IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 16 November
16-11-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Galway science fest gets underway | Apple wins legal victory over Psystar
The Irish Times reports that the Galway Science and Technology Festival will run for the next seven days, featuring cockroaches, three-dimensional heart stents and Lego robots, among other elements. The celebration of science and engineering is co-ordinated by the Galway Education Centre and a key element of the programme is the final of the Irish Robotics Championships. Some 120,000 students worldwide compete in the international event, which involves writing software to guide robots through a series of tasks. More information is available at www.galwayscience.ie.
The Irish Independent says that 64 percent of Irish businesses have switched their phone, internet or electricity supplier, with 62 percent of switchers achieving savings of more than 10 percent, according to a survey by mobile operator Three. While increasing sales is still the key challenge for 52 percent of companies surveyed, 35 percent of respondents said achieving further cost reductions would be the number one challenge in 2010.
The Irish Examiner says that the sale of Irish online hotel reservation firm Web Reservations International (WRI) to US private equity house Hellmann & Friedman has netted its founders and former owners nearly USD500 million. Read more on the sale as reported by ENN on Friday.
The Financial Times reports that Canon has launched a EUR1.5 billion takeover bid for Dutch firm Oce, in a move that shows the office equipment maker wishes to enter the market for professional printing. Canon's recommended bid of EUR8.60 per Oce ordinary share is a 70 percent premium on Oce's closing price on Friday 13 November and a 137 percent premium on its average share price over the last 12 months. Tsuneji Uchida, Canon's president, said the acquisition "will contribute greatly to our goal of becoming the overall number one presence in the printing industry". Improvements in technology mean that digital printing is now competitive with traditional offset printing for low-volume products such as brochures and specialist books.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has won an important round in its legal battle against Psystar, which sells computers based on the Apple Macintosh operating system. Apple first accused Psystar of copyright infringement in a lawsuit filed in July 2008, about four months after Psystar began selling its machines. Recently, both sides asked US District Judge William Alsup to decide on many of the case's key issues, including, as Psystar alleges, whether Apple is abusing its Macintosh software copyright. On Friday, Judge Alsup ruled in Apple's favour and against Psystar. "Psystar's use of Mac OS X has been in excess and has violated Apple's copyrights", the judge said. Psystar filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May.
The paper also says that Google and two author and publisher groups have submitted a modified version of a controversial settlement over digital books, but it appears likely the fight over the agreement will continue. The revised pact would allow Google to distribute millions of digital books online but would cut the number of works covered by the settlement by at least half by removing millions of foreign works. The issue of whether it is fair for the settlement to let Google distribute orphan works -- books whose legal rights holders have not been identified -- is still attracting criticism. The US Justice Department is expected to file its reaction to the modified agreement by early next year.
The Sunday Tribune reports that a EUR9 million computer project at the Central Statistics Office (CSO), which took more than six years to implement, has been hit with difficulties since its launch this summer. Staff have complained that the data management program will require further upgrades and does not do what it’s supposed to. A spokesman for the CSO said the underlying technology is “solid” but admitted it did not do 100 percent of what the organisation originally set out for. He said the problems were mainly found in relation to user screens and employee interaction with the system.
The same paper reports that insurance firm Hibernian Aviva is planning to introduce phone 'lie-detector' technology to cut down on fraudulent claims. Similar technology, which uses a voice stress monitor to pick up certain speech patterns, is already being used by UK firm HBOS. Hibernian Aviva, which currently has 1.2 million policy holders in Ireland, has invested heavily in anti-fraud measures and plans and said the voice analysis technology will be a small pilot project.
The Sunday Times reports that senators are facing a Twitter ban in a crackdown on mobile phones in the Seanad. Guidelines issued in 2003 prohibit the use of phones in either chamber, but the rule is being flouted as senators and even Dail members tweet from inside the Dail. Some culprits argue it makes the proceedings more accessible to younger people. However, the phones interfere with the sound and recording system in the houses.
The Sunday Business Post reports that the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has told the OneVision consortium, which is developing digital terrestrial television (DTT) in Ireland, to sign contracts within weeks. OneVision, which is backed by Eircom, Arqiva, TV3 and Setanta, was chosen to develop DTT after a previous choice pulled out of the process. Part of the current hold-up appears to centre on a EUR20 million guarantee being sought by RTE, which is to build the DTT network at a cost of more than EUR100 million.
The paper also says that broadband operators Amocom and Callidus are to merge. The company, which will be known as Ripple Communications, is set to target customers in rural areas. The firm is hoping to increase its customer base from 3,100 to 30,000 within five years.
The same paper says that the FIT (Fastrack to Information Technology) initiative to train long-term unemployed people to pursue a career in IT has been expanded. The initiative is being backed by Dell, Microsoft, IBM, Fujitsu Siemens, Oracle and Fas. According to FIT chairwoman Fiona Mullen, the number of people taking courses has doubled this year. About 8,000 people have been through FIT programmes over the past 10 years, with 5,000 now in jobs. However, with an increase in the number of highly skilled people on the dole, long-term unemployed people were in danger of being squeezed out of potential work.
The paper also reports on Cork software firm Qumas, which is on track to record a single-digit increase in revenue this year. The company grew its revenues by 32 percent in 2008 and is expected to move into profitability this year, with a projected profit of about USD2 million.
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