NEWS IN BRIEF
For the record 11 January
11-01-2008
by Emmet Ryan
GM promises self-driving cars | Writers' strike results in boom for online video.
Marion Coy, President of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, has been appointed as the new Chairperson of Institutes of Technology Ireland for 2008. Coy was formerly head of the School of Business and Humanities in GMIT and has worked in the Institutes of Technology sector since 1981.
Sony is to offer the GPS add-on for its PlayStation Portable gaming console to European users. The Go!Explore system comprises an attachable GPS receiver and UMD disc containing the user's chosen maps including 3D models of cities and is set to be released in the Spring. The system has separate modes based on whether the user is on foot or in a car. In pedestrian mode, users will be able to plot their way through cities in 3D thanks to the fully-modelled maps contained on the UMD discs.
General Motors predicts a time when motorists will be able to do all sorts of activities, such as eating breakfast and writing e-mails, whilst 'driving' to work. The motoring giant's chief executive Rick Wagoner told attendees at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that the technology to let a car drive itself is in development, freeing up more time to do other activities whilst travelling.
Just as the CES ends Macworld begins. The event, now in its 23rd year, takes place next week at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. About 40,000 people are expected to attend the gathering which celebrates all things Apple related, according to conference presenter IDG World Expo.
Finally, the writers' strike in the US has apparently led to an increase in the number of online videos being watched, according to Nielsen Online. The strike by the Writers Guild of America has forced many shows off the air and resulted in an increase of repeated programmes on US television channels. According to figures from Nielsen, traffic on YouTube rose 18 percent in November and December 2007, the same period that saw shows first go off the air. The biggest gains were on video website Crackle, which saw its traffic jump by 105.6 percent in the two months since the strike kicked in.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 