Cognizant to acquire US-based Trizetto for about $2.7 billion.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp (CTSH.O) struck its biggest deal on Monday, acquiring healthcare IT services provider TriZetto Corp for $2.7 billion to beef up its slowing healthcare business.

Shares of the company, which is buying TriZetto from London-based private equity firm Apax Partners LLP, rose nearly 3 percent in premarket trading.

Cognizant's healthcare business, which accounted for about 26 percent of total revenue in 2013, has declined in the last three quarters.

The company provides services such as claims processing, billing and call center operations to insurers, hospitals and some state-run healthcare exchanges set up under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

TriZetto provides information technology services, including care management and the administration of benefits. The company said it reaches 245,000 healthcare providers, representing more than half of the insured population in the United States.

Englewood, Colorado-based TriZetto is the latest U.S. healthcare IT services provider to be acquired as payers and providers of healthcare seek new ways to cut costs.

"Healthcare is undergoing structural shifts due to reform, cost pressure and shifting responsibilities between payers and providers," Cognizant CEO Francisco D'Souza said in a statement.

"This creates a significant growth opportunity, which TriZetto will help us capture."

The company in August forecast its slowest full-year sales growth in its 20-year history.

Cognizant, whose rivals include Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS.NS) and Infosys Ltd (INFY.NS), said it expected revenue synergies of $1.5 billion over the next five years from the deal.

The company said the deal would immediately add to adjusted profit on closing, expected in the quarter ending December.

Apax Partners, which acquired TriZetto in 2008, was exploring a sale of the company, sources told Reuters in August.

TriZetto had 12-month earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of more than $190 million as of June 30, one of the sources had then said.

Cognizant said on Monday it would fund the deal through a combination of cash and debt and had secured $1 billion in financing.

The deal comes after private equity firms Silver Lake Partners LP and BC Partners Ltd sold health insurance claims processor MultiPlan Inc for $4.4 billion in March to a consortium led by Maurice "Hank" Greenberg's buyout firm Starr Investment Holdings LLC.

Credit Suisse, UBS Securities LLC and Centerview Partners advised Cognizant, while J.P.Morgan Securities LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co advised TriZetto.

Cognizant's shares closed at $44.76 on the Nasdaq on Friday.

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Google, Microsoft to add "kill switches" to phones

SAN FRANCISCO – Google and Microsoft will add kill switches to the next versions of their cell phone operating systems, according to San Francisco district attorney George Gascón.

The move is seen as a major step towards making smart phones and other easily-stolen devices such as tablets less of a theft risk.

Gascón made the announcement on Thursday together with New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman. Together they head the Secure Our Smartphones Initiative, which has pushed for kill switches on phones.

"The commitments of Google and Microsoft are giant steps toward consumer safety and the statistics released today illustrate the stunning effectiveness of kill switches," Schneiderman said.

The Google operating system, Android, is used in more than half of U.S. smartphones. Microsoft's operating system is used on Nokia smartphones.

Apple added an activation lock feature to iPhones in September. iPhone robberies declined 38% over the next six months, figures released by the initiative showed.

"We can make the violent epidemic of smartphone theft a thing of the past, and these numbers prove that," said Gascón.

In New York City, robberies and grand larcenies involving Apple products dropped 19% and 29% in the first five months of 2014, according to a report released Thursday.

At the same time, robberies and grand larcenies from Samsung smartphones in New York City increased by over 40%. Samsung introduced a kill switch solution in April of 2014 on its Verizon Wireless devices.

Kill switches allow users to remotely erase data from a stolen phone as well as making it inoperable.

When engaged, they transform something that might have a street value of several hundred dollars into a worthless paperweight.

If the phone is recovered, the data can be restored and the phone turned back on.

Together, Apple, Google and Microsoft account for 97% of smartphones sold in the United States, Schneiderman said.

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Samsung may unveil 'watch-phone' as early as June - WSJ

The new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone (L), Gear 2 smartwatch (C) and Gear Fit fitness band are displayed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona February 23, 2014.

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is developing a smartwatch that can make or receive calls without having to be tethered to a mobile phone, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of smartphones, is in discussions with unidentified U.S., Korean and European telecommunications carriers about a so-called "watch-phone" that it hopes to unveil between June and July, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the company's plans.

The current crop of smartwatches, such as Samsung's own Galaxy Gear, have to be linked to a phone to receive and send messages and perform other basic functions.

But the proposed watch-phone, which will run on Samsung's Tizen operating software, can take photos and handle email independently and will come equipped with a heart monitor, the newspaper reported.

Samsung declined to comment.

