IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 1 October
01-10-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Irish firms e-commerce laggards: Google | HP names new CEO
The Irish Times reports that government plans for an export-led recovery are missing a key ingredient because Irish businesses are laggards when it comes to e-commerce, Ronan Harris, director of online sales for Google Europe has warned. He said Irish firms were a long way behind most of their European counterparts when it came to taking their businesses online. Google claims too few Irish websites offer multiple currency or multiple language translation tools, hampering their ability to transact overseas.
The paper also says that Cork-based McAfee Ireland reported pretax profits of EUR21 million to the end of December last year, up by 52 percent over the previous year. Accounts just filed with the Companies Office reveal that the security firm also increased turnover by 5 percent from EUR323.7 million to EUR340.6 million. The accounts show that the company’s operating profits increased by 65 percent from EUR12.49 million to EUR20.7 million. McAfee's EMEA headquarters are based in Cork.
The same paper reports that phone and other mobile devices will be able to display images in 3D as early as the first half of next year following the launch of a new computer chip by Irish firm Movidius. The Myriad 3D, which was launched at an event in Japan on Thursday, is a combination of silicon and software. It can capture images to display in 3D as well as convert standard 2D content for 3D viewing, and does not require the use of special glasses. The company already has "customers committed" who are designing the platform into products that will be available in the first half of 2011, according to chief executive Sean Mitchell.
The paper also reports on the Irish launch of jolitics.com, the latest project from Bebo co-founder Michael Birch. The site allows users to propose, debate and vote on political ideas.
According to the Irish Times, Eircom email users who do not log into the web version of their inbox once every nine months risk having their accounts closed. The firm has confirmed this deactivation policy will apply to its own subscribers and to those email account holders who get their broadband via another carrier but who continue to use their eircom.net email address. Eircom has around 300,000 email account holders, 90,000 of whom do not have any billing relationship with the company. It said it would give seven warnings in total before someone’s email account was cut off – three emails at the six-month juncture warning the account will be disabled in three months, three more reminders at nine months and one final reminder.
The same paper reports that Panasonic is to branch out from the home electronics market, making a move into the Irish white goods sector.
The Irish Independent reports that a judge has struck out charges against Fred Coll, a former regional manager for Radio na Gaeltachta, who had been accused of sending degrading and harassing text messages to a work colleague. Coll had denied harassing Roisin Sweeney between September 2006 and 2007 when she received 21 "unwanted, harassing and degrading" text messages. Judge David Anderson described the texts as "reprehensible" but said he could "not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt" that they had been sent by Coll.
According to the Financial Times, Hewlett-Packard has named former CEO of SAP Leo Apotheker as its new chief executive. Apotheker built his career at SAP by expanding the company’s sales operations around the world and indicates the HP board's desire to focus on expanding its sales and reinforcing its relations with customers. His appointment surprised analysts because HP reached not only beyond its own ranks but outside its home country, picking a man who lasted less than a year as SAP's sole chief executive. Apotheker will start work at HP in November.
The Wall Street Journal says that over 100 people have been arrested or charged in the US and the UK as part of an alleged global cybercrime ring using computer viruses to steal bank-account information and money. The US investigation, in progress for over a year, has focused mostly on a network of "mules," or people recruited to open bank accounts using false names and fake passports and transfer stolen funds back to handlers in Eastern Europe, according to prosecutors. The investigation could also result in law-enforcement actions in other countries, authorities said.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 