News from Most Popular

Just the medicine for ailing health system

Publication date: 2008-07-25 more

Keen on New Media: Twitter need only look at Facebook to see its future problems

February 2009 might well go down as the month when Twitter replaced Facebook as the hottest and coolest company in Silicon Valley.
Publication date: 2009-02-24 more

Keep on workin’ in the free world

The net is the new workplace and tools can be downloaded in seconds. Is this the beginning or the end of software?
Publication date: 2008-04-19 more

Keeping IT directors at the boardroom table

$400m-a-year business software player ASG employs 20 people in Belfast and plans to create 10 new jobs in Dublin. Tulin Pledger is director of marketing, EMEA.
Publication date: 2008-06-12 more

Keeping the identity thieves at bay

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing crimes on the internet. Tom Ilube is CEO of Garlik, a new consumer company helping people to protect their online identities
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Keyboard nasties

UK researchers have discovered that computer keyboards can carry more harmful bacteria than the average toilet seat.
Publication date: 2008-05-08 more

Kindle's bigger screen and higher price may make it a hard sell

Juthymas Harntha reads books and news on all sorts of gadgets, from the Kindle to the iPod Touch to the BlackBerry. That doesn’t mean she’s excited about a larger, pricier Kindle that Amazon.com announced this week.
Publication date: 2009-05-08 more

Knocking hot spots off mobile broadband

Alex French, author of Irish internet guide DOT ie and chief operating officer of Wi-Fi network provider BitBuzz, talks about the Irish, the iPhone and the internet.
Publication date: 2008-04-10 more

Laptop + iPhone = Apple Tablet - the world's first touch-screen computer

When asked to sum up the consistently seductive powers of the company that brought the world the iPod and the iPhone, a glassy-eyed devotee once said: "I'll buy almost anything if it's shiny and made by Apple."
Publication date: 2009-08-26 more

Last-minute festive tech toys

Gaming: This year has been the year of the gamer. No longer the domain of teenage boys, now toddlers, grandparents and everyone in between have been joining in on the casual gaming craze.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Launch of iPhone 3G sets stage for mobile revolution

The iPhone has changed mobile forever, says chief executive of O2 Europe, Matthew Key
Publication date: 2008-07-03 more

Launch of Zapa loyalty label as Insomnia tags on

JOHN Nagle's fledgling Zapa Technology has secured its maiden customer and aims to do another eight major deals before Christmas.
Publication date: 2009-10-01 more

Lavasoft launches database of rogue security software

Anti-spyware developer Lavasoft has announced the launch of a new resource tool, The Rogue Gallery, which is a comprehensive list of current rogue (or fake) security applications, giving users the ability to immediately identify if they are targets of rogue threats.
Publication date: 2009-12-02 more

Laying the foundations for Ireland's next-generation network rollout

Can Ireland's telecoms leaders collaborate to construct the nation's fibre network of the future?
Publication date: 2009-09-03 more

Lean, green firms will survive credit crunch

The current economic climate is the perfect opportunity for firms to get focused on green and lean business principles, says Dave Ferguson, principal consultant with the SAS Institute.
Publication date: 2008-11-13 more

Lego refuses permission for Spinal Tap YouTube hit to be used in anniversary DVD

A popular YouTube clip of a group of Lego characters playing a song made famous by the satirical rock legends Spinal Tap, has been banned from use in an anniversary DVD.
Publication date: 2009-08-26 more

Lehman sells off trinkets on eBay

Roll up, roll up, to assemble your Wall Street Survival Kit, using only the finest memorabilia from the credit crunch's biggest casualty.
Publication date: 2009-07-21 more

Life is tweet for connected professionals

A new messaging craze that combines the best elements of online communications is sweeping the professional world, even the politicians are in on it
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Liquidations soar in Q4

The number of liquidations of Irish companies hiked significantly in the last quarter of 2007 -- the first time ever this trend has been recorded at the end of the year.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Little black dress that's also a phone

A little black dress that doubles up as a mobile phone is to be launched in Britain.
Publication date: 2010-08-31 more

Live movie-making takes to the streets as Qik cuts to the chase

Publication date: 2008-07-03 more

Liver transplant 'must be disclosed' if Jobs comes back

Apple should disclose whether Steve Jobs had a liver transplant if he returns to work this month in the role of chief executive officer, corporate governance experts said.
Publication date: 2009-06-23 more

Liverpool man sued for alleged illegal software sales

Business Software Alliance (BSA) has launched legal action against a Liverpool man suspected of selling illegal software over the Internet. John Rothwell of Anfield allegedly sold BSA investigators pirated copies of design and office productivity software with a total retail value of over £2,000 for only £29.
Publication date: 2008-11-04 more

Living on the ledge delivers just rewards

BalconyTV.com, a daily internet music show broadcasting from a balcony high above Dublin’s Dame Street, has just been nominated for a Webby Award. Stephen O’Regan is one of its three founders
Publication date: 2008-04-19 more

Local firms need to grow up and act global

Irish software firms employ 16,000 people and are responsible for annual revenues of €1.4bn. Shane Dempsey is the new director of the Irish Software Association.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Local heroes become video game All-Stars

In the past, kids dreamed of being rock or movie stars and lately perhaps celebrities famous for nothing more than being famous.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Look, no hands . . . latest Xbox ditches control pads

THE battle for computer game supremacy entered uncharted territory yesterday as Microsoft revealed its answer to the Nintendo Wii -- a revolutionary control system for its Xbox 360 console that requires no hand-held device.
Publication date: 2009-06-03 more

Looking to nature for smarter software systems

YOU say there is a crisis facing software engineering. What is this?
Publication date: 2009-06-04 more

Loopt aims to triple sales as competition from Google mounts

Loopt, a service that lets mobile-phone users track their friends’ whereabouts, expects to more than triple its revenue this year, fending off competition from Google.
Publication date: 2009-05-19 more

Lost the news? There's an app for that...

Here is the news... by iPhone. A BBC Radio 3 newsreader was forced to read the morning headlines from her mobile phone after the Corporation's telephone and computer system crashed as she was about to go on air.
Publication date: 2009-11-27 more

Majority of Irish adults now online - JNIR results

The JNIR (Joint National Internet Research) was published today. Its findings reveal that 51% of Irish adults are now online and over half of those have made at least one online purchase in the past month.
Publication date: 2008-09-27 more

Makers of Norton anti-virus buy rival

Symantec Corp., the world's biggest maker of security software, agreed to buy closely held MessageLabs Ltd. for about $695 million to improve protection for its e-mail programs.
Publication date: 2008-10-09 more

Manufacturers still drive a hard bargain

Laptop prices are coming down, but you should still expect to pay over €500 for even the most basic model from each manufacturer.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Marketing firm tunes into social networks

EARLIER this year the media and marketing landscape welcomed the advent of a new agency.
Publication date: 2010-08-05 more

Massive blunders exposed in €87m broadband rollout

THE Government has spent €87m building a broadband network that is largely unused, an Irish Independent investigation has found.
Publication date: 2009-06-26 more

McAfee says malicious code outbreak biggest in years

McAfee Inc., the world's second-biggest maker of security software, said it uncovered the most widespread infection in three years by ``Trojan horse'' programs that get into computers and steal personal information.
Publication date: 2008-05-08 more

Meet mobile’s maker

From a fledgling start-up in 1996, Oliver Coughlan transformed O2 from a voice and text network to a full broadband provider
Publication date: 2008-05-30 more

Meet the brave new wave of Irish technology start-ups

What makes the current crop of technology start-ups in Ireland so different from their predecessors like Iona? It’s the unusual dichotomy of wisdom and hindsight, mixed with an appetite for somewhat risky business.
Publication date: 2008-07-10 more

Meeting the business need to develop an app on a low budget

With over 225,000 apps now available in the Apple App Store to suit your every whim, and with over five million apps downloaded from the Store to date, many people are starting to see the business potential for creating an app, but how do you go about building one, particularly on a budget?
Publication date: 2010-08-19 more

