IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 25 June
25-06-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Stream, LinkedIn to create Dublin jobs | MEP report slams handling of Dell worker fund
The Irish Times reports that the decision to place the 1901 census online could lead to thousands of visitors coming to Ireland, according to Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin. Since its launch earlier this month, 748,000 people worldwide have attempted to trace their Irish roots and the site has had 64 million hits to date. The 1901 census will be launched in New York on Monday and in London next Friday in an attempt to make it known to the Irish diaspora. "The next step is to get all those people who are looking for their roots and their families to come here," said the minister.
The paper also says that Stream Global Services, a US firm that operates call centres, is to create up to 400 jobs in Dublin, after winning a contract with "a leading manufacturer of video game consoles". It is understood the contract is with Microsoft, to support users of the Xbox 360 games console in the European market. Separately, professional networking site LinkedIn is to add 35 finance positions to its international headquarters in Dublin.
In other jobs news, the paper also notes that Irish IT services firm Ergo is to create 33 jobs at its Dublin headquarters over the next three years, as reported by ENN on Thursday.
The same paper reports that the Department of Communications has criticised Forfas over proposals to create a next-generation network for broadband. A letter from a senior official in the Department of Communications, seen by the newspaper, says the proposals by Forfas are "not credible" and "would ultimately detrimentally impact on enterprise, research, innovation and investment in Ireland". It is understood that Forfas proposes the creation of a single high-speed network which would be available to all telecom providers on an open-access basis. A spokeswoman for Forfas said the proposal was part of an analysis of the options around investment in next-generation networks.
The same paper notes that electrical retailer DSG International posted a 61 percent rise in its full-year profit. The company also forecast more growth in 2010-2011. Although the economic backdrop in Europe will remain challenging in the current year, DSG is well placed to continue to grow profits, the company said.
The paper also reports on the launch of a social enterprise that aims to provide Irish parents with internet security software to supervise their children online, while raising money for a group of children's charities. Reassureme.com plans to donate up to 44 percent of proceeds to 12 Irish charities. The site offers internationally recognised software, with Parental Supervision software costing EUR49, while the complete Home PC Safety and Internet Security version is priced at EUR79. Founding director David Girvan said he hoped to raise more than EUR5 million for children's charities over five years.
The paper also notes that O2 bill-pay customers have a rare opportunity to leave their contract without penalty thanks to some little-known European legislation. The network recently announced call tariff changes and, under EU law, it is required to give customers the option of leaving their agreement as a result. Customers who wish to leave their contract with O2 need to notify the network before 12 July. Meanwhile, it is not yet known how existing iPhone users will be able to upgrade their handsets to the new iPhone 4 and how much it will cost to do so.
The same paper reports that Ireland needs to develop an all-island innovation "ecosystem" which would facilitate greater collaboration between North and South, according to InterTrade Ireland. The body's director of strategy, Aidan Gough, said an all-island innovation ecosystem would be the most effective and efficient use of resources for both regions. "Both Northern Ireland and the Republic have identified innovation as key to future growth. Both face similar challenges and are taking similar responses. It makes sense to collaborate," he said.
The Irish Examiner says that a report from a group of MEPs on the handling of EUR23 million from the EU to help former Dell workers paints a picture of incompetence and complete inefficiency. The Employment and Social Affairs Committee's 10-page report warns that the money is in danger of not achieving its objective of finding employment for the 2,000 former Dell employees. The report cites a litany of missed opportunities, lack of planning and decision-making by government and state bodies, delays, misunderstandings and bad advice.
According to the Financial Times, the US Federal Trade Commission has criticised Twitter for lax internal security procedures that allowed hackers to post fake statements from the accounts of US president Barack Obama and others. The FTC found that the website misled consumers by claiming that their data were protected. Twitter did not follow basic internal precautions such as restricting administrative access to certain computers, prohibiting easy-to-guess passwords for employees with administrative powers, or setting the passwords to expire after 90 days, the consumer protection arm of the agency said. The FTC filed a formal complaint about the company, while at the same time announcing a settlement of the charges against it.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Oracle's quarterly profit climbed 25 percent. For the period ended 31 May, Oracle said total revenue rose 39 percent from the year-earlier period to USD9.51 billion. Software license revenue climbed 14 percent, beating the company's own forecast. Oracle said its profit in the fourth quarter came in at USD2.36 billion, or USD0.46 a share, up from USD1.89 billion, or USD0.38, in the year-earlier period.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 