IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 18 September
18-09-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Guitar network hopes to strike a chord | Google in deal to print 2m books
The Irish Times reports on the launch of dbTwang, a new Irish-based social network where guitar players and collectors can keep information about their guitars securely. DbTwang has received EUR200,000 in funding to date and is on target to turn over EUR400,000 by the end of next year and to break even by mid-2011, according to founder Keith Bohanna. The website, at www.dbtwang.com, is currently in beta testing and will be fully launched in November.
The same paper reports that Dublin-based Nathean Technologies, which develops business intelligence software, has completed an investment round of more than EUR1 million to expand its operations. The latest funding is a 60/40 split between existing company shareholders and Enterprise Ireland. The investment will be used primarily in R&D to improve Nathean's Logix Professional software.
According to the Irish Independent the Irish arm of Motorola, which closed down its Cork plant in 2007, paid an interim dividend of EUR40 million to its US parent in May 2009. In accounts just filed to the Companies' Office, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of EUR3.1 million to the end of December 2008 -- a drop of 86 percent on the EUR23 million profits secured in 2007. The filings show that the company had accumulated profits of EUR42.1 million at the end of December 2008 and employed just 12 people at that time.
The Wall Street Journal writes that smartphone maker Palm reported a loss of USD164.5 million, or USD1.17 a share, for its first fiscal quarter, compared with a loss of USD41.9 million, or USD0.39 a share, a year earlier. Revenue was USD68 million, compared with USD366.9 million a year ago. Palm, which launched the Pre in early June, deferred much of the revenue from sales of the high-profile smartphone. Palm said it expected revenue in the current quarter to be between USD240 million and USD270 million, compared with Wall Street expectations of about USD344 million. "The weaker projection suggests the momentum for the Pre is turning down," said Ilya Grozovsky, an analyst at Morgan Joseph.
Microsoft has filed five lawsuits against alleged purveyors of 'malvertisements', says the Wall Street Journal. 'Malvertisements' are online advertisements that trick unsuspecting users into downloading malicious software on their computers. Microsoft's suits cite anonymous defendants using the business names Direct Ad Solutions, Soft Solutions, Qiweroqw.com, ITmeter and ote2008.info, alleging that they used Microsoft's system for posting malvertisements. Microsoft says it intends to use the lawsuits to uncover the names of those involved. This form of malware is becoming a more common nuisance on the Web, in some cases turning up on mainstream Web sites.
According to the Financial Times, Google has struck a deal with On Demand Books to commence printing up to 2 million out-of-copyright books, which the internet firm will then ship for selling at locations around the world. "Google's mission is to make the world's books more available," said Jennie Johnson, spokeswoman for the internet search leader. The alliance is timed to help Google demonstrate the public benefit to its broader initiative in books, which includes text searches and a proposed legal settlement of a class-action copyright case.
Staying with Google, the same paper reports that the internet firm will announce on Friday that it is combining its process for selling internet display advertisements with that for selling text ads. While Google gets more than 70 per cent of the US market for search ads, usually consisting of a few words and a link, it trails Yahoo and others in direct revenue from pictorial ads. "This can increase Google's ability to cross-sell and up-sell to the same advertisers," said analyst Sandeeep Aggarwal of Collins Stewart.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 