NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 4 June
04-06-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Dublin schools take ICT lead | Intel to buy Wind River Systems
A new study has found that teachers in south-west inner city Dublin are using mobile phones, digital cameras, MP3 players and computer games to engage their students in learning activities. The report, by the Digital Hub Development Agency was conducted amongst 167 teachers in the 16 schools that participate in the Digital Hub's learning programme in the Liberties area of Dublin. It found that teachers working in the vicinity of the Digital Hub use ICT more frequently than their colleagues elsewhere, and are more confident about integrating technology and digital media into the school curriculum. The study found that, in all, 60 percent of the secondary school teachers surveyed were using some form of technology in the classroom.
Chip giant Intel has announced its plans to buy Wind River Systems, which makes software for embedded devices, for USD884 million. Intel has said it will acquire all outstanding Wind River Systems common shares for USD11.50, a 44 percent increase on Wednesday's closing price of USD8. Wind River Systems was founded in 1981 and has over 1,600 employees.
Six teams will do battle for EUR10,000 in the SUSSED Entrepreneurship Competition. The six teams have been shortlisted for the event, run by UCD, based on business plans they submitted covering sectors such as the environment, information and communication technology and sports and leisure. The objective of the competition is to transform business ideas emerging from students and early-stage researchers at UCD into business plans and commercial enterprises. The shortlisted teams will do battle in a round of Dragons' Den style interviews to decide the overall winner.
IrishTimes.com and Ireland.com have agreed a joint advertising sales plan with the US-based IrishCentral.com to represent each other in their respective markets. The partnership will allow the parties to grow and develop relationships with new clients, and create a new approach to reaching the global Irish market, which is estimated at 70 million people.
Irish shoppers are continuing to spend online despite the credit crunch according to new research from eBay. Health and beauty sales are up 44 percent amongst Irish eBay users, well ahead of the European average of 4 percent. While some Irish shoppers are focussing on their own personal appearance, others are demonstrating their green fingers. Sales of plants seeds and bulbs in Ireland have shot up by 127 percent, the highest increase in Europe.
Ireland may have missed out on the finals of the Eurovision but the competition was still one of the most searched terms amongst Irish users of Google last month. New golfing sensation Shane Lowry, who won the Irish Open, also sparked a wave of searches. The arrival of the new Star Trek film saw searches for that term rise by 140 percent.
Samsung has launched its new N120 netbook. The 10.1 inch device comes with a keyboard designed for larger 12-inch sized laptops. The N120 comes with two 1.5 watt stereo speakers, a larger touchpad than previous models and is designed to place less strain on a user's wrists.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 