NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 11 February
11-02-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
O2 to cut Irish jobs | MySpace CEO in sudden departure
Mobile operator O2 Ireland is to cut 50 jobs across its Limerick and Dublin operations. The redundancies will happen across all departments, according to an O2 spokesperson, who said the move wasn't just about cutting costs, but also about changing the way in which the firm operates. Affected staff were told about the cuts on Thursday. O2 employs 1,300 people in Ireland.
According to its 2009 report, NovaUCD, which is responsible for the commercialisation of intellectual property arising from UCD's research programmes, saw inventions grow to 85 for the year, 60 percent more than in 2008, when 53 inventions were disclosed. In addition, 47 patent applications were filed during the year, up 25 percent on 2008. Seven companies were spun out of NovaUCD during the year, bringing to 13 the number of spin-out companies established since 2005. The seven companies are: Aremon, BioPlastech, Capstan Healthcare, Crop Research, Darius Medical, Equinome and Future Buildings Consulting.
Over half (53 percent) of Irish shoppers would prefer to buy electronic goods such as PCs and laptops in a bricks-and-mortar store, rather than via the internet, according to a survey conducted by online and offline retailer Click.ie. The main reason cited by 54 percent of shoppers as to why they would prefer to buy more complex products in store is the reassurance of returning the product if there is a problem. Just over a third (35 percent) said they prefer the 'personal touch' when buying electronic items. By and large Irish shoppers don't seem worried about online security, with just 11 percent saying they would be nervous about giving credit card details over the internet. Despite preferring to buy electronic items in a retail store, 90 percent of shoppers said they use the internet to research these types of products before making a purchase.
Irish mobile services firm Go2Mobile has launched iGroupTxt.com, which allows users to send text messages over Wi-Fi. The company said the product is particularly aimed at iPhone or iPod Touch users. As the message is being sent over Wi-Fi users can avoid high charges for sending texts while travelling, according to Go2Mobile.
Synergy Centre, the business incubation space at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, is currently taking applications for the Synergy Enterprise Platform Programme. This is a 12-month full-time support programme aimed at budding entrepreneurs who are setting up a technology-based or knowledge-intensive business. The programme is fully funded under the National Development Plan, and offers a number of supports including mentoring, training, financial advice and incubation facilities. The closing date for applications is 26 February. Interested parties can find more information here.
Just 10 months after starting the job, MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta has left the social network. Details as to why he is leaving have not emerged but reports are circulating that Van Natta had regular clashes with News Corp, and particularly with Jon Miller, the company's head of digital media. "In talking to Owen about his priorities both personally and professionally going forward, we both agreed that it was best for him to step down at this time. I want to thank Owen for all of his efforts," said Miller in a statement. Chief Operating Officer Mike Jones and Chief Product Officer Jason Hirschorn will replace Van Natta as co-presidents. Van Natta joined MySpace in April 2009 as the social network went through a major management re-shuffle which saw previous CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe step down.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 