Meteor storms into mobile broadband

In recent weeks, Meteor went live with the first stage of its 3G network, and by next year plans to be a force in the mobile broadband business. Elaine Robinson is head of product development at Meteor.
Publication date: 2008-11-06 more

Microsoft 'plans Xbox Live for Windows Mobile'

Microsoft is planning to bring Xbox Live gaming to Windows Mobile phones, according to a range of job adverts the company published just before Christmas.
Publication date: 2010-01-04 more

Microsoft 'staking its future' on cloud computing

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, said he was 'betting the company' on the move to cloud-based services
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Microsoft all but confirms Courier tablet

A blog post on the Microsoft Jobs website specifically mentioned the long-rumoured Courier, a potential rival to Apple's iPad
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Microsoft allows advertising on PC desktops

Microsoft has opened up its Windows 7 operating system to advertising, allowing brands to advertise on PC desktops.
Publication date: 2009-11-16 more

Microsoft and LG bring 3D gaming to Xbox

Microsoft's Xbox 360 console will soon be able to play 3D games, after the company signed a deal with LG.
Publication date: 2010-05-12 more

Microsoft and The Black Screen Of Death

It would be easy to imagine that Microsoft was cursed. Early adopters of Windows 7 have been told by geeks, experts and journalists alike that the new operating system they’d just bought was safer, faster, better and shinier than anything in the company’s history. Then news emerged of the Black Screen of Death.
Publication date: 2009-12-03 more

Microsoft appeals against Word ban

Microsoft has filed a motion to suspend an injunction imposed by a US court that banned the company from selling copies of Word in the United States.
Publication date: 2009-08-19 more

Microsoft banned from selling Word in US

A Texan court has granted an injunction against Microsoft, preventing it from selling copies of Word, its word-processing software.
Publication date: 2009-08-12 more

Microsoft blocks Windows Live in countries sanctioned by US

Microsoft said it blocked access to Windows Live users in countries that are subject to sanctions by the US government.
Publication date: 2009-05-27 more

Microsoft boss: 'The recession is our chance to leapfrog global competition'

Tackling issues digitally will return people to work says Microsoft general manager Paul Rellis.
Publication date: 2009-06-11 more

Microsoft buys Navic to add television ads to online campaigns

Microsoft Corp., the third-largest seller of Internet ad space in the U.S., will add television spots to its advertising system by acquiring Navic Networks, stepping up competition with market leader Google Inc.
Publication date: 2008-06-19 more

Microsoft confirms new Internet Explorer flaw

Microsoft says that another security issue with its Internet Explorer web browser could leave computers vulnerable to hackers.
Publication date: 2010-02-04 more

Microsoft CRM Takes on Salesforce.com

Microsoft offered a sneak peek of the newest version of its CRM application, Dynamics AX 2009, at Convergence 2008, a meeting of Microsoft Dynamics users. The release, due in the first half of this year, is aimed at small and midsize businesses with what analysts say is extremely aggressive pricing. One major focus of the new release is managing compliance obligations, providing what Microsoft calls a "one-stop shop for compliance-related information." AX 2009 also includes enhanced global capabilities (such as multiple language support) that will give international businesses real-time visibility into operations such as overseas inventory of global locations. Chris Alliegro, lead analyst with Directions on Microsoft (an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy and technology), said that Dynamics offers a big advantage over competing products: a familiar interface. "If you're a Microsoft shop, it's an interface you're already familiar with. Having your CRM functionality visible, accessible, and built into Outlook is a huge selling point for Microsoft." Salesforce.com: The One To Beat Alliegro told us that Microsoft is directly challenging Salesforce.com with its new hosted CRM service, which is in beta testing now and should be launched for general sign-up in the middle of this year. All indications are that Microsoft will launch a full-scale attack. "They're coming at the market very aggressively," particularly in terms of pricing, Alliegro said. One version of the hosted product is expected to be $44 per month per subscriber, and $15 higher for the more enhanced version. (The main differences between the two versions, he said, are storage amount and the ability to support offline synchronizations.) He said that Salesforce.com's similar offerings cost about 50 percent more. "It's fair to ask if Microsoft can even make money at that price point. That's something they're going to learn. I think that companies getting into...
Publication date: 2008-03-17 more

Microsoft cuts off Xbox 360 pirate gamers from Xbox Live

Microsoft is cutting off up to one million Xbox 360 users who modified their consoles to play pirated games over Xbox Live.
Publication date: 2009-11-11 more

Microsoft erases black man from web photo

Microsoft has apologised for pasting a white man's head on to a black man's body in a promotional photo on its official website.
Publication date: 2009-08-26 more

Microsoft fails to reach decision on Yahoo takeover

Microsoft Corp. directors failed to decide on the next step in the pursuit of Yahoo! Inc. yesterday, leaving open the debate over whether to walk away from the $44.6 billion bid or fight to replace the Internet company's board.
Publication date: 2008-05-01 more

Microsoft files response in European antitrust case

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, responded to European Union charges that the company illegally ties its Internet Explorer browser to the Windows operating system.
Publication date: 2009-04-30 more

Microsoft fined €899m for ignoring EU ruling on 'abuse' of dominance

Microsoft was fined a record €899m by the European Commission yesterday as it received its third financial penalty for failing to comply with a landmark antitrust ruling issued four years ago.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Microsoft gets search market-share boost With Bing

Microsoft’s effort to gain ground on Google with its new Bing search engine got a boost today from data showing an increase in its share of US search results, according to ComScore
Publication date: 2009-06-10 more

Microsoft gives Hotmail a makeover

Microsoft is updating Hotmail, its free email service, in a bid to retain and grow market share over its major rivals: Google’s Gmail and Yahoo! Mail.
Publication date: 2010-05-19 more

Microsoft in 'sexting' row over Kin advert

A video for new 'social' handsets shows teenagers exchanging 'explicit' pictures through their mobile phones.
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Microsoft launches Kin social phones

Kin makes it easy to share photos and messages within social network.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Microsoft launches MSN Video, its first web TV service

Microsoft has announced the launch of MSN Video, an online TV player which will go live within the next week, and marks the technology giant’s first foray into long form video.
Publication date: 2009-07-30 more

Microsoft Licenses Flash Lite Against iPhone and its own Silverlight

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has said Flash isn't good enough, but Microsoft disagrees. In a move against Apple's iPhone, Microsoft is licensing Flash Lite technology -- even as it promotes its own Silverlight platform as an alternative to Flash. Adobe Systems announced Monday that Microsoft will license Flash Lite for its Internet Explorer Mobile browser in Windows Mobile phones. The deal also includes licensing of Adobe Reader LE for viewing PDF documents sent as e-mail attachments or made available as Web downloads. 'Vibrant Web Experiences' John O'Rourke, general manager of the mobile communications business at Microsoft, said bringing Flash Lite to Windows Mobile users will provide the "vibrant web experiences and access to entertainment" that users want from the Web. The move also provides access to a technology that Apple is refusing for the iPhone. Earlier this month, Jobs told news media that Flash technology is not yet ready for the iPhone. At Apple's shareholder meeting, he said Flash Lite is not powerful enough, and that regular Flash, designed for full-featured computers, runs too slowly. "There's this missing product in the middle," Jobs told Dow Jones news service. His dissing of Flash disappointed consumers and developers encouraged by blog reports that it was only a matter of time before Flash landed on the revolutionary iPhone. 'Big Win for Flash Lite' "This is a big win for Flash Lite," said Sean Ryan, an analyst with industry research firm IDC. He added that even though Apple has decided against Flash Lite, the iPhone still offers a high level of entertainment, including playing YouTube videos. He also noted that Apple's recently released software development kit will enable third-party developers to create new applications for the iPhone. But the bigger problem for video and other full-feature entertainment on the iPhone, he said, is the same as for other devices -- bandwidth. He pointed...
Publication date: 2008-03-17 more

