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For the record 29 May
Wednesday, May 29 2002
by Sylvia Leatham


Michael Dell was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Limerick |
Nortel plans 3,500 job cuts 











Dell chairman and chief executive officer Michael Dell has received an
honorary Doctorate in Economic Science from the University of Limerick. Dell was
honoured for the part he has played in the technology revolution of the late 20th
century and for his company's investment in Ireland, and particularly in the
Limerick region, over the last ten years.



New Irish software company tmarc aims to help companies manage their files
more efficiently and meet the requirements of the Data Protection Act. The new
company was set up by professional records managers Tina Byrne and Mark Farrell,
who have invested EUR500,000 in the venture. Tmarc's first product is a
records-management software application called ArcLink.



Vizzavi Deutschland GmbH announced the appointment of Irish company Alatto
Technologies Ltd to supply consumer applications for Vodafone's multimedia
messaging service (MMS). Under the agreement, Alatto will supply a range of
customised MMS products that differentiate Vizzavi Deutschland's service offering
and are relevant to its target audiences. 



Nortel Networks, North America's second-largest telephone-equipment
manufacturer, said that it will slash 3,500 jobs and it may sell its optical
components unit. The company said second-quarter revenue will be flat to down
five percent. Nortel said it could break even based on quarterly sales of USD3.2
billion, down from a previous target of USD3.5 billion.



Sony has abandoned negotiations to purchase Fujitsu's Internet unit, a
deal that could have seen it provide Internet services to around 7.2 million PC
users. The world's number two consumer-electronics maker said the discussions
were discontinued by mutual agreement. The purchase of Fujitsu's Nifty Corp.,
which offers the @nifty Internet service, would have boosted Sony's own Internet
service, which has stalled at around 2.24 million users, and helped it deliver
services and content to owners of its video-game consoles.



IBM said it has signed a five-year, USD194 million agreement to provide
electronic payments group TSYS with hardware, software and services. TSYS will
buy hardware including mainframes and data storage machines, as well as IBM's DB2
database software and other software. The deal also includes IBM's Global
Services division, which will support software implementation and manage
education and training for TSYS. 





China will have 500 million fixed-line and mobile phone subscribers by
2005, according to Wu Jichuan, the minister responsible for telecommunications.
Wu said he expects 40 percent of China's 1.3 billion population to be phone
subscribers by 2005, up from the current 15 percent who are registered phone
users. The country will retain its position as the world's largest phone market,
he added.



Nazomi Communications has filed a patent infringement suit against
microprocessor design company Arm's Jazelle technology. The Java application
performance-boosting technology is still a couple of years away from market. 
Nazomi, which specialises in hardware Java accelerators, is seeking unspecified
damages and a permanent injunction precluding further infringement. Arm said the
lawsuit was "frivolous" and that it would defend itself strenuously.



A privacy watchdog group has made public internal FBI documents that discuss
glitches in Carnivore, the agency's Internet monitoring technology. The
documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, describe at least one
incident in which Carnivore unwittingly captured e-mails from people who were not
under surveillance, an action that seems to violate federal wiretap laws. The FBI
has said that Carnivore filters data to obtain only lawfully authorized
information on suspects. Records on the technology were obtained by the
Electronic Privacy Information Center after years of requests for disclosure.



Computer activists in Britain are nearing the completion of an operating system
that could undermine government efforts to the monitor the Internet, according to
NewScientist.com. New UK legislation, the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
(RIPA), will give law enforcers the right to demand encryption keys from anyone
suspected of illegal activity. Privacy campaigners say the legislation gives too
much power to the authorities and allows intrusive eavesdropping. Peter
Fairbrother, a mathematician and computer enthusiast, is programming the new
operating system named M-o-o-t that aims to evade the new act's powers by
storing encryption keys and other data overseas. No data will be stored on the
computer's hardware. The UK Home Office has condemned the project as potentially
providing a new tool for criminals.