NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 2 July
02-07-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Sky launches ads on demand | Jackson bids soar at eBay.ie
Sky digital has launched a new form of advertising through the green button on digital remote controls. The on-demand service allows viewers to watch and access 'extended' advertising. Advertisers will be able to encourage viewers to press the green button on their Sky remote to book longer-form content into their Sky Guide or to record content onto their Sky+ or Sky+HD set-top box. The first campaign to take advantage of green button advertising in Ireland is Diageo's Budweiser. A 90-second video of Budweiser's new Lyrics ad will be available by pressing the green button during the commercial across Sky's channels.
Online auction site eBay.ie has seen a surge in searches for Michael Jackson memorabilia in the days following the death of the King of Pop. In the three days following the news of his death, there was an increase of 395 percent in keyword searches for Michael Jackson. Listings of Jackson music memorabilia have also increased by 12 percent, with fans placing items such as vinyl records and concert posters up for sale on the website.
In a related story, security firm Sophos has issued a warning about an internet virus transmitted from a mass e-mail claiming to contain secret songs and photos of the late pop singer. The message comes with the subject 'Remembering Michael Jackson' and is sent from the address sarah@michaeljackson.com. The rogue e-mail tells recipients that an attached file titled 'Michael songs and pictures.zip' contains secret songs and photos of Jackson. Sophos warned computer users not to open the attachment.
Students from Trinity College Dublin have headed off to Egypt to represent Ireland at Microsoft's Imagine Cup 2009 World Final. The Imagine Cup, now in its seventh year, challenges students around the world to develop new technology. This year the Trinity Sight team has developed a simulator for eye surgical training. For more on the Imagine Cup check out ENN's coverage of the Irish final here.
Firefox 3.5, the latest version of Mozilla's web browser, has claimed a 2 percent share of the US browser market since its launch on Tuesday, according to web analytics firm StatCounter. This brings Firefox's total share of the US browser market to 31.8 percent according to StatCounter. Microsoft's Internet Explorer has the overall market lead with a 60 percent share.
Microsoft has added a feature to its Bing search engine that allows users to look for specific data relating to current and changing events, including postings from Twitter users. The firm said websites like Twitter had placed a premium on the immediacy of data. Bing will adapt to allow users to prioritise searches for real-time information from an index of several thousand Twitter users, including those of journalists and Microsoft staff.
Palo Alto Software has announced it is giving away EUR50,000 worth of its Business Plan Pro Premier software to Irish entrepreneurs. The giveaway, which will take place on 15 July, is being used to help encourage start-up businesses in Ireland. In total 345 copies of the software, valued at EUR145 each, will be given away to businesses that apply for a free version. Interested parties need to log on to the firm's website on 15 July and register their interest. Palo Alto will subsequently review the applications and e-mail those that have been successful.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 