IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 2 August
02-08-2007
by Deirdre McArdle
IDA works to salvage Xerox jobs | Walt Disney snaps up social networking site
The Irish Times reports that Xerox employees in Dublin have expressed anger at the possible transfer overseas of up to 900 jobs, with many staff facing redundancy or redeployment abroad when the document processing giant outsources their jobs to IBM at the beginning of next month. Read the story as reported by ENN.
In more news of Xerox, the paper says that the IDA has said it aims to secure as many as possible of the 900 jobs that may be at risk at Xerox's offices at Ballycoolin in northwest Dublin.
The same paper reports that Fujitsu is to create 30 new jobs in Belfast. Read the full story as reported by ENN.
The Irish Independent says that a poll carried out by the irishhealth.com website saw some 8,000 patients and relatives vote for the country's dirtiest and cleanest hospitals. According to the internet survey the most hygienic hospital was Mallow General in Cork, while Our Lady of Lourdes in Drogheda has been voted Ireland's dirtiest acute hospital. However, a Health Service Executive spokesman was quick to challenge the veracity of the internet poll. "Internet polls should come with a health warning," he said.
The Irish Examiner reports that the rate of spam targeting Irish business e-mail users dropped by 5 percent in July according to the latest statistics from e-mail hosting company, IE Internet, as noted by ENN.
According to the Wall Street Journal Google is courting wireless operators to carry handsets customised with Google products, including its search engine, webmail and a new mobile web browser, say people familiar with the plans. The news comes as Google sets its sights at capturing a big chunk of the fast-growing market for ads on mobile phones.
The same paper reports that games publisher Electronic Arts (EA) reported a quarterly net loss of USD132 million or USD0.42 per share compared with a loss of USD81 million or USD0.26 per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue declined to USD395 million from USD413 million. On the plus side for EA Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the latest installment in a popular franchise for the company, saw strong sales. EA slightly increased its revenue forecast by around USD100 million for the year.
The Financial Times reports that Walt Disney has made a move into the social networking market following its purchase of Club Penguin for a fee that could eventually rise to USD700 million. Club Penguin, which has a subscription-based business model, operates an online virtual world for children. It has more than 700,000 paid subscribers and 12 million "activated" users, primarily in the US and Canada.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 