PayPal has agreed to the U.S. government $10 million to settle allegations that it knowingly transferred funds to unlawful offshore gambling sites. The U.S. Department of Justice and the online payment service, now owned by eBay, said that they had entered into the settlement agreement. The government asserted that PayPal had violated the USA Patriot Act and the Wire Wager Act by providing services to offshore sites in violation of 18 U.S. Code 1960, which prohibits transmitting funds "derived from a criminal offense," and 18 U.S. Code 1084, which relates to the transmission of information about wagers. PayPal also agreed to maintain a corporate compliance program for at least two years. When eBay acquired PayPal last October, it halted the practice of processing online gambling payments.

Sprint has unveiled a Windows Mobile-based PCS phone Microsoft Windows computing environment and the ability to communicate and connect to the Internet in a single, converged device, that combines the Pocket PC Phone Edition operating system with Sprint's nationwide network and all the capabilities of a PCS phone. The $650 price tag for the device may limit its appeal to a segment of the mobile market. This new handheld comes with an integrated rotating camera, built-in QWERTY keyboard and complete wireless phone and is packaged with a USB cradle, AC adapter, travel charger and case with belt clip. So you can now take the office with you, leave the laptop behind and be productive on a single device.  Users of the converged device can conduct a telephone conversation by holding the handheld to their head, by using the built-in speakerphone or by using an earpiece that is sold separately.

Microsoft plans to spend nearly $7 billion on research and development in the current fiscal year and will add as many as 5,000 jobs, including at least 3,000 in the United States.  Microsoft expects to focus on new devices, from Internet-enabled watches to advanced mobile phone software and Tablet PC platforms that can draw information from several sources and recently reported that two of the biggest cable companies in the United States plan to test-drive its set-top box software. Some of the improved functionality coming to the Tablet, such as the ability to share personal calendars with family members or friends via Microsoft's MSN online service, was also reported on.

Just about everyone uses Google to search the Web; but not everyone knows all of the things that Google can do.  You can use Google as a U.S. telephone directory.  How?  Type "phonebook:" followed by the last name and two-letter state abbreviation in the Google search field. (The search returns a maximum of about 600 hits, so to find names that are fairly common; you'll have to help it out by providing a city or a first name.) If you type rphonebook:, you will get only residential listings; if you type bphonebook:, you'll get only business listings. (Don't leave out the colon after "phonebook.") You can even use this feature as a reverse directory. Type phonebook: (area code) (number), and Google will (usually) give you the name of the person who has that number.   There are special syntaxes you can use to narrow your Google search.  If you're researching an academic subject, type site: edu into the search window, and you'll restrict your hits to colleges and universities. It is also possible to search Google for a particular file type, such as a Microsoft Word document or an Adobe Acrobat file. Google also has a built-in dictionary. After you've done a search, search terms appear near the top of the page of results. Click on an underlined word, and Google will give you its definition; another click activates a thesaurus. Another useful enhancement to Google is Google Alert (www.googlealert.com). You enter your search terms, and the site, which is not affiliated with Google, automatically runs a Google search every day and e-mails the new results to you.

A recent Gartner study predicts that one out of every 10 jobs at information technology companies and at companies that provide IT services may move to emerging markets and that one out of every 20 jobs within internal IT departments will shift overseas by the end of 2004. Offshore outsourcing is becoming a tool for improving service delivery and a source of highly qualified talent in greater numbers in countries such as India, Ireland and China where there exists large numbers of highly trained software and hardware engineers and lower development costs. While outsourcing may lead to lower costs, businesses must realize that it could also lead to a loss of talent, intellectual property and overall organizational performance.

Barnes & Noble, the top U.S. books retailer, reported that it has agreed to pay $164 million to buy a stake that German media firm Bertelsmann AG has decided to sell in its online subsidiary.   Barnes & Noble launched Barnes&Noble.com in May 1997 after operating a Web site on the America Online Web site for a few months. Late in 1998 Bertelsmann paid $200 million to partner with Barnes&Noble.com and continued to jointly invest in the online venture. 

PROCUREMENT AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

The following is a listing of recently published technology procurement or Federally funded opportunities with various governmental entities.  We hope our readers take the opportunity to investigate these postings and increase their business:

Federal Procurements:

USAF - Air Force Materiel Command
ESC - Electronic Systems Center
70--Intel Based 2-U Servers
RFP Program Files 02 http://www.eps.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/ESC/FA8770%2D03%2DR%2D0086/listing.html

USAF - Air Force Materiel Command
AFRL -  Rome Research Site
A -- Advanced Information Extraction (ADIE) Research, Development and Transition Solicitation 01
http://www.eps.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFRLRRS/F30602%2D03%2DR%2D0002/listing.html

DLA - Logistics Operations
Procurement Technical Assistance Program - GMU
U -- RESCHEDULED - SBLO Training Conference RESCHEDULED November 3 and 4, 2003 Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/DLA/J3/PTAC%2DGMU/1103042003/listing.html

DISA - Acquisition Directorate
DITCO-Scott
D--INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, INCLUDING COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES Synopsis
http://www.eps.gov/spg/DISA/D4AD/DITCO/VARIOUS%2D29%2DJul%2D2003/listing.html

Source:  www.eps.gov

FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Department of Defense (DoD)
The Advanced Range Telemetry Joint Program Office of Edwards AFB, Calif., is soliciting proposals for research in the area of Test and Evaluation telemetry operation in the 3-30 GHz frequency range. The goal is to develop, demonstrate and evaluate technology components and capabilities necessary to enable DoD flight and ground test telemetry operation in the SHF band. Approximately $1.5 million in awards is expected to be made in FY 2004. Small businesses, academia and government agencies are encouraged to submit proposals. Abstracts are due by August 22, 2003. More information is available at: http://www.eps.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFFTC/PRDA00-04-C-1PKD/listing.html

The APG Directorate of Contracting, U.S. Army Contracting Agency intends to solicit offers for the prototype development of a Remote Battery Monitor. The system concept is to develop a capability to monitor the state of vehicular battery condition and to provide a wireless link to a monitoring station or control room to display the data on a real-time basis. This acquisition will be a 100 percent small business set-aside. The full solicitation will be released on or about August 11, 2003, with a closing date on or about September 10, 2003. More information is available at: http://www.eps.gov/spg/USA/DABJ/DABJ05/DABJ05-03-R-0015/listing.html

The Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense, is soliciting proposals for advanced development and maturation of technologies to support test and evaluation of directed energy weapon systems. Approximately $1.5 million in awards are expected to be made in FY 2004. This is an unrestricted solicitation; full and open competition is expected. Proposals are due by October 24, 2003. More information is available at: http://www.eps.gov/spg/USAF/DRU/AFOTECRMC/BAA-04-01-RMC/listing.html

Source:  www.ssti.org