NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 7 April
07-04-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Yahoo mulls Foursquare purchase: report | AOL to un-friend Bebo
Yahoo is reportedly contemplating buying location-based networking site Foursquare for USD100 million, according to Silicon Alley Insider.
AOL is to cut its losses on Bebo, which it bought two years ago for USD850 million, as it looks to either sell it or shut it down. AOL sent a memo to staff saying it was seeking a buyer for the social networking site, which has fallen far behind rival Facebook, and would no longer be putting cash into it. AOL said it would decide what to do with the site by 31 May. Read more on NYTimes.com.
A US teen plans to highlight climate change with a ski mission to the North Pole. Fifteen-year-old Parker Liautaud aims to become one of the youngest people ever to ski to the Last Degree of the North Pole. On his arrival, he hopes to become the first person to collect a Foursquare badge associated with the location. For details see www.facebook.com/TheLastDegree.
Vodafone is launching a custom Opera Mini browser for emerging markets, designed to run on low-cost 2G handsets. The Opera Mini 5 browser has been embedded in a range of 20 devices as well as being downloadable to over 250 GPRS-supported handsets. A range of Vodafone applications is also in development for uses such as e-mail, buying and selling products, and learning foreign languages. The initiative is initially being rolled out in India, South Africa, Turkey, Tanzania and Egypt, with other markets expected to follow in the near future. For more see the press release on Investegate.co.uk.
SME software provider Mamut says it has trebled its reseller base in Ireland in the past year.
A record 600 students from across Ireland have registered for the 2010 Microsoft Imagine Cup. The competition is open to all third-level institutions to compete in five categories, encompassing software design, short films, and challenges involving algorithms and programming. A shortlist of students will participate in the Irish final on 29 April at DIT. The winners of the national final will receive mentoring from Enterprise Ireland as they prepare for the global final in Poland in July. Prizes for Imagine Cup 2010 will total more than USD250,000 across five categories. For details visit www.imaginecup.com.
Some 175 jobs in areas such as IT, telecoms and HR will be on offer at the East Point Office Park jobs fair on 16 April. The companies recruiting are Oracle, Conduit, Citrix, Quintiles and Peninsula. The recruitment drive will target graduates and experienced professionals for roles in sales, finance, and business development, as well as technical support, and customer service with languages. The vast majority of the vacancies are for full-time positions. The jobs fair will take place at Estuary House in East Point, Dublin 3 from 10.30am to 2.30pm, with another session from 5pm to 8pm on 16 April. Attendees are advised to bring an up-to-date CV to the event.
CRANN, the TCD and UCC-based nanoscience research institute, has been awarded EUR15.5 million in funding following a global competition to lead two major research projects that will create 17 new jobs. The Institute of Molecular Medicine and TCD School of Medicine, in partnership with CRANN, will lead a pan-European team to develop new nanomedical technology which will enable the early and rapid diagnosis of cancer. Two Irish SMEs are also participating in the programme, Cellix and Radisens Technology. Read the press release on BusinessWorld.ie.
ICT Ireland, the IBEC group that represents the high-tech sector, has welcomed the statement by Tanaiste and Minister for Education Mary Coughlan that she supports the introduction of bonus points for Leaving Certificate maths. ICT Ireland has been calling for the reintroduction of bonus points for higher-level maths in recent years and has urged the minister to facilitate the change at the earliest opportunity. The Tanaiste's speech to a TUI conference on Wednesday is available on Education.ie.
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Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 