IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 11 January
11-01-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
'Social pet-working' helps find animals | Google aims to be power player
The Irish Times reports on the launch of the 46th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition this week. Record numbers of students have submitted projects, and 520 will be assembled for display on Tuesday and Wednesday, in time for formal judging on Wednesday afternoon. The 520 projects were shortlisted from 1,588 that were submitted from 39 schools, representing the work of thousands of students who commit anything from a number of weeks to more than a year to their research efforts.
The Irish Independent reports that there have been 1.39 million new visitors to the 1911 census records website since it was extended to cover all 32 counties last August. This has boosted the total number of visits to the site to 9 million since its establishment in late 2007. According to new figures from the National Archives, there were 200,000 visitors to the 1911 census website last November. The largest number of international visitors came from Britain followed by the US, Europe, Canada and Australia.
The paper also says that 'social pet-working' is the latest internet craze to help animal lovers track their lost pets. A website called Lostandfoundpets.ie has been set up to tap in to the major social networking sites in order to raise awareness of missing pets. Mass messages are sent out to friends and followers of the website on all social networking sites when a pet goes missing. The website also designs a downloadable poster for any given lost pet, which can be printed off and distributed.
The same says that the number of mergers and acquisitions notified to the Competition Authority in 2009 was the lowest on record. Notifications to the Competition Authority are generally required for companies with a turnover of at least EUR40 million. The number of notifications was down 30 percent on the previous year, according to a review of Irish merger control activity by law firm McCann FitzGerald.
According to the Wall Street Journal, LG Electronics aims to sell 25 million LCD television sets this year, to claim 15 percent of the global market. The sales target includes 7 million high-end models featuring light-emitting diode, or LED, backlight technology. In 2009, LG accounted for 11 percent of the world's LCD television market, selling a total of 16.2 million units. LG also aims to sell 4 million plasma TV sets this year.
The paper also says that Google has applied for approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to become an electricity marketer, seeking the power to buy and sell bulk electricity at market prices. Google says the change will help it better manage supplies for its own operations and give it greater access to renewable energy sources.
The Sunday Tribune reports that the new digital radio system that was introduced by Gardai blocked the TV reception for thousands of people in the Cavan and Monaghan region over Christmas. The EUR100 million Tetra system, which is encrypted, was rolled out nationwide. Communications regulator ComReg said it had distributed an information leaflet to Garda stations nationwide for householders whose TV reception is affected. Local Sinn Fein TD Caoimhghin O Caolain is seeking action from both Communications Minister Eamon Ryan and Justice Minister Dermot Ahern on the matter.
The Sunday Business Post says that Irish firm Intune Networks will hire 80 people and raise up to EUR10 million in funding this year. The company, which already employs 120 staff in Dublin and Belfast, got off to what Chief Executive Tim Fritzley described as "a very fast start" in 2010 and is preparing to launch an internet switch built using laser technologies. Fritzley said he expects the company will eventually have a staff of several thousand with revenues of hundreds of millions of euro a year.
The same paper reports that Dublin software firm Brentech Data Systems has signed its biggest deal to date, a contract with the Co-Operative retail chain in Britain. As part of the deal, Brentech will supply enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to the Co-Operative Pharmacy's national distribution centre in Stoke-on-Trent. The centre will serve 900 pharmacies, which have 5,000 product lines. The exact value of the deal is not known, but the company said it was worth more than EUR500,000.
Business-to-business auction website FreeFlow is now recording revenues of EUR20.2 million, the paper reports. The site, which allows technology companies to sell excess inventory, grew its turnover from EUR19.4 million to EUR20.2 million in the year ending 31 May 2009. Cost of sales increased to EUR18.1 million, but administrative expenses were cut from EUR2.2 million to EUR1.7 million. The accounts also showed that the company returned to profitability following a loss in the previous year, recording a EUR408,319 net profit.
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Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 