WebProNews » Onyx

Maintenance Tools for Mac OS X

A.P. Lawrence — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:06:03 +0000

There are a number of Mac OS maintenance applications that promise to help you with various tasks. We’ll take a quick look at a few of them here.

Onyx

Onyx is free software. It’s the only one of this group that includes S.M.A.R.T monitoring (turn that on under Preferences; actually see it under Info-> Disk). As all these do, Onyx reads and sets preferences (it calls them “Parameters”) for the Finder, Dock and others. Onyx includes Safari, allowing you to control such things as the size of your History menu and other settings that aren’t in the Safari Preferences panes. As most such utilities do, it includes running and rescheduling of system cron tasks, verification of disk permissions and rebuilding of Spotlight and the Launch Services database. It can clean out caches and log files and empty your trash. It also has an “Automation” section that does similar tasks and more at the cick of the “Execute” button.

A Log file viewer conveniently gives centralized access to all system and application logs; Unix Utilities include a man page viewer, plutil, locate, and system_profiler. “Info” shows similar informaton to system_profiler in a more compact form.

Cocktail

Cocktail is $14.95, the freely downloadable demo is apparently limited in some features, though it wasn’t clear to me just what those limitations are. Coctail controls preferences under its “Interface” tab. Like Xupport, the Login section includes a Kiosk mode which I did not test. The Misc. section includes the ability to set the screenshot file format; I didn’t find that in the other utilities. It includes setting MTU and TCP window sizes under Network. It has control of locked files and the usual cleaning of logs and caches under “Files”. “System” lets you run the system cron jobs, rebuild the ocate and whatis databases as well as Launch Services, empty the trash and so on. “Disks” can enable or disable journaling, repair permissions and set the power saving Spindown times.

Xupport

Xupport is $19.90. The free download seems to be time limited, but I don’t know when it expires. Xupport has a large number of preference items under “Settings” (but not as many as Onyx). Like Cocktail, it includes control of some TCP settings and adds control of virtual memory files. Xupport includes a “Backup” utility that can clone a bootable disk or create an image for Apple Software Restore. The “Browser” tab is a Finder-like file browser; I really don’t see the point of that. The “Unix” tab displays man pages, and “Info” is a convenient overview of your machine’s hardware and software.

MainMenu runs as a menu bar item – you may not notice the little plus sign in a rectangle that appears when you run it. You need to click on that to actually use the program. MainMenu includes the typical running of system cron jobs, repairing disk permissions, cleaning caches, rebuilding Spotlight and other databases, and setting some Finder settings. Under “Other Tasks” it has log cleaning and flushing of some caches, but also includes disabling Dashboard (I had done that long ago manually).

Summary

There is plenty of overlap between these, but there are also unique features not found in the others. None of this is anything you cannot do yourself through terminal commands or editing preference files manually, but these do offer the graphical interface for ease of use. Onyx is proably the most full featured of the group.

There are lots more of a similar nature: see System/Disk Utilities at Apple for more.

*Originaly published at APLawrence.com

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A.P. Lawrence provides SCO Unix and Linux consulting services http://www.pcunix.com

CDC Software Protests M2M Buying Onyx

WebProNews Staff — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 21:04:47 +0000

CDC Software isn’t happy about losing out to M2M Holdings for acquiring Onyx Software and has sent letters to the board of directors of Onyx and to the Securities and Exchange Commission to bolster its case for acquisition and is threatening to take the matter to court.

In the letters CDC Software reiterated its proposed “superior competing transaction” announced on June 20, 2006. The company said unusually high breakup fees, estimated at $0.24 per Onyx share may be a conflict of interest in the agreement with M2M and that the fees should be abandoned so that the fees can be paid to Onyx shareholders rather than to M2M. CDC Software is an Onyx shareholder.

CDC Software is prepared to challenge the breakup fees in court, if M2M enters into a definitive agreement with Onyx. The company is awaiting a reply from the independent directors of Onyx and ready to commence negotiations.

In the letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, CDC Software
expresses its concern that Onyx may have failed to adequately consider
prior proposals from CDC Software because M2M Holdings intends to keep the current Onyx management in place.

Here is a copy of the letter:

* CDC Letter to ONYX

June 21, 2006

The Board of Directors
Onyx Software Corporation
1100 112th Avenue Northeast
Suite 100
Bellevue, Washington 98004

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are writing to reiterate the terms of our proposal to acquire Onyx Software Corporation.

We are prepared to offer Onyx shareholders $5.00 per share comprised of 50% cash and 50% registered Class A Common Shares of CDC Corporation.

The Share portion of our offer would be protected by a ”collar” such that Onyx shareholders would be protected against a decrease in CDC Share value of more than $0.50. Our offer is not subject to any financing contingency.

We are prepared to increase our offer if we are afforded reasonable due diligence, and that diligence indicates such an increase. In addition, the ”mix” of considerations also remains negotiable.

We have attached to this letter a standard form of confidentiality agreement which we are prepared to execute with Onyx immediately. We think it appropriate that the confidentiality agreement protects Onyx’s confidential business information without restricting our ability to address Onyx shareholders directly. We are prepared to commence our due diligence promptly upon execution of this confidentiality agreement. In the event Onyx believes the attached standard form of confidentiality agreement is materially less favorable to Onyx than the confidentiality agreement it has entered into with M2M, then please submit to us the form of confidentiality agreement Onyx has entered into with M2M for our review and consideration.

We believe that our proposal constitutes a Superior Competing Transaction under your Merger Agreement with M2M Holdings Inc. We do not believe Onyx has seriously considered our prior offers and we note that Loeb Partners Corporation, a significant shareholder, stated its concurrence with this belief in its April 20, 2006 13D filing. We believe that the Onyx Board’s fiduciary duties mandate that the Board immediately commence negotiation with us on our $5.00 per share offer.

