NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 20 August
20-08-2009
by Emmet Cole
Google revamps enterprise search tools | Gamescom opens in Cologne
Video game retailer GameStop has reported a second-quarter profit fall of 32 percent, following a drop in new console sales. The company cut its 2009 forecast, citing concerns about consumer spending and the delay of some key video game titles. In the second quarter, earnings fell to USD38.7 million (USD0.23 a share), down from USD57.2 million (USD0.34 a share) last year. Sales also fell, dropping 3.7 percent to USD1.74 billion. GameStop is now forecasting earnings in a range of USD2.40 a share to USD2.64 a share for the year, revised downwards from its previous forecast of USD2.83 to USD2.93.
Google has launched a search comparison tool called Side By Side through its Enterprise Labs programme. Aimed at the enterprise market the new service will work with Google Search Appliance hardware and via the web-based Google search engine. Side-by-Side lets employees test and rate results from Google Search Appliance or Google Site Search alongside results from any other search engine, to see which gives better results. Google is also planning to increase the ways in which companies can feed data into its enterprise search appliance, and it has also announced details of the Salesforce.com Connector, which enables the Google Search Appliance to search and display documents and objects stored in Salesforce.com. Find out more here.
Identity theft resulting from malware infections could rise as much as 600 percent this year, according to security vendor PandaLabs. The firm found that 71 percent of the 35,000 new malware samples the company studies each day are now designed to steal data for credit cards, bank accounts and financial site login credentials.
Limerick-based mobile messaging company Go2mobile Solutions has launched a new SMS Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product, Grouptext+. Grouptext+ allows users to send a message longer than 160 characters and enables messages to be scheduled in advance. The software also allows users to record mobiles that do not wish to be contacted any further, enables real-time tracking of messages, and anytime, anywhere access to the user account.
Storage and data management firm NetApp has appointed current president and COO Tom Georgens as its new chief executive. A member of the NetApp board since February 2008, Georgens joined the firm in October 2005 as executive vice president of enterprise storage systems. He will replace outgoing chief executive Dan Warmenhoven, who led the company for 15 years and will continue to serve as chairman.
Gamescom -- Europe's biggest video games fair -- opened its doors in the German city of Cologne on Thursday. The show is expected to attract 200,000 visitors and has over 420 exhibitors from 30 countries. Global premieres of new versions of 'Pro Evolution Soccer 10', 'FIFA 10' and 'Guitar Hero 5' are also expected to be revealed at the event.
Finally, a new Twitter site created by an Israeli student allows internet users from around the world to send prayers for placement in Jerusalem's Western Wall. The student has promised to deliver the prayers (which cannot be viewed by the general public) on a regular basis. He has already deposited 1,000 prayers at the site. The Western Wall is believed by some to provide a direct line to God.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 