NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 4 November
04-11-2009
by Emmet Cole
App Store hits 100,000 apps | Beatles albums take to USB keys
Following a two-year investigation, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Intel, accusing it of using "illegal threats" to ensure PC makers bought its chips instead of those made by its competitors. Cuomo said Intel had been engaged in a "worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct". "Rather than compete fairly, Intel used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market," he added. In a statement, Intel has called the lawsuit "just plain wrong". Intel was fined USD1.5 billion by European competition authorities in May. The firm is currently appealing that decision.
Promethean, the Irish education technology company, has released 'National Geographic Young Explorer ActivLessons' -- a series of interactive whiteboard lessons aimed at National School pupils. Developed in partnership with the National Geographic Society, the Young Explorer ActivLessons are based on the stories and instruction in Young Explorer Magazine and feature group activities, narrated stories, printable worksheets and a teacher guide. The new offering is available through Promethean Planet's online shop.
IT company PFH has completed an installation of 518 new HP PCs for UCC's Computer Science labs and School of Mathematical Sciences -- a process that took two weeks, according to Martin Moriarty, Acting Computer Services Manager, Computer Science Department, UCC. Some 360 of the new PCs were installed in UCC's new Western Gateway Building's Computer Science labs with the balance installed in the School of Mathematical Sciences.
Limerick-based semiconductor company Analog Devices has appointed Michael Britchfield to the position of vice president in charge of the industrial and instrumentation group. Analog Devices veteran Britchfield will oversee the following operations: instrumentation, process control, motor control, defense/aerospace, ATE (automated test equipment), security and surveillance, and building automation. Meanwhile, the company has create a new 'energy team' to address the growing technology needs for electric utility metering, powerline monitoring, and emerging applications, including solar/wind generation and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Security specialist ESET has released its Global Threat Trend Report for October 2009, with the Win32/Conficker accounting for more than 8 percent of the total number of global threats. Based on ThreatSense.Net, a malware reporting and tracking system, the report notes that despite the Microsoft patch which can prevent the infection being available for over a year, the continuous spread of Conficker shows a lack of awareness amongst computer users. In Ireland, the INF/Autorun family of malware, which is designed to run automatically when removable media (often USB flash drives and similar devices) are accessed by a Windows PC user, is in first place (second place globally). The number two threat in Ireland belongs to the Win32/Kryptik family, which, the company notes, has started to spread massively throughout the last month. The Win32/Kryptik family covers a group of harmful applications, typically rogue anti-spyware and antivirus programs, and spying Trojans, which are all aimed at extracting money from users. The third highest threat in Ireland is the Win32/TrojanDropper.Agent with 5.07 percent of all detections in the country. Win32/PSW.OnLineGames is fourth, with a 4.61 percent infection rate.
A new website designed to highlight public awareness of sudden cardiac death amongst young people was launched on Wednesday. Launched by the Cardiac Risk in the Young charity, the new website is designed to help the charity offer assistance and information to people interested in finding out more about sudden cardiac death. The website was developed with the help of IT and management consultancy, BearingPoint Ireland.
Ireland is now in the right position to create numerous EUR100 million technology companies, according to Paul O'Dea, CEO of technology consulting firm, Select Strategies, and author of the book "The Business Battlecard". O’Dea believes that while the essential elements are in place to create globally successful Irish technology firms, funding remains a barrier at all stages of the company lifecycle. Twice chairman of the Irish Software Association O'Dea was involved with Enterprise Ireland and FAS in establishing Sales Star, a bootcamp sales programme for tech CEOs.
Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation, Conor Lenihan has been highlighting research collaboration between Ireland and Japan in strategic areas such as technology, life sciences, energy and the environment, at the Japan-Ireland Technology Forum in Dublin. The forum was organised by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in partnership with IDA Ireland and Science Foundation Ireland and is intended to showcase Ireland's research talent pool, R&D infrastructure and investment potential.
Apple has announced that developers have now created over 100,000 apps for its App Store. App Store users have downloaded more than 2 billion applications. Amongst the apps set to get the pulse racing is "Ask The Hoff", which launched on Wednesday. According to the app's marketing material, scientists have downloaded TV star David Hasselhoff's brain into the iPhone. When users ask a question and shake their iPhone, an animated version of 'the Hoff' replies with one of a number of pre-recorded responses, voiced by Hasselhoff himself. The app was built by Never Odd Or Even, a UK-based mobile development agency.
Apple and EMI are offering 30,000 USB-sticks for sale with all The Beatles' music re-mastered in stereo (in FLAC and MP3 formats) pre-loaded. The sticks will go on sale 8 November for USD280 (pre-orders are now live) and features all of the re-mastered CDs' visual elements, including 13 mini-documentary films about the studio albums, replicated original UK album art, rare photos and expanded liner notes.
Finally, Microsoft's web portal MSN.com is set to get a [long-overdue] new look and new features, including fewer links, a column dedicated to social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, and a more prominent search engine box. The new-look site is only available to certain US-based users right now, but is expected to roll out worldwide in 2010.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 