Twitter’s Chief Lawyer Defends Free Speech With Revenue in Mind

The following is an excerpt from an article in 

The New York Times
Monday, September 03, 2012

Twitter’s Chief Lawyer Defends Free Speech With Revenue in Mind

By SOMINI SENGUPTA

SAN FRANCISCO — Alexander Macgillivray, Twitter’s chief lawyer, says that fighting for free speech is more than a good idea. He thinks it is a competitive advantage for his company.

That conviction explains why he spends so much of Twitter’s time and money going toe to toe with officers and apparatchiks both here and abroad. Last week, his legal team was fighting a court order to extract an Occupy Wall Street protester’s Twitter posts. The week before, the team wrestled with Indian government officials seeking to take down missives they considered inflammatory. Last year, Mr. Macgillivray challenged the Justice Department in its hunt for WikiLeaks supporters who used Twitter to communicate.

“We value the reputation we have for defending and respecting the user’s voice,” Mr. Macgillivray said in an interview here at Twitter headquarters. “We think it’s important to our company and the way users think about whether to use Twitter, as compared to other services.”

It doesn’t always work. And it sometimes collides awkwardly with another imperative Twitter faces: to turn its fire hose of public opinion into a profitable business. That imperative will become far more acute if the company goes public, and Twitter confronts pressures to make money fast and play nice with the governments of countries in which it operates; most Twitter users live outside the United States and the company is already opening offices overseas.

That transformation makes his job all the more delicate. At a time when Internet companies control so much of what we can say and do online, can Twitter stand up for privacy, free expression and profitability all at the same time?

“They are going to have to monetize the data that they have and they can’t rock the boat maybe,” said Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington. “I don’t predict Twitter is going to lose its way, but it’s a moment to watch.”

Jonathan Zittrain, one of his former professors at Harvard Law School, called it both a challenge and opportunity for Mr. Macgillivray, widely known as @amac, his handle on Twitter, and one that could influence the Internet industry at large.

“If @amac can help find a path through it, it may serve as a model for corporate responsibility for an Internet where more and more code and content is governed by corporate gatekeepers,” Mr. Zittrain said via e-mail.

He added that the challenge for Mr. Macgillivray “is not only to pioneer a wise way through this thicket, but to implement it as Twitter’s use continues to explode: it’s complex maintenance on a jet engine while the plane is in flight.”

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

Ingram Micro Enables U.S. Channel Partners' Growth Initiatives With Increases in Credit Limits

Press release from Ingram Micro:

Ingram Micro Enables U.S. Channel Partners' Growth Initiatives With Increases in Credit Limits

