In The Papers 13 November

13-11-2008

by Sylvia Leatham

Intel shocks market with revenue warning | Google remodels AdWords for YouTube

The Irish Times reports that the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has heard that there is at present no technological solution to prevent bullying by mobile phone. Vodafone, O2, Meteor and Three appeared in front of the committee following concerns from politicians that they were not doing enough to address the issue. O2 head of corporate affairs Majella Fitzpatrick said the operators had examined KidSafe, a number-blocking technology from Irish firm Sentry Wireless, as an option, but it was not viable. Tommy McCabe, the director of the Irish Cellular Industry Association, said the industry was taking the issue seriously, as noted by ENN on Wednesday.

The paper also says that a digital education and recreation centre has opened in Dublin's inner city. The centre, at St Teresa's Gardens flat complex, aims to train 600 to 700 unemployed or underemployed people and to have "at least 50" of them in full-time jobs in the next year. Equipped with new PCs and high-speed broadband, it is one of 25 such centres that have been set up in disadvantaged areas of the inner city on the initiative of the Dublin Institute of Technology, with part-funding from Dublin City Council and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The Irish Examiner reports that a high-tech undercover sting operation is under way in Cork city targeting unauthorised waste collectors and illegal dumpers. Cork City Council's waste enforcement section is using hidden cameras installed in an unmarked vehicle as part of its war on litter. Suspected illegal operators and known dumping hotspots will be closely monitored. The council is hoping to catch people flouting the law red-handed. The vehicle has been fitted with a forward and rear looking high-resolution long zoom camera system, installed by Cork-based Halo Security.

According to the Financial Times, Intel has shocked Wall Street with a revenue and margins warning, indicating a rapid decline in the chip giant's business over the past month. Intel, a bellwether for the tech industry, reported that sales were being "affected by significantly weaker than expected demand in all geographies and market segments". The warning comes less than a month after Intel issued its forecasts for the fourth quarter and amounts to a 14 percent cut in revenue expectations since that time. Intel now expects revenues of USD9 billion, plus or minus USD300 million, down from an earlier forecast of USD10.1 billion to USD10.9 billion. Gross margins are now expected to be about 55 percent, compared with 59 percent previously.

The paper also says that Google is to try a new approach to advertising on YouTube closely modelled on its highly successful AdWords system. Under the new arrangement, advertisers will bid to have their videos displayed in a new "sponsored videos" section of the site when visitors to YouTube search for particular keywords, much as the AdWords auction system displays ads on the Google search engine. Advertisers would then pay every time someone clicked on their video, the same pay-per-click model that was popularised by AdWords.

The Wall Street Journal says that US consumer electronics chain Best Buy has sharply cut its profit forecast due to plunging sales. Saying it could no longer accurately predict its future, the retail giant warned that sales for the final four months of its fiscal year ending 28 February could drop 5 percent to 15 percent. The end-of-year sales typically make up more than half of Best Buy's annual profit. "Since mid-September, rapid, seismic changes in consumer behaviour have created the most difficult climate we've ever seen," said Best Buy chief executive Brad Anderson. "Best Buy simply can't adjust fast enough to maintain our earnings momentum for this year." The retailer cut its annual earnings projection to anywhere from USD2.30 to USD2.90 a share, down from a prior prediction of USD3.25 to USD3.40 a share.

The paper also notes that Microsoft is more tightly linking its webmail, instant messaging and other communications services together. The software behemoth will in the coming weeks revamp Windows Live, an online hub for its Hotmail, Messenger instant messaging, photo sharing and other communications services. Among the changes are new features that closely resemble features on social networking site Facebook, making it easier for users to keep tabs on the activities of friends on the internet.

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