Microsoft Licenses Flash Lite for Windows Mobile Users

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has said Flash isn't good enough, but Microsoft disagrees. In a move against Apple's iPhone, Microsoft is licensing Flash Lite technology -- even as it promotes its own Silverlight platform as an alternative to Flash. Adobe Systems announced Monday that Microsoft will license Flash Lite for its Internet Explorer Mobile browser in Windows Mobile phones. The deal also includes licensing of Adobe Reader LE for viewing PDF documents sent as e-mail attachments or made available as Web downloads. 'Vibrant Web Experiences' John O'Rourke, general manager of the mobile communications business at Microsoft, said bringing Flash Lite to Windows Mobile users will provide the "vibrant web experiences and access to entertainment" that users want from the Web. The move also provides access to a technology that Apple is refusing for the iPhone. Earlier this month, Jobs told news media that Flash technology is not yet ready for the iPhone. At Apple's shareholder meeting, he said Flash Lite is not powerful enough, and that regular Flash, designed for full-featured computers, runs too slowly. "There's this missing product in the middle," Jobs told Dow Jones news service. His dissing of Flash disappointed consumers and developers encouraged by blog reports that it was only a matter of time before Flash landed on the revolutionary iPhone. 'Big Win for Flash Lite' "This is a big win for Flash Lite," said Sean Ryan, an analyst with industry research firm IDC. He added that even though Apple has decided against Flash Lite, the iPhone still offers a high level of entertainment, including playing YouTube videos. He also noted that Apple's recently released software development kit will enable third-party developers to create new applications for the iPhone. But the bigger problem for video and other full-feature entertainment on the iPhone, he said, is the same as for other devices -- bandwidth. He pointed...
Publication date: 2008-03-18 more

Microsoft loses $200m jury verdict in i4i patent trial

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, was ordered by a federal jury to pay $200 million to a Canadian company over a patented way to process electronic documents in Microsoft’s Word products.
Publication date: 2009-05-21 more

Microsoft loses appeal over Word software

Microsoft must amend its popular word-processing program in order to remove a feature judged to breach copyright, a court has ruled
Publication date: 2009-12-23 more

Microsoft may be running out of time on Yahoo deal

Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer may be running out of time to clinch his proposed purchase of Yahoo! Inc. as the Internet company forges tighter ties with Google Inc.
Publication date: 2008-05-02 more

Microsoft may ship Windows in September says Compal

Microsoft may begin shipping its Windows 7 operating system as early as the third quarter, months before the software maker’s official prediction, a computer-industry executive said.
Publication date: 2009-02-27 more

Microsoft nears EU truce after decade-long battle

Microsoft could close the door on a 10-year legal battle with the European Union, after the regulator backed its moves to open up internet browsing on Windows to rivals.
Publication date: 2009-10-08 more

Microsoft never recovered from Vista blow, says Steve Ballmer

Microsoft's reputation has never recovered from the launch of Vista, Steve Ballmer, chief executive, said as the company gears up for the release of its latest incarnation of Windows.
Publication date: 2009-10-07 more

Microsoft offers computer users choice of browsers

Computer users must now choose which browser they use to surf the internet, after a ruling against Microsoft by the European Commission came in to effect.
Publication date: 2010-03-01 more

Microsoft offers to fix your PC

Microsoft has launched a new self-repair service for computers. Called Fix It the new product is based on similar features online and in Windows 7, but extends them to all machines from Windows XP upwards.
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Microsoft Office coming to Nokia phones

Microsoft has confirmed reports that it's Office suite of word-processing and spreadsheet software will be coming to Nokia smartphones.
Publication date: 2009-08-13 more

Microsoft Outlook to integrate Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn

Microsoft is integrating social networking services, such as Facebook and MySpace, into the latest version of its desktop email program, Outlook, used by millions of office workers around the world.
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

Microsoft plans to become a big player in Britain's news industry

It's really called a huddle but we are so whacky and new media here we call it The Cuddle," laughs Matthew Ball, as he heads off into a corner of the newsroom and gathers his staff about him.
Publication date: 2009-08-31 more

Microsoft pledges to delete Bing user data after six months

Microsoft has bowed to pressure from privacy groups and agreed to delete all user data collected via Bing after six months.
Publication date: 2010-01-20 more

Microsoft posts 29pc fall in fourth quarter profit

MICROSOFT, the world's biggest software maker, which employs up to 1200 people in Dublin, reported a 29pc drop in profit last night.
Publication date: 2009-07-30 more

Microsoft previews Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft has given developers a glimpse of its next web browser, Internet Explorer 9.
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Microsoft previews Office Web Apps

Microsoft has launched a limited beta test of its Office Web Apps cloud computing software to rival Google Docs and Zoho
Publication date: 2009-09-18 more

Microsoft profit beats estimates after cost cuts

Microsoft posted a smaller drop in profit than analysts estimated after slashing costs to make up for falling sales.
Publication date: 2009-10-23 more

Microsoft profit meets estimates after cutting jobs and expenses

Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, reported third-quarter profit that met analysts' estimates after job cuts and lower expenses helped make up for slumping computer demand.
Publication date: 2009-04-24 more

Microsoft releases emergency Internet Explorer patch

Microsoft has rushed out a software update for Internet Explorer after the browser was found to contain a security flaw
Publication date: 2010-01-22 more

Microsoft Releases Service Pack for Windows Vista

Microsoft Corp. posted a major package of updates and security fixes for its Windows Vista operating system for download starting Tuesday. People whose PCs run the newest Microsoft operating system can use Microsoft's Windows Update tool or visit its Download Center Web site and download the free Service Pack 1. In some cases, computer users may need to download older updates before they'll be able to install SP1. Many of the fixes contained in SP1 have already been released as part of regular monthly updates in the year since the operating system went on sale to consumers. Microsoft has said SP1 improves Vista's reliability, security and performance. Before SP1 was made widely available, Microsoft had determined that a handful of programs will fail in some way after SP1 is installed. On Tuesday, a Windows team blog said PC users with some drivers installed will "temporarily" not be able to get SP1 at all. Microsoft said SP1 will block several applications from running for "reliability reasons." The list includes BitDefender Antivirus and Internet Security, version 10; Fujitsu's Shock Sensor hard drive protection for rugged laptops; two versions of Jiangmin KV Antivirus software and Check Point Technologies' Zone Alarm Security Suite. The company said a few programs won't run on SP1, such as Web application design program Iron Speed Designer, while others will stop working well, like The New York Times Reader application. Certain device drivers from RealTek AC, Intel and Symantec are among those Microsoft said would prevent an upgrade to SP1. The software maker said PC users can seek out updates from most of the makers of those devices to fix the problem. Industry analysts offered mixed reports on whether Vista SP1 makes a noticeable difference on the way their computers run. Michael Cherry, of the research group Directions on Microsoft, said that after installing SP1, the time...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Microsoft reshuffles browsers on ballot screen

The Windows-maker has adjusted the algorith that generates the order in which browsers are shown on its ballot screen, as Opera says downloads have tripled since process began.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Microsoft reshuffles browsers on ballot screen

The Windows-maker has adjusted the algorith that generates the order in which browsers are shown on its ballot screen, as Opera says downloads have tripled since process began.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Microsoft revives talks with Yahoo and proposes new deal

Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, revived the possibility of a deal with Yahoo! Inc. to challenge Google Inc. after failing to agree on a merger.
Publication date: 2008-05-20 more

Microsoft says 3 million people trying out Windows 7

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, said more than three million customers are currently trying out its Windows 7 operating system software.
Publication date: 2009-05-26 more

Microsoft says Yahoo! Japan deal with Google is 'anti-competitive'

Microsoft has criticised Yahoo! and Google’s search partnership in Japan, saying it will give Google total control of all personal search information in the country.
Publication date: 2010-07-28 more

Microsoft sees signs of recovery in ads as Bing awareness grows

Microsoft, said to be in talks with News Corporation to obtain exclusive content for its Bing search engine, isn’t focused on paying publishers to keep articles off Google’s site, according to a Microsoft executive.
Publication date: 2009-12-02 more

Microsoft sells 90 million copies of Windows 7

Microsoft has announced that it has sold over 90 million copies of Windows 7 since its launch to manufacturers in July. The operating system, which went on sale to consumers in October, had sold 60 million copies by the end of January.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Microsoft settles patent claim over wireless networks

Microsoft settled a lawsuit with Australia’s science agency over a patent used for wireless local area networks.
Publication date: 2009-04-14 more

Microsoft studies claims of child labour abuse at Chinese supplier

The computing giant Microsoft is investigating claims that Chinese factory staff are working in sweatshop conditions to make its products.
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Microsoft targets Google with $45bn bid for Yahoo!

