IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 16 September
16-09-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
RIA criticises science cutbacks | Deutsche Telekom chief in bribes probe
The Irish Independent reports that a leading academic body has warned of the impact of cutbacks on science in schools. The Royal Irish Academy (RIA) said a recent survey showed that 14 percent of schools had dropped a science subject in the past year as a result of cutbacks. RIA science secretary Peter Mitchell said it was also a matter of "utmost concern" that 20 percent of schools indicated that they may drop a science subject this year.
The paper also says that Hollywood will continue to push 3D movies to bolster box-office revenue even if profits aren't what the studios initially envisioned. Movie studios will release at least 26 films in 3D next year, up from 22 in 2010, according to Hollywood.com. The 3D winners include James Cameron's 'Avatar' and Walt Disney's 'Toy Story 3'. For many of this year's releases, the typical USD3 to USD3.50 surcharge for a ticket to a 3D film more than covered added production costs, studios say. However, not all 3D movies have succeeded, and 2012 may see a smaller number made as studios become more selective.
The Irish Examiner reports that social networking sites and interactive websites are "gold" to alcohol marketers in targeting young people, a conference has heard. Marketing lecturer Pat Kenny said it was easy for underage children to gain access to alcohol websites and Facebook pages, where guidelines on advertising are not adhered to and where alcohol is explicitly associated with fun, games and sexuality. The DIT academic also said the iPhone was being targeted to promote drinking by beverage companies. Kenny was speaking at a conference organised by Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI).
According to the Financial Times, Deutsche Telekom chief executive Rene Obermann is one of eight people German authorities have under investigation over allegations that its Balkan units paid bribes. Manfred Balz, DT's board member for legal affairs and compliance, said prosecutors in the company's hometown of Bonn claim that in 2005 Obermann linked his approval of dividend payments in Macedonia to a shelving of telecoms deregulation there. "We're at a complete loss to say how this conclusion got in there," said Balz of prosecutors' initial findings, which were submitted to a court in August, shortly before authorities searched the homes and offices of its suspects.
The paper also reports that US mobile operator Sprint Nextel has said it is not interested in buying out its partners in Clearwire, the US WiMax operator, at this stage, but may consider such a transaction later. Robert Brust, Sprint Nextel's chief financial officer, told investors that a Clearwire buyout would be too expensive at present. He was responding to analyst speculation that Sprint Nextel might seek full ownership of Clearwire in order to increase its control of operational issues, such as plans to expand into new markets and adopt other 4G technologies.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft is targeting global sales of more than 3 million units of its new Kinect Xbox motion-sensor gaming accessory in the first two months after the November launch in the US. In an interview ahead of this week's Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft's top videogame executive, Don Mattrick, said he expects Kinect will propel the company to have its "biggest holidays ever". Mattrick said he expects Kinect, a camera and sensor technology which allows users to play videogames on the Xbox 360 through gestures and verbal commands, to eclipse the industry's 3 million unit threshold by the end of the year.
The paper also says that Skyhook Wireless has sued Google, alleging that the search giant muscled it out of business deals and infringed on its technology for determining the location of mobile phones. In a complaint filed in Massachusetts Superior Court, Boston-based Skyhook alleges Google cost it tens of million of dollars by interfering with a contract, announced in April, to put its location technology on Motorola phones. In a separate complaint, Skyhook alleges that Google infringed upon or encouraged infringement of four of its patents. Google declined to comment, saying it hadn't reviewed the lawsuits.
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Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 