NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 21 July
21-07-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Ireland Intune for 350 new jobs | Ryan announces 'smart' initiatives
A total of 350 jobs are to be created by Intune Networks over the next three years, including 50 this year. The jobs were announced by Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan as the Irish telecoms equipment design company was named to lead the Government's programme to build Ireland's Exemplar Smart Network. Intune's programmable fibre optic platform will form the foundation for creating a next generation smart and green communications infrastructure for Ireland. Minister Ryan said the network would give Ireland world leading technology and a first mover advantage in the establishment of a smart economy, helping Ireland leapfrog its international peers in digital infrastructure.
At the same press conference, Minister Ryan announced six new initiatives being taken to help push the smart economy forward, the first of which is the Exemplar network. There will also be a greater focus on energy efficient data centres and cloud computing, areas where the government hopes to create 10,000 jobs in the next decade. The third initiative focuses on an international content services centre, modelled on the IFSC to improve communications and digital arts. Smart electricity networks will be rolled out as part of the Government's sustainable energy initiatives. The fifth area targeted is WorkFlow, a focus on reducing carbon emissions. Finally Smart Bay, the sixth initiative, will work on marine research in Galway Bay. Overall, the Government expects to create 30,000 direct and indirect jobs over the next 10 years as part of this digital and clean technology strategy.
The Government has announced its response to the web-based initiative the Ideas Campaign. Seventeen of the 44 ideas included in the action plan put together by the independent citizens initiative for economic recovery and renewal have been chosen by the Government to implement. The selected ideas include promoting the teaching of business skills in PhD education as a means of promoting the knowledge economy and providing a one-stop-shop virtual helpdesk for start-ups with advice on legal, HR, patents and accountancy issues.
AirSpeed Telecom the telecommunications company, which operates a nationwide licensed wireless radio transmission network, has been awarded significant 10.5GHz radio spectrum licenses by ComReg for Dundalk, Portlaoise, Wexford and Waterford. An additional investment of EUR500,000 will be made by AirSpeed Telecom to its existing network to activate these licences.
Digital office equipment firm Ricoh Ireland has completed a nationwide printer network for Postbank, Ireland's community-based retail bank. Ricoh has rolled-out multi function printer, copier, scanner and fax devices to support Postbank services in close to 1,000 Post Offices around the country. The new multi-function printer network will allow post offices to speed up the application process, ensure full compliance with required regulations across the network and allow for electronic management of paper. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
A study by jobs website Myhorizon.ie has found that 94 percent of Irish people are not working in their dream job. The report found that job seekers are willing to take the measures required to change this however, as 60 percent said they would be willing to go back to college to get the training needed to find their dream job. Career guidance had proven to be a problem area for most respondents with 88 percent saying they had received no guidance since leaving second level education.
Almost 40 percent of British people admit to spending more than 24 hours a month searching on the internet for information about themselves and other people, according to a new study by people-search website Yasni. Social networks, forums, and blogs are being used to snoop around for information. According to the survey only 14 percent of the British public spend less than 5 hours searching for data on themselves or others online.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 