IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 18 March
18-03-2011
by Sylvia Leatham
Cork parade goes live on the web | 2PaperDolls moves to Dublin
The Irish Times reports that the St. Patrick's Day parade in Cork was broadcast live on the internet for the first time, thanks to an initiative developed by the city council. The decision to broadcast the parade on the Cork City Council website followed the successful live broadcast of the 2011 election count at Cork City Hall. Valerie O'Sullivan, council director of corporate affairs, said the broadcast was a vital step for Cork.
The paper also says that the latest version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser was downloaded more than 2.3 million times in the 24 hours after it was officially launched. Internet Explorer's senior director Ran Gavin disclosed the figures in a blog post on the Windows teamblog.com website. Microsoft says Internet Explorer 9 improves video and audio performance, supports HTML 5, has stronger privacy controls and boasts improved handling of web applications.
The same paper reports that games developer 2PaperDolls is relocating from Paris to Dublin next month, according to company chief executive Louis Ravenet. The company is about to acquire space in Dublin and is hiring staff to complement those moving here to run the operation. About nine people will travel to Ireland to work in the office, with three Dublin-based jobs listed on the company's website.
The paper also notes that the Irish Blood Transfusion Service has signed up to use SourceDogg, the web-based procurement management software of BigDogg Technologies.
The same paper notes that Air China has chosen the Datalex Travel Distribution Platform for its domestic and international reservations online and in its call centres.
The Irish Independent reports that Atlantic Bridge Ventures, the Irish private equity group, is helping to organise a USD340 million stock market flotation of US video tech firm Envivio.
The paper also says that a priest is reaching out to parishioners by sending them Lenten tweets. Fr Paddy Byrne, who works in Bagenalstown, Carlow, is using Twitter on his iPhone to keep people up-to-date on his activities during Lent.
The Irish Examiner reports that pre-tax profits at the Irish unit of game giant GOA Games increased more than eight-fold in 2009 as revenues almost doubled. According to accounts recently filed with the Companies Office, GOA Games Services Ltd increased its pre-tax profits from EUR161,000 to EUR1.39 million. This coincided with the company increasing its revenues by 93 percent from EUR14 million to EUR27.3 million.
According to the Financial Times, the New York Times has launched its long-awaited model for charging for news online. The newspaper has gone with a "metered" subscription approach that will charge more than some analysts had expected but ensure that most readers never encounter the paywall. Readers will be able to access 20 free articles a month. Subscriptions will be priced at USD15 per month to access the website and a mobile app, USD20 for the web and an app for the Apple iPad, and USD35 for an "all-access" plan. The model will also allow free access beyond the monthly limits for readers following links from blogs, some search engines and social media sites.
The Wall Street Journal says that Microsoft and US law enforcement agents have seized computer equipment from internet hosting facilities across the US, in a sweeping attack designed to cripple the leading source of junk email on the internet. Microsoft launched the raids as part of a civil lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle in early February against unnamed operators of the Rustock botnet.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 