NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 21 August
21-08-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Salesforce Q2 profits double | Twitter launches twit location tool
E-learning firm SkillSoft has posted second-quarter revenue of USD78.9 million, down 5 percent from the previous year's revenue of USD83.3 million. GAAP net income was USD17.2 million, or USD0.17 per diluted share, up from net income of USD12.9 million, or USD0.12 per diluted share, for the year-ago quarter. The company has upped its full-year revenue predictions: it now expects revenues to be in the range of USD307 million to USD310 million, up from the range of USD300 million to USD310 million announced earlier in the year.
In more news of results, cloud computing firm Salesforce.com has recorded a 20 percent year-on-year jump in revenue for its second quarter. The firm posted revenue of USD316.1 million, with subscription and support revenues accounting for the bulk (USD293.4 million) of that total. Net income for the quarter amounted to USD21 million, or USD0.17 per share, compared to USD10 million, or USD0.08 per share in the year-ago quarter. Wall Street analysts had been expecting per share earnings of USD0.15 on revenue of USD312.7 million. Salesforce.com has revised upwards its full-year expectations. It now expects earnings of USD0.60 to USD0.61 a share on revenue of USD1.27 billion to USD1.28 billion, above the USD0.59 to USD0.60 and USD1.25 billion to USD1.27 billion the company previously predicted.
Vodafone is to launch a mobile app store, according to reports, which suggest that the operator's Irish arm has overseen the project. A date for the launch of the 'web widget application shop' is yet to be announced, but Vodafone Ireland has called on developers to come along to the Irish software show, Epicenter, next week to find out about the firm's 'widgets developer platform'. The service will reportedly be rolled out to Irish consumers before being launched globally.
Micro-blogging site Twitter has said it will soon launch a new application programming interface (API) which will allow users to display their precise location. The new function will be controllable by the user, who will be able to switch it on or off when they want. "If people do opt-in to sharing location on a tweet-by-tweet basis, compelling context will be added to each burst of information," said the company in a blog posting. Essentially, Twitterers will be able to read the tweets of anyone in their close proximity -- whether they follow them or not. The site said it will be releasing this geolocation app to platform developers before it's added to the Twitter site.
Finally, Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation that operates open source encyclopaedia Wikipedia, has received a USD500,000 grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Wikimedia said it plans to use the money to improve the user-friendliness of Wikipedia, develop training materials to engage new potential volunteer editors, and establish metrics to track the foundation's impact. The Hewlett Foundation says Wikipedia plays an important role in making information freely accessible. Last year Wikipedia received its largest ever donation -- USD3 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 