IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 20 August
20-08-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
SFI head Frank Gannon to resign | HP posts profit, revenue rise
The Irish Times reports that Prof Frank Gannon, the head of Science Foundation Ireland, is to resign in order to take up a new appointment in Australia at the beginning of 2011. Prof Gannon's departure will be a blow to SFI and also to the Government, given his contribution to national science policy, including at Cabinet level. Prof Gannon is in the fourth year of a five-year contract as director general of SFI. Prof Gannon will join the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane as its seventh director and CEO. The board of SFI is now working with the Department of Enterprise to find a successor.
The paper also says that an expert group has told Minister for Education Mary Coughlan there is no evidence to suggest the introduction of bonus CAO points would attract greater numbers to sit the higher level Leaving Cert maths exam. The Project Maths Implementation Support Group, chaired by Frank Turpin of Intel, said there was a danger that bonus points could have the opposite effect to that intended, reinforcing the view that higher level maths was difficult and discouraging participation.
The paper also notes that Intel has unveiled a USD7.7 billion acquisition of security firm McAfee, as reported by ENN on Thursday.
The same paper reports that the Gamescom games fair kicked off this week in Cologne, Germany, with motion-sensitive controllers and 3D gaming dominating discussions. This year's exhibition provided insight into the changing strategies of games firms, with both Microsoft and Sony indicating their consoles will have longer lifespans. Microsoft said the firm expects to offer the Xbox 360 for the next five years. Sony outlined a similar goal for the PlayStation 3, with both consoles relying on new services and features such as motion-sensitive controllers to lengthen their appeal. Meanwhile, Nintendo said the release of its next-generation console will hinge on 3D features, but the company may wait until more than 30 percent of televisions in homes have 3D capability.
The paper also says that India's security agencies are testing ways to access corporate e-mail on BlackBerry devices by obtaining encrypted data in a readable format, a government source said. Research In Motion faces a 31 August deadline to give Indian authorities the means to track and read BlackBerry Enterprise e-mail and its separate BlackBerry Messenger service. The government has vowed to shut the services down if RIM fails to comply. An RIM technical team in New Delhi has been working with the department of telecoms and security agencies to find a solution.
The same paper reports on a new online procurement tool that aims to save businesses money and simplify the procurement process. SourceDogg, developed by Big Dogg with input from procurement professionals, gives buyers and buying groups access to suppliers that are rated by their peers. The company claims that using SourceDogg could cut between 18 and 25 percent from bills, and reduce the sourcing cycle time by 60 or 70 percent.
The Irish Examiner says the Government has admitted it is effectively powerless to stop off-licences selling alcohol to underage drinkers on a cash-on-delivery basis. Thursday night's Primetime programme on RTE showed a number of off-licences in Swords, Dublin, to be illegally accepting payment at the door of private dwellings from underage drinkers who had phoned in the order. Supermarkets Superquinn and Tesco were also shown in the programme to have made deliveries to underage drinkers after the orders had been made online using a debit card. The Department of Justice admitted that while laws are there to prevent the sale of alcohol to underage drinkers, the popularity of online shopping has made it harder for Gardai to catch off-licences engaging in cash-on-delivery practices in the act.
The Wall Street Journal reports that HP has posted an 11 percent jump in revenues and a 6 percent rise in profit for its fiscal third quarter. HP's income came in at USD1.77 billion, or USD0.75 a share, up from USD1.67 billion, or USD0.69 a share, a year earlier. Revenue was USD30.7 billion, up from USD27.6 billion. The tech giant also raised its full-year outlook. Meanwhile, rival Dell also reported its results, showing a 15 percent increase in profit in its fiscal second quarter. The PC maker posted a profit of USD545 million, or USD0.28 a share. Excluding severance-related charges and other items, earnings rose to USD0.32 a share. Revenue grew 22 percent to USD15.53 billion.
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Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 