Alternative open source option in SA

Mirror ERPM has introduced an "alternative form of open source" for business solution providers in SA. Mirror Enterprise Resource Planning & Management software consists of a range of generic modules such as accounting and payroll, but with the option to develop client-specific add-on modules that integrate with the generic modules.

Mirror ERPM was built up from ground level, and after five years of development and user-feedback, it claims a broad client base, ranging from micro enterprises to state departments. TOOL and other modules of Mirror ERPM are available for download from www.mirrorsa.co.za.

IBM and Cisco Systems will team up to offer a voice over IP (VOIP) service to corporations that buy telephone services over the Internet.

Forbes.com reports that IBM will jointly market its consulting services with Cisco`s voice, video and conference solutions because it wants to help develop the nascent market.

Calls made using VOIP are converted to data and carried over data networks, making them less expensive than traditional phone services, which use a single dedicated line for each call.

While VOIP has been around for years, recent advancements in network technology have made it an attractive alternative to regular phone services for a growing number of customers.

Reuters reports that Lexar Media will sell its memory cards, the digital equivalent of film, under the Eastman Kodak brand name, expanding the distribution of Lexar`s products.

A full line of Kodak-brand memory cards will be launched during the 2004 fourth quarter, including Secure Digital (SD), Mini-SD, CompactFlash and other digital recording formats.

The agreement may help Lexar in its battle against rival memory maker Sandisk. Shares of both companies have tumbled in the past month amid concerns about profit margins after Sandisk said it would aggressively cut prices.

Fast-growing digital camera sales will fuel retail sales of more than 100 million memory cards with a retail sales value of more than $4 billion, Lexar and Kodak said.

The Inquirer says crime rings are using online recruiting sites to advertise for innocent people who they want to launder dirty money. The site quotes a New York Times report which said an organised bunch of credit card thieves used the Monster.com site to hire some money launderers and then left their "employees" on the hook for thousands of dollars in debt when the scam was uncovered.

The paper cites the case of one law student who took a telecommuting job processing payments for a European software company. Her job was to accept payment for domestic sales, take that cash out of her PayPal account and wire it, via Western Union, to the company`s contacts in the Ukraine. Under the deal she got to keep 5% to 20% as a commission.

But, after a month she found her PayPal account had been shut down because of fraudulent activity.