IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 8 February
08-02-2011
by Sylvia Leatham
Nearly half of Irish kids use net in excess | McAfee warns of mobile security threat
The Irish Times reports that Irish emigrants will have the chance to cast a symbolic vote through a new website, Ballotbox.ie. The site will give Irish citizens abroad a chance to vote on a full list of constituencies and candidates using the proportional representation system. Voting will be restricted to those living outside of Ireland using internet protocol and geoblocking technology. The website was set up by recent Irish emigrants to Canada and it is being run by volunteers based in Dublin. Organisers want to highlight what they say is the disenfranchisement of Irish emigrants in contrast with those from other states that are allowed to vote, including the UK, US and most of the EU.
The paper also says that three firms seeking funding to expand their operations will go head-to-head for the title of "best investment proposal" in the Docklands Innovation Park Enterprise Awards. The winner will receive a prize of EUR10,000. The companies are: Foxframe, an online advertising software company; Front Square Solutions, a social media group; and Nootrol, which is involved in real-time supply chain monitoring. The awards will be presented on 3 March.
The Irish Independent says that proposals for fresh cost-cutting at Eircom could be worked out within two weeks, paving the way for movement on addressing the company's debt burden. Quoting unnamed sources, the paper says the cost-cutting measures have yet to be agreed but are expected to be put to union members for approval within weeks. People involved in behind-the-scenes contacts between the company's advisers and its creditors said a cash injection would be dependent on a wide-ranging agreement with senior lenders.
The same paper reports that most Irish children have accidentally seen sexual images online, and a quarter have seen websites containing some form of harmful content. A survey conducted by the EU Kids Online project to mark Safe Internet Day found that one-quarter of children in Ireland have seen websites containing potentially harmful user-generated content. These include websites promoting drug taking, how to be thin, suicide, racism or hatred.
Reporting on the same story, the Irish Examiner says that 43 percent of Irish children said they use the internet excessively, compared to the EU average of 30 percent. The EU Kids Online study also found that over half of Irish children aged 9 to 16 are using the internet for more than an hour a day. Excessive use of the internet is particularly prevalent among 11- to 12-year-olds.
The paper also says that online betting firm 888.com has posted a 6 percent increase in operating profit for 2010, to USD262 million. Group operating income for the fourth quarter of the year came in at USD71 million, an 18 percent increase on the preceding three months. Customer numbers grew by 71 percent in the last three months of 2010.
According to the Financial Times, cyber-criminals are increasingly targeting mobile devices as they look to exploit consumer ignorance of potential security risks associated with smartphones and tablet PCs. The amount of malicious software designed specifically to target mobile devices rose 46 percent in 2010, according to a report by IT security group McAfee. The report found that whereas hackers tended to focus on finding breaches in Nokia's Symbian operating platform, Apple's iOS and Google's Android systems were increasingly targeted as they gained market share.
The Wall Street Journal reports that South Korea's LG Electronics has filed a patent-infringement complaint with the US International Trade Commission against Japanese electronics maker Sony, asking the US trade watchdog to block Sony from selling some high-margin televisions and game consoles. LG also filed another two lawsuits with a US court against Sony for alleged violation of its patent rights over electronics devices, including TVs, PCs and cameras. LG's complaint comes after Sony filed a lawsuit against LG in December, alleging that it violated US trade rules by importing and selling certain mobile phones and modems that infringed on Sony's patents.
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Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 