a not-so-subtle shot across Google's bow. No doubt that the tech media will stay on the story this week as it continues to play out.
Food for thought: 8 Signs of Tech PR Firm #FAIL
Awards/Editorial Opportunities
Top Free Mobile Apps (PC Magazine)
We contacted PC Magazine about their June issue "Top Free Mobile Apps" item. For an app to be considered it must be FREE (not a teaser or limited functionality app). The story is being researched until May, and any submissions should be directed to Sasha Segan and Sean Ludwig.
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,2337140,00.asp
Inc. 500 | 5000 (Inc. Magazine)
Inc.'s 500 | 5000 recognize top private companies. To be eligible, a company must have been in business by March 31, 2006, must have had at least $100,000 in revenue in 2006, must have generated more than $2 million in revenue in 2009, and must be privately held and based in the U.S. The nomination form is currently live. The final deadline is April 30, 2010.
http://www.inc.com/inc5000apply/2010/?partner=i5k-outreach
Worldwide Partner Conference Awards (Microsoft)
At its annual Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft recognizes 28 categories for vendors that have built solutions using Microsoft technologies. The nomination form is currently live. The submission deadline is April 2, 2010.
http://digitalwpc.com/Awards
Hardware/Software Co-Design Contest (IEEE)
At the IEEE MEMOCODE event, an Intel R&D executive is coordinating a special challenge. As described by semiconductor industry blogger George Harper: "On the first day, a problem is published with a reference design. Participating teams get a month to improve the performance of the reference design - the solutions with the most speedup win." The contest ends 12 AM EST April 1, 2010. See the FAQ for details. While more of the teams tend to hail from academia, companies are encouraged to participate as well.
http://memocode2010.csail.mit.edu/redmine/wiki/memocode2010/Memocode2010
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Technology and Innovation Awards (San Francisco Business Times)
Categories include: best CEO at a big company (companies with revenue over $100 million), best CEO at a small company (companies with revenue under $100 million), best venture capitalist (individual, not firm), best startup (less than three years old), best gaming / entertainment company, best Internet advertising / marketing company, best security company, best social media company, best mobile application or service, best gadget or product, best business application or service. Emily Fancher, special publications editor, is an appropriate contact with any questions.
http://sanfrancisco.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/bol_survey/
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Nextgov Awards (Nextgov)
The Nextgov awards recognize government executives with notable IT achievements.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov_awards/
Speaking Opportunities
TechCrunch Disrupt
May 24 - 26, 2010
New York, NY
TechCrunch Disrupt will address tech and new media trends with panel sessions, as well as showcase startups via a tournament-style competition called the "Startup Battlefield." For the Startup Battlefield, while the deadline for applications is March 26, 2010, applications will be reviewed as they come in - so better to get your bid in sooner rather than later.
Speaking Info: There will also be limited opportunities for startups to present during the morning sessions. Applications “For Show” will be considered through Monday, March 15, 2010.
http://disrupt.techcrunch.com/
Web 2.0 Summit
November 15 - 17, 2010
San Francisco, CA
From its very first year, the Web 2.0 event seemed to be competing with TED to officially be the most pretentious event, dressed up with "request an invitation" reverse psychology registration tactics (hint: anyone that pays can get in) and "speakers are by invitation only" exclusivity posturing. Pomp aside, there are always a lot of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and tech authors at Web 2.0, and the networking opportunities are typically rich.
Speaking Info: The call for speakers is live. No deadline is specified.
http://www.web2summit.com/web2010
4G World
October 19 - 21, 2010
Chicago, IL
4G World - produced by Trendsmedia (the events division of Yankee Group) provides a roadmap for wireless industry professionals planning their 4G technology deployment and business strategies.
Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 31, 2010.
http://4gworld.com/
Agile Software Development Practices - East
November 14 - 19, 2010
Orlando, FL
Agile Software Development Practices - produced by Software Quality Engineering - aims to address agile "methods, technologies, tools, and leadership principles."
Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 29, 2010.
http://www.sqe.com/adpeast/Splash.aspx
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: BPM Europe (Business Process Management Conference)
September 27 - 29, 2010
London, UK
BPM Europe - produced by IRM UK and BPTrends - aims to address a range of BPM topics, including implementation, governance, etc.
Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 8, 2010.
http://www.irmuk.co.uk/bpm2010/index.cfm
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: JavaOne
September 19 - 23, 2010
San Francisco, CA
With Oracle's acquisition of Sun, the fate of Java and MySQL will certainly be the hot-button topic at this year's JavaOne event. Other than TheServerSide Java Symposium, there really is no other big Java event. Could this be the swan song for JavaOne (will it be subsumed by OracleWorld)?
Speaking Info: The call for papers closes on March 14, 2010.
http://java.sun.com/javaone/
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: OFC/NFOEC
March 21 - 25, 2010
San Diego, CA
OFC/NFOEC (Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition plus the National Fiber Optic Engineers Conference) targets optical communications & networking professionals. IEEE Communications Society, IEEE Photonics Society and The Optical Society produce the event.
Speaking Info: While this event is happening in just a few weeks, organizers are accepting "postdeadline" submissions up to March 10, 2010.
http://www.ofcnfoec.org/
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: ConnectivityWeek
May 24 - 27, 2010
Santa Clara, CA
ConnectivityWeek - produced by Clasma Events - is a group of co-located events that aim to address the application of IT to energy issues. ConnectivityWeek "Enablers" events focus on the technology. ConnectivityWeek "Vertical Venues" events focus on the application of technology to four broad markets: buildings, homes, industrial facilities, and infrastructure.
Speaking Info: The call for speakers closes March 12, 2010.
http://www.connectivityweek.com/2010/
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Antenna Systems Conference
October 19 - 20, 2010
Dallas, TX
Antenna Systems Conference - produced by Webcom Communications (publisher of Antenna Systems and Technology magazine) - aims to address developments in antenna systems and technology.
Speaking Info: The call for presentations closes March 12, 2010.
http://www.antennasonline.com/AST-Conf10/ast10_index.php
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: Thermal Management & Technology Symposium
October 19 - 20, 2010
Dallas, TX
Thermal Management & Technology Symposium, co-located with Antenna Systems Conference and several other conferences, targets design engineers, system engineers, process engineers, material scientists/engineers and CTOs and R&D managers "whose products, operations and services depend upon sophisticated and precise control of thermal properties and states."
Speaking Info: The call for presentations closes March 12, 2010.
http://www.thermalnews.com/conf_10/TN10_index.php
FINAL DEADLINE REMINDER: ESC Boston (Embedded Systems Conference)
September 20 - 23, 2010
Boston, MA
Produced by TechInsights (publisher of Embedded Systems Design and EE Times), ESC targets engineers, engineering managers, and executives in the electronics industry.
Speaking Info: The call for papers closes March 9, 2010.
http://esc-boston.techinsightsevents.com/
Sam Whitmore on Fortune and BusinessWeek's Potentially Historic Redesigns
Print media, like twilight, will shine brilliantly this Spring. Fortune's March 4 issue reflects a redesign that emphasizes useful editorial, with new sections on venture capital and career enhancement. BusinessWeek is saying less about its April makeover, except to imply that the new BW will offer hard-hitting news and will showcase Bloomberg's global resources. Take off your hat and salute because the way things are going online, these may be the last print redesigns ever for these two venerable titles.

Sam Whitmore is the founder and editor of Sam Whitmore's Media Survey (SWMS), a tech media analysis service designed to help PR pros win coverage. For a free trial, visit the site at www.mediasurvey.com.
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