IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 9 July
09-07-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
UCD gets go ahead for sci/tech building | Google confident of Chinese licence renewal
The Irish Times reports the ComReg will not take legal action against Eircom for its failure to meet service levels for repairing line faults in time and setting up new phone connections. For the period from July 2008 to June 2009 ComReg found that Eircom had met just four out of 15 performance targets as the designated universal provider. In December, ComReg said it reserved the right to initiate legal proceedings against Eircom but has now said it would take no action. "In this instance, the commission considered that enforcement action through the courts alone may not have secured comparable positive outcomes for consumers or industry," a ComReg spokesman said. Rival operators have reacted angrily to the decision.
The paper also reports on a survey by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, which found that 48 percent of firms considered professional networking website LinkedIn the most important social media tool. The number of Irish LinkedIn users is expected to rise to 300,000 by the end of this year. A separate survey published by workspace solutions provider Regus said 41 percent of companies in Ireland will spend a proportion of their marketing budget on social networking activities by the end of the year. Almost half of respondents said they kept in touch with contacts through social networking, just below the 58 percent global average.
The paper also says that Microsoft's Xbox Live online video-game service probably broke the USD1 billion revenue mark for the first time in the year just ended, helped by sales of movies, avatar accessories and extra game levels. Microsoft said about half the service's 25 million users paid an annual fee to play games online in the year to the end of June. That would come to about USD600 million. Meanwhile, sales of movie and TV show downloads topped subscription revenue for the first time, Dennis Durkin, Xbox's chief operating officer, said. The remarks suggest the business generated more than USD1.2 billion in sales last year, exceeding analysts’ estimates.
The same paper writes that Google's Android operating system is making gains on Research In Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone in the US smartphone market, according to ComScore. Google increased its market share by four percentage points to 13 percent in the three months ended in May. RIM's BlackBerry fell less than one point to 41.7 percent, remaining the market leader. Apple was second, down one point to 24.4 percent.
The Irish Independent reports that workers from Longford cable manufacturer B3 will learn on Friday if a buyer can be found for the business. If the receiver fails to secure a suitable owner by noon, B3 Cable Solutions in Longford will go into liquidation with the loss of all 104 jobs.
The same paper says University College Dublin has been given the green light to develop a science and technology building, as well as hundreds of apartments beside its Dublin 4 campus. The development will cost up to EUR300 million to build and will include two office buildings and a science and technology building, which will be seven storeys high. "Overall, the fact that the science, technology and research park got approved is fantastic for the university. It means that companies can link in with the research and development facilities," said a spokesman.
The Irish Examiner reports FAS has admitted it is unlikely to recoup taxpayers' money from a company, Ashfield, which falsified the results of a computer training course. Fas director general Paul O’Toole told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that despite the fact the company had "falsified results" with one of its courses, it had since gone into liquidation. O'Toole said that after taking legal advice it was unlikely FAS and the taxpayer would recoup the EUR120,000 in debt it was seeking from the firm.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Thursday that Google believes it will resolve its ongoing fight with the Chinese government over operating in the country. He said Google now expects to have its operating licence from the Chinese government renewed, allowing it to continue to offer search services to Chinese users. Schmidt made the comment during an informal briefing at an Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, where he was joined by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 