Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest Issue No. 468
04-06-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Let the 'controller wars' begin | Concern over Leaving Cert maths figures
Bing: Microsoft tackles search market
It's been a busy week for Microsoft. The Redmond-based behemoth has launched its new search engine, Bing, which went live on 3 June. The move is a concerted effort by Microsoft to carve out a larger slice of the search market, so long dominated by Google with Yahoo in second place. Early reviews suggest that Bing's search performance is impressive. But at this stage, with Google so entrenched in the mindset of internet users across the globe, popular opinion is that Bing doesn't quite cut the mustard when it comes to that intangible coolness factor. Still, Microsoft seems to recognise that, with the firm saying it will target Yahoo for second place rather than making a play for the top spot. According to April US figures, Google controls about 60 percent of the search market, Yahoo has around 20 percent, with Microsoft trailing at just 8 percent. Meanwhile, in a brief statement on Wednesday Microsoft announced that Windows 7 will be available from 22 October, nicely in time for the Christmas market. The new operating system, which will replace the much-maligned Vista, has so far received some positive feedback from beta testers and developers.
Let the 'controller wars' begin
Microsoft also made its presence felt at the gaming trade show E3 Expo this week when it launched Project Natal, the software giant's attempt to tap into the casual gaming sector and take a slice of the market back from Nintendo. Project Natal essentially does away with the Xbox 360's traditional controller, replacing it with a full-body motion controller which includes a camera, a depth sensor and a microphone. The motion controller means you control your on-screen player with your body and voice. As of now, there's no indication when any Project Natal software or hardware will hit the shelves, but industry observers are suggesting it could be at least a year away. Not to be outdone, Sony too got in on the action at the E3 Expo, showing off its next-generation motion controller for the PS3. Looking not dissimilar to Nintendo's Wii-mote, the PlayStation Motion Control works in tandem with the PS3's Eye camera. According to reports, Sony's controller is extremely precise and accurate, and the Japanese giant is talking about a spring 2010 release. For its part Nintendo, which wowed the gaming world with its motion controller for the Wii back in 2006, told the BBC it is "not worried at all" by Microsoft and Sony's new controllers. In fact Nintendo game developer Shigeru Miyamoto said the firm was "flattered". We've had the console wars; looks like we're now moving on to the controller wars.
Obama targets cyber attacks
Calling networks and computers "strategic national assets", US president Barack Obama this week released a review of federal policy on cyber security. Obama said the US has so far "failed to invest" in the security of its digital infrastructure, despite the growing number of cyber attacks. The president cited an industry report that put losses from cybercrime at USD1,000 billion and said the growing dependence on online banking and e-commerce means security should be considered a matter of economic necessity as well as a key point of national defence. "Our defence and military networks are under constant attack," he said. "Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups have spoken of their desire to unleash a cyber-attack on our country - attacks that are harder to detect and harder to defend against." According to reports US government and military computer systems were attacked over 44,000 times during 2007. In order to combat this growing threat, Obama has said he will shortly appoint a so-called 'cyber czar', whose job will be to oversee and co-ordinate digital security policy. Obama's new policy is expected to come into effect within the next six weeks, during which time the cyber czar is likely to be named.
Concern over Leaving Cert maths figures
Over 55,000 students took their seats in exam halls across the country as the Leaving Certificate started on Wednesday. News leading up to the exams indicated that just 10,500 students (20 percent) would be sitting the higher-level maths paper this year. This figure is bound to cause concern among business leaders and the Government, as we pin our future hopes on the so-called knowledge economy. Higher-level maths is a key requirement for the majority of third-level courses in science, technology and engineering. The National Competitiveness Council reacted to the news by again calling for incentives to be devised that would encourage students to take higher-level maths; these include awarding extra CAO points for the subject. Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe has in the past indicated his reluctance to go down that route. Meanwhile, what will also generate alarm is the fact that less than 4,000 students will be sitting higher-level engineering in this year's Leaving Cert. The engineering curriculum was due to be updated this year to make it more practical but government cutbacks put paid to that plan, with the Department of Education postponing the update.
Funding injection for tech research
Technology research got a boost this week with the news that Enterprise Ireland is to invest EUR1 million in the first phase of the Innovation Value Institute Consortium Competence Centre (IVIC3). The IVIC3 consortium is comprised of over 40 private and public sector organisations including Intel, Microsoft, SAP, Xilinx and ESB. NUI Maynooth, University of Limerick and NUI Galway will collaborate on the initial research phase with these companies. The funding comes under the joint Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland 'Competence Centre Initiative' and will be used by IT companies to develop tools and solutions to "shared problems". News of the funding came as the Innovation Value Institute, which is based at NUI Maynooth, announced the European launch of an IT business tool: the IT Capability Maturity Framework (IT-CMF). The tool was developed jointly by Intel and researchers at NUI Maynooth and tested by members of the IVIC3. IT-CMF essentially enables companies to calculate how much money they are saving by using technology.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 