IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 3 April
03-04-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
IBM and Linden Lab to develop virtual world for businesses | 3G iPhone may be launched this summer
The Irish Times says that software firm Big Picture Software Limited, which went into liquidation in 2004, has been found guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of defrauding over EUR250,000 from the Revenue Commissioners in VAT returns. Big Picture Software was convicted on day two of the trial. Sentence will be imposed later this year.
The paper also says a new study has found that computer game addicts exhibit some of the same personality traits as people diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Researchers found that as players showed more signs of addiction, they were increasingly characterised by personality traits that would normally be associated with Asperger's, a form of high-functioning autism. The study was conducted by Dr John Charlton of the University of Bolton and Ian Danforth of Whitman College in the US and the findings were revealed at the British Psychological Society annual conference at the RDS in Ballsbridge.
The Irish Examiner reports that www.hotline.ie, a website set up to help tackle the problem of child pornography on the internet, has been relaunched, as noted by ENN on Wednesday.
According to the Financial Times, IBM and Linden Lab, the creator of Second Life, are to develop an enterprise-class virtual world to convince companies of the value of communicating through avatars and 3D environments. The joint project between Linden Lab and IBM will put parts of Second Life's "Grid" platform behind IBM's company firewall for greater security and host it on IBM Bladecenter servers for increased operational scale and stability. "We are responding to what our customers have been asking for: they see the value in Second Life but are very concerned about security and want [internal] conversations to stay behind the firewall," said Neil Katz, chief technology officer of IBM's Digital Convergence business.
The paper also reports that Apple could launch a 3G version of its iPhone device this summer, somewhat earlier than expected. AT&T, the US telecoms group whose wireless unit is the exclusive seller of the iPhone in the US, said on Wednesday it expected all of the integrated devices or smartphones it sells to be built around 3G radio chips within the near future. Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T's wireless unit, said he expected all of AT&T's smart integrated devices to be 3G "in the next couple months".
The Wall Street Journal reports that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has continued its string of strong quarterly results, saying that its fourth-quarter profit and revenue more than doubled. The company said it added 2.2 million new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter ending 1 March, bringing its total subscriber base to more than 14 million. The firm also said it expects to report first-quarter net profit of USD0.82 to USD0.86 a share on revenue of USD2.23 billion to USD2.30 billion.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 