NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 16 October
16-10-2009
by Deirdre McArdle
Daft scoops top Fast 50 award | Wolfram Alpha releases API
Daft Media has been crowned the winner of the Deloitte Fast 50 awards, clicking up an aggregate growth rate of 8,453 percent over the past five years. The company, whose property websites include Daft.ie, Property.ie and Rent.ie, previously received a Rising Star prize in the awards programme in 2007, but this year is the first year it's been eligible for the overall ranking. Last year's winner, Lincor Solutions, which provides next generation interactive digital media solutions for the healthcare sector, came in second with growth of 6,802 percent. Northern Ireland technology business solutions firm SLA Mobile took third place with a growth rate of 4,436 percent. The Rising Stars this year were alternative energy company AER from the Republic and Learning Pool, an e-learning provider for the public sector, from Northern Ireland. Now in its tenth year, the Deloitte Fast 50 ranks the fastest-growing technology companies in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. For a full list of the winners click here.
IBM has announced the formation of a new Risk Management Analytics research collaboration, joining IBM's worldwide network of advanced analytic centres. Through its established collaboratory in Ireland, IBM will partner with the University College Cork, IRCSET, Science Foundation Ireland, and IBM Research scientists in Zurich, Switzerland and New York on the development of advanced risk analytics technologies. Brenda Dietrich Vice President of Business Analytics and Math Sciences at IBM Research said: "Ireland's track record, combined with its ongoing research and development approach to new business creation, makes it an ideal location for the Risk Management Analytics research."
Ireland will be the first country in the world to bring a concept similar to YouTube, known as 'streetcasting', to Dublin, when ZozzyTV broadcasts across the City Centre during the Christmas period. Using unique technology developed in Ireland, ZozzyTV will allow members of the public to send Christmas messages via large format LED screens, which will be erected in locations around the city. Users will record a video of 30 seconds or less, upload it to the website www.zozzytv.com for approval by moderators, and then receive an email confirming the time the video will be shown at their preferred location. ZozzyTV is calling for videos to be sent to them in advance of the screens going live on 15 November.
Irish mobile phone users are now spending on average 45 minutes per day accessing social networking websites via their mobile phones. That's according to a survey by mobile operator Three Ireland, which revealed that 25 – 34 year old men say that having access to social networking sites is essential for them on their mobile. Facebook & Bebo accounted for approximately 43 percent of customer usage: Facebook emerged as the site of choice for pay monthly customers while Bebo was preferred by the younger pre-pay market. In addition, the survey revealed that search engine sites like Google and Yahoo accounted for over 50 percent of traffic.
The i-Tab, a portable electronic aid for musicians, garnered significant interest during its official launch at last weekend's Music Show in Dublin. The five inch-touch screen tab player scrolls the lyrics and chords of a song, enabling musicians to learn new music quickly. The device also plays backing tracks and tuition videos, making it ideal for budding musicians to learn on the go. The device has been developed by Irish firm i-Tab Ltd., which is based in Maynooth Co Kildare. It is scheduled for release in January 2010, and will likely be exhibited at NAMM (the trade association of the international music products industry) to mark its US launch.
Following its surprise quarterly loss on Thursday, Nokia has detailed a management reshuffle. Rick Simonson, currently Nokia Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed to head of the Mobile Phones entity within the Devices unit as of 1 November. Mobile Phones is one of two new entities within the Devices unit that came into operation at the beginning of October, the other being Smartphones. Replacing Simonson as CFO will be Timo Ihamuotila, currently global head of sales, who will transfer to his new role on 1 November.
Wolfram Alpha, a computational knowledge engine, has released its application programming interface (API) to developers, allowing them to build their own search tools for research purposes. In a blog post, Schoeller Porter, technical development specialist in the Wolfram Partnerships Group, said "the interest from the community in using the API to build innovative computational knowledge applications has been staggering". Wolfram Alpha was launched in May of this year.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 