IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 4 November
04-11-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Cisco launches joint venture with EMC | Yahoo tests real-time search results
The Irish Times reports on a document issued by the Irish Council of Bioethics which says that people are in effect giving up a piece of their bodies when they provide personal biometric data. 'Biometrics: Enhancing Security or Invading Privacy?' raises questions about the increased use of biometric data, such as fingerprints, iris scans and voice recognition, as a proof of identity. The council expresses serious concerns about how personal biometric information is collected and stored and whether there are sufficient controls on who can have access to it. The increased use of biometric data for comparatively trivial reasons encouraged the publication, according to council director Dr Siobhan O'Sullivan.
The paper also reports on the launch of Science Week Ireland 2009. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also notes that the stake held by Declan Ganley, founder of anti-Lisbon Treaty group Libertas, in US telecoms firm Rivada Networks has been reduced to 13 percent, according to accounts just filed. Ganley is founder, chairman and chief executive of the business, according to its website. Accounts for Rivada Networks, a Galway-based subsidiary of the US parent, show that Ganley's ownership has dropped from the 43.2 percent he held at the end of 2007.
The paper also says that tech firm Sysnet is to create 60 jobs in an expansion of its Dublin operations, as reported by ENN on Tuesday.
The Irish Independent reports that school book authors have challenged claims from Government education advisers that they are trying to scupper Project Maths, the new approach to teaching maths, for their own interests. A number of teachers-cum-textbook writers have hit back at a confidential report from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), which claimed that a campaign against Project Maths was being waged by grind schools and high-profile textbook authors -- fuelled by the view that the change would make it harder for grind schools to prepare students for exams. "We find it regrettable that the NCCA saw fit to issue a confidential report blaming textbook authors, who are trying to be part of the solution and not the problem," three textbook authors said in a statement.
The Irish Examiner reports that Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork Paul Colton has claimed on Twitter that he has received anonymous, sectarian letters concerning the furore over Protestant secondary school funding. The Government's decision to cut EUR3.5 million from 31 fee-paying Protestant secondary schools has caused controversy. In a Twitter update on Monday, Bishop Colton posted how he had received some "off-the-wall" and "vitriolic" letters dealing with the row. "I don't know whether to laugh or cry at some of the anonymous, sectarian letters I've opened today in response to Protestant schools debate," tweeted Bishop Colton. When contacted by the newspaper, Bishop Colton declined to comment.
According to the Financial Times, a US court has ruled that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp stole and used trade secrets from rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The decision could mean SMIC may have to pay more than USD1 billion in damages to TSMC, a lawyer for TSMC said. The jury also found that SMIC breached the terms of a 2005 settlement over similar claims, for which it had agreed to pay USD175 million and to surrender all TSMC documents and stop using TSMC technology and processes.
The paper also reports that Cisco Systems has joined with data storage firm EMC to offer bundled computing gear and services. The alliance with EMC and EMC's majority-owned VMware is aimed at dislodging Hewlett-Packard and IBM from the top of the USD350 billion annual market for core computing products, consulting and maintenance. The joint venture, dubbed Acadia, will bundle EMC storage gear, VMware management tools and Cisco networking and computing products with dedicated services -- giving companies who buy from Acadia "a single throat to choke," EMC chief executive Joseph Tucci said.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Yahoo is testing a new search feature that will present results based on information being shared by internet users in real-time. Sources say Yahoo is testing real-time search results through a partnership with web search start-up OneRiot, along with other companies. The OneRiot test is scheduled to go live in the coming days. In a statement, Yahoo said the real-time shortcuts will only appear on certain search queries and that the company is still weighing whether to integrate the results across its user base. The OneRiot deal is separate from Yahoo's agreement to outsource some of its search features to Microsoft, said a source.
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Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 