IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 5 November
05-11-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Science Week set for take-off | Irish R&D gets Silicon Valley showcase
The Irish Times reports on the launch of Science Week Ireland 2010, which runs from Sunday through to 14 November. It offers a mix of lectures, presentations, shows and displays, with a particular emphasis on family involvement, according to Peter Brabazon, head of Discover Science and Engineering, the Government's main public outreach scheme for the promotion of science, engineering and maths. For details visit ScienceWeek.ie.
The paper also says that cable television group UPC has made strong customer gains in broadband and telephony but continues to lose TV subscribers. At the end of September, UPC had 184,700 broadband customers, a 37 percent increase on the previous year. Its telephone subscriber base grew to 87,200 from 53,000 last year. However, TV customer numbers declined to 490,800, compared with 509,900 at the same time last year. For the first nine months of 2009, UPC Ireland had sales of EUR205 million, compared with EUR185 million in the preceding year.
The paper also says that the managing director of a Monaghan technology firm has said he may be forced to outsource jobs because of the lack of required skills among the Irish workforce. Liam Murray of Cased Dimensions, a software development company, said he had been frustrated in his attempts to find staff with the system centre training the firm needs. Murray said advertisements for jobs had attracted a poor response and that appeals to Fas to provide relevant training in the northeast region had not been successful.
The same paper reports that Ireland showcased its R&D capabilities in the heart of Silicon Valley on Thursday, when Science Foundation Ireland and IDA Ireland brought a who's who of Irish science and industry to Stanford University. Irish-based researchers and industries gave a series of presentations to senior figures from across Silicon Valley. IDA Ireland's executive director of business development and marketing, Dermot Clohessy, said: "This occasion represents a formidable opportunity to promote the talent pool of Irish researchers and those who have chosen to conduct their research activities on Irish soil."
The paper also notes that UCC is on target to spin out four companies this year, the latest being ThinkSmart Technologies. ThinkSmart, which has licensed technology developed at the Cork Constraint Computing Centre (4C) in UCC, has the potential to create 30 new jobs over the next four years, according to Chief Executive Brendan O'Brien. ThinkSmart has already signed up a Fortune 500 company as a customer for its optimisation technology, which allows large companies to make the best use of limited resources.
The paper also says that Cork chip firm Ferfics has secured EUR1.7 million in new equity funding, which will help it start production of an energy efficient microchip in the first half of 2011. The chip is being produced for mobile and wireless devices and, according to the company, is cheaper than rival components to manufacture and operate.
The paper also says that IT services provider Dediserve has acquired Belfast-based web hosting firm AventureHost for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is predicted to bring Dediserve's annual revenue to EUR1 million by 2011.
The paper also notes that Galway-based Nortev has received EUR170,000 in funding from Enterprise Equity Venture Capital to enable it to market a new product that controls respiratory diseases in horses.
The Irish Examiner says that British Business Secretary Vince Cable has called for a review of News Corp's proposed STG7.8 billion bid for the rest of British Sky Broadcasting Group, potentially delaying the deal. Cable has asked regulator Ofcom to investigate "the public interest consideration of media plurality", Britain's Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said. The media regulator will report by 31 December.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a mother of four in a long-running fight with the music industry has been ordered by a Minneapolis federal jury to pay USD1.5 million for sharing 24 digital songs. An attorney for Jammie Thomas-Rasset said he planned to appeal the decision in the civil case on grounds that the penalties allowed under federal copyright law per work -- from USD750 to USD150,000 -- are unreasonable. "The punitive damages have to have some bearing to the actual damages," said Kiwi Camara, Thomas-Rasset's attorney.
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