April 25th 2012 - Eckoh (AIM: ECK), the UK’s leading provider of speech recognition and associated payment solutions across voice, web and mobile channels, is pleased to announce it has won its first joint contract in the public sector with a two year agreement from Essex County Council (“the Council”).

 The contract, won in partnership with Azzurri Communications, the UK’s leading independent provider of managed communications services, will see Eckoh develop and implement a hosted speech recognition solution across the Council’s customer service operations. The agreement was secured through a formal tender process and represents the first implementation of Eckoh’s speech technology by a local authority.

Oxford, 18 April 2012 - Publishing Technology and CNPIEC, the China National Publications Import and Export Corporation, unveiled the Digital Gateway, the most significant digital publishing platform ever launched for Chinese libraries, in a special ceremony at the London Book Fair yesterday.

 The digital portal has been developed by Publishing Technology, the largest industry provider of software and services, on the company’s flagship online publishing platform, pub2web, and is managed by CNPIEC, the largest and most highly-developed publication import and export group in China. With semantically enriched content and interfaces in English and Mandarin, the site directly links international publishers to over 10,000 of CNPIEC’s public and academic member libraries and potentially millions of new users.

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has taken a major stake in a small video-ringtone maker with annual revenue of less than $1 million, a disclosure that comes a day after he made an investment in another applications maker.

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Stratasys and Objet Agree to Combine to Create a Leader in 3D Printing and Direct Digital Manufacturing

Combined Company Would Be Valued at Approximately $1.4 Billion ----
Combined Company Well Positioned With Multiple Technology Platforms and Complementary Products Available Across Enhanced Integrated Sales and Marketing Organization ---- Transaction Expected to be Accretive to Cash Earnings Per Share Within First 12 Months After Closing

Stratasys Announces Preliminary First Quarter 2012 Financial Results

Stratasys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SSYS - News), a leading manufacturer of 3D printers and production systems for prototyping and manufacturing applications, and privately held Objet Ltd., a leading manufacturer of 3D printers for rapid prototyping, today announced that the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement under which the companies would combine in an all-stock transaction with a combined equity value of approximately $1.4 billion, based upon the closing price of Stratasys’ common stock on April 13, 2012.