NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 27 January
27-01-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Gala creates gaming jobs | Oracle finally swallows Sun
Japanese online gaming company Gala Networks is to expand its European headquarters in Dublin with the creation of 103 new 'high-quality' jobs. "As part of Gala Networks' European expansion a number of new mandates will be added. This will include expansion into new markets, the introduction of three new game title releases and new language versions and the licensing of games from third party game development companies," said Gala CEO Hyun Hur. "Ireland provides for us the skilled, multi-lingual workforce necessary to increase our mandate and Gala looks forward to the continued success and development of our Irish operations." The expansion is being supported by IDA Ireland.
Google is reminding internet users that only a few days remain to vote in the Doodle 4 Google student art competition. Some 80 regional finalists from primary and secondary schools around the country are competing. The four doodles, in various age categories, that receive the most public votes will go forward to be judged by Google's master doodler and chief webmaster Michael Lopez, who will select an overall winner. The winning doodle will appear on Google's homepage in Ireland on 3 March and the winner's school will receive a EUR10,000 technology grant from Google. Public voting closes at midnight on 1 February. To cast your vote go to www.google.ie/doodle4google/.
In more news of Google, the internet giant has released a new version of its Google Voice internet telephony tool for the iPhone. The company said mobile users can now access Google Voice on Apple's iPhone via a browser, as a web-based application. The move means that Google bypasses the need for its software to be vetted and approved by Apple for its App Store. Google tried to release Voice as an iPhone App last year, but Apple blocked the software.
In other Apple news, the Mac-maker's much-hyped tablet is due to be unveiled at 6pm GMT on Wednesday, at a press conference in San Francisco. The hotly anticipated device is thought to be a slate-shaped touch screen device, rumoured to be named the iSlate, that will combine laptop functionality with smartphone portability. At time of writing, details of the device are still sketchy, although comments by the CEO of textbook publisher McGraw Hill seem to confirm that the tablet will run the iPhone operating system rather than a version of OS X. Terry McGraw said in an interview with CNBC that his company had worked with Apple on the new tablet.
Oracle has finally completed the acquisition of Sun Microsystems, a deal beset by delays on account of regulatory hurdles. The European Commission approved the purchase last week, and executives are due to outline plans for Sun late Wednesday. Sun chairman Scott McNealy issued an emotional farewell to the company in a letter on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Oracle chief Larry Ellison outlined plans for his company in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Ellison said he plans to transform Oracle into a company that is serious about server systems, and he wants to hire 2,000 sales and engineering employees to that end.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 