IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 15 June
15-06-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
C&W chairman faces backlash | Kinsale authors develop e-book
The Irish Times says that a new interactive e-book format will be launched on Friday in Ireland. The format, devised by Kinsale-based authors Colin and Jacqui Hawkins and developed by Dragnet Systems, is a downloadable interactive package that cannot be copied or forwarded by computer users. The initial e-book series produced by the writers is an electronic version of the popular 'Pat and Pals' books which are used to teach children to read. The e-book versions use animated characters and voiced readings of the stories for children to follow and repeat.
The Irish Examiner says that Ireland has just scraped into the list of the world's top 50 largest broadband countries. Ireland was placed 42nd in the Point Topic survey, with just under 600,000 broadband users. The country fared much better in terms of household penetration for broadband, earning 26th place.
The paper also reports that police are investigating the deaths of two young men who are believed to have made a suicide pact over the internet. It is believed the pair met in an internet chat room some weeks ago and developed a close friendship over a short space of time, based on their wish to commit suicide.
The Wall Street Journal says that Google is to open a research and development centre in Shanghai on 25 June, as it seeks to wrest market leadership in China from search engine firm Baidu.com. The US search giant declined to say how much it intends to invest in the centre or how many engineers it will employ. A Google media-relations official said the centre will carry out research related to Chinese-language internet searches.
According to the Financial Times, Richard Lapthorne, chairman of Cable & Wireless, is facing an investor backlash over controversial pay proposals by the telecoms company. Several leading shareholders have threatened to vote against the re-election of Lapthorne at next month's general meeting in protest. His planned bonus could pay out 5.5 million shares within three years, worth about STG11 million at the current share price.
The same paper says that TeliaSonera, the largest Nordic telecommunications group, should be forced to hive off its fixed-line network to allow greater competition in the broadband internet market, according to the Swedish telecoms regulator. The regulator recommended that TeliaSonera set up an independent subsidiary with its own financial targets, which would ensure equal treatment for TeliaSonera's retail operations and alternative operators.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 