MICROSOFT, the computer giant founded by Bill Gates, has launched an audacious bid to buy the online search engine Yahoo!. The multi-billion dollar deal could challenge Google's dominance of the internet.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Microsoft tests product that lets different devices share files

Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software developer, will begin testing a program that lets users share computer files from different locations and devices using the Web.
Publication date: 2008-04-24 more

Microsoft To Buy Virtual PC Manager Kidaro

Microsoft said it will acquire Israel-based Kidaro, which has developed desktop virtualization products for enterprise applications. The financial terms were not disclosed. Managing desktops across a large business can be complex, Microsoft executives said. Issues such as application compatibility, mobility and business continuity can be addressed with virtual PC technologies, said Shanen Boettcher, general manager of Microsoft's Windows product management team. "Kidaro's seamless user interface and management capabilities allow enterprises to more easily use and manage virtual PCs," he added. Aiding Vista Migrations Kidaro's Managed Workspace product allows enterprise data and applications to run within a 'transparent virtual machine wrapper' built upon Microsoft Virtual PC, noted Patrick O'Rourke, senior product manager at Microsoft's Windows Server Group. "The wrapper provides enterprise-class management, deployment and a clean user experience," he said. In addition to taking on Kidaro's three founders with the deal, Microsoft intends to retain Kidaro's overseas R&D team, which makes "sense since Microsoft already has an R&D center in Israel," O'Rourke said. Kidaro's products will be melded into future updates of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for software assurance "under the name Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization," O'Rourke added. The acquired products are expected to enable Microsoft's software-assurance customers with enhanced subscription to accelerate Windows Vista migrations. Moreover, enterprise managers will be able to apply IT policies in a locked-down mode that still gives end users access to the underlying host operating system. In addition, companies will be able to reduce IT investments by delivering desktop PC virtual images that are independent of hardware or local desktop configurations, Microsoft said. Future Opportunities Despite Microsoft's announcement, Gartner Vice President Michael Silver said there hasn't been much adoption of PC virtualization in enterprises. "Today, virtual machines are used by developers, help desk, and technical sales people, but not by the mainstream desktop user," Silver noted....
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Microsoft To Buy Web Ad Analysis Company

Microsoft Corp. plans to buy Rapt Inc., plugging a hole in its suite of tools for Web publishers and advertisers, the software giant said Friday. Microsoft did not say what it will pay for the privately held San Francisco company. Rapt's software and consulting services help Web site publishers tweak how they package and price display-ad space. Scott Howe, a general manager in Microsoft's advertiser and publisher solutions group, said Rapt's system is similar to the one airlines use to set ticket prices and track available seats. Microsoft plans to add Rapt's programs to the Web publisher tools it gained when it acquired aQuantive last year for $6 billion. The move "puts us way ahead of what other offerings are available in the market," Howe said in an interview, likening Microsoft plus Rapt to a jet plane -- and competitors, including Google Inc., to a bicycle. Microsoft has had hands-on experience as one of Rapt's customers. Tom Chavez, Rapt's chief executive, said in an interview that his company's technology helped boost MSN's ad revenue 15 percent to 20 percent, a typical improvement. Rapt, which employs about 85 people, plans to remain in California. Microsoft expects the deal to close in the next month or so. The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker has bought several companies to fill out its digital ad offerings, including AdECN, a stock market-like exchange where networks representing Web sites buy and sell ad space, and Massive, which inserts ads into video games. Display advertising hasn't gotten as much attention as search ads, thanks to Google's unparalleled ability to turn search queries into billions of dollars in revenue. But that may be about to change with Google's first big push this week into display advertising as it closed its $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad services company DoubleClick. Microsoft, for its part, is waiting for Yahoo Inc. to respond...
Publication date: 2008-03-17 more

Microsoft to launch

Microsoft will launch Windows-based tablet computers later this year, says Steve Ballmer
Publication date: 2010-07-13 more

Microsoft to open Apple store rival in Arizona

Microsoft's first dedicated high-street store will open in the trendy US town of Scottsdale, Arizona, on Thursday.
Publication date: 2009-10-19 more

Microsoft to patch Windows shortcut vulnerability

An emergency Windows software update will close a loophole in Microsoft’s operating system that makes it easy for hackers to take control of a computer using shortcuts
Publication date: 2010-08-02 more

Microsoft to put Windows on non-profit group's laptops

Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, agreed to make its Windows operating system available on computers bound for poor children in developing countries, part of a test with the One Laptop per Child group.
Publication date: 2008-05-16 more

Microsoft to release Windows 7 in October

Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, will start selling its Windows 7 operating system on October 22, ahead of the holiday season when demand for computers is usually highest.
Publication date: 2009-06-03 more

Microsoft to rival Apple with new Zune HD music player

Computer giant Microsoft is stepping up its challenge to Apple's iPod by launching a high definition version of its Zune digital music player.
Publication date: 2009-08-14 more

Microsoft to ship Windows 7 in Sept/Oct

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, will begin shipping its Windows 7 operating system in September or October, a computer executive said.
Publication date: 2009-02-25 more

Microsoft unveils its rival to mighty Wii

LIVING rooms may never be the same again. In future, people will play video games not with their joypads but by standing in front of their screen, karate-chopping the air, rocking out on a virtual guitar and kicking an imaginary ball.
Publication date: 2010-01-08 more

Microsoft unveils Windows Mobile 6.5

Microsoft hopes its new mobile phone operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5, will enable it to compete more directly with Google's Android devices and the Apple iPhone.
Publication date: 2009-10-06 more

Microsoft updates Explorer after Firefox and Safari gain users

Microsoft will release a new version of its Internet Explorer Web browser, a bid to shore up its dominance after losing market share to Firefox and Apple’s Safari.
Publication date: 2009-03-19 more

Microsoft Wants Wireless Consumers, Too

Spurred on by Apple's pursuit of the wireless mass market, Microsoft is redoubling efforts to court mobile-phone consumers. Despite long-standing attempts to widen the appeal of Microsoft's Windows Mobile, the operating system for cell phones is popular mainly with business users looking for a way to view documents, spreadsheets, and corporate e-mail on a handheld device. Luring the less-business-minded has taken on added urgency in light of Apple's success with the iPhone, introduced in June, 2007. "We've always been going in this direction, but we feel it's time to move in more aggressively now," says Scott Horn, general manager of Microsoft's mobile communications business, though he denies the push has to do with Apple. In 2007, the Windows Mobile share of the U.S. smartphone market slipped to 28 percent, from 30 percent, reflecting inroads by the iPhone, which uses Apple's OS X operating system, according to researchers at IDC. While Windows Mobile has gained global share and almost doubled shipments, to 11 million units, in 2007, Apple has made remarkable gains too, selling 4 million iPhones in less than half a year on the market. "Apple has gotten more attention in the first six months than Microsoft has gotten in the first five years," says Richard Doherty, director at consultancy Envisioneering Group. Focus on Mobile Browsing To make Windows Mobile more appealing to the masses, Microsoft is trying to improve its Web browsing capabilities. On Mar. 17, Microsoft announced it has licensed Adobe Flash Lite, which will let Windows Mobile users view certain Web sites, such as e-commerce and video game pages with animations. Microsoft has also licensed another piece of Adobe software that makes it easier to view e-mail attachments, and it's working on a mobile version of its own Silverlight code, designed to enhance the appearance of mobile Web sites. The company is...
Publication date: 2008-03-20 more

