IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 8 September
08-09-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
PayLessTax.ie to create 20 jobs | HP sues over Hurd's new role
The Irish Times reports that the High Court will pass judgement on Friday on a legal challenge brought by jailed drug dealer John Gilligan aimed at preventing his District Court prosecution for possession of a mobile phone in his cell. Gilligan, who is serving a lengthy prison sentence in Portlaoise, faces a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail and a fine if found guilty of the offence.
The Irish Independent notes that a custom-made tricycle will begin touring the country this week collecting street-level imagery of tourist attractions and historical monuments for Google. The images will be used for Google's controversial Street View service. The trikes are designed to go places cars can't go, and have already been used to film tourist attractions such as the Palace of Versailles in Paris. Dublin Zoo and the new Aviva Stadium will be among the first attractions to be filmed in Ireland. Other locations will include Dublin Castle, the Phoenix Park, St Stephen's Green, the Iveagh Gardens and the Fota Wildlife Park in Cork. Google said any faces or car registration plates in images would be blurred.
The paper also notes that a new online tax service will offer some of its services free and others at a heavy discount. PayLessTax.ie said it would create 20 jobs in the next two years. Established by tax expert Cathal Maxwell, the firm is targeting self-employed people who have to make their own returns to the Revenue Commissioners and PAYE workers who do extra work that is not taxed at source. The online service starts at EUR239 for the self-employed. PAYE workers with no other income sources can avail of a free service to find out if they are due a tax refund.
The Irish Examiner reports that photographs from a collection belonging to Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw are to be made available to the public online. The photos include pictures of film stars such as Vivien Leigh, writers HG Wells and JM Barrie, and political and social figures such as MP Lady Nancy Astor. The UK's National Trust is working with the London School of Economics and Political Science to put the largely unseen collection of about 20,000 photographic objects online. Some images are already available to view at www.lse.ac.uk/library/shawphotos.
According to the Financial Times, Hewlett-Packard has filed a lawsuit in an effort to prevent Mark Hurd, its former chief executive, from taking up a senior role at software firm Oracle. The lawsuit came a day after Hurd became a co-president at Oracle. The suit seeks an injunction preventing Hurd taking up the role. HP said it had gone to court to protect important information. "In his new position, Hurd will be in a situation in which he cannot perform his duties for Oracle without necessarily using and disclosing HP's trade secrets and confidential information to others," the suit said. According to a source, Hurd's severance deal did not have a non-compete clause, but he had signed agreements preventing him disclosing trade secrets.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said the company plans to launch its Google TV platform globally next year. Schmidt used his closing keynote speech at the IFA technology trade fair in Berlin to present Google TV, which projects a search bar onto the top of the television screen and allows users to search and surf the internet, as well as live TV listings. The service is scheduled to make its debut in the US this autumn.
The paper also says that mobile operator Vodafone Group has agreed to sell its 3.2 percent stake in China Mobile, a deal that will net the UK firm STG4.3 billion and could indicate more stake sales in the pipeline. Confirming widespread speculation, Vodafone said it would sell its 642.9 million shares in the Chinese mobile operator in a public offering to be led by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS. The proceeds exclude tax and transaction costs, Vodafone said. The deal marks the first high-profile disposal since Vittorio Colao took over as CEO in 2008.
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Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 