IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 5 October
05-10-2010
by Deirdre McArdle
Costolo promoted to CEO at Twitter | Skype names ex-Cisco manager as CEO
The Irish Times reports on the rollout of the first phase of the Broadband for Schools initiative, which was launched in 78 schools nationwide on Monday. Twenty of the 78 schools are based in Dublin. The scheme is aimed at delivering broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits, and enhanced technology equipment, including more than 1,500 wireless digital projectors and 2,000 laptops, has also been distributed. Under the renewed programme for government the scheme will extend to all second-level schools in the State over the next two years. The budget for the scheme is EUR13 million.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has sought to overturn a jury verdict that could force it to pay up to USD625.5 million in damages for patent infringement. A federal jury in Tyler, Texas, on Friday found that Apple had infringed three patents covering how data is organised in streams and displayed, owned by Mirror Worlds. The jury recommended Apple pay damages of USD208.5 million per patent in the case. On Sunday, Apple filed an emergency motion with the court seeking a stay of the jury's verdict, arguing "outstanding issues" with two of the three patents owned by Mirror Worlds.
The paper also says that Google unveiled several new partnerships with media and Web companies, including NBC Universal and Amazon, to provide content for Google TV. The service is designed to allow people to access the internet and search for web videos on their TVs, as well as to search live TV listings. In a blog post, Google promised "a new world of apps available for TV," including NBC's CNBC Real-Time and Amazon Video on Demand. A Google spokeswoman said advertisers have approached the company about Google TV but it has no specific plans for advertising.
The Financial Times reports that Dick Costolo, who joined Twitter as chief operating officer a year ago, was promoted to chief executive of the microblogging site on Monday. He succeeds Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter, who said he would now focus all his attention instead on product development. Costolo this year was credited with launching Twitter’s first plans for generating advertising from its service, and has since taken the lead in promoting the service to advertisers. The paper says the appointment is unlikely to signal any early move towards an initial public offering.
In more news of top-level appointments, the paper also reports that internet telephony firm Skype has named Tony Bates, formerly a senior manager at Cisco, as its new chief executive. Bates was most recently in charge of Cisco’s enterprise, commercial and small business division where he had responsibility for its switching and routing business, as well as collaboration and datacentre offerings. The appointment is the latest twist in the growing competition between the two companies, as Cisco moves deeper into Skype’s consumer communications business while Skype tries to push deeper into the business market.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 