Microsoft warns Windows 7 users that popular 'upgrade hack' is illegal

Microsoft has told computer users not to not to try hacking upgrade copies of Windows 7 to get a full copy of the operating system on their PC.
Publication date: 2009-10-29 more

Microsoft will strip browser from Windows 7 in Europe

Microsoft will ship the new Windows 7 operating system in the EU without the Internet Explorer browser, aiming to quell antitrust concerns.
Publication date: 2009-06-12 more

Microsoft Windows 7 early orders will be half price

Microsoft, trying to fuel early demand for its Windows 7 operating system, will charge half price for the software when customers preorder a copy online at retailers like Best Buy and Amazon.
Publication date: 2009-06-26 more

Microsoft Windows 7 problem 'could affect millions'

Microsoft said it is looking in to reports that some computers running Windows 7 crash as soon as the user logs on.
Publication date: 2009-12-01 more

Microsoft Windows 7 smashes sales records

Windows 7 has been a bigger seller than its predecessor, Windows Vista, new industry figures show.
Publication date: 2009-11-06 more

Microsoft Windows 7: The best Windows operating system yet

PC World opened the doors to its flagship London store at midnight for customers wishing to be first to get their hands on Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 7.
Publication date: 2009-10-22 more

Microsoft Windows 8 details leak

Leaked documents detailing Microsoft’s initial thoughts on the development of Windows 8 have surfaced on the internet.
Publication date: 2010-06-30 more

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 series review

Hats off to Microsoft -- a company that many of us had written off in the mobile phone market has come up trumps with a new operating system and fresh approach to the mobile platform that could -- for the first time in a very long time -- give Apple and Google something to worry about.
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

Microsoft's gaze turns to Yahoo! partnership

Microsoft, the software maker which scrapped a $47.5bn bid for Yahoo! this month, may forge a partnership with the internet company on search advertising to challenge Google.
Publication date: 2008-05-20 more

Microsoft's man sees Windows of opportunity with lucky number 7

A passing employee inadvertently knocks over a free-standing advert for Windows 7 outside Microsoft's European headquarters in Dublin yesterday morning, prompting a quip from Paul Rellis.
Publication date: 2009-10-08 more

Microsoft's shares fall by 6pc as Windows sales slump

Microsoft Corp, whose Windows software dominates the personal-computer market, fell as much as 6.4pc in Nasdaq trading after sales slumped, casting doubt on whether PC demand can hold up in a slowing economy.
Publication date: 2008-04-26 more

Microsoft, Intel Fund Parallel-Computing Research

In an effort to turbocharge progress in mainstream parallel computing, Intel and Microsoft announced funding Tuesday for two Universal Parallel Computing Research Centers. They said the centers are the first joint industry-university efforts of this scale in parallel computing. The software developed will be made available to the public. Berkeley and Illinois One center will be at the University of California, Berkeley, and the other at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Intel and Microsoft have committed $20 million over the next five years to fund the centers. UIUC will put up another $8 million, and Berkeley has applied for an additional $7 million from the state of California. Multicore computer processors are common now, and the number of cores is steadily increasing. Intel research director Andrew Chien noted that Intel has already shown an 80-core research processor, and the centers could develop "dramatic new applications." These new apps could involve visual interfaces, statistical analyses, search functions, mobile applications, computer sensing, and new forms of computer-human interfaces. Richard Shim, an analyst with industry research firm IDC, said parallel computing for even regular consumers and business users "is the future, and it's only a question of how far out." He added that the challenge is how to use the powerful, multicore systems available on regular computers. "Hardware has definitely gotten ahead of software," he said. Expertise Tapped In evaluating where to locate the centers, Microsoft and Intel said they considered 25 top-tier institutions involved in parallel-computing research. They selected UC Berkeley and UIUC because of "their outstanding reputation in computing" and their specific expertise in parallel computing. Berkeley's center will be directed by David Patterson, a professor of computer science described by the companies as a pioneering expert in computer architecture. Fourteen members of the UC Berkeley faculty will also be involved as well 50 doctoral students...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Microsoft, Yahoo deal wins EU approval

Microsoft has won European Union approval to buy Yahoo!’s web-search business to speed up its effort to compete with Google.
Publication date: 2010-02-19 more

Million-song MP3 players on way

A NEW generation of MP3 players could provide music lovers with millions of songs at their fingertips.
Publication date: 2008-04-16 more

Millions of homes to receive treble broadband speed

International cable operator UPC is to more than treble the speed of its broadband capability, it was announced today.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Mind games: Harnessing the power of your thoughts

The year is 1983 and, in a Tokyo suburb, man (well, one man) is evolving a new use for his opposable thumbs. His tool: a strange lump of plastic attached, via cables and a bigger lump of plastic, to his television.
Publication date: 2008-07-24 more

Mobile phone companies take the fight to Apple over new apps

The mobile phone trade show kicked off in Barcelona yesterday but industry insiders believe the economic downturn has taken its toll on the showpiece event of the year.
Publication date: 2009-02-17 more

Mobile software stars on top of their game

With €180m in turnover in 2007 and 70 indigenous companies, the mobile telecoms sector in Ireland is healthy to say the least but more than that, a certain few are beginning to emerge as global leaders in the area.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Mobile users hit by skin rashes

It's official - mobile phones are bad for you. They can cause skin rashes.
Publication date: 2008-10-17 more

Mobile World Congress: Microsoft rings the changes

I’m afraid your shiny, new mobile phone could look distinctly old-fashioned by this time next week. Exhibitors at 2010’s Mobile World Congress are set to unveil a huge selection of new handsets, platforms and services designed to cement the mobile phone’s position at the centre of the digital landscape.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Mobile World Congress: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone to rival iPhone

Microsoft has unveiled a new version of its mobile phone operating system that it hopes will allow it to replicate its desktop dominance on the next generation of smartphones.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Mobile World Congress: Nokia and Intel merge to launch MeeGo Apps platform

Nokia and Intel are joining forces to produce smartphone software that they hope will challenge the dominance of Apple and Google.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Mobile World Congress: Sony Ericsson's Android push

Sony Ericsson showed off three new handsets, including two compact Google Android-based devices.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Mobiles get the crash test

Tied down with metal clamps on steel benches, ranks of mobile phones are being technologically tortured. If they could cry out, they would – but nobody would hear, because the noise of a hundred steel pistons pummelling their fascias is so loud that people rarely visit this windowless room for more than a few minutes at a time. And, anyway, the walls are soundproofed. "This is what I do," Kevin Smith shouts over the din. "I break mobile phones."
Publication date: 2009-02-25 more

Money transfer service launches on Facebook

Buxter enables Facebook friends to send one another a small payment of €50 or less, and the developers behind the application believe it will become popular among the social networking site's users as a quick way of settling up for dinner bills, nights out or paying for their share of a gift.
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

More power in your pocket

In the embryonic days of computers, the world of software was dominated by callow youths in their bedrooms – or in Bill Gates' case, a garage – with some of the greatest names in software starting with little more than a book on coding and a lot of free time.
Publication date: 2008-11-20 more

Movie Association Opposes Net-Neutrality Bill

The Motion Picture Association of America opposed Net-neutrality legislation pending in Congress this week. Speaking at the Hollywood trade show ShoWest, MPAA chief Dan Glickman called a bill sponsored by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) nothing more than "government regulation of the Internet." Neutrality legislation "would impede our ability to respond to consumers in innovative ways, and it would impair the ability of broadband providers to address the serious and rampant piracy problems occurring over their networks today," Glickman said. Glickman emphasized that Hollywood's current business model depends on post-release revenue streams: DVD sales and rentals and, to a modest extent, legal online downloads. "The future of the theater, unimpeded theatrical production and a vibrant aftermarket all depend on an Internet that remains free from government regulation. So we are all in this together," he said. The Real 'Information Economy' In an interesting appropriation of terminology, Glickman said Hollywood is the real "information economy that will create new jobs and new opportunities for the future." "Technology increasingly is making new worlds of consumer-centric innovation possible, and it is handing us the opportunity to deal the first real body blow to online piracy, to begin to reach toward the day when we might be able to take it off the table and debug the system. It simply cannot be the policy of this country to say no to that," Glickman said. "Today MPAA and all of our studios are standing up in opposition to broad-based government regulation of the Internet. We are opposing so-called Net neutrality government action," he said. "And in the process, we are standing up for our customers, for our economy and for the ability of content producers to continue to create great movies for the future." Misrepresenting Markey While he didn't mention them by name, Glickman was clearly referring to Comcast's blocking of Internet traffic...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Mozilla unveils Firefox 4 beta

