ROUNDUPS
In the papers 9 May
09-05-2003
by Sylvia Leatham
Commuter smartcards to be launched in Dublin next summer | Microsoft could face massive fine for security breach
The Irish Independent reports that US tech firm Avocent has acquired Tellabs' former facility in Shannon for USD6.5 million. Read the full story as reported by ElectricNews.net on Thursday.
The same paper reports that commuter smartcards are to be introduced across the greater Dublin area from June next year. The high-tech tickets are being developed by the Railway Procurement Agency, and the project is modelled on systems used in Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea. The credit-card sized tickets will be introduced on the Luas, Irish Rail, the DART and on buses.
The paper also says that toll road operator NTR Infrastructure Group has invested almost EUR3 million in new company Irish Broadband. Read the details of the story as reported by ElectricNews.net.
The same paper reports that Hewlett-Packard is understood to be considering a South County Dublin site for the relocation of 350 Bank of Ireland IT support staff. The tech giant is expected to make an announcement shortly about the move.
The paper also notes that O2 Ireland has launched Desktop Text, a new service that enables PC users to send text messages from their PC to any mobile phone, as reported by ElectricNews.net on Thursday.
According to the Irish Times, Media Lab Europe has formed an alliance with Suas, an Irish charity. Suas is devoted to expanding educational opportunities for children in the developing world and wants to introduce information technology to primary school children in Gatoto and other areas of Calcutta. MLE has given Suas a home in its Guinness premises and will be involved in helping the organisation bring IT expertise into the communities it serves.
The paper also reports that an Irish surgeon has teamed up with a TV production company to create a monthly surgical training course available on interactive DVD. The project, pioneered by start-up firm Reality Surgery Ltd, hopes to help save patients' lives by making it easier for surgeons to prepare for tricky operations. The company's founders, Prof Tom Walsh of the Royal College of Surgeons and Chris Goodey of Eireann Publications and First Medical Publications, believe the project will be highly profitable.
The Financial Times reports that Japanese mobile operator NTT DoCoMo has posted a profit for the fiscal year ended 31 March and said it expects net profit in the current year to triple. DoCoMo reported net profit of YEN212.5 billion (USD1.83 billion) for the 2002 fiscal year, compared with a loss of YEN116.2 billion a year ago. The financial results mark a turnaround for the company, which in past years has been faced with lacklustre demand for its 3G mobile phones, coupled with massive writedowns on the value of its overseas investments.
The paper also says that PC maker Gateway is to launch a range of consumer electronics products, as part of a new strategy aimed at restoring the firm to sustained profitability. The company, the third-largest PC maker in the US, said it aimed to become a "branded integrator" of consumer electronics with its PCs, all wrapped around a package of highly personalised services. Company founder and chief executive Ted Waitt said his second goal for 2003 was to "become profitable and stay that way."
According to the Wall Street Journal, a computer researcher in Pakistan has discovered how to breach Microsoft's security procedures for its Internet 'Passport' service. Microsoft acknowledged that the flaw affected all of its 200 million Passport accounts but said it fixed the problem early on Thursday. Microsoft could face a staggering fine by US regulators for the breach of security. Under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission last year over lapsed Passport security, Microsoft vowed to take reasonable safeguards to protect personal consumer information during the next two decades or risk fines up to USD11,000 per violation.
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