NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 28 May
28-05-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Google launches Android contest | Microsoft goes Bing
German software firm InVision is to create 30 jobs in Derry. The investment by InVision has been welcomed by Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster. InVision has already filled 10 of the jobs, which are split between software development, customer support, and documentation posts.
President Mary McAleese has praised Science Foundation Ireland's efforts to promote science research and innovation in Ireland at an event in Massachusetts. The President made the comments at a seminar at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, which is affiliated to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Enticing each new generation to make its mark, ask its questions, find its solutions, is key to growing a vibrant research community in Ireland," said President McAleese. "I have been delighted over the past five years to have encouraged young exceptionally talented researchers, through the SFI President of Ireland Young Researchers Awards, to establish their own independent research programmes and teams in Irish research bodies."
IT security firm ESET has launched ESET Online Scanner, a free tool used to detect malware. The browser-based software will be regularly updated to stay current and supports Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari and Internet Explorer.
Google is running its second developer challenge for its Android mobile operating system. The competition, which can be entered via the Android blog, will award USD250,000 to developers for winning applications. The contest will begin in August and is open to any application that has not been published by the start date. The winners will likely be announced in November.
Staying with news of Android, music subscription service Spotify has released a video teasing a forthcoming mobile version of its application. The app will allow users to stream music directly from a Google Android device while also syncing to the Spotify application on a PC. The YouTube video demonstrates the application in action.
Microsoft has been keeping busy with the announcement of Bing, its new search engine, or 'decision engine' as the Redmond firm has tried to dub it. Bing was unveiled on Thursday at the D: All Things Digital conference in California, and is due to go live by 3 June at Bing.com. Rather than directly challenge Google, the dominant force in search, Microsoft has said it will target Yahoo for the second spot of the search market.
A new deal will see software from internet security firm AVG available to more users in Ireland. The deal, negotiated by Fort Technologies, will see AVG's latest 8.5 anti-malware software made available through Irish ISPs, who may offer end-users a monthly payment plan for the security software.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 