NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 12 February
12-02-2009
by Emmet Cole
Amazon and IBM reach for the clouds | Irish romance goes digital
Telecommunications watchdog ComReg has hit Eircom with a notice of non-compliance in relation to the company's TalkTime offering -- which bundles landline calls and broadband with free calls to Meteor mobile phones. The notice of non-compliance to Eircom is in relation to its obligation not to "unreasonably bundle" retail line rental with other retail services. Eircom now has one month to either remedy its non-compliance or respond to the notification.
EpiSensor, the Zigbee-based wireless sensor networks developer, launched a new energy solution on Thursday. The solution is designed to help companies manage and control their energy costs more effectively and efficiently, according to the company. The new product was demonstrated to European utility companies at a conference in the Radisson St Helen Hotel in Dublin earlier this week. EpiSensor's ZEM-30 Energy Monitor is used in situations where there are concentrations of electrical equipment, such as in datacentres, processing plants and building plant rooms and allows companies to understand energy consumption patterns.
Amazon and IBM have reached an agreement that will see Amazon offer IBM software as part of its cloud computing offering. As part of the deal, IBM will make its DB2 and Informix Dynamic Server databases, WebSphere Portal and Lotus Web Content Management software available through Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud service. IBM also announced plans to make its Tivoli service management software available through Amazon in the future.
Salesforce.com, the enterprise cloud computing company, released the results of its biannual customer satisfaction survey on Thursday. Those using Salesforce's CRM solution reported a 34 percent increase in revenue growth, a 17 percent increase in profit margin improvement and a 25 percent increase in overall customer satisfaction, according to the survey. The survey of more than 3,000 global customers was conducted by independent research firm MarketTools, in December 2008.
A revamped version of the Royal.gov.uk website was launched at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday. Set to be unveiled by the Queen of England and none-other than web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the updated site will reportedly include more detailed information about the British royal family, enhanced audio and video features and an upgraded interface. Visitors will also be able to follow the British royal family's movements on a daily basis on Google Maps, with icons to show where they are in the country on any given day. Monday: my castle. Tuesday: my castle. Wednesday: my castle. Friday: My son's castle. Saturday/Sunday: Too tired to type.
Games developer Activision -- the company behind the phenomenally successful Guitar Hero game -- posted a USD72 million net loss in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with a USD86 million profit in the same period last year. The fourth quarter of 2008 was the first full quarter for Activision since its merger with Vivendi's games division in July 2008. Excluding deferred revenue and other charges, the company would have earned USD429 million on net revenue of USD1.64 billion. Those numbers exceed analyst forecasts, but the company is predicting a gloomy 2009, with revenue for the year estimated to be in the region of USD4.7 billion, some USD500 million less than analysts' expectations. Activision stock fell 4 percent in after-hours trading on the news.
Finally, a new study by Windows Live has found that one in three Irish people turn to instant messaging to say 'I love you' and a third of people have started a romantic relationship with someone they've met on the internet. The study also found that instant messaging remains the preferred method to flirt in Ireland as seven in ten confess to finding it easier to 'flirt with their fingers' than face-to-face. A further one-fifth of Irish people use instant messaging to flirt with a work colleague.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 