ROUNDUPS
In the papers 17 November
17-11-2004
by Ralph Averbuch
Workers' eyesight may be damaged by PC use | Microsoft faces claims over destruction of internal e-mails
The Irish Independent reports on a survey commissioned by Novell which reveals how company staff are speeding the spread of viruses and could be costing Irish business many millions. The report suggests two-thirds of participants are not aware of the most basic virus prevention measures.
The paper also reports on the Information Society Commission's (ISC) view that Ireland will fail to achieve the objective of placing the country in the top ten OECD countries as measured by broadband penetration by mid-2005, as reported by ElectricNews.Net. In the ISC's assessment Ireland has a broadband penetration rate of just a fifth of the average for comparable countries.
The paper also reports comments from the Irish Software Association Chairman Cathal Friel, who states that Ireland's domestic software industry needs tax incentives for investment in seed companies. "Irish people have invested over USD40 billion in property, both here and abroad, between 1998 and 2003, whereas less than USD1 billion was invested in technology start-ups in the same period," he said. The Irish Software Association believes that tax relief for investment in venture capital trusts, already available in in the US and UK, are necessary to foster business and jobs in the indigenous IT sector.
Both the Irish Independent and Irish Times report that some 450,000 Irish shareholders in Vodafone - who own shares after Eircom's sold Eircell - will obtain better dividends. As reported by ElectricNews.Net the Vodafone Group is doubling its interim dividend and extending a stock buyback by STG1 billion to STG4 billion. However, the paper suggests that if Vodafone doubles its full-year dividend to STG0.04, the stock would still yield less than the UK benchmark average.
According to the Financial Times, China seems to have taken a step away from a countrywide domestic third-generation telecoms standard, known as TD-SCDMA. It is now more likely to use it in support of the European-backed WCDMA. Lothar Pauly, chief executive officer at Siemens Communications, the biggest international investor behind the Chinese flavour of 3G, said on Tuesday that no Chinese mobile operator would utilise TD-SCDMA for a Chinese network unless the Beijing Government awarded five or more 3G licences.
The same paper also reports that a rift is appearing between leading shareholders in PeopleSoft. The two largest shareholders have taken opposite views on the hostile takeover bid from Oracle, adding to the uncertainty of the outcome when the deadline for Oracle's USD9bn offer is reached on Friday.
The Guardian reports that watching a computer screen for nine or more hours a day may be linked to a progressive eye disease which can blind without treatment. The risk of developing glaucoma was highest for those with short sight. The potential dangers of the booming use of new technology in the office and at home were outlined by researchers at the Toho University school of medicine in Tokyo, Japan, in the Journal of Epidemiology. They tested 10,000 workers with an average age of 43 as part of a general medical check-up as well as collecting their histories of computer use and eye disease.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft may face new and potentially damaging claims over its business conduct in a patent-theft and monopolisation case now pending in a federal court in Baltimore. A Silicon Valley software company called Burst.com alleges that Microsoft routinely destroyed much of its internal e-mail despite the many federal investigations and private suits it has endured in recent times. The company was often under court orders to preserve such e-mail communications.
The same paper also says Motorola is acquiring US company MeshNetworks, a developer of a wireless technology that allows mobiles to relay signals between other mobile devices. MeshNetworks' technology, used to create mobile networks for government and law-enforcement agencies, was originally developed in the military.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 