IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 7 December
07-12-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Eircom could be split in four | Tim Berners-Lee criticises web firms' short-term view
The Irish Times reports that Eircom owner Babcock & Brown is considering splitting the telecoms group into three or even four separate entities when it moves to separate the network from its customer service divisions. There are certain issues under scrutiny at present: the feasibility of creating a core network operation for wholesale clients; a retail offering for domestic and mobile users; and a business offering for the commercial sector. The creation of four divisions by separating the mobile unit, Meteor, from the rest of the retail arm is also being considered.
The paper also reports that human rights concerns are at the heart of a challenge to controversial laws on the retention of phone call details. The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is applying to be made amicus curiae -- a friend of the court -- in a case taken against the Irish government on the issue by privacy advocate group Digital Rights Ireland (DRI). The High Court will hear the application on Monday. The IHRC to date has only made such an application in five cases which it believes have had significant human rights implications. According to legal observers, the application will bolster the case for DRI.
The Irish Independent reports that Getmobile has taken a 65 percent stake in a new joint venture in Germany called Premingo. Read the full story on ENN.
The paper also says that credit card company Visa has yet to reach a compensatory agreement with US retailer TJX -- the owner of the TK Maxx outlets -- for European card issuers who were left out of pocket following the massive data theft of credit and debit card details from the retailer. Visa's US arm has just negotiated an almost USD41 million settlement with TJX, but there are several outstanding claims from a number of smaller US banks, as well as other card issuers.
The same paper notes that desperate Irish retailers are scouring Europe for the much sought-after Nintendo Wii games console. Some major retailers are now buying consoles in bulk in mainland Europe, rather than waiting in hope for another shipment to arrive before Christmas, according to sources. "Some retailers are going out and trying to source the consoles themselves," one source said. "The demand is so big here they are looking right across Europe."
Internet companies are taking a dangerously short-term view and ignoring big potential risks and opportunities, according to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web, reports the Financial Times. Berners-Lee, the head of the World Wide Web Consortium, also criticised the lack of support for long-term research into these issues, which he said marks a break from the traditional approach technology companies have taken. "I think there's a lot of concern the web companies are thinking short-term," he said in an interview. "They've been taught to look short-term by the dot-com bubble, [it] has made everyone very conscious of short-term returns on investment, and this has trickled down to research funding."
The paper also notes that PC maker Acer has beaten close rival Lenovo to become a global sponsor of the Olympic Games. Acer will become one of 11 global sponsors for the Olympics from January 2009 to 2012. It will also supply notebook and desktop computers and monitors to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and the 2012 London summer Games. Acer declined to disclose how much it paid for the sponsorship.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Palm has said a shipping delay for one of its products as well as "unforeseen" warranty repairs would push the smartphone maker into a net loss for its latest quarter. The maker of Treo handsets said revenue will come in between USD345 million and USD350 million for the fiscal second quarter. Palm had previously expected revenue of between USD370 million and USD380 million for the period. Palm also said it will post a net loss of USD0.08 to USD.010 a share -- excluding certain charges -- while analysts expected earnings of USD0.04 a share, according to estimates from Thomson Financial.
The same paper reports that AMD has revealed that the widespread release of its newest "Barcelona" computer chip would be delayed, in a setback for the Intel rival. Barcelona is AMD's first chip that features four computing brains, or cores, on one piece of silicon. It was originally scheduled for general availability in mid-2007, but now won't be broadly available until early next year.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 