Daily Digest 22 October

22-10-2008

by Emmet Cole

European Parliament endorses 'Safer Internet' | Technology keeps families connected: Pew

The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly for a five-year programme aiming to protect children from illegal and harmful contents on the internet. The EUR55 million "Safer Internet" programme is designed to raise public awareness of internet safety issues among children, parents and teachers, and to establish national contact points for reporting illegal online content and harmful conduct, such as grooming and cyberbullying. The programme is expected to be approved by the Council of Ministers before the end of 2008.

Sun Microsystems has released Java Standard Edition 6 Update 10 -- a major update to the popular web content platform. The update enables improved startup time for applets, improved graphics and faster installation. It also allows users to drag and drop applets between browser window and desktop.

Meanwhile, overseas software pirates looked nervously over their shoulders on Wednesday, with news that Microsoft has announced the launch of a new campaign aimed at combating pirated software. Microsoft's 'global anti-piracy day' on 21 October was, according to sources at the company, the beginning of a new worldwide effort to root out and apprehend vendors that sell pirated copies of Microsoft products. The campaign will include action in 49 countries -- not including Ireland -- in which Microsoft will work with the public and local law enforcement groups to help identify and apprehend people dealing in stolen software.

Technology is helping families stay connected better than ever before, according to the latest report from Pew Internet. The survey of 2,252 Americans also revealed that families are among the keenest users of technology, and that 51 percent of parents browse the web with their children. The report also found that so-called "nuclear families" were more likely to have more hi-tech gadgetry in their home than almost any other group it measured. Multiple mobile phones were found in 89 percent of nuclear families, while 66 percent had a high-speed net connection. The US national average for broadband penetration is 52 percent.

A worldwide survey released Wednesday shows that European companies lag significantly behind their American counterparts in compliance with important regulations. The CA survey revealed that 46 percent of European countries report that they are not in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, compared to just 11 percent in North America. It also revealed that 36 percent of European companies are not in compliance with Basel II, compared to 17 percent in North America.

Finally, Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, will on Thursday announce the winners of the 2008 Science Foundation Ireland/Dell ‘Young Women in Engineering’ scholarship awards at a ceremony in Dublin. Now in its third year, the awards aim to encourage more female students into engineering as an undergraduate degree and future career. The awards will take place in the Merrion Hotel, Dublin 2.