IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 7 February
07-02-2011
by Sylvia Leatham
New Irish website to analyse political reform | AOL to buy Huffington Post for USD315m
The Irish Times reports that new website Reformcard.com aims to put pressure on parties to take political reform seriously by marking their manifestos out of 100 in a range of categories. The online scorecard will also monitor the implementation and effectiveness of political reform by the incoming government. The website went live on Sunday but will only include the assessments once the party manifestos are published. After the election the programme for government 2011 will be rated to assess the extent to which manifesto promises have been incorporated. The site will then monitor the implementation of reforms.
The Irish Independent reports that an Irish harpist is teaching Chinese students via the internet. From her music school in Lanesboro, Longford, musician Edel Loftus is using a webcam to help students in Ireland and further afield get to grips with the harp.
The paper also says that the price of Eircom debt suffered a plunge in secondary markets last week, despite reports that a negotiated deal to deleverage the company could be on the cards. Eircom's bonds fell nearly 30 percent last week as investors worried that a deal to tackle the company's EUR4 billion debt pile remained elusive. Many investors based in the UK and on the continent also fear Eircom will suffer if the economy here deteriorates further, sapping investor appetite.
According to the Financial Times, AOL has agreed to buy the Huffington Post for USD315 million. "The acquisition of the Huffington Post will create a next-generation American media company with global reach that combines content, community and social experiences for consumers," said Tim Armstrong, chairman and chief executive of AOL. Under the terms of the acquisition, founder Arianna Huffington will run a new AOL division that will integrate all of AOL and Huffington Post content. The Huffington Post website currently has a monthly audience of nearly 25 million unique users.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Yahoo is developing software that would help mobile apps deliver personalised content based on a user's interests, according to sources. The initiative, which could be announced at the Mobile World Congress event in Spain later this month, could be used to boost mobile apps created by Yahoo as well as those developed by third parties. A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment on the initiative.
The paper also says that several senior officials on Nokia's executive board are expected to leave the company soon as part of a major shake-up being considered by the mobile giant's new chief executive, according to a source. Exactly who will leave the company remains unclear. Stephen Elop, a Microsoft veteran who was hired in September to help revive Nokia, is finalising his plan to revamp the company, which has been losing ground in the lucrative market for smartphones. Elop is expected to present the plan on Friday at an analysts' meeting in London.
The Sunday Times reports that Eircom is considering proposals to inject EUR300 million into the company. Singapore Technologies Telemedia, which owns a majority stake in the telco, has signalled it is prepared to inject around EUR200 million, while the Esot (employee share ownership trust) could invest EUR100 million. The discussions come as Eircom battles to avoid breaching its banking covenants.
The paper also notes that Hewlett-Packard and Nokia are this week expected to announce separate plans to take on Apple in the smartphone market.
The Sunday Business Post reports that Ian Lucey and Mark Sugrue have been named DIT Hothouse Entrepreneurs of the Year. Lucey is the CEO of online payment firm Lucey, and Sugrue is chief technology officer at Kinesense, which has developed a CCTV video search and analysis solution.
The paper also says that Dublin IT services firm IT Force saw its virtualisation business grow by 35 percent last year, including EUR400,000 in new business.
According to the same paper, a team of researchers at Trinity College Dublin has discovered a way of splitting layered materials, resulting in a whole new family of nanomaterials.
The paper also reports that Pat Frain, director of NovaUCD, has been elected the 2011 chairman of Proton Europe. Proton is the pan-European association of knowledge transfer organisations linked to universities and public research bodies.
The same paper writes that Dublin mobile software firm Newbay has released an on-demand video component for its LifeCache platform called Adaptation and Delivery Manager.
The paper also reports that Data Electronics, an outsourcing and managed services provider, posted revenue of EUR15.6 million in 2010, up from EUR14 million in 2009. The firm said it won a significant amount of overseas business during 2010.
Finally, the same paper reports that HiberniaEvros Technology has completed a EUR250,000 contract to build new IT infrastructure for remote security monitoring firm Netwatch; Complete Telecom has been awarded a EUR160,000 contract by the Department of Communications to deliver high-availability telecom connectivity at three sites in Dublin and Cavan; and AirSpeed Telecom has teamed up with managed network services provider Interfusion to build a EUR160,000 telecoms network for Saint John of God Hospitaller Services in Dublin.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 