NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 29 September
29-09-2008
by Deirdre McArdle
Re3 to create 50 jobs in Limerick | Google lays out facts of Yahoo deal
Limerick-based waste management firm Re3 is to create 50 jobs in the next year as a result of its development of new waste recycling technology. The company is to invest EUR15 million in sustainable waste technology known as autoclaving, which uses steam technology to recycle up to 85 percent of the domestic waste which currently goes to landfill. Re3 has pioneered the technology at the Galvone Industrial Estate, where 20 jobs will be created initially, with a further 30 being create over the next year.
Dublin-based fabless semiconductor DecaWave has announced the launch of ScenSor, a 'groundbreaking' real time location service (RTLS) solution. ScenSor (Seek, Communication, Execute, Network, Sense, Obey, Respond) offers new levels of accuracy and capability to the RTLS market, according to DecaWave. It can locate as many as 11,000 assets in a radius of 20m and to a precision of 10cm. "ScenSor's technology overcomes the accuracy and density obstacles encountered by alternative technology options for delivering RTLS, and offers levels of accuracy and density of location and tracking which are simply beyond the capability of other solutions," said Ciaran Connell, CEO DecaWave. ScenSor has applications across industries such as healthcare, security and manufacturing. Silicon prototypes of ScenSor will be ready in the third quarter of 2009, while production-ready silicon chips will ship in the first quarter of 2010.
Google Ireland has launched an art and design competition for Irish schools children based around the Google logo. The competition -- Doodle4Google -- is open to primary and secondary school students, who will have to create a doodle -- the drawings that are designed on, around and through the Google logo on the website's homepage -- based on the theme 'My Ireland'. The winner's design will be placed on the Google homepage in Ireland, the UK, Canada and the US to celebrate St Patrick's Day on 17 March 2009. The winner will also win a laptop for themselves and their teacher and Google will also award a technology grant of EUR10,000 to the winning school. Schools interested in taking part must register by 7 November and must submit entries by 12 December 2008. For more information on the competition click here.
In more news of schools and technology, Microsoft Ireland has called on Irish companies to re-think the way they dispose of their end-of-life PCs. Microsoft Ireland runs a programme called Microsoft Authorised Refurbisher (MAR), which allows companies donate their end-of-life PCs, and the computers will be refurbished, upgraded ,serviced and installed with new copies of Windows and Office. They will then be provided to local schools, charities and community groups. "Companies typically replace their PCs on a three or four year cycle. While an old PC may no longer by useful for the business, it could continue to have a productive life providing access to technology for students and charities across the country. This serves two purposes, helping companies reduce their environmental impact and secondly closing the digital divide," said Microsoft Ireland Managing Director, Paul Rellis. The programme is run by Microsoft but the authorised third party refurbishers are Irish companies and organisations.
Ireland has been classified as 'medium' in terms of children's use of the internet and also 'medium' in terms of children's exposure to risk on the internet. That's according to a report compiled by EU Kids Online, which was based on children's experiences of the internet in 21 European countries. The report is based on data concerning children's use of the internet; perceptions of risk; and parental mediation. According to risk and coping indicators, the report revealed that Estonia and Bulgaria are the highest risk/lowest coping countries followed by Poland and the Czech Republic. On the flip side, Ireland is one of a group of seven countries (Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, and the UK) that combine low risk and a high ability to cope. "This report highlights that Irish children’s experience of using the internet is similar in many ways to their European peers. It is good to see that parents in Ireland are more likely than parents anywhere else in Europe to set rules regulating their children’s internet behaviour with 62 percent having rules in place. Many of their rules relate to the amount of time children are allowed spend online and the type of sites they are allowed to visit," Simon Grehan, National Centre for Technology in Education.
In a bid to counter criticism of its advertising deal with Yahoo, Google has launched the Yahoo-Google Facts site. The site lays out Google's argument for the deal and retaliates against the anti-competitive claims that have been put forward by critics of the link up. Yahoo-Google Facts contains not only Google's arguments but also features quotes from a variety of sources supporting the partnership. Advertising groups in the US have voiced their concerns over the deal and the Department of Justice is also currently investigating the agreement.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 