As an Onyx shareholder, we were deeply troubled with the size of the break-fees and expense obligations which significantly dissuades competing bids and limit the premium a competing bidder can offer to Onyx’s shareholders. Rather than using such amounts to benefit shareholders, the Onyx board has in effect decided to line the pockets of M2M and, by dissuading competing bids, existing Onyx management who keep their positions after the acquisition.

The merger agreement provides for the payment of up to $4.5 million in fees and expenses from Onyx to M2M in connection with the termination of the merger agreement in the event Onyx enters into an agreement for a superior competing transaction. Based upon approximately 18.5 million Onyx shares outstanding, the break-fees and expenses Onyx would be required to pay to M2M amount to in excess of $0.24 per Onyx share.

We believe this excessive break up fee and expense reimbursement provision should be abandoned, and the $0.24 per share should be distributed to Onyx shareholders. If we enter into a merger agreement with you, we are prepared in that connection to take legal action to challenge the fees for the benefit of shareholders. In other words, if the court strikes down the breakup fees, we will pay the $0.24 per share to the shareholders, enhancing our already superior offer.

We stand ready to commence negotiation of our superior competing offer immediately.

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CRM Wrapup: Debuts And Deals

WebProNews Staff — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 14:37:41 +0000

InfoStreet’s web-based StreetSmart suite adds CRM and sales force automation; gateway security firm IronPort opts for Click Commerce to push supply chain data to CRM; and Hong Kong-based CDC Corporation ups its offer for CRM pioneer Onyx Software.

InfoStreet announced the addition of customer relationship management and sales force automation to its StreetSmart web application suite. To help build adoption of the CRM component, the company said CRM would be free until October 31, 2006.

Features of the new CRM component include a shareable contact database, access control, and complete customer history tracking, all of which would be expected by a business CRM user. InfoStreet also said information can be grouped by stage, geography, industry, or custom-created groupings.

Security appliance maker IronPort tapped Click Commerce to feed its CRM application. Click Commerce provides on-demand supply chain management solutions, and will work with IronPort to integrate information from the supply chain into its existing infrastructure.

Click Commerce executive VP Nancy Koenig said in a statement that for companies with “complex sales channels, CRM solutions do not provide the necessary tools to support business partners’ sales efforts.”

Onyx Software had agreed in early June to be acquired by privately held M2M Holdings. The all-cash transaction would be worth $4.80 per share, and CEO Janice Anderson wrote in a letter to clients “the transaction is the right decision for our customers.”

However, Bloomberg News has reported CDC, which operates the China.com website, has now offered $4.85 per share in cash, or $5 per share in cash and stock, for Onyx.

The software company is weighing its options. In April, Onyx retained Piper Jaffray and Co. to act as financial advisor. Ditching M2M in favor of CDC would cost Onyx $4.5 million plus 5 percent of the winning bid, the report noted.

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David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.

Enterprise Dashboard Best Practices Netcast Coming Up

Chris Crum — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 20:29:41 +0000

It is very important for enterprises to have relevant information about the processes of customers as well as business processes.

Onyx, a company that deals in customer-focused process management systems has teamed with business intelligence experts from Cognos to present a netcast on this subject.

Things that you are likely to achieve after this netcast include:

Alignment, control, and accountability across your enterprise

Visibility and transparency into your business processes

Actionable decision-making information at your fingertips

The netcast is scheduled for December 1 at 10:00 A.M. PST. You can now register for it at Onyx’s site.

Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.

New CRM Offering From Onyx

CRMNewz — Mon, 04 Oct 2004 21:37:06 +0000

Onyx Software launched the Onyx Employee Portal for BlackBerry, optimized for BlackBerry wireless platform from Research In Motion (RIM).

The optimized Onyx offering is designed to increase the individual productivity of mobile professionals by providing personalized access to client data and high priority tasks maintained for them in the corporate Onyx CRM application.

Onyx CRM technology via BlackBerry gives mobile professionals fast wireless access to corporate and customer data and makes them available for immediate contact with the office and customers. Wireless updates between field personnel and headquarters keep organizational processes moving and trigger support activities.

Several early adopters will roll out the new Onyx offering this fall, including Symetra Financial (formerly Safeco Life & Investments), an insurance and financial services company based in Redmond, WA. Symetra Financial plans to implement the new service for its field sales people who will be able to use the BlackBerry to access critical sales and service information while they are traveling on business.

“We’ve been a long-time customer of Onyx and we look forward to utilizing this new technology solution to help increase productivity of our sales force,” said Pat McCormick, Senior Vice President of Sales & Distribution, Symetra Financials. “With BlackBerry and Onyx CRM, our field sales staff will have enhanced access to client information.”

A broad range of Onyx CRM capabilities are accessible through BlackBerry, including contact management, pipeline management, opportunity management, task management, quick search features, and email integration with the Onyx incidents feature.

“For mobile professionals who are on the road or frequently away from their desk, accessing corporate and customer information can be a challenge,” said Mark Guibert, Vice President, Corporate Marketing at Research In Motion. “Applications like Onyx CRM are ideally suited to capitalize on the power of the BlackBerry platform to help keep sales and service representatives informed and productive while in the field.”

Onyx CRM for BlackBerry is the latest addition to the Onyx Portable CRM product family, which includes products for offline laptop access with data synchronization and wireless access for mobile devices like the BlackBerry and other leading handheld devices.

CRMNewz focuses on business software strategies that provide competitive advantage by improving business decision-making, enhancing business performance, and maximizing the lifetime value of customer relationships.