IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 23 June
23-06-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
More prisons to block phone signals | Facebook claims online ad success
The Irish Independent reports that mobile phone blocking technology is being introduced at more jails in a bid to stop criminals who continue to run their operations from behind bars. The Prison Service is bringing in the technology at Limerick Prison, the Mountjoy Prison Medical Unit and D Unit at Wheatfield Prison. Trials of phone signal inhibition systems are under way at all three facilities, a Prison Service spokesman said.
The paper also says that Ireland's broadband speeds will equal or exceed those of comparable EU states by 2012, according to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Read more about Communications Minister Eamon Ryan's launch of a policy document entitled 'Next Generation Broadband: Gateway to a Knowledge Ireland' on ENN.
The same paper notes that social networking site Facebook has said the number of customers using its automated online-advertising system more than tripled in the past year. The ads, which include text and photos, target users that might want to go to a local hair salon, hire a wedding photographer, or are close to buying other products, said Tim Kendall, Facebook's director of product marketing for monetisation. The service lets companies target users based on the information they put on their profiles, he said.
The Financial Times reports that critics of France Telecom's dominance in its home market received a boost after the French telecoms regulator paved the way for the rollout of super-high-speed internet services on optical fibres. Telecoms watchdog Arcep ruled that more than one fibre-optic line could be installed in buildings in densely populated areas, an option that had previously been strongly criticised by the former monopoly operator. The ruling is a boost for rival operators.
The same paper says that Microsoft is releasing a test version of its free security software on Tuesday in the US, Brazil and Israel. Dubbed 'Microsoft Security Essentials', the program will compete with free distribution software from the likes of AVG Technologies and Panda Software, as well as a range of fee-based security ware. To head off antitrust objections, Microsoft will not bundle the program with Windows 7 or other products. The test version will be limited to the first 75,000 downloads. A wider release will come later this year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, two large US mobile operators plan to launch Motorola smartphones based on Google's Android operating system before the end of the year, say sources. The Google-powered phones will be carried by Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile USA. Motorola co-chief executive Sanjay Jha has been making efforts in recent months to revive the company's struggling handset division; Motorola is betting heavily on Android to regain traction in the mobile market.
The paper also notes that Eastman Kodak is ending production of the film it first introduced in 1935, Kodachrome. The move is in response to plummeting sales of the product amid a long-running shift to digital photography.
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