IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 22 January
22-01-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
World Economic Forum gets own social networking site | Government says it will not rush through data retention legislation
The Irish Times reports that Dublin must improve its research capability and infrastructure so it can compete for "knowledge economy" investments, according to a new Dublin Chamber of Commerce report. Read the full story on ENN.
The paper also says that Getty Images has put itself on the auction block and could fetch more than USD1.5 billion. Read more on this story on ENN.
The same paper reports that spending on IT by Irish businesses will grow by 3.5 percent this year to reach EUR2.5 billion, according to a survey from iReach. Read more on this story as reported by ENN on Monday.
The paper also reports that attendees at this year's World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland will be able to swap tips for saving the world on their own exclusive social networking platform. The WELCOM site is very similar to Facebook or MySpace, except access will be restricted to conference attendees. The platform allows VIP users to create a profile for themselves with a photograph, a list of competences, and "career highlights". WELCOM users can tell each other through their profiles "what's on my mind".
The same paper says that Payzone chairman Bob Thian has cancelled the company's board meeting, which was scheduled to be held at its Sandyford-based head office in Dublin on Tuesday. It is understood that Thian informed Chief Executive John Nagle and Chief Financial Officer John Williamson of the decision in an e-mail. Nagle and Williamson, meanwhile, will meet the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in London on Tuesday. The British bank, one of Payzone's biggest lenders, will seek an update on recent events at the company.
The paper also notes that the Financial Regulator and the Library Council have announced the provision of free internet access to the regulator's itsyourmoney.ie website in all local libraries.
The same paper says the humble spud has made it into cyberspace, with a website of its own to mark the UN's International Year of the Potato. A special committee has been set up to raise awareness of the global importance of the potato and of agriculture in general. The new website, www.internationalyearofthepotato.ie, contains information, nutritional facts, recipes, and details of events throughout the year to celebrate the vegetable.
The Irish Examiner reports that the Government is to implement controversial European rules for retaining electronic data, including all e-mail and internet traffic, but said it will not rush legislation through this month. The Government has until March 2009 to implement the EU directive obliging all telephone and internet providers to store communication details for up to two years. Although telephone and mobile phone records are already retained under Irish laws, the EU directive extends the rules to internet traffic. A government spokesman said that while it would not sign off on the data retention directive this month, as was reported last week, it was anxious to come in line with Europe.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft will this week disclose new details of its plans to take on VMware and others in the virtualisation market. The software giant's moves include the purchase of a Silicon Valley start-up called Calista Technologies. The terms of the purchase are not being disclosed. Microsoft is also relaxing some licensing policies to allow use of virtualisation software with more versions of its Windows Vista operating system, and it is lowering some fees associated with using the technology.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 