Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest Issue No. 460
09-04-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Bright spots in the Budget of Doom | Cork lands Big Fish | IBM and Sun fall out | Twoogle rumour mill continues to turn | Electric car market charged up
Bright spots in the Budget of Doom
The Budget dominated the news this week and has left an air of gloom in its wake as we psych ourselves up for tougher times ahead. Amidst all this depression, there were a few glimmers of light. On Wednesday, Enterprise Ireland announced the launch of a business innovation and development programme aimed at producing up to 12 new start-up companies in the border counties of Cavan, Louth, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim and Sligo. The 'Propel Ideas into Business' programme provides a select number of entrepreneurs with the skills and training required to globalise their service offerings. In addition, Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation Jimmy Devins also welcomed the introduction of a tax relief scheme for the acquisition of intangible assets, including intellectual property. While details of the scheme are yet to be worked out, Devins is confident the measure will help to attract "high quality employment to this economy". Recognising Ireland's push to become a knowledge economy, with a focus on research, development and innovation, Devins said he was pleased that his department's spending levels were not cut in the Budget. "What is being done is to hold the line in terms of the level of support provided to allow the consolidation of the investment made over recent years in the whole area of research, development and innovation," he said. Some EUR6 million extra is also going to be added to the Science, Technology and Innovation department's coffers (carried over from the 2008 Budget allocation), which Devins said brings the budget to EUR317 million. The money will be used by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland to provide support to Irish businesses, attract FDI, promote commercialisation of research, and encourage collaboration between industry and the education sector.
Cork lands Big Fish
More positive news emerged from Cork this week, with the announcement that US online games firm Big Fish is to locate its European headquarters in Mahon, just outside Cork city. As many as 100 jobs are likely to be created at the facility, which will focus on customer service and games testing. Big Fish is based in Seattle, Washington and employs around 350 people. Former O2 chief technology officer Oliver Coughlan is understood to be involved with the company. The firm has several lines of business, including distribution of downloadable casual games for PC and mobile devices, ad-supported free online games, game development studios, e-greetings and social networking. The Cork jobs are expected to come on stream within the next three years, and recruitment for the positions is understood to have started already. An official announcement is expected on Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, in Limerick, severance pay talks between management and the 1,900 Dell workers who are to lose their jobs have broken down. The workers are now considering bringing their fight for a better redundancy package to the Labour Relations Commission.
IBM and Sun fall out
After coming so close to sewing up a deal, it looks like IBM's bid for Sun Microsystems has collapsed. Talk of a tie-up between the tech titans first broke in mid-March, and for the following two weeks the discussions seemed to gather pace, with the talks moving into the due diligence phase. No problems so far. But then at the beginning of April, when it was reported that the talks were in the final stages, it came to light that IBM had lowered its bid for Sun by about USD1 per share, valuing the firm at around USD7 billion. In return, Sun demanded assurances that IBM would push to complete a deal even if it came up against vigorous regulatory objections. Last weekend, however, saw IBM withdraw its offer for Sun, on the back of a number of disagreements surrounding massive payouts to Sun executives, the takeover price, and conditions attached to the deal, according to a Bloomberg report, which cited unnamed sources. The collapse of what would have been the largest tech deal of the year means Sun is under increasing pressure to find an alternative buyer, with the firm staring into the face of huge annual losses. There are a number of possible suitors: Dell, Hewlett-Packard or Cisco could show some interest. However, if any deal is to go through, Sun's board, including CEO Jonathan Schwartz and chairman Scott McNealy, need to examine whether they are really open to being acquired.
Twoogle rumour mill continues to turn
The wires were all a-twitter last Friday when reports surfaced that Google was in talks to acquire micro-blogging phenomenon Twitter. A Tech Crunch report by Michael Arrington indicated that discussions between the pair had been confirmed, though at that stage neither Google nor Twitter had commented. Twoogle rumours spread over the weekend, with Twitter co-founder Biz Stone eventually commenting that the talks were just that -- talks. "It should come as no surprise that Twitter engages in discussions with other companies regularly and on a variety of subjects," he wrote in a blog. Despite Stone's vague statement, speculation about a possible hook-up persisted, with Tech Crunch's Arrington fanning the flames with an update that threw around a USD1 billion figure for Twitter. In essence, we're not any closer to knowing whether the talks are more than just talk -- although comments on Google's interest in Twitter's real-time update feed have intensified. For now, it looks like there could be a few more twists in this tale, including the potential for Microsoft to join the party.
Electric car market charged up
The past week has seen a couple of developments in the electric car market. In Ireland, the Government signed an agreement with car manufacturer Renault-Nissan and the ESB to roll out electric cars on Irish roads within two years. Under the terms of the agreement, Renault-Nissan will commit to providing electric cars for sale in Ireland by 2011, while ESB will provide the infrastructure necessary to support the vehicles. The Government's aim is to have 10 percent of the transport fleet fully electric by 2020. Based on current numbers, this works out at approximately 230,000 vehicles. Energy Minister Eamon Ryan, was quite revved up about the agreement: "This collaboration will provide the world with a model for how electric vehicles can be achieved globally. We will continue to press ahead." Elsewhere, GM and Segway, on Tuesday, demoed a two-wheel, battery-powered vehicle in New York City. The prototype vehicle, called PUMA (Personal Urban Mobility and Accessibility), runs on lithium ion batteries and seats two people. GM and Segway claim the PUMA can reach speeds of 35 miles per hour and that it can go for about 35 miles before having to be recharged. Take a look at the PUMA here.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 