NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 5 January
05-01-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Jobs talks about illness, will stay CEO | Palm to unveil new OS
Following increased speculation about his health in light of the news that he would not be giving the keynote speech at this week's Macworld, Steve Jobs has explained his recent weight loss, saying he's been diagnosed with a hormone imbalance. The Apple CEO's weight loss had prompted fears among investors that he was in ill health; however, Jobs has now said in a letter that he will continue as head of Apple and is getting treatment for his condition. "I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first," he said in the letter.
Irish mobile services firm Go2mobile Solutions has launched Go2mms, an online platform that allows users to display pictures and videos from their mobile phone. The firm believes the newly-launched facility can be used in a variety of different sectors such as insurance companies who could receive pictures of damage from customers who've been in accidents; traffic wardens who could send in photos of cars with offences; and environmental authorities who could receive pictures of pollution or illegal dumping.
CA has announced its acquisition of New York-based Orchestria Corporation, a provider of data loss prevention technology. CA said that Orchestria's technology will fit in well with CA's server protection capabilities, helping to secure an organisation's information in "all states -- in motion, at rest or at the endpoint". The firm said this will help prevent data breaches and support privacy and compliance initiatives. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. This is the third security-related acquisition CA has made in the past three months: in November it acquired Eurekify and in October it acquired IDFocus.
Freescale Semiconductors has launched its i.MX515 processor based on ARM's Cortex-A8 technology, which focuses on the burgeoning netbook market. The central processing unity (CPU) has been designed for use in netbooks with 8.9 inch displays, which can deliver eight hours of battery life. According to Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale's Networking and Multimedia Group, the technology will allow OEMs to build devices that feature "cell phone-like battery life at extremely aggressive price points".
Consumer electronics giant Sony is expected to announce a number of closures of Japanese factories and major divisions early next month, according to a report in the Times of London. The paper, citing company sources, reports that the Japanese firm is braced for a series of measures that would abolish some of its domestic operations and transform its business. Sony has responded to the report, saying it has "no such plan". Sony did announce a USD1.1 billion savings plan in its electronics division in December, but analysts have been quick to point out that it needs additional, more drastic restructuring measures if it is to continue to grow.
Meanwhile, another struggling firm, Palm, is poised to preview its new mobile operating system -- Nova -- at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, as it bids to revive the company's fortunes in the smartphone market. The latest rumours suggest that Palm will also release a new device that runs Nova at the CES, which kicks off on Thursday, 8 January. During 2008 Palm struggled make an impact on the smartphone market as rivals Apple and RIM outpaced it.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 