NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 16 December
16-12-2009
by Emmet Cole
AIB expands seed capital fund | Eircom welcomes Australian deal approval
The Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, launched a EUR23 million expansion of the AIB Seed Capital Fund on Wednesday. The expansion will bring the total fund size to EUR53 million and will target investments in start-up and early stage businesses with a particular focus on technology, medical devices, financial services, and green sectors. AIB and Enterprise Ireland are joint partners in the expansion, contributing EUR15 million and EUR8 million, respectively. The fund is managed by Dublin Business Innovation Centre (DBIC) and Enterprise Equity.
Eircom has welcomed the news that the Federal Court of Australia has officially approved Singapore-based STT Communications' planned acquisition of the telecoms company. The transaction is now expected to be completed in January. Paul Donovan, CEO, Eircom Group, said: "It is vital that Eircom Group transforms itself into a modern telecommunications company and ensures the Group not only competes successfully but also actively contributes to the re-establishment of Ireland's international competitiveness. ST Telemedia brings a wealth of industry knowledge, both in Singapore and abroad, which will help us develop compelling customer offerings delivered at lower cost." The news comes a day after shareholders of Eircom's Australian parent company, Eircom Holdings (ERC), voted overwhelmingly in favour of the AUD225 million (EUR140.2 million) cash and shares offer.
Microsoft and the EU Competition Commission have finally reached an agreement in the long-running antitrust case regarding Internet Explorer, Microsoft's web browser software. From March 2010, European users of Windows who have set IE as their default browser will receive a software update that will enable them to choose a different browser. Meanwhile, manufacturers will have the option of completely uninstalling IE and replacing it with a browser of their choice. Consumers can also choose their web browser when they activate their machines. The available browsers will be Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, AOL, Maxthon, K-Meleon, Flock, Avant Browser, Sleipnir, and Slim Browser. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes called the decision a "Christmas present" for European consumers.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the US Federal Trade Commission has sued chip manufacturer Intel, accusing the company of using its market position to illegally stifle competition and strengthen its monopoly. The FTC is alleging that Intel has attempted to shut out competing microchip firms by cutting off their access to the marketplace. According to the FTC complaint, Intel's anticompetitive tactics were designed to stifle products that threatened its monopoly in the CPU microchip market. The complaint states that over the last decade, Intel's strategy has succeeded in maintaining the Intel monopoly at the expense of consumers, who have been denied access to potentially superior, non-Intel CPU chips and lower prices, the complaint states. In November, Intel finally settled a long-running anti-trust case with rival chipmaker AMD. The settlement will see Intel pay AMD USD1.25 billion and covers both antitrust litigation and patent licensing issues.
Irish games middleware company Havok has launched an 'Independent Developer Programme' that will enable independent game studios to use Havok's middleware technology. The programme, which Havok describes as "flexible and affordable", will allow unrestricted prototyping with the company's middleware, including Havok Animation, Havok AI, Havok Behaviour, Havok Cloth, Havok Destruction and Havok Physics. Australian games developer Krome Studios is the first to license Havok tools and technology under the initiative.
WirelessLAB, a new innovation network for Ireland's wireless technology community, was announced on Wednesday. Established to stimulate the development of an innovation environment for the Irish wireless technology community, WirelessLAB's objectives include the development of a collaborative network, the promotion of Ireland as a centre of excellence for wireless technology and providing members with a platform to increase their visibility within Ireland and internationally. WirelessLAB also aims to assist in building active links between relevant academic researchers and the wireless industry throughout Ireland. The network will be chaired by Joe Moore, founder of Socowave, a technology start-up developing active panel antenna technology to enable faster internet access for mobile users. WirelessLAB will be initially located in NovaUCD, the Innovation and Technology Transfer Centre at UCD where Socowave is headquartered.
Sligo-based Irish tourism marketing software company Travel Logic has announced that its integrated sales and marketing technology platform has facilitated a EUR250,000 surge in online business for Enniskillen's Killyhevlin Hotel. According to Travel Logic, this represents a 310 percent annual increase over the year to May 2008. Travel Logic's marketing, CRM and online booking system has been fully integrated with the hotel's website. In 2008, Travel Logic received R&D funding of EUR200,000 from the EU Interreg IIIA (Knowledge Economy) Programme to develop its platform.
Irish home media and IT retailer Click.ie has released 'Making the Internet a Safe Place for Your Child, -- a free guide to help parents protect their kids on the internet. According to CEO Maurice Muldoon, parents are not as familiar with the internet as their children, so the guide is designed to explain what children are up to online and to help parents bridge the knowledge gap. It includes hints and tips for managing children's online activities on social media sites.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 