Major technology companies such as Apple Inc, Google Inc and Samsung are expected to be in a race to market wearable computing devices, like watches, to consumers this year.

It is unclear how much demand there is for gadgets such as smart glasses or watches, but industry insiders consider them to be the next phase in an increasingly saturated mobile device market.

(Reporting by San Francisco Newsroom; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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As Amazon looms, Flipkart and Snapdeal strike $400 million in deals

A parcel moves on the conveyor belt at Amazon's logistics centre in Graben near Augsburg December 16, 2013.

(Reuters) - With Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) ramping up its presence in India, two local online retailers are preparing for tougher competition with separate deals worth a combined $400 million set to be finalised this week.

Flipkart, India's largest online retailer, is expected on Thursday to announce its acquisition of a majority stake in online fashion retailer Myntra in a deal worth about $300 million, said an official from Myntra who did not want to be named as he was not authorised to speak with the media.

In a separate deal, local online retailer Snapdeal has raised $100 million from five investors, a company official said on Wednesday. The deal will be announced in a few days, he said.

The Snapdeal investors include Temasek Holdings, an official with the Singapore state investor said.

The two deals come after Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, last year slashed prices and rolled-out next-day delivery in a bid to win market share in India's fast-growing e-commerce industry.

"Amazon is scaling up .... much faster than expected and that is forcing everyone from retailers to investors in these companies to re-think," said Ashish Jhalani, founder of e-tailing India, a retail consultancy.

"The sentiment here at the moment is about survival, it's about now or never," he said.

Bangalore-based Flipkart, set up by two ex-Amazon employees in 2007, has sought to grow its presence in the online fashion segment, a category where Myntra is the market leader.

Tiger Global Management and Accel Partners are investors in both Flipkart and Myntra.

Flipkart and Myntra declined to comment.

Snapdeal, an online marketplace that facilitates transactions between third party suppliers and customers, is set to complete its second round of funding this year by raising $100 million, the company official said.

The official declined to be named and did not provide details. Snapdeal Chief Executive Officer Kunal Bahl was not immediately available for comment.

The Economic Times newspaper, citing an unnamed source, reported on Tuesday that other investors in Snapdeal included BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) and Hong Kong-based Myriad Asset Management. Myriad declined to comment and BlackRock did not respond to a request for comment.

The Indian e-commerce market was worth $13 billion in 2013, according to a joint report by KPMG and the Internet and Mobile Association of India, with online travel accounting for over 70 percent of consumer e-commerce transactions last year.

Online sales of retail goods totaled $1.6 billion in 2013, according to research firm Forrester, and are expected to reach $76 billion by 2021, according to consultancy Technopak.

By comparison, China's business to consumer e-commerce sales may surpass $180 billion this year, with industry leader Alibaba (IPO-ALIB.N) readying an initial public offering (IPO) worth more than $15 billion.

(Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar in SINGAPORE and Nishant Kumar in HONG KONG; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Tony Munroe and Mark Potter)

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Windows 9 in 2015: Desperation Isn't Pretty

Yes, Windows 8's been a failure. It's been worse than Vista. But is the solution really to push out a new operating system in double-quick time?

