IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 15 July
15-07-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
IPSO advises firms to switch to e-payments | China cracks down on 'Twitter' sites
The Irish Times reports that RTE expects to spend EUR70 million on supplying a free-to-air digital terrestrial television (DTT) service to 1.6 million homes by the end of 2012, when the analogue system will be switched off. This is down from an original estimate of EUR150 million, when it was envisaged that a commercial operator would run five DTT multiplexes along with RTE's terrestrial service. The broadcaster has also proposed to the Minister for Communications it offer DTT through satellite dishes to the 2 percent of homes that cannot currently receive an analogue signal because of their remote location. In addition, RTE wants to bundle broadband with the satellite product. RTE executive Conor Hayes said the annual cost of the satellite services would be about EUR1.5 million.
The paper also says that Truvo Ireland will continue publishing Eircom's telephone directories, even though parent firm Truvo USA has filed for bankruptcy protection. Eircom has received assurances from Truvo Ireland that the publication and distribution of its telephone directories will not be jeopardised by the bankruptcy proceedings. Eircom is obliged by the regulator to produce a directory every year. It is understood that Truvo Ireland will continue to trade as normal.
The same paper says that a Florida court will hold a creditor hearing for bankrupt travel company 1800Hotels on 11 August. All claims against the company will have to be filed at the bankruptcy court by 27 September. However, the court has said all creditors with a foreign address may apply for an extension. The company, which is expected to have a significant number of US and Irish creditors, has sought Chapter 11 protection, which could allow it to continue trading while it rearranges its finances. Meanwhile, the company took a separate court action on Wednesday to compel its suppliers to honour the firm's travel contracts.
The Irish Independent says that two former Dell workers have accused the Government of scuppering their chances of benefiting from a European aid fund. Tony O'Shea and Gerry Hinchey, representing the Dell Workers' Association, met the EU's employment commissioner, Laszlo Andor, in Brussels on Wednesday. O'Shea told the newspaper workers were being pushed into taking up FAS courses they didn't need rather than getting job placements or cash to start up businesses. A European Commission spokeswoman said a technical mission would be sent to Ireland to investigate the allegations in the next week.
The paper also says that, according to betting firm Paddy Power, Apple is increasingly likely to recall its iPhone 4. Paddy Power said the chances that Apple will ultimately recall the phone have increased following what it described as a "betting frenzy" after a negative review of the handset by a US consumer watchdog. "If the current betting trends are to be believed, it now seems certain that a recall is in the cards," said Paddy Power. However, New York analyst Toni Sacconaghi said a recall was "highly unlikely", noting that a more likely step would be the issuing of rubber cases by Apple to try to address the phone's reception issues.
The Irish Examiner says that the phasing out of cheques is accelerating, with new figures showing the volume used in Ireland last year declined by 13 percent. The Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) said there has been a 23 percent fall in usage over four successive years of decline. "Businesses now have to plan and prepare to update legacy, cheque-based accounting processes with electronic ones," said IPSO chief executive Pat McLoughlin. "Apart from being faster, more secure and more cost-effective, modern electronic payment systems give the beneficiary certainty of payment -- particularly important in these difficult economic times."
According to the Financial Times, Chinese micro-blogging sites have become the latest target of Beijing's internet police, who have ordered Twitter-like services to increase monitoring for politically sensitive terms. In the last week, most of the largest and most popular micro-blogging sites in China have been shut down for "maintenance" or have switched to "beta" or "testing" versions. These temporary websites are being used while the companies "strengthen their self-censorship systems" and remove all politically sensitive content under orders from Chinese internet authorities, according to employees at some of those companies.
The Wall Street Journal reports that global PC shipments rose 22.4 percent in the second quarter, while Dell moved to recapture second place in the industry, according to research firm IDC. The industry tracker said businesses have begun replacing older PCs, pushing shipments of desktop computers higher around the world. However, laptop and netbook sales slumped because of weak economies in the US and other countries. PC makers shipped 81.5 million computers in the second quarter. Dell recaptured the No. 2 spot from Acer with more than 19 percent growth. Hewlett-Packard held on to the No. 1 spot with worldwide growth of 12 percent from a year earlier.
Free! "In the papers" email newsletter -- get the full text to your in-box every business day. Email itp@enn.ie with 'subscribe' in the subject line.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 