In the papers 17 July

17-07-2008

by Sylvia Leatham

BT to continue trials of controversial ad technology | Microsoft in talks with AOL

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The Irish Times reports that three of PC maker Dell's Irish subsidiaries made a combined pretax profit of EUR94 million in the year to 2 February 2007, according to accounts recently filed. The three companies posted a combined turnover for the year of EUR7,551 million. The accounts for Dell Direct, which is based in Cherrywood, County Dublin, show it had a turnover of EUR150 million in that year, with a pretax profit of EUR42.9 million. Dell Products made a pretax profit of USD52 million in the same period, while Dell Research posted a pretax profit of USD29 million.

The paper also says that Galway-based design and manufacturing company CF Tooling has opened a new production facility in Dongguan in southern China in order to serve a major global contract with IBM. The EUR7 million factory will build server racks for the Chinese market for IBM. CF Tooling already has manufacturing operations in Galway, the UK, the Czech Republic and the Philippines, and globally employs 1,000 people.

The same paper says that Ireland should cash in on the US ban on online gaming by creating the framework for the development of the sector, according to a government report. The report from the casino committee, Regulating Gaming in Ireland, states that current international regulation of online gambling, particularly the US ban on the activity, presents "a window of opportunity for Ireland". Figures in the report show the total value of the global online gaming market is EUR22 billion a year in revenues.

The paper also notes that Siemens is creating 60 jobs in Cork. Read the full story on ENN.

The paper also reports that the High Court has reserved judgement on an action by Realm Communications to prevent its prosecution by the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) over the alleged sending of spam text messages. The two-day hearing of the action by Realm against the DPC concluded on Wednesday after closing submissions on behalf of both parties. Justice Patrick McCarthy said it was unlikely he would deliver judgement before the end of this law term on 31 July.

The paper also notes that a new Irish online music video service called Muzu has been launched, as noted by ENN on Wednesday.

The Irish Independent says that chip giant Intel has released an optimistic sales forecast for this quarter. Read more on this story on ENN .

According to the Financial Times, PC maker Dell has launched a pilot scheme with Wal-Mart to provide home installation and repair services. The move follows Dell's decision to start selling its desktop computers through retailers including Wal-Mart last year. Wal-Mart says it is opening 15 "Solution Centers by Dell" at stores in the Dallas area, which it says will provide home set-up services for high-definition TVs and home theatre installations, as well as computer repairs and advice on wireless technology.

The paper also says that UK telco BT will begin further trials in the next few weeks of a controversial advertising technology that it hopes will give it a slice of the lucrative online advertising market. The group is one of three UK internet service providers that have conducted trials of technology developed by Phorm, which tracks the web surfing habits of its internet users to enable it to target advertising more tightly. Carphone Warehouse's Talk Talk and Virgin Media have also run trials of the technology. However, it has proved controversial, with internet bloggers and privacy activists labelling the technology "spyware".

The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft, under pressure to find an alternative to buying part or all of Yahoo, is pushing forward discussions over a deal with Time Warner's AOL unit. Executives from Microsoft and AOL were scheduled to meet in Seattle on Wednesday in the latest round of exploratory talks over how to combine AOL and Microsoft's online group, according to sources. The two companies have held casual talks for several months as an alternative to Microsoft's efforts to buy Yahoo. Microsoft's discussions with AOL remain preliminary, with the shape of a deal yet to be sketched out, sources said.