IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 8 July
08-07-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Students spurn tech, engineering | Google prepares PC operating system
The Irish Independent reports that Rex Comb, the former CEO of Eircom, is seeking AUD8 million (EUR4.6 million) in relation to alleged employee-related entitlements. News of the claim is contained in a letter sent by Eircom's Australian parent, Eircom Holdings, to shareholders updating them on a number of developments at the firm, including ongoing talks with a consortium headed by Singapore Technologies Telemedia to renegotiate upwards an offer for the company. "The board believes the claim is without merit and no legal proceedings have been commenced against [Eircom Holdings]," the letter states. The letter also said that if an acceptable offer from STT is not received, Eircom Holdings would be "working with both the existing Eircom shareholders and with potential new equity providers, identified in the review process, as a path to a successful restructure with a 6-12 month time horizon."
In other news of Eircom, the Irish Times says that many of the company's internet subscribers have been left offline or experienced delays in web browsing at times this week because of a suspected attack by hackers. Some customers who tried to connect to sites such as RTE, Facebook or Bebo were redirected to incorrect websites, often displaying images of advertising or scantily clad women. Eircom blamed the problems on "an unusual and irregular volume of internet traffic" directed at its website, which affected the systems and servers that provide access to the internet for its customers. Although unable to say what the cause of the problem was, an Eircom spokesman said the company believed it had now rectified matters.
The paper also reports that the entertainment and media industry in Ireland will recover from a "bruising" downturn to modest levels of growth by 2011, but the recession will accelerate the pace of consumers' move from traditional formats to digital media, according to a new report. The annual PricewaterhouseCoopers Entertainment and Media Outlook forecasts that Irish media growth will be driven by consumer desires for individual, tailored content, which will be facilitated by strong growth in internet access over the next five years. Consumer spending on internet access will grow by a compound annual rate of 13 percent to USD759 million in 2013, PwC predicts.
The Irish Examiner says that Michael Jackson's memorial service was on Tuesday night poised to be a global internet video-viewing event among users of social networking sites. A Michael Jackson page on Facebook has topped 6.5 million fans, unseating US President Barack Obama's 'fan page' as the most popular on the social networking site. Facebook users worldwide were able to share updates and thoughts while watching free streaming video of the memorial on CNN Live, ABC, and E! Online websites. Video footage of the Jackson memorial was also streamed on the MySpace website thanks to a collaboration with entertainment giant AEG, while Fox News video of the memorial streamed live online on the Hulu video-sharing site.
The paper also says that students are turning away in huge numbers from courses in business, engineering, technology, teaching and law. Central Applications Office (CAO) statistics show the top preferences of the 64,455 people who have submitted applications for courses in the autumn. While the number who have listed an honours level business course as their first preference is up slightly on last year, they represent a smaller proportion of overall applications. Just 9 percent listed engineering or technology degrees as their first preference, down from almost 10 percent a year ago. However, there was a big increase in applications for science degrees -- now the top choice of almost one-in- nine college applicants. Arts and social science degrees remain the most popular among applicants.
The same paper notes that Irish private jet firm JetBird has launched an online booking system. The Dublin-based firm is on track to launch its services in September, offering passengers the use of a private jet between a network of European airports. JetBird said its online booking system was developed in conjunction with aviation tech provider Coastal Aviation Software (CAS).
According to the Wall Street Journal, search giant Google is preparing to launch an operating system for PCs, a direct assault on Microsoft turf. Google disclosed the move in a blog post late Tuesday night. It said the software, which will initially target netbooks, would be based on its Chrome web browser and made available to consumers in the second half of 2010. The blog post said the operating system would be "lightweight" and optimised for running web-based applications.
The paper also says that a US federal judge overseeing a high-profile copyright class action suit against YouTube has dismissed some of the plaintiffs' claims for damages from the video-sharing site. US District Judge Louis Stanton ruled that the plaintiffs, who include music publishers, could not request damages for videos with non-US copyrights that may have appeared on YouTube. Disagreeing with the plaintiff's interpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, the judge wrote that the US law "bars statutory damages for all foreign and domestic works not timely registered" with the US Copyright Office.
The Financial Times reports that Microsoft and Brussels have started a new round of talks over a potential settlement of the software giant's antitrust actions in Europe. The resumption of what one source described as the "on again, off again" discussions comes as the regulators move closer to imposing stringent penalties on Microsoft over its practice of bundling its Internet Explorer browser with the Windows operating system. At least two earlier rounds of settlement talks over the past two years foundered, and the latest discussions could mark the last chance for a truce before the European Commission takes action early this autumn.
Free! "In the papers" email newsletter -- get the full text to your in-box every business day. Email itp@enn.ie with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
Building your list: Denise Cox says that in order to build a subscription list you need to be proactive about securing subscriber attention.
