IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 15 November
15-11-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Silicon Valley execs visit Ireland | Gridstore raises new funding
The Irish Times reports that former Intel chairman Craig Barrett is leading a delegation of senior executives to Ireland this week to strengthen "developmental ties" between Ireland and Silicon Valley. A mentorship programme that offers one year of experience at a US technology corporation or venture capital firm will be announced during the three-day visit. The visit is hosted by the Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG). The Irish start-up companies that have been chosen to meet Silicon Valley venture capital executives include Amartus, Equiendo, ImeeGolf, InishTech, InteleSENS, MCOR Technologies, Movidius, RedZinc, ResourceKraft, Suntico and Weedle.
The paper also says that Gridstore, an Irish data storage firm backed by Iona Technologies founder Chris Horn, has raised EUR1.5 million in a funding round involving NCB, Ulster Bank Diageo Venture Fund and Enterprise Ireland. Dublin-based Gridstore is a developer of network-attached storage grids, which are powerful systems designed to avoid the limitations of conventional storage products.
The Financial Times reports that Apple will announce the first brands to use its iAds mobile ad system in Europe this week. Apple has twice delayed iAds' European launch in recent weeks, and in some cases has been prepared to discuss running campaigns for less than its USD1 million minimum spend in order to attract good names as advertisers. US agencies greeted Apple's entry to the mobile ads market warmly in April, but enthusiasm has waned amid high prices for ads, a slow production process and client withdrawals.
The Wall Street Journal notes that Cisco Systems has hired former Apple executive and iPhone engineer Mark Papermaster to help with the company's core network business. Papermaster, who served as senior vice president for iPhone engineering at Apple, bore the brunt of the criticism that erupted over the iPhone 4's wrap-around antenna. Papermaster joined Apple in April 2009 after the company reached an agreement with IBM, which had argued that he had signed a non-compete agreement that should have prevented his hiring by Apple.
The Sunday Times reports that parish records by the National Library will be made available online next year. The move will provide online access to church records of births and marriages from the mid 18th century. Previously those who wanted to check parish files often had to visit the particular areas where their ancestors were born.
The paper also reports that Disney has developed computer technology that can cut years off ageing actors, allowing them to appear on screen looking as they did in their prime. The technology is being used to transform the natural features of 60-year-old Jeff Bridges for the movie TRON: Legacy so that he appears as his younger self in some scenes and his older self in others.
The Sunday Business Post reports on a glitch in the Revenue’s online tax filing system, which could lead to a number of high earners receiving understated tax bills. Two errors have been found in the online calculation of income tax due, with the more significant of the faults arising in the undercharging of the amount of DIRT to be paid. Revenue has said it will be unable to estimate how many taxpayers will be affected until after returns have been filed and processed.
The paper also notes that in light of the high-profile email sent by male employees of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), in which they rated the attractiveness of newly recruited female graduates, employers are being warned to review company email policies. Michelle Ni Longain, a partner in solicitor firm Byrne Wallace and lecturer on employment and equality law, said employers are legally liable for the actions of their staff unless they could prove they had taken steps to protect against any offensive actions by employees.
The same paper also reports that Clonmel Chamber of Commerce has launched a competition to find the best tech start-up in the area. The prize for the winner is one year’s worth of services, including 1,000 square feet of office space rent-free for a year, donated by local businesses so the start-up will be able to establish itself. Applications must be submitted by 25 February 2011.
According to the same paper, IT healthcare firm Helix Health was named Company of the Year at last Friday’s Irish Software Association awards. Other winners include Cork software firm Qumas, which won the Business to Business collaboration award for its partnership with content provider LexisNexis; another Cork based firm DataHug, which won the Technology Software Start-up award; and mobile domain name provider dotMobi, which won the Technical Innovation category.
The paper also briefly notes the launch by NovaUCD’s Innovation Foundation of an online Innovation Index, and the launch by former Damovo Ireland boss John McCabe of a new IT services and consultancy firm called PrisaTec, which will initially employ five people. It also writes about travel software firm Datalex, which won two gongs at the World Travel Awards in London last week; and Cork-based wireless tech firm Azotel, which secured a deal that will see its products distributed in sub-Saharan Africa.
Finally, the paper reports that IT Sligo has secured EU funding of EUR3.2 million to research new technologies for engineering and manufacturing, and logistics firm DHL has implemented a voice-enabled solution from Dublin-based IT firm Heavy RF, a project worth around EUR250,000 to the Dublin company.
According to the Sunday Tribune, TV and radio presenter Ryan Tubridy on Saturday vowed to quit micro-blogging site Twitter for good following online criticism of his performance on last Friday’s Late Late Show. Tubridy tweeted: “I think my tweeting days are numbered. Fun but not always worth the grief, despite thick skin etc".
The paper also reports that the 13 women at the centre of the PwC email furore have indicated that they will not sue their employers on the basis of sexual harassment. Meanwhile, the men who circulated the email, who had been suspended following the incident, are understood to be returning to the office on Monday for meetings with management to decide their future with the firm.
The same paper writes that smartphones are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals due to the significant amount of data they now store. "We know that cybercriminals are interested in 'you' and if 'you' are now storing and doing the things that you used to do on your PC, then they will switch their attention to the smartphone," said Con Mallon, security expert with Symantec, who warned users to take steps to protect their personal information.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 