Browser maker Mozilla has released the first public beta version of Firefox 4. The major upgrade includes support for a range of new web technologies, imporoved performance and a new interface.
Publication date: 2010-07-08 more

Much aBuzz about nothing

Even if you've never heard of Twitter, or you think Facebook is a silly site used by teens, you've heard of Google and chances are you have a Gmail account.
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

Multimedia to inform, educate and empower

Technology to equip would-be volunteers for the developing world will be the centrepiece of the new €2.2m Irish Aid Volunteering & Information Centre, which will open on Dublin’s O’Connell Street this week.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Murdoch has no plans to compete for Yahoo

News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch said he isn't going to challenge Microsoft's attempt to buy Yahoo, narrowing options for the second-largest internet search engine.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Murdoch turns to Gates for website help

JUST AS soon as the outline of a possible new model for newspapers to make a better return from content used by aggregator and search-engine sites such as Google emerged, new doubts surfaced that publishers can do anything to plug a dam that has already burst in trying to limit free access to their product.
Publication date: 2009-11-24 more

Murdoch: publishers must stand up to Google

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of News Corp, said newspaper publishers should prevent search engines like Google and Microsoft’s Bing from displaying full articles for free.
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Music download service acts local, but has a global vision

The rapidly emerging music service Downloadmusic.ie is bringing more than 1,500 Irish recording artists to a global market. Its founder, Johnny Beirne, explains the genesis of the service
Publication date: 2009-10-29 more

Music to the ears of audiophiles

The London Symphony Orchestra's decision to release lossless recordings of classical concerts underlines the desire for better-quality digital music
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Musk makes rockets for stars as Tesla taunts Ferrari on Earth

Elon Musk, co-founder of payment giant PayPal Inc., was flying back empty handed from Moscow for a third time in November 2001, when the idea for his new company hit him.
Publication date: 2008-05-03 more

My new dream

Chad Hurley has been called the world's greatest cyber-nerd — but that's an underestimation of the man.
Publication date: 2008-05-26 more

My shock when my friend gave up Facebook

An email arrived from my friend Lisa the other day. It was short and to the point. "Hello everyone," it read. "I am giving Facebook a break for a while and have deleted my account. See you all in the real world."
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

MySpace 'close' to buying iLike for $20m

MySpace is rumoured to be close to acquiring iLike, a social music recommendation service, for $20m (€14m).
Publication date: 2009-08-18 more

MySpace and Facebook sign real-time search deals with Google

MySpace and Facebook have both signed deals with Google to allow publicly available status updates to be indexed in real-time by the search giant.
Publication date: 2009-12-09 more

MySpace axes two-thirds of global workforce

MySpace is to slash two-thirds of its workforce outside the US, just a week after a huge cull at home, as it struggles to compete with rival social networking group Facebook and the economic downturn takes its toll.
Publication date: 2009-06-24 more

MySpace staff 'stunned' at Owen Van Natta's sudden exit

The immediate departure of MySpace's chief executive, Owen Van Natta, has shocked employees of the company.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Nappies

Don't believe the hype. Even if the most advertised and catchiest sounding nappy has turbo stripes and resealable strips (why??), it is still going to look and smell horrible when the time comes.
Publication date: 2009-05-12 more

NBC will use Microsoft software to sell TV ads

General Electric’s NBC will use software from Microsoft to sell advertising on television, an effort to save money and automate the ad-sales process.
Publication date: 2009-06-18 more

Necessity is mother of invention for a greener world

In 1973, Sir James Dyson had an idea: the first uncloggable and bagless vacuum cleaner. It went on to become one of the popular brands in Ireland and the UK, with green energy ethics at its core
Publication date: 2009-06-18 more

Net Video Ads: Attention Vs. Annoyance

Frank Harper is well aware that all those free video clips on the Internet come at a price: advertising. But that doesn't mean he sits idly as short video ads precede many of the dozen or so clips he watches each day at sites like Microsoft Corp.'s MSN. "For the most part, I just mute the volume," said Harper, 55, who runs a security consulting firm in Sterling, Va. "Or I just look at something else, look at another headline ... or go to another site while the thing is playing." Marketers and Web sites alike are struggling to bring to the Internet ads that resemble television without turning off viewers the way TV ads often do. Spending on online video ads represents less than 4 percent of all Internet advertising and just 1 percent of the amount spent on TV, according to eMarketer. But growth is expected -- with the research firm forecasting U.S. spending more than tripling to $4.3 billion in 2011 -- especially as more viewers embrace full-length TV episodes and other video online. The challenge is finding the right formula -- in the creative approach, the format or the frequency with which the ads appear -- so visitors notice the pitches without getting so annoyed that they never come back. "Users love free content and advertisers love to fill up every minute and pixel with the messaging, and publishers do have to find that balance," said Geoffrey Coco, an advertising executive with Microsoft, which has a video news partnership with The Associated Press. "There's been a lot of innovation but I don't think we've settled down yet." The results so far have been mixed -- even when sites force viewers to watch video ads by making them impossible to skip. Viewers "are grabbing the status bar, trying to click it ahead or further along,...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Netbooks versus notebooks – is the PC industry trying to cannibalise itself?

Laptop computers have been with us for over 20 years now and today they are the largest-selling segment of the personal computer (PC) industry.
Publication date: 2008-09-11 more

Netflix awards $1 million prize

Netflix, a US video rental service, has awarded a $1 million prize to a team of researchers who improved the company's recommendation engine.
Publication date: 2009-09-22 more

New 'secret iPhone 4G prototype' discovered in Vietnam

A second 4G iPhone next-generation prototype has reportedly been discovered, this time surfacing in Vietnam and apparently without permission from Apple.
Publication date: 2010-05-17 more

New 3G iPhone arrives starting at €45

THE much anticipated, nextgeneration iPhone has been announced by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, with an 11 July release date set for Ireland and the UK.
Publication date: 2008-06-30 more

New Amazon Kindle sells out

Amazon’s Kindle eReader has sold out before it was supposed to ship to the public tomorrow.
Publication date: 2010-08-25 more

New app is absolutely jammers with Irish slang

SLAPPERS and sleeveens will be dying for a gawk at this.
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

New Features Coming for Blu-ray Format

The high-definition-video war may be over now that Toshiba has conceded defeat for its ailing HD DVD format, but those interested in buying a high-def Blu-ray player still might want to wait for new features coming in the fall. Sure, existing Blu-ray machines can play the nearly 500 Blu-ray discs available. They can deliver gorgeous, top-of-the-line 1080p resolution on compatible high-def televisions. But the next crop of Blu-ray players will be compliant with the upcoming Profile 2.0 standard, which adds Internet connectivity to the machines via a feature called BD-Live. "Imagine being able to download high-definition trailers to current theatrical releases right to your TV, or selecting additional language tracks or other online bonus materials," says Josh Martin, a senior analyst at consulting firm Yankee Group. Depending on the disc, BD-Live will also let people chat in real time during films, type in their mobile phone numbers for free movie-related ring tones, play online multiplayer games or upload custom-made audio commentary. Sony has announced two upcoming Blu-ray machines with Profile 2.0 support: the BDP-S350, available this summer for $399, which can be updated to the latest profile over the Internet when it's available; and the BDP-S550 ($499), which will ship with Profile 2.0 in the fall. "Technology always evolves, and new features are added to platforms continually, whether it's a Blu-ray machine or other consumer electronics products," says Chris Fawcett, vice president of home video at Sony Electronics. The new Sony players will include extras such as built-in or expandable memory and multiple audio technologies, including Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD High Resolution Audio or DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, depending on the model. The Sony PlayStation 3 ($399) video game system, which also has Blu-ray playback functionality, offers a future-proof solution. Sony says the Internet-connected console can download an update for the Profile 2.0 standard. For now,...
Publication date: 2008-03-20 more

