In The Papers 7 January

07-01-2009

by Sylvia Leatham

Cabinet to discuss Dell's future | Google launches Picasa for Macs

The Irish Times reports that the future of PC maker Dell in Limerick is to be discussed by the Cabinet on Wednesday, as an announcement on the fate of 2,000 jobs at the Raheen facility is expected in the coming days. Limerick East TD and Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea said he will raise the issue at the first Cabinet meeting of the year. It was reported on Tuesday that senior management at Dell's Irish arm had been briefed in preparation for an announcement on Thursday, but a spokeswoman for Dell dismissed reports that a decision was due then as "simply more speculation". Other Dell sources said an announcement was "imminent", however.

The paper also reports on the launch of the 2009 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS in Dublin. This year's exhibition includes 500 group and individual projects submitted in four subject areas: biological and ecological sciences; chemical, physical and mathematical sciences; social and behavioural sciences; and technology. These projects were pre-selected from a record number of entries -- 1,616 projects, which involved work done by 3,712 students.

The Irish Independent notes that Google has released a test version of its Picasa photo-editing software for Macintosh users. The free program is now available for download, Google said. Until now, Picasa only worked with computers running Windows or Linux.

The paper also says that chipmaker Intel will unveil cable and satellite boxes containing Intel chips this year, according to Eric Kim, head of the company's digital home unit. Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is expanding into TV equipment to reduce its reliance on PCs. The chip giant plans to discuss the consumer electronics devices this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Irish Examiner says that MicksGarage, an online retailer of car parts and accessories, has announced a EUR560,000 investment, as reported by ENN on Tuesday.

The Wall Street Journal says that Apple has revealed major pricing and copyright changes to its iTunes Store. The changes, announced at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, include a new three-tiered pricing plan for songs, instead of the USD0.99 fixed price Apple has used almost exclusively. Apple also said it will drop copy protection from all of the songs in its digital store. Some of the moves appear to be a response in part to shifts in the digital music market: Growth in paid downloads slowed significantly in 2008. New online music rivals have also emerged, some of which sell songs at a cheaper price than iTunes and without copy protection, giving users more freedom with the songs they have purchased. Apple declined to comment on why it was making changes beyond that it thinks "it's great for customers".

According to the Financial Times, the chairman of India's Satyam Computer Services has confessed to fixing the IT outsourcing firm's books for the past "several" years. In a letter to the board, B Ramalinga Raju resigned after admitting to wildly inflating Satyam's margins to paint a picture of good performance and retain his management position. "It was like riding a tiger, not knowing when to get off without being eaten," Raju said, explaining how the fraud got out of control over a period of years. Satyam is India's fourth largest IT outsourcing firm by revenue, and the scam has rocked the country's business world.

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