IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 4 January
04-01-2011
by Sylvia Leatham
'Digital divide' between schools North and South | Microsoft resolves Hotmail glitch
The Irish Times says that schools in Northern Ireland have almost twice as many computers as schools in the Republic. Figures published by the Department of Education show a ratio of one computer for every five pupils in primary schools in the North, while the Republic has only one computer available for every nine students. The Irish National Teachers' Organisation claimed a "digital divide" now existed between schools in the two parts of Ireland.
The Irish Examiner says that satellite navigation devices could in the future detect when drivers are upset and react accordingly. Professor Peter Robinson, the head of emotional robotics at Cambridge University, is working on a generation of smart computers that will be able to recognise and react to their users' mood. Sat-nav systems could use the technology to display some sympathy with a driver's state of mind. It could even stop a mobile phone from ringing, or stop giving instructions, until a stressed motorist calms down.
The paper also notes that shares in Apple traded at over USD330 per share on Monday, bringing the company's total market capitalisation value to more than USD300 billion.
The Wall Street Journal reports that social network MySpace is readying a dramatic downsizing plan, according to sources. One person said the site could lay off between one-third and half of its staff of roughly 1,100 employees. Another person said the moves could be announced as soon as this month. The restructuring is the latest step in MySpace's effort to turn its business around.
The paper also says that Microsoft has announced it has resolved a glitch that caused thousands of Hotmail users to temporarily lose all of their e-mail. Hotmail users posted complaints on Microsoft's online message board over the weekend, saying their e-mails had disappeared. In some cases, e-mails were mistakenly sent to deleted mail folders. Chris Jones, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows Live business, said in a blog post on Monday that 17,355 people lost their e-mails. By Sunday evening, the messages had been restored. Though his team has identified what went wrong, Jones did not disclose any details.
According to the Financial Times, Facebook has raised USD500 million of an anticipated USD2 billion in new funding from Goldman Sachs and other investors -- a deal that values the social network giant at around USD50 billion. Sources involved in the deal said Goldman was providing USD375 million and Russia's Digital Sky Technologies was putting in USD125 million. Goldman has also formed a special fund to raise an additional USD1.5 billion from outside investors, sources said.
The paper also reports that UK telco BT is starting to sell a new service that gives broadband providers the tools to create a two-tier internet, where some video content would reach consumers in a better condition than other material. The service devised by BT's wholesale unit gives broadband providers the opportunity to charge content owners for high-quality distribution of their video products to consumers. However, the Open Rights Group, a consumer campaigns organisation, expressed concern that BT's content distribution network could clash with the principle of net neutrality -- the idea that all web traffic should be treated equally. Sally Davis, head of BT Wholesale, rejected suggestions that BT's new network would result in a two-tier internet where smaller content owners could not afford to pay for high-quality delivery of their material.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 