IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 12 August
12-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Bonus points won't boost LC maths: study | Banks warn of new Zeus variant
The Irish Times says that bonus points won't entice Leaving Cert students to take higher-level maths, according to a new survey by Engineers Ireland. Nearly two-thirds of ordinary-level maths students said they would not opt for higher-level maths even if offered bonus points. The online survey was completed by 122 students who sat higher- or ordinary-level Leaving Cert maths this year. When asked about their perception of maths, 41 percent of ordinary-level students believed higher-level maths was "too time-consuming", almost one-quarter said they found it "scary" and 21 percent felt they wouldn't need maths when they left school.
The paper also says that the electronic tagging of convicted sex offenders after their release from prison is unlikely ever to take place in the Republic, according to Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern. Ahern said a pilot system of electronically tagging criminals was being rolled out but that there were "legal difficulties" in relation to the tagging of convicted criminals who had served their sentences in full. Ahern said international research into tagging, which is most often used as an alternative to imprisonment, had revealed these difficulties were not unique to Ireland.
The paper also notes that a Cork student who developed a groundbreaking method to recharge batteries in a tumble dryer has earned international recognition for her efforts. Sixteen-year-old Hannah Hayes from Glounthaune devised a unique method to recharge domestic batteries using a rotating ball placed inside a tumble dryer. The system works by harnessing kinetic energy.
The Irish Independent reports that around 25 jobs will be created when electronics retailer DSG opens its latest store in Dublin Airport. DSG is to open a Dixons Travel store next November in the new Terminal 2. The company just opened a store in Terminal 1, creating 25 jobs. It is expected that the Terminal 2 store will employ the same number of people.
The paper also says that Wi-Fi operator Bitbuzz has recorded a 25 percent increase in registered users during the first half of the year, with more than 271,000 people now signed up to its services. A chunk of the new subscribers are likely to have been generated from O2 customers who use iPhones, as they receive free access to the Bitbuzz network.
The Irish Examiner reports that Irish bank officials are working with their British and US counterparts to counter the threat of a computer virus that can empty customers' accounts while covering its tracks by showing the customer fake bank balances. A new version of the trojan virus Zeus which cannot be detected by most firewalls is believed to have already resulted in about 3,000 customers of a British bank losing nearly EUR1 million since early July. Irish Payment Services Organisation (IPSO) spokeswoman Una Dillon said: "We have not seen Zeus here yet. We work closely with our British counterparts in the UK payments council and they are working very hard on this threat and identifying which accounts have been compromised."
According to the Financial Times, networking gear maker Cisco Systems missed analyst expectations when it reported fourth quarter and annual results. Sales came in at USD10.8 billion for the quarter, a record for the company and a 27 percent increase from the same period a year earlier. However, analysts had expected sales of USD10.9 billion, and viewed the results as further evidence that the global economic recovery was slowing down. Net income rose 79 percent from USD1.1 billion to USD1.9 billion in the quarter, and net income for the full fiscal year was up 27 percent to USD7.8 billion.
The Wall Street Journal says that IBM has dropped its bid to prevent a former staff member from joining Oracle, ending a legal battle that underlined growing competition between the technology giants. In June, IBM sued Joanne Olsen, alleging that she had been among an "elite" group of managers at IBM and that her intention to join Oracle would violate a non-competition agreement. Oracle and Olsen later filed their own legal action, alleging unfair competition on IBM's behalf and requesting that the case be remanded to a California court. In early July, IBM voluntarily ended its case against Olsen, court filings show. An IBM spokesman said the legal matter had been "resolved" and declined to comment further.
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