IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 11 March
11-03-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Taskforce advises bonus points for maths | CA to acquire Nimsoft
The Irish Times continues its coverage of the Innovation Taskforce report, which the paper has seen in advance of its publication on Thursday. Reducing the effective corporation tax rate on "innovative activities" to 5 percent is one of the main recommendations in the report. It suggests that at least 117,000 jobs can be created by 2020 if its recommendations are followed. The study also calls for investments in broadband, research and development, and science education. It recommends the establishment of a committee reporting directly to the Taoiseach to ensure "the recommendations are implemented in a dynamic fashion". The report recommends modernisation of bankruptcy laws, a review of the number of enterprise support agencies and increasing the visibility of innovation and entrepreneurship in the media.
In a separate story, the paper looks at the Innovation Taskforce report's recommendations in the area of education. The report advises the introduction of bonus CAO points for students taking higher level maths in the Leaving Cert. The report authors say they are broadly impressed with the quality of the education system, but they stress that an educational system that fosters independent thinking, creativity and innovation is vital for a smart economy. The report says higher level mathematics will be a key determinant of Ireland's ability to create a cohort of top tier, world-class engineering and science graduates. It is also a fundamental requirement for the development of a world-class research and innovation system in Ireland. The report endorses the new Project Maths programme introduced recently by Minister for Education Batt O'Keeffe.
The paper also says that Tanaiste Mary Coughlan has announced a EUR56 million investment in industry-led research, with the launch of nine Competence Centres. Read more on this story on ENN.
The Irish Independent notes that the newly established Irish wing of the Interactive Advertising Bureau has signed up its 10th partner in the form of online selling site DoneDeal.ie.
The same paper says that O2 Ireland is extending its range of landline and fixed broadband business services, as reported by ENN on Monday.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google chief Eric Schmidt has said he expects the company will soon reach a conclusion to negotiations with the Chinese government regarding the fate of its China business. "We are in active negotiations with the Chinese government," he told reporters. Google has decided not to publicise the status of the negotiations, he said, but "something will happen soon." Google said two months ago it would stop self-censoring its Chinese search engine and may close its offices in China following a major cyber-attack the company said it traced back to the country.
The paper also says that CA is to pay USD350 million in cash to acquire Nimsoft, a move highlighting the business software maker's efforts to expand its sales with smaller and mid-sized companies and bolster its cloud computing products. Nimsoft has approximately 800 customers and operates primarily in the US and Europe. It focuses on managed service providers and offers products that monitor computer networks. The deal is expected to close by the end of the month.
The paper also notes that Sony has provided new details of a forthcoming motion controller for its PlayStation 3 videogame console. The company said the controller will be called PlayStation Move and will be available in the autumn. A starter kit with a game will be priced at less than USD100. Sony aims to take motion gaming a step beyond what Nintendo has offered with its Wii console. The Move controller could control game action by allowing users to wield it like a sword, for example, or like a table tennis racket.
In other gaming news, the Financial Times reports that OnLive, a cloud-based video game service, is to launch in the US in June. OnLive founder Steve Perlman told the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that subscribers would be charged USD15 a month for a service allowing them to play games over the internet, without the need for a console. Users will need a small adapter to play games on their TV sets; this adapter will not be available until later in 2010.
The paper also notes that HSBC Holdings has said the theft of data by a former employee has affected about 15,000 Swiss bank account clients, after previously saying it affected "less than 10 clients". Herve Falciani, a former HSBC computer specialist, has admitted stealing client data from the bank, which he passed to French tax authorities. "It is now clear that the theft, which was perpetrated by a former IT employee about three years ago, involves approximately 15,000 existing clients who had accounts with the bank in Switzerland before October 2006," said HSBC.
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