IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 9 October
09-10-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Barnes & Noble to enter e-reader market | Limerick gang war takes to YouTube
The Irish Times reports PC maker Dell has announced it is to close a desktop computer manufacturing plant in the US early next year, laying off 905 workers in the process. The firm is currently in the middle of an effort to realise USD4 billion in cost savings.
The paper also says that a brainstorming event on innovation will be held in Dublin this weekend involving participants from Ireland and other EU states. Creativity Rising is a gathering of the promoters of 11 innovative projects, who will share ideas on how their work can be progressed. The 11 promoters will make presentations on their projects, which will then be reviewed by the others. Practical suggestions will be made on how the projects could be improved and useful contacts will be shared. The event is being held as part of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation and is organised by creative consultancy group Multi-Talent Ireland.
According to the same paper, head of Three Ireland Robert Finnegan has said Eircom shouldn't get any government support for investing in next-generation fibre-optic networks. Instead, he said, the telecoms industry would like to see Eircom upgrade 60 percent of its core network to next-generation status. He said newer technologies such as mobile broadband could then be used for the "last mile" to reach homes and businesses.
Still in the same paper, Shane O'Neill, vice-president of UPC-owners Liberty Global, has offered to go to the Government in partnership with record companies to negotiate the best way to stop illegal file-sharing. "We would absolutely like to see a system put in place that will prohibit piracy," said O'Neill. "We will participate in national schemes where there is a systematic, gradual approach." The Irish Recorded Music Association has initiated court proceedings against UPC over its refusal to implement a similar system to that in place with Eircom where regular downloaders are disconnected.
The Irish Independent reports that millions of euro earmarked for school building this year is to be diverted to pay for long-overdue computers in schools. Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe has been sitting on a high-powered report on ICT in schools, prepared by leading industrialists, outlining the need for urgent investment in technology in schools. The report's recommendations, which include a laptop in every classroom to be phased in from this year, have been awaiting a cash injection. However, the threat to the school building fund has caused anger among the 1,200 schools currently seeking approval to go ahead with major building projects.
The same paper says that criminals involved in Limerick's ongoing gang feud are using YouTube to issue threats against each other. Limerick's Keane-Collopy gang has posted a video, which issued murder threats, onto YouTube. The video takes the form of a MTV-style 'gangsta rap'. The video, which threatens McCarthy-Dundon gang member John Dundon, has so far been viewed 7,000 times. The video comes four months after senior members of the McCarthy-Dundon gang sent out a death threat to Christy Keane of the Keane-Collopy gang on YouTube.
The Irish Examiner reports that former workers at the Dell plant in Limerick may have to wait until Christmas for the EUR14.8 million stimulus package from the European Union. MEPs in the European Parliament have questioned the package and claimed they should have been consulted before the aid package was announced. All spending has to be approved by both the parliament and the council representing the member states. They will vote on the matter at their next meeting on 3 and 4 November.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Barnes & Noble plans to announce its own brand of e-book reader and could begin selling the device as soon as next month, according to people briefed on the matter. The device is expected to feature a six-inch screen from digital-paper maker E-Ink with touch input and a virtual keyboard, similar to that in the iPhone. The device is also expected to use a wireless connection to download books from the online e-book store that Barnes & Noble unveiled in July, those people said.
The Financial Times reports that Qualcomm, the world's biggest maker of chips for mobile phones, has entered the net neutrality debate in the US. Qualcomm chief executive Paul Jacobs is calling for heavy data users to be discriminated against as wireless networks reach capacity. Jacobs said he had given the Federal Communications Commission chairman his views on "traffic shaping" as one solution to what the FCC describes as a "looming spectrum crisis". Supporters of net neutrality say there should be no discrimination on a free and open internet.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 