IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 13 August
13-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Oracle sues Google over Android | HP board sued over Hurd exit
The Irish Times reports that the Government is seeking to discover if it will need to financially assist analogue television households for the digital TV switchover in late 2012. A survey to establish the type of households still reliant on the old-style analogue TV signal is to be commissioned by the Department of Communications. The socioeconomic circumstances of analogue households and their ability to upgrade to digital TV will be among the topics in the questionnaire. The department also wants to know the number and location of households that may need assistance to upgrade to digital.
The paper also says that News Corp's bid for the rest of BSkyB has become USD700 million more expensive after sterling's 6 percent gain against the dollar. News Corp's STG7.8 billion bid for full control of the UK pay-TV operator was worth USD11.5 billion, a price deemed too low by most analysts, when it was announced on 15 June. It is now valued at about USD12.2 billion. For News Corp the cost in dollar terms may continue to climb, limiting its ability to raise the offer.
The same paper says that MoveMarket.ie, a reverse-auction website that connects consumers and businesses with transport and haulage firms, is planning to add a feature showing the carbon impact of journeys booked through the site. The site works on the principle that haulage firms with trucks returning to base empty can win jobs through the site, and because no extra journey is being made, unnecessary carbon emissions can be reduced. The site was launched earlier this year.
The paper also notes that controversial game FarmVillain, developed by Irish-based Jolt Online Gaming, has finally been approved for Apple's App Store, overcoming objections to its offensive content and references to Chuck Norris. The game went on sale last week after being refused by Apple on several occasions. FarmVillain allows players to plant genetically modified crops on farms, invite neighbours to go duck hunting and send less than wholesome gifts. Tongue-in-cheek references to the actor Chuck Norris were removed before the game finally pushed through the approval process.
The paper notes that small retailers will be able to establish inexpensive customer loyalty schemes following a deal between AIB Merchant Services and Irish-based Zapa Technology. The exclusive agreement means merchants can use Zapa's contactless chip technology in their shops, removing the need for individual loyalty cards and systems. Zapa uses near-field communications technology to produce a small sticker that can then be stuck to a customer's phone or wallet. Users can tap the sticker on a terminal at the point of purchase, registering it on the chip and gaining rewards in return. One sticker can be used across any number of shops, with each business's loyalty programme working independently of others.
The paper also notes that the seventh annual BlogTalk international conference will be held on the campus of NUI Galway on 26 and 27 August. The two-day event took place last year in South Korea. Speakers include Galway-born entrepreneur Fergus Hurley and Dan Gillmor, the former Silicon Valley journalist who is now director of the Knight Centre for Digital Media Entrepreneurship. Representatives from Google and Facebook are also due to address the conference. Despite the conference's name, this year's BlogTalk will focus on the impact of newer social tools such as Twitter.
The paper also notes that consumer prices stabilised in July, remaining unchanged from June and falling only 0.1 percent compared with the same month last year. Cheaper clothing and footwear was offset by a 2.8 percent rise in the cost of communications, as mobile phone and landline charges rose.
According to the Financial Times, Oracle has filed a copyright and patent infringement claim against Google over its Android operating system. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, accuses Google of breaching seven patents that Oracle assumed when it acquired Sun Microsystems earlier this year. The patents relate to the widely used Java software, which Sun created so that developers could write applications that could run on different operating systems. Oracle said that Google had "knowingly, directly and repeatedly infringed Oracle's Java-related intellectual property."
The Wall Street Journal reports that HP's directors have been slapped with a lawsuit over the departure of CEO Mark Hurd. A Connecticut-based law firm filed a shareholder derivative suit in California on Tuesday against HP's board, alleging directors violated their fiduciary duties in connection with the events surrounding the resignation of Hurd. The suit, which seeks corporate-governance changes at the company, lists HP shareholder Brockton Contributory Retirement System as the plaintiff. The suit also seeks to reclaim the severance paid to Hurd and to force the board's members to reimburse HP for any damages their actions caused. It also seeks punitive damages. Any money recovered would be awarded to HP, not the plaintiffs.
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