ROUNDUPS
In the papers 17 February
17-02-2003
by John Cradden
Intel Ireland to begin shipping new generation of flash memory chips | Salon warns it may go out of business within weeks
The Irish Times reports that dissenting views have emerged among members of a commission set up to advise the government on the best way to handle the state's EUR2.5 billion science budget. Two members of the 11-person commission, set up to develop plans for an "appropriate framework" for controlling the Republic's 2000-2006 National Development Plan investment in scientific research, disagree with aspects of the final report, which is shortly to be brought to Cabinet for approval.
The paper also reports that Intel Ireland will soon begin shipping a new generation of computer chips from the Republic following an investment of EUR180 million over the past year. Intel Ireland will ship flash memory chips, a core component in the new generation of mobile phones from its existing Irish plants Fab 10 and Fab 14.
The Irish Independent reports that an Irish company is playing a key role in developing an unmanned robot vehicle for the United States Army to use in the 'battlefield of the future'. Timoney Technology of Navan, Co. Meath, which is a world leader in designing advanced vehicle technologies, is part of an American team developing unmanned robot vehicles which could be the forerunner of an armed reconnaissance robot for the US Army.
The paper also reports that a new EU directive, due to come into force next week, will compel manufacturers to collect and dispose of old computers, telephones, radios, television sets, fridges, mobile phones, washing machines and electronic toys. The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive entitles householders to return their waste electrical and electronic equipment free of charge either to the place they bought it from or to an authorised collection point.
The FT reports that Terry Semel, chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo, has said Silicon Valley's biggest companies should end the liberal grants of stock options that fuelled the region during the technology boom. Semel said that stock options were not a healthy way of rewarding people. "Some people became very wealthy and some people struck out." He called for a more intelligent rewards scheme.
The paper also reports that Salon, a formerly high-flying US on-line media company, has warned that it is in danger of going out of business within the next two weeks. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Salon said it has been unable to pay most of its bills since December, including its rent. If it cannot increase revenues or raise money, it would be unlikely to survive beyond February.
The same paper reports that the Japanese government is proposing an increase in NTT's interconnection rates for the first time, to shield the telecoms monopoly from the impact of falling telephone usage. The telecom regulator has compiled a plan to raise the access fees NTT charges other operators on its local network by an average of 5 percent over two years.
The same paper reports that Microsoft will on Monday announce at the 3GSM World Congress in Cannes that T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom's mobile phone unit, will launch a smartphone based on Microsoft technology in the summer that will feature MSN applications such as Hotmail and Messenger. The move is an attempt to defy recent setbacks in its bid to dominate the market for wireless software.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft is issuing a new patch for its popular Web-browsing software because an earlier patch broke a function that let users enter Web sites where they had previously registered. A patch for Internet Explorer versions 5.01, 5.5 and 6.0 was initially posted on 5 February to fix security flaws, only for the company to be contacted by users who complained they could no longer log into some of their regular subscription sites.
The paper also reports that Graham Howe, a founder and the deputy chief executive of Orange SA, announced his resignation on Friday, a day after the appointment of Solomon Trujillo as Orange's CEO. Howe, who did not put himself forward for the top job, cited personal reasons for that decision and his departure.
The Sunday Times reports that BT is planning to re-enter the consumer mobile market by re-selling network capacity purchased from the British arm of T-Mobile, the German company. The consumer offering is expected to include packages of fixed line and mobile services, including text messages from landlines. The paper also reports that Xsil, a supplier of laser technology to makers of semiconductor, is due to report an after-tax profit of EUR11 million this year.
The Sunday Independent reports that Vodafone will begin paying dividends to Irish shareholders in euro rather than sterling, ending the situation whereby shareholders saw their payments substantially reduced by bank charges for foreign exchange.
The Sunday Tribune reports that a dispute between entrepreneurs Ossie Kilkenny and Denis O'Brien is headed toward the High Court, following charges by Kilkenny that he has not received his proper shareholding in Digicel, O'Brien's Jamaican mobile phone company in which Kilkenny is an investor.
The paper also reports that IT consultancy AMT Sybex posted pre-tax profits of almost EUR11 million in the year to January 2002, according to its latest accounts. Elsewhere the paper describes CosmoGrid, the grid computing project which will link Ireland's supercomputers together for the first time. The grid will process the vast amounts of data generated by physics, meteorology and astronomy projects.
The Sunday Business Post reports on the first meeting of an Irish government committee to examine proposals for videoconferencing in criminal and civil trials. The committee, whose members are representatives from groups including the Department of Justice and the Attorney General's office, has been asked to provide an interim report as soon as possible on the use of the technology for pre-trial criminal hearings, bail applications and contacts between prisoners and their lawyers.
The same paper reports that students and lecturers from the Southeast University in China will come to the Athlone Institute of Technology for work and study experience, following a deal between the two organisations. The paper also reports that Softworks Computing is to install an Internet-based time and attendance management system for the Department of Agriculture and Food.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 