IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 4 March
04-03-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Net neutrality to be scrutinised: Ofcom | IBM claims key chip advance
The Irish Times reports that Trintech is to sell its healthcare unit for USD34.5 million in cash, as reported by ENN on Wednesday.
The paper also notes that Apple reseller Compu B intends to create 25 new jobs in Dublin. Read more on this story on ENN.
The Irish Independent says that Dublin rail users will enjoy cheaper fares from next month if they switch over to a new 'Smart Card' ticket. From April, Iarnrod Eireann will introduce the new ticket which will allow customers to enter and exit stations quicker because they will not have to insert their ticket into an electronic barrier. They will simply pass it over an electronic device to open the gates. The move will result in cheaper fares for single journeys.
The same paper reports that the GAA has moved to stop clubs from sending text messages directly to juvenile players because of a new child protection regime. The sports organisation, under an initiative triggered by Croke Park's new code of practice for juvenile members, is telling its 14,500 clubs that text messages can only be sent directly to under-18s with the written consent of their parents or guardians. The move is likely to trigger copycat action by other sports bodies that use text messages to alert players to match times, training sessions and club news.
The Irish Examiner reports that students from Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) have won a European innovation award for improvements to a medical device. Read more on this story on ENN.
According to the Financial Times, police, private security experts and internet service providers say they shut down the 'Mariposa' botnet, one of the largest networks of hacked PCs ever discovered. Computers using about 12.7 million internet addresses in 190 countries had been compromised, and the botnet had taken financial and other information from inside half of the largest 1,000 US companies. Mariposa collected login data for banking and social networking sites, e-mail passwords and credit card numbers. ISPs helped private researchers, Spanish police and the American FBI track down three men accused of running the operation and stealing millions of dollars.
The paper also says that UK broadband providers' ability to charge media owners for the preferential passage of video and other high-bandwidth services across their networks will come under regulatory scrutiny this year, the head of Ofcom has warned. Ed Richards told the FT's Digital Media and Broadcasting conference that several companies had raised concerns about "net neutrality" in recent months. "It has been a big issue for historic reasons for many years in the US. It is now beginning to be an issue here," said Richards.
According to the Wall Street Journal, researchers at IBM are claiming an important advance that could change the way computer chips communicate, boosting speed while lowering energy consumption. Their goal is to use pulses of light rather than copper wires to exchange information between chips, and to build components out of silicon rather than other more costly materials. IBM's advance involves a key component called an avalanche photodetector, which converts light into electricity. The researchers say they used silicon and the element germanium to create a photodetector that is among the fastest and least power-hungry of its kind.
The paper also notes that RealNetworks has agreed to stop selling DVD-copying software in order to settle lawsuits with six Hollywood studios and a trade group. The US company said it will stop distributing or supporting its RealDVD product or similar technology. It will also turn off the service that provides DVD cover art and movie information for about 2,700 people who bought RealDVD before sales were halted last year. The company has begun refunding the purchase price of the product to those customers.
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