New Google Chrome translates websites

Google has launched a new beta version of Chrome, its web browser, featuring enhanced privacy controls and automatic translation.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

New Google Doodle to mark 400th anniversary of Galileo's Telescope

Google has unveiled a new logo to celebrate the 400th anniversary since Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer, showed Venetian merchants his new creation, a telescope.
Publication date: 2009-08-25 more

New Google doodle to mark Danish physicist Hans Christian

Google has unveiled a new logo for its search engine to celebrate the anniversary of Hans Christian
Publication date: 2009-08-14 more

New IBM data hub to give €30m boost

COMPUTER giant IBM is to spend €30m on a new data centre in Dublin.
Publication date: 2008-09-18 more

New Independent.ie Samsung Wave app

Irish Independent is one of the first publishers in the world to launch a news app on Samsung Wave.
Publication date: 2010-07-23 more

New iPhone could include HD video

The next generation of the Apple iPhone looks more likely than ever to include HD video. In the developers’ kit for the new device, there is now the option to record at a higher resolution, 1280 x 720, which is otherwise known as 720p.
Publication date: 2010-05-06 more

New iPhone fails to create buzz at launch in capital

THEY sparked scenes of mayhem when they were launched in the US and the UK. But the debut of the Apple iPhone on the market was something of a damp squib in Dublin today.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

New iPhone is designed for speed

APPLE served up a new, faster version of its uber-popular iPhone, with a video camera, more memory and a slew of new features, redoubling its effort to stay ahead of the pack in the increasingly competitive smartphone market.
Publication date: 2009-06-09 more

New iPhone rumoured to quadruple screen resolution

Apple is expected to launch a new iPhone later this month, and reports suggest the device will have a 960 x 640 resolution screen - four times the current offering - and a glowing Apple logo and high quality OLED screen.
Publication date: 2010-06-03 more

New LED cinema display from Apple

The new MacBook's Cinema Display is greener and cleaner than ever before, says Apple
Publication date: 2008-10-20 more

New MySpace chiefs plan major relaunch

In their first interview since the shock departure of Owen Van Natta, MySpace’s former chief executive, Mike Jones and Jason Hirschorn, the company’s new co-presidents, say they will be ready to "win back old users" by the end of this year.
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

New Sales Program Pays Facebook Members

Facebook Inc.'s popular online hangout so far has proven to be a better place for promoting fun and games than peddling products. But a new application aims to inject more commerce into the social playground by paying Facebook members who help merchants sell to their friends. The program, called Market Lodge, revolves around the notion that consumers are more likely to buy merchandise or services recommended by someone they know and trust. Market Lodge, made by a startup called bSocial Networks Inc., will pay Facebook members a 10 percent commission on all sales made on their recommendations. Facebook tried to capitalize on the bonds of friendship last year by introducing a marketing system that includes broadcasting product endorsements among people who know each other. The strategy hasn't paid off yet, largely because many of Facebook's users rebelled against a feature called "Beacon" that tracked and shared information about their purchases and other actions made on other Web sites. Spurred by the backlash, Palo Alto-based Facebook now allows its users to turn off Beacon. Conifer, Colo.-based bSocial is betting that Facebook's roughly 67 million users will be more receptive to an approach that dangles a financial incentive for participating. Facebook members who decide to use Market Lodge can customize their own stores, selecting from more than 1,200 products sold by about 50 different merchants. Once the personal store is set up, Facebook users can then invite others in their network to check out the stuff they're recommending. Market Lodge users can make purchases from their own stores and still qualify for the 10 percent sales commission. All the inventory, order processing and delivery arrangements are handled by the merchants -- just as they would be for any other sale. "We think this could be very lucrative for Facebook's members," said bSocial co-founder Sue Spielman. More than 100 people have signed up for Market...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

New Wii gadgets go on show

Nintendo Co., maker of the top- selling Wii video-game console, introduced accessories that will enable users to talk to each other during play and simulate musical instruments through its motion-sensitive controller.
Publication date: 2008-07-16 more

News to you: Dublin HQ to deliver worldwide

Google's European HQ in Dublin has begun a project to localise the search engine's popular online news service for a number of different countries as it seeks to expand it throughout the globe.
Publication date: 2008-04-24 more

News: Keyboard nasties

UK researchers have discovered that computer keyboards can carry more harmful bacteria than the average toilet seat.
Publication date: 2008-05-10 more

Next-gen iPad 'to feature camera'

Apple is hiring an iPad camera engineer, sparking rumours that future models could feature an integrated camera
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Next-Generation Computer To Be Unveiled

After seven years in development, Salt Lake City-based ISYS Technologies is ready to introduce its next-generation computer, designed to replace the typical desktop computer with a small, 3.5-inch cube that has the versatility to adapt to a changing computer world without the user having to buy a new computer system. Created by Jason Sullivan, the Xi3 Processing Control Unit is a new modular computer platform created for the computer's core processing technology that is adaptable for all types of computing. "This is a computer that will never become obsolete," Sullivan said. "Anything that a typical computer can do, this can do." The difference, however, is that the Xi3 PCU has no moving parts, no fans and no hard drives that can crash and lose data. It can function as a workstation, a server or desktop computer through a series of interchangeable parts called backplanes -- a circuit board containing sockets into which other circuit boards can be plugged -- that can be interchanged by any user. The Xi3 processing core allows multiple processing units to be added or subtracted as dictated by application or user demands. Additionally, units can be hooked up to work together with the original cube to increase functionality in a network-like environment, allowing additional processing capability to be added to the processing core or subsystems to satisfy the new processing requirements. The ability to strip out the same units to create additional workstations provides the elusive flexibility to a successful infrastructure. According to Sullivan, the unit can also be hooked up to multiple monitors so that users can multi-task as needed for both work uses and entertainment purposes. "If someone wanted to watch a movie while doing work in another program, they can do that, all from one cube instead of having to have multiple systems operating at the same time," Sullivan...
Publication date: 2008-03-20 more

Nifty device tackles energy waste

ECO-aware householders can now measure their energy usage with the launch of an innovative product.
Publication date: 2008-09-10 more

Nintendo cuts earnings forecasts as Wii sales slump

Nintendo, the world’s largest maker of video-game players, cut its annual profit forecast 23pc after sales of its flagship Wii console slumped and the stronger yen eroded the value of exports.
Publication date: 2009-10-29 more

Nintendo forecasts profit will rise 26% this year

Nintendo Co., the world's biggest maker of handheld game players, forecast profit will rise 26 percent this year as its Wii console outsells rival machines.
Publication date: 2008-04-24 more

Nintendo plans 3D game console

Nintendo plans to start selling a version of its DS handheld game console that allows the user to play 3D titles without special glasses.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Nintendo sees red over Greens

Greenpeace has once again accused Nintendo of having the worst environmental record among consumer electronics companies.
Publication date: 2010-01-26 more

Nintendo unveils 3D games console

Nintendo unveiled the world's first 3D handheld games console - the 3DS - at a press conference in Los Angeles.
Publication date: 2010-06-16 more

Nintendo unveils new DSi

Nintendo have introduced a new model of its best-selling DS handheld game player with camera and music- playing functions to widen its lead over Sony Corp.'s PlayStation Portable machines.
Publication date: 2008-10-02 more

Nintendo Wii passes Microsoft Xbox as top console in U.S. homes

Nintendo Co.'s Wii, the machine that plays games by swinging a motion-sensing controller like a bat, overtook Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 as the leading console in U.S. homes among the latest generation of video-game players.
Publication date: 2008-07-19 more