Seriously, Microsoft? You want to get Windows 9 -- Windows freakin' 9 -- out in 2015?
I get that you want to distance yourself from the Windows 8.x train wreck. Who wouldn't? But by upgrading Windows on a consumer pace, aren't you taking a big chance that your enterprise customers will turn their backs on you? I mean, companies want desktop operating systems they can rely on for three to five years, not three to five seasons.
Let's start with some fundamentals. As Paul Thurrott, senior technical analyst for Windows IT Pro and the boss of Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows, put it, " Windows 8 is tanking harder than Microsoft is comfortable discussing in public." According to Thurrott, the free upgrade Windows 8.1, which offers major improvements over Windows 8, is installed on fewer than 25 million PCs. "That's a disaster," he wrote. Windows 9 (as it's expected to be designated; Threshold is the code name for now) "will need to strike a better balance between meeting the needs of over a billion traditional PC users" and enticing users to a Windows experience on new types of personal computing devices. "In short, it needs to be everything that Windows 8 is not."
That's not me, Mr. Linux, talking. That's a dyed-in-the-wool Windows expert and supporter speaking.
What Thurrott doesn't mention in that essay is how Microsoft is also facing serious competition on the desktop for the first time in decades. People love Chromebooks. Adding insult to injury, the two biggest PC OEMs, in the world, Lenovo and HP, are shipping Android-powered PCs, and AMD and Intel are supporting architectures that will let OEMs build dual Android/Windows systems.
That's four of what once were Microsoft's staunchest allies. The Intel move is especially significant. If you hadn't realized it before, you should know by now: Wintel is pushing up daisies; it's pining for the fjords; it's an ex-alliance.
And bringing out a new operating system will somehow change this? I understand that radical change is needed to get Microsoft back on track after the Windows 8 derailment, but I'm afraid the company is only going to further alienate its once locked-in customer base.
The company will be asking home users and CIOs to make yet another jump to yet another desktop experience in rapid succession. I don't think they're going to follow Microsoft again.
As it is, an alarming number are still hanging on to Windows XP or Windows 7 tooth and nail. When those folks do move, they seem more likely to move to smartphones, tablets or Chromebooks.
So what should Microsoft do? I think it should pull a page from its past. In 2008, Linux netbooks started carving into Windows' market share. Back then, Vista was the dead whale on the beach that no one wanted stinking up their offices. So the boys from Redmond brought XP back from the grave and gave it away to OEMs.
They can't do that now. XP is more than 12 years old at this point, and it's creaking too much for one more curtain call.
What Microsoft could do, though, is overhaul Windows 7. Users don't want Windows 8's "Metro" interface, but they do still want Windows 7, with its Aero interface.
So why not give it to them? Maybe Microsoft can't bring itself to abandon Metro just yet. Fine. Just make it an option, not a requirement. I'll bet users will flock back to a Windows that feels like "real" Windows to them.
Yes, it will be embarrassing, but which would you rather be, Microsoft? Red-faced, or fading to irrelevance in a world where Windows is no longer the dominant end-user operating system?
Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was cutting-edge and 300bit/sec. was a fast Internet connection -- and we liked it! He can be reached at sjvn@vna1.com.

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Google Voice Search hotword detection extension comes to Chrome

Saying 'OK Google' will now get your Nexus phone and your computer ready for input

Google is first and foremost a search company, so we can never act surprised when they extend functionality of their search platform. That's what we're seeing today, with the release of a new Chrome Extension that enables the OK Google hotword detection via your computer microphone while on the Google Search page.

Using it should be familiar — say "OK Google," followed by a string to search for or a command. Things like setting timers or asking math problems seem to work well, and we have no doubt folks will soon discover all manner of cool things you can do here — like barrel rolls.

Getting it is easy enough. You'll need a microphone, and Google Chrome on your computer. Then justvisit the Chrome Store and install the extension. Have fun, and try to be at least a little productive, OK?

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iOS Virtual Pet App Hatch Hits The App Store

What’s a developer to do after building a successful To Do list app? That’s what Clear developer Impending asked itself before embarking on the journey of what would become Hatch, a Tamagotchi-style app that’s been in development for at least the better part of a year, and that manages to create a brand and character that’s highly lovable right out of the gate.

I’ve been lucky enough to have been an early participant in the beta testing of Hatch, an app for iPhone that will set you back just $2 beginning today on the App Store. The ‘game’ features an adorable character known as a Fugu, which actually does bear a passing resemblance to the self-inflating spiky Japanese fish which shares its name. This is a land animal, however, and it’s not at all spiky – in fact, it looks quite cuddly. You may be familiar with its maximally cute visage already, as it appears in a Facebook sticker set, and has for many months.

The name of the app comes from the fact that at launch, you choose an egg color and briefly maintain that pre-birth vessel until a Fugu is born from it. The Fugu will then promptly start asking for food, attention, treats and more, which is probably nothing new to the virtual pet aficionado. But Hatch isn’t about reinventing the virtual pet mechanic – it’s much more about polish and execution.

Hatch is without a date one of the most finely tuned app experiences I’ve played on iOS, genre aside. But it’s also definitely the best virtual pet simulator out there. No other take on the Tamagotchi model has been able to quite so acutely awaken a sense of guilt in me for not paying attention to my pet, or a desire to stay in the app out of something beyond a sense of obligation. The reward system which offers up in-game currency and buyable items in exchange for collecting fruits that grow on trees above your pet (which also feed it) makes Hatch sort of like a baseline default app, or one that you’ll return to over and over again between doing other things whenever you have a spare moment.

In fact, the only annoyance I had in my entire time testing the game was that being on the beta meant the pet had to be reset fairly frequently. Each time I had to give up a pet to start a new one felt like a minor tragedy – your Fugu may resemble millions of others out there (customization is limited to a set number of color choices), but it still feels like it’s uniquely yours.

Hatch has the potential to be much more than just a virtual pet, with a brand that you could easily see spun out to other games, animated series’, merchandise and more. Regardless of what else it becomes, however, it’s an excellent incarnation of the virtual pet – probably the best to date, in fact.

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