Aug 28, 2012 (Marketwire via COMTEX) --Leveraging the expertise of its credit analysts and propensity studies developed by its Business Intelligence Center (BIC), Ingram Micro Inc. (NYSE:IM) today announced it's helping its U.S.-based channel partners drive growth in the SMB and consumer electronics markets by increasing the credit lines of more than 680 pre-qualified U.S.-based solution providers and managed service providers (MSPs). Collectively the increases account for more than $8 million in available credit and were awarded to a select group of more than 500 pre-qualified channel partners who primarily sell to small and mid-size businesses (SMBs), as well as 175 high-potential channel partners focused on the consumer electronics (CE) space. The chosen partners were identified through a collaborative and thorough vetting process conducted by Ingram Micro's credit analysts, BIC team and sales. "Gaining access to working capital is a challenge for many channel partners -- especially those who are focused on meeting the business technology needs of today's growing SMBs," says Jamie Ferullo, director of sales, SMB, Ingram Micro U.S. "By identifying high-potential partners and extending them greater credit limits, we're helping to remove one of the biggest barriers to earning new and incremental business, and further enabling their success." Within the first few weeks of receiving increases to their credit lines, hundreds of Ingram Micro channel partners have experienced increases in revenue growth and expansion in their sales pipelines. "We had a very large project that needed to be financed and rolled out within a short period of time," says leading system integrator Brian Hogan, president of New England Systems and Software. "The willingness of Ingram Micro and its credit team to work with us helped immensely, and the increased credit line and short approval time allowed us to meet our schedule and come in on budget." Craig Raubenheimer, owner of Boston-based MSP Roan Solutions Inc., also reports immediate gains from the recent Ingram Micro credit limits, and calls Ingram Micro a strategic business partner who understands the needs of his business, and knows what it takes to help his business grow. "By automatically increasing our credit lines, Ingram Micro has opened the door to new sales opportunities that are having a direct and positive impact on our business revenues, and certainly positions us to better meet the financial needs of our customers moving forward," says Raubenheimer. In addition to increasing the credit lines for hundreds of SMB and CE-focused partners, Ingram Micro continues to invest in its team of credit analysts. All Ingram Micro channel partners in the U.S. have a dedicated Ingram Micro credit analyst to support their business. Ingram Micro Credit Analysts understand the industry landscape and have a proven track record for consulting with channel partners to identify the best financing options and secure additional credit as needed. "Growing a business is no easy task," says David Maffucci, president and director of technology for Visionary Computer, an Apple Specialist and Premium Service Provider located in Connecticut who has nearly doubled its sales in the last 12 months. "We needed to identify flexible financing options and get a dramatic increase in our available credit, fast. Thanks to the ongoing support from Ingram Micro and the recent increase to our credit line, we now have the purchasing power and resources a small business like ours needs to prosper and succeed." Channel partners who are interested in speaking to an Ingram Micro credit analyst and want to learn more about the financing options available to them should contact their Ingram Micro sales representative, dedicated credit analyst or the Ingram Micro credit department at (716) 616-4000. More information about Ingram Micro is available at www.ingrammicro.com andhttp://ingrammicroinc.wordpress.com. To learn, see and hear more about Ingram Micro online, follow the distributor on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/IngramMicro; Twitter at www.twitter.com/IngramMicroInc; and YouTube athttp://www.youtube.com/user/ingrammicroinc. About Ingram Micro Inc. As a vital link in the technology value chain, Ingram Micro creates sales and profitability opportunities for vendors and resellers through unique marketing programs, outsourced logistics, technical and financial support, managed and cloud-based services, and product aggregation and distribution. The company is the only global broad-based IT distributor, serving more than 145 countries on six continents with the world's most comprehensive portfolio of IT products and services. Visit www.ingrammicro.com.

HCA, Giant Hospital Chain, Creates a Windfall for Private Equity

The following is an excerpt from an article in 

The New York Times
Wednesday, August 15, 2012

HCA, Giant Hospital Chain, Creates a Windfall for Private Equity

By JULIE CRESWELL and REED ABELSON

During the Great Recession, when many hospitals across the country were nearly brought to their knees by growing numbers of uninsured patients, one hospital system not only survived — it thrived.

In fact, profits at the health care industry giant HCA, which controls 163 hospitals from New Hampshire to California, have soared, far outpacing those of most of its competitors.

The big winners have been three private equity firms — including Bain Capital, co-founded by Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate — that bought HCA in late 2006.

HCA’s robust profit growth has raised the value of the firms’ holdings to nearly three and a half times their initial investment in the $33 billion deal.

The financial performance has been so impressive that HCA has become a model for the industry. Its success inspired 35 buyouts of hospitals or chains of facilities in the last two and a half years by private equity firms eager to repeat that windfall.

HCA’s emergence as a powerful leader in the hospital industry is all the more remarkable because only a decade ago the company was badly shaken by a wide-ranging Medicare fraud investigation that it eventually settled for more than $1.7 billion.

Among the secrets to HCA’s success: It figured out how to get more revenue from private insurance companies, patients and Medicare by billing much more aggressively for its services than ever before; it found ways to reduce emergency room overcrowding and expenses; and it experimented with new ways to reduce the cost of its medical staff, a move that sometimes led to conflicts with doctors and nurses over concerns about patient care.

In late 2008, for instance, HCA changed the billing codes it assigned to sick and injured patients who came into the emergency rooms. Almost overnight, the numbers of patients who HCA said needed more care, which would be paid for at significantly higher levels by Medicare, surged.

HCA, which had lagged the industry for those high-paying categories, jumped ahead of its competitors and was reimbursed accordingly. The change, which HCA’s executives said better reflected the service being provided, increased operating earnings by nearly $100 million in the first quarter of 2009.

To some, HCA successfully pushed the envelope in its interpretation of existing Medicare rules. “If HCA can do it, why can’t we?” asked a hospital consulting firm, the Advisory Board Company, in a presentation to its clients.

