NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 16 April
16-04-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Profits and revenues jump at AMD | Oracle buys healthcare software firm
The High Court has ruled that Eircom can proceed with cutting off the internet services of persistent file-sharers, reports the Irish Times. Legal commentators have said the decision is likely to impact on other ISPs. Read more here.
Chipmaker AMD has posted net income for its fiscal fourth quarter of USD257 million, or USD0.35 per share, reversing a loss of USD416 million in the year-ago period. Revenue came in at USD1.57 billion, exceeding Wall Street analysts' expectations of around USD1.54 billion. In contract to Intel's bullish outlook for the next quarter, AMD said its figures would be seasonally weaker.
An increasing number of people are using their mobile phones for navigation purposes, according to comScore, which revealed that 21.1 million in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain during February, up 68 percent on last year. Read more here.
Software giant Oracle has acquired healthcare software firm Phase Forward for USD685 million, or USD17 per share, in cash. Phase Forward will be merged into Oracle's Health Sciences Global Business Unit. The acquisition is expected to be finalised by the middle of this year. Read the release here.
ComReg has published its draft Strategy Statement for the communications sector for 2010 - 2012. The regulator is inviting comments on the strategy.
MySpace has launched a 'pop culture' events calendar. The feature also lets users buy event tickets from artists' profile pages, and the social network will also be incorporating ads into the calendar. The move marks MySpace's strategy of cementing its position as a music-oriented social network, rather than compete directly with Facebook.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 