NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 30 September
30-09-2009
by Emmet Ryan
Citi to double Dublin workforce | Over 1m Facebook users in Ireland
Financial services firm Citi is to double its staff in Dublin, reaching 100 by the end of 2010, due to the opening of a new global research facility. The centre, which was opened by An Taoiseach Brian Cowen, will focus on the development of a next generation intelligent payments solution. Citi plans to work closely with firms such as Microsoft and Cisco on this project, which brings the firm's total investment in research and development in Ireland past the USD100 million mark.
Sean Fee, one of the founders of Lookandtaste.com, is one of the brains behind a new project aimed at enabling virtual teaching. VidSchool.com is a website where teachers can build a profile and deliver pre-recorded classes to students around the globe. Fee has co-founded the firm with Paul Edwards and the pair are looking to tap into the lucrative education market. The Irish grinds market alone has an estimated annual value of over EUR50 million and the duo aim to reach out to this market with the online teaching service.
The Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Conor Lenihan has announced funding of almost EUR1 million to attract world-class researchers to Ireland through Science Foundation Ireland's (SFI) Walton Visitor Programme. Minister Lenihan made the announcement at the launch of SFI's Annual Report for 2008. "With this funding of nearly EUR1 million, 16 top-class researchers have chosen to come to Ireland to carry out research with some of the world-class people we have here. Their collective efforts will benefit Irish industry and strengthen our connections with the international research community across the globe," said Minister Lenihan.
According to figures from Mulley Communications social networking site Facebook has passed the 1 million user barrier in Ireland. In all, 1,010,980 people living in Ireland are on the social network, up from 900,000 in August and far higher than the 400,000 registered in January of this year. With a 53.8 percent share, Irish women outnumber their male counterparts on Facebook. Nearly 66 percent of users are over 25.
The European Commission has welcomed a new deal which will see the US government relax its control over how the internet is run. The new affirmation of commitments between the US and the internet regulator Icann gives autonomy to the body for the first time. Previously the Commission had criticised the close ties between the regulator and the US government.
Recruitment firm Harvey Nash has found that a third of employers are using social networking websites to connect with potential employees. While these firms are using Facebook and Twitter to reach out to potential recruits, the report also found that 44 percent of employers think social networking is not yet important to their business.
Over 100,000 invitations were sent to developers to preview Google Wave on Wednesday. The project, which was first unveiled in May, is a new communication and collaboration tool from the internet giant. The service integrates aspects of e-mail, social networking, and instant messaging into one application. Google said there are still some kinks to be ironed out before the full launch is made, hence the release to developers.
Finally, the Dallas Cowboys have entered the Guinness Book of Records after the American Football team's 1,058 square metre screen was recognised as the largest high definition video screen in the world. It hasn't all been smooth sailing for the Mitsubishi manufactured device. A kicker on a team playing in the stadium managed to hit the screen with a football in August, leading to questions over whether the screen was raised high enough in the stadium.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 