In one instance, HCA executives said a private insurer, which it declined to name, questioned the new billing system, forcing it to return some of the money it had collected.

The hospital giant also adopted a policy meant to address an issue that bedevils hospitals nationwide — reducing costs and overcrowding in its emergency rooms. For years, the hospital emergency room has been used by the uninsured as a de facto doctor’s office — a place for even the most minor of ailments. But emergency care is expensive and has become increasingly burdensome to hospitals in the last decade because of the rising number of uninsured patients.

HCA decided not to treat patients who came in with nonurgent conditions, like a cold or the flu or even a sprained wrist, unless those patients paid in advance. In a recent statement, HCA said that of the six million patients treated in its emergency rooms last year, 80,000, or about 1.3 percent, “ chose to seek alternative care options.”

“Many E.R.’s in America, particularly in densely populated urban areas where most HCA-affiliated facilities are located, have adopted a variety of systems to determine whether a patient in fact needs emergency care,” the statement said. “About half our hospitals have done so. Typically, our affiliated hospitals have two caregivers — usually a triage nurse and a physician — make that determination. It should be noted that other non-HCA affiliated hospitals are using similar processes to address E.R. issues.”

As HCA’s profits and influence grew, strains arose with doctors and nurses over whether the chain’s pursuit of profit may have, at times, come at the expense of patient care.

HCA had put in place a flexible staffing system that allowed it to estimate the number of patients it would have each day in its hospitals and alter the number of nurses it needed accordingly.

Several nurses interviewed said they were concerned that the system sometimes had led to inadequate staffing in important areas like critical care. In one measure of adequate staffing — the prevalence of bedsores in patients bedridden for long periods of time — HCA clearly struggled. Some of its hospitals fended off lawsuits over the problem in recent years, and were admonished by regulators over staffing issues more than once.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

Checkpoint Systems wins prestigious industry award with Nano Gate™

Monday, March 19, 2012

Checkpoint Systems wins prestigious industry award with Nano Gate™

Checkpoint Systems, a global leader in high-theft solutions has been honoured with a prestigious industry award by readers of the German publication, Handelsjournal.

Checkpoint scooped the “Best Retail Product” award in the economic efficiency category for its Alpha Nano Gate antenna, a small gate that offers big protection against theft. The award celebrates the industry’s most inventive products and services designed to help retailers increase sales, improve profitability and enhance operations.

Nano Gate is an innovative, small security antenna, which can be easily installed in retail stores, in “unprotected zones” where thieves tend to hide or attempt to remove security devices. Nano Gate works together with Checkpoint’s Alpha^® 3 Alarm™ technology products, extending their reach and enhancing their value, while serving as a comprehensive security solution.

Wolfgang Meltzner, store manager of A.T.U in Cologne-Mülheim, who has used Nano Gate in his outlets, commented: “When high-priced motor oils and tools began to disappear from our shelves, we decided to do something about it. We began using Nano Gate in our stores together with matching Alpha components. From the first day, we not only noticed the deterrent aspect, we also saw a decrease in shoplifting, which is what we hoped for.”

Commenting on the award win, Kai Beilenhoff, Vice President for Alpha Europe at Checkpoint Systems, added: “Nano Gate offers an innovative and easy-to-implement solution for securing high-theft products. It has already paid dividends for many retailers around the globe and we’re delighted to have won this award. Our nomination reaffirms that Checkpoint is meeting the retail industry’s requirements for robust anti-theft solutions.”

Available since early 2011, Nano Gate has an aesthically pleasing design and is simple to install. Nano Gate triggers Alpha’s 3 Alarm technology, preventing thieves from taking retailers’ high-risk merchandise into restrooms, emergency exits, elevators, fitting rooms, or similar unprotected areas within their stores. Merchandise protected with 3 Alarm technology alerts retail staff when products are being tampered with in-store. It activates an Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) alarm when unpaid merchandise leaves a store and starts a continuous alarming for five minutes when stolen merchandise has left the store. Most thieves end up dropping the stolen merchandise and running away.

Nano Gate is particularly suitable for small retailers who do not have a traditional EAS system installed but still want to protect their high-theft items. It enables store operators to maintain an attractive, consumer-oriented shopping environment while ensuring that merchandise is kept secure. For large retail stores using EAS, Nano Gate provides additional security to prevent goods from being readily moved from proposed sale areas into other sections of the store.