IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 24 September
24-09-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
iQuate to create 25 jobs | Facebook plans mobile strategy
The Irish Times reports that 10 percent of Cork city motorists use a handheld mobile phone while driving, according to a Road Safety Authority survey. The survey, carried out by Amarach, was based on observations of more than 30,000 drivers at 45 locations in seven counties during December 2009. On average one in 20 motorists was observed holding a phone while driving. Motorists in Kildare were the second biggest offenders, with 9 percent observed using hand-held mobile phones. Dublin drivers were more compliant with 4 percent of city centre motorists using a hand-held mobile phone.
The paper also notes that Microsoft founder Bill Gates is the richest man in the US, according to the latest Forbes magazine rich list. The Forbes 400 list estimates the worth of Gates at USD54 billion, up USD4 billion on last year.
The paper also notes that former Intel chief Craig Barrett will lead a delegation of more than 25 investors, financiers and advisors from California to Limerick for the Irish Technology Leadership Group's (ITLG) annual event in Limerick in November. The ITLG will select 12 Irish start-ups to attend workshops with the US delegation during which their business plans will be critiqued and they will have a chance to pitch themselves to investors.
The paper also says that Eircom has launched a new sports calendar application that will enable its webmail customers to automatically diarise hundreds of sporting events. Developed by Irish software company Diaryplan.com, the free My Events application will enable sports fans to add fixtures from over 100 sporting schedules to their webmail calendars.
The same paper says that software auditing firm iQuate plans to create 25 jobs over the next 12 months on the back of an increased sales pipeline. The new roles will include software development, implementation, project management and sales. The company provides an auditing tool for users of Oracle database software.
The same paper says that IT services firm PFH has formed a new finance company that will offer blue-chip customers long-term leasing arrangements as an alternative to buying IT systems. The deal looks set to bring in company revenues of more than EUR45 million this year. The company also plans to increase staff numbers to more than 200 by the end of the year, with growth primarily in sales and technical roles.
The Irish Independent reports that a new website aimed at growing Ireland's EUR50 million Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) industry will be launched on Friday at an international conference in Dublin. Ireland is vying to compete with London and Switzerland to become one of the world's leading ADR centres, as domestic and international parties opt for arbitration and mediation to reduce the need for costly litigation. Irish arbitrator Joe Behan, the world president of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, said www.arbitration.ie would allow businesses and private individuals to have a suitable practitioner assigned to them in record time by applying directly to the interactive website.
According to the Financial Times, Facebook is planning to increase its focus on mobile phones as a platform for growth. In an interview with Techcrunch, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said that the social networking company would not look to manufacture its own hardware or operating system, but would work closely with a wide range of partners to embed Facebook features into mobile phones. This could include making Facebook's own customised version of Google's Android software for smartphones, he said, adding that the company was in discussions with third parties about "deep integration" and collaborative marketing.
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