NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 15 May
15-05-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Cleantech venture creates jobs | Eircom names new CEO
BioSpark, a joint 'cleantech' venture between Imperative Energy and Sustainable BioPolymers, has announced it is to invest EUR40 million in the development of a next generation bio-processing research, innovation and manufacturing centre at Claremorris, Co Mayo. The move will create 180 new high-value jobs, 80 of which will be full-time positions, mostly high-skilled, engineering roles engaged in R&D, manufacturing and operations management. There is also the potential for the 180 figure to grow to 300 jobs within three years. The bio-processing facility will use next generation technologies and techniques to convert organic material such as straw and wood biomass into multiple, high-value bio-based products such as ethanol and methane. The facility will also include state-of-the-art laboratories for bio-processing research and innovation.
Eircom has appointed former Vodafone Ireland chief Paul Donovan as its new group CEO. Donovan worked with Vodafone for nine years, including three years as head of Vodafone Ireland. Most recently he was Vodafone CEO for Central Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. He will assume the Eircom CEO position on 1 July 2009. Cathal Magee has been acting-CEO of Eircom since February following the departure of Rex Comb.
Dublin firm AccountsIQ's software has been chosen by professional services firm Deloitte Australia to launch an online accounting service, which will be offered through the firm's Deloitte Digital division as an own-branded solution. "Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is set to revolutionise the delivery of IT solutions and we believe SaaS accounting plays a key role in revolutionising the way accountants service and collaborate with their clients...the Deloitte deal recognises the considerable investment we have made over the past four years in R&D and shows that Ireland can be at the forefront of the SaaS revolution," said Tony Connolly, CEO of AccountsIQ. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Irish mobile services firm Go2mobile has launched GrouptextApp, a solution aimed at smartphone users. The application enables scheduled group SMS messaging from smartphone devices such as the Blackberry and iPhone. GrouptextApp is an extension of Go2mobile's existing online Grouptext Software-as-a-Service.
Samsung Ireland has been awarded the Gno as Gaeilge (Marketing through Irish) prize at the annual All Ireland Marketing (AIM) awards, which took place on 14 May. Samsung Ireland won the award due to its launch last year of the world's first Irish language phone, the Samsung Tocco.
Social networking giant Facebook was hit by another phishing scam on Thursday when hackers gained access to the site and used legitimate accounts to send e-mails to other users directing them to a fake Facebook site where they were asked to log in, providing their passwords. Facebook said it had blocked the phishing e-mails and that users who may have fallen for the scam have had their passwords automatically re-set. The social networking site has not disclosed how many of its users have been affected. Check out Facebook's security page for advice on how to deal with the issue.
PC giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) has voluntarily recalled 70,000 lithium-ion batteries that shipped with several models of its HP and Compaq laptops. The move follows two reports of batteries overheating and bursting into flames. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the incidents resulted in minor property damage but no injuries. The recall affects nine models of HP Pavilions, nine models of Compaq Presarios, two models of HPs, and one HP Compaq laptop model sold between August 2007 and March 2008. For more information, visit the CPSC's site.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 