For the record 31 January

31-01-2008

by Charlie Taylor

More Irish IT staff rate training over wage increases | O2 Ireland launches new pre-pay price plan

The Tommy Hilfiger Denim store on Trinity Street in Dublin is establishing an interactive wall in its front window, which enables customers to add photos using touch-screen technology. The submitted pictures will then be displayed on digital screens throughout the shop and customers will be able to have their own T-shirt specially printed using the image they created as the design. A selection of images from each participating store will also be broadcast via projectors on to a selection of high-profile public buildings around the capital.

O2 Ireland has launched a new price plan for pre-pay mobile users. O2 Experience enables subscribers to send unlimited free texts to any other Irish mobile network, at any time, for life. Customers that aren't heavy text users can also opt for free calls for life to their top 10 friends on O2 instead. Subscribers must top up by EUR20 per month in order to avail of the price plan. Additionally, there's an option to avail of free calls and texts to 10 nominated O2 numbers for customers who top up by EUR30 per month. The three options with the new price plan are available to new and existing customers who sign up by 30 April 2008.

African research capacity is to be boosted through a high-speed network link connecting the UbuntuNet Alliance to the international research community via the GEANT2 network. The connection between the UbuntuNet Alliance's network hub in London and the GEANT2 network enables researchers and scholars in Sub-Saharan African universities and research institutions to share information and data, and to collaborate through a 1Gbps link with their peers in Europe and the rest of the world. The link to GEANT2, the world's most advanced international research and education network, enables collaboration with an estimated 30 million research and education users in 34 countries across the continent.

There has been a 1 percent decline in the level of unsolicited e-mail messages sent to Irish inboxes this week, according to new figures from security firm IT Force. Over 83,240 e-mails were received by the firm and its clients over the last week, of which over 79,170 were spam. This is equivalent to 95 percent of all e-mails.

Sat nav manufacturer Garmin has announced its entrance into the mobile phone market with the nuvifone, an all-in-one, touchscreen device that combines a premium phone, mobile web-browser, and cutting-edge personal navigator. The device comes with pre-loaded maps of North America, Eastern and Western Europe, and includes Google local search capability, It also has a "Where am I?" feature that lets users touch the screen at any time to display their exact latitude and longitude coordinates, the nearest address and the closest hospitals, police stations and petrol stations. The nuvifone also helps drivers find their car in an unfamiliar spot or crowded parking lot by automatically marking the position in which it was last removed from the vehicle mount. The nuvifone is expected to be available in the third quarter of 2008.

Most Irish IT professionals would rather have more training than a pay rise, according to a recent ComputerJobs.ie survey of 6,000 people. Some 48 percent of respondents said they'd prefer training given the choice between it and a pay rise while 33 percent would prefer the money. In addition, the study found that job security doesn't seem to be a concern at present with seven out of ten Irish IT professionals expressing confidence in available roles in the marketplace.