IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 21 August
21-08-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Dell notebook shipments subject to delays | Monster CFO resigns
The Irish Times reports that Microsoft is cutting the price of its Xbox 360 games console by up to EUR50. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also says that an Indian-owned call-centre firm that set up in Northern Ireland last year is well ahead of schedule in creating 1,000 jobs. Firstsource set up a base in Belfast last August and another in Derry in December, promising to deliver the jobs total in 2008. "We are well ahead of schedule with 950 jobs created so far," said Sean Canning, Firstsource's UK operations director.
According to the Financial Times, Dell customers may have to wait until October for some of their new PCs to be delivered, due to supply chain problems and trouble perfecting new paint jobs. Dell said shipments of its Inspiron and XPS M1330 lines of notebook computers were delayed because of problems with new paint applied to their outside panels -- a feature introduced earlier this year as part of an effort to re-energise its flagging consumer PC business. Dell said shortages of display screen components had also contributed to the delay in notebook shipments.
The paper also reports that the race to pack more cores, or separate processing units, on to a single computer chip has taken a new twist with the announcement of what is thought to be the first 64-core processor designed for general computer applications. Made by Tilera, a company set up to commercialise technology developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the processor is based on a "mesh" architecture similar to designs that Intel and other companies are still experimenting with. By finding an efficient way to organise the flow of data to and from the chip's many cores, Tilera appears to have overcome a fundamental design problem faced by the next generation of high-capacity chips, according to Nathan Brookwood, a chip industry analyst at Insight64.
The Wall Street Journal says that Viacom's MTV Networks is set to announce that it is merging its online digital music offerings into a joint venture with RealNetworks, the company behind the Rhapsody subscription digital music service. Verizon Wireless has signed on to supply mobile distribution for the joint venture's content, according to a sources. That could provide additional leverage against rival online music provider Apple, which angered many mobile operators and consumers with the decision to make its iPhone compatible only with AT&T.
The paper also reports that Monster Worldwide has revealed that Chris Power, chief financial officer of global operations, resigned on Friday. The online recruitment company did not disclose the reason for Power's resignation in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Prior to becoming finance chief of global operations, Power had been finance chief of the Monster division. Monster has been going through management upheaval in the wake of an options-backdating scandal.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 