Nintendo's Wii holds lead in U.S video-game consoles

March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Nintendo Co. kept the lead in U.S. video-game console sales with 432,000 Wii players purchased in stores last month, according to NPD Group Inc.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

No clampdown by China as Google re-routes surfers

The Chinese government did nothing to stop internet searches being re-routed to an unrestricted Google site yesterday as it attempted to defuse its dispute with the computer company.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

No fear of banking crisis in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley lawyer Mark Stevens paused only a moment to check Google's finance site during a client meeting as U.S. lawmakers shot down the $700 billion bank- rescue package. Then he got back to work.
Publication date: 2008-10-02 more

No Flips, No Folds -- Just a Phone

It looks a bit like a child's toy, a walkie-talkie circa 1975, a cheap plastic throwback to the good old days when telephones were made for talking. But to Spice Ltd., a telecommunications company in the world's fastest-growing phone market, this new product embodies the latest, greatest innovation in cell phone technology today: a handset priced at less than $20. Spice, which is based in Noida, India, unveiled what it is branding "the People's Phone" at a wireless industry conference in Barcelona last month. The handset is an anomaly among mobile phones today: The number keys are big and bold. It is chunky and has no color screen -- in fact, it has no screen at all. Nothing about it flips, folds or slides. It is, as Spice's chairman, Bhupendra Kumar Modi, described it, "just a phone." Yet if sales unfold according to Modi's plan, Spice could sell as many of the People's Phone as Apple sells of its iPhone, which sits at the other end of the coolness -- and price -- spectrum, with a price tag of $399 in the United States and more in some other markets. Both companies are aiming for sales of 10 million phones in their first year, which would be about a 1 percent share of the global market in 2008. "There is a massive need for these phones," said Arun Kapoor, chief executive of Spice. "We are targeting an area from Iraq to Indonesia, and that area has a population of 2.5 billion." India alone could keep the company in rupees. With more than 7 million handsets sold each month, the country accounts for more mobile phone sales than any other. Combine that with the fact that only 17 percent of the population now uses a mobile phone, and the potential is huge, analysts agree. For now,...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

No free lunch in the online world

Strategic marketing specialist Professor Damien McLoughlin of UCD School of Business explains how the new digital landscape is forcing businesses to rethink how they use the internet to transform their business models
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

No online retail war after tycoon ditches web plan

BUSINESS tycoon Ben Dunne has abandoned plans for an online retail venture just as his former company, Dunnes Stores, seems to be gearing up for its own internet launch.
Publication date: 2008-08-06 more

Nokia begins shipping N900

Nokia has started shipping its flagship N900 handset to customers, the company has announced.
Publication date: 2009-11-11 more

Nokia Invites Users to Shape Products

A popular video on YouTube shows a so-called concept phone that can bend to fit a user's wrist. The phone, the Nokia Morph, shows how the world's largest mobile phone maker wants to change. As more people use mobile devices for the Internet, and companies like Apple and Google find more ways to embrace this move, Nokia is rewriting its product development rule book. Instead of working in secrecy, it wants to start sharing. "For Nokia, this is probably the biggest throw of the dice since they entered the cell phone business," said Ben Wood, research director at CCS Insight, who has followed the company since 1994. In addition to using video-sharing sites to post futuristic ideas -- like the Nokia Morph concept, which imagines a stretchable, flexible, solar-powered, self-cleaning device which also has a sense of smell -- the company has invited bloggers and tech-savvy media specialists to brainstorm on future mobile products. "We realized in early 2005 that if we only focused on innovation from within, we were limiting our scope for real breakthroughs," said Nokia's chief technology officer, Bob Iannucci. "We want more wild ideas." At stake is a share of the next phase of growth in the Internet. Forrester Research expects the number of mobile Internet users to triple over the next five years in Western Europe alone, to 125 million, while Nokia expects its double-digit margins on handsets to shrink. To make its move into Internet services, Nokia plans to use its large base of customers as consultants. The market for Internet services is approaching euro 100 billion, or $156 billion, and Nokia is the first big cell phone manufacturer to embrace the Internet media business. Close rivals like Samsung and Sony Ericsson could follow, but they are a couple of years behind. Change is normal for Nokia. It was founded in 1865...
Publication date: 2008-03-20 more

Nokia makes every mobile a satnav

Nokia has announced that its free maps software will now include turn-by-turn directions for walking and driving.
Publication date: 2010-01-21 more

Nokia N900: A computer in every pocket

Smartphones are often described as "pocket computers" but, despite advances in usability and processing power, many fall short of providing a user experience comparable to a desktop or laptop computer’s.
Publication date: 2009-11-05 more

Nokia readies its iPhone killer

THE N95 may have been touted as a clear competitor to Apple’s web-friendly, bigscreen iPhone but Nokia has this month confirmed it is working on a direct rival with similar functionality and design: the Nokia Tube.
Publication date: 2008-04-28 more

Nokia recalls 'dangerous' chargers

Mobile phone maker Nokia has recalled 14 million potentially dangerous chargers.
Publication date: 2009-11-09 more

Nokia steps up attack on iPhone with 'free

Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, has stepped up its assault on Apple’s dominance of the lucractive smartphone market with the launch of a new phone with unlimited and 'free’ music downloads.
Publication date: 2009-09-02 more

Nokia sues Apple over iPhone patents

Nokia, the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, is suing Apple for allegedly infringing patents on technology used in the iPhone.
Publication date: 2009-10-23 more

Nokia to buy remainder of Symbian for $410 million

Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, offered to buy the 52 percent of Symbian Ltd. it doesn't own for about 264 million euros ($410 million) to create royalty-free operating systems for handsets.
Publication date: 2008-06-25 more

Nokia unveils rival to iPhone

Nokia have unveiled a touch-screen handset with unlimited music downloads, challenging Apple Inc.'s iPhone and iTunes.
Publication date: 2008-10-08 more

Nokia: Apple is stealing our ideas

Nokia has filed a lawsuit against Apple in the United States, claiming that Apple’s iPhone and iPad 3G infringe on several of its patents.
Publication date: 2010-05-10 more

Not just any old web trader

New research from Webtrade shows that 65pc of Irish firms view the internet as important to their business. Patrick Bates is Webtrade’s managing director
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Not so streetwise Google forced to remove images in privacy row

THE internet giant Google has been forced to remove dozens of images from Street View, its controversial mapping service, after complaints from users who felt it breached their privacy.
Publication date: 2009-03-23 more

Novell Announces SUSE Linux Enterprise 11

Novell has announced plans for SUSE Linux Enterprise 11. While the actual launch won't happen for another year or so, Novell is highlighting the key themes of the new release to let developers in the open-source community know the feedback the company has gotten from customers and what the new release needs from developers. Justin Steinman, director of product marketing for Novell's Linux & Open Platform Solutions, told us the "core tenets," such as focusing on mission-critical data-center technologies and "green IT," won't change between releases. There are three areas of critical importance to small and midsize businesses (SMB) on which Enterprise 11 will focus, he told us: interoperability, Unix migration, and virtualization. Interoperability Novell has made efforts to build a successful partnership with Microsoft, and Steinman said Enterprise 11 will expand this relationship. "I would suspect that the majority of SMBs have Windows in some shape or form inside their organization," Steinman said, "so one of the things we want to continue to deliver in Enterprise 11 is extending our interoperability leadership in working with Windows. We like to say that SUSE Linux Enterprise is Linux that's been optimized to work with Windows. We think that's a core differentiator and also a core benefit for customers who are trying to make a Linux decision." One example of Windows support is Novell's plan to include the Mono 2.0 development framework, which allows .NET applications to run on Linux, in Enterprise 11. A Mono migration analysis tool will also be included in the new release; Novell said this tool "helps customers determine the readiness of their .NET applications for migration to Linux." Unix Migration Another key theme of Enterprise 11 is Unix migration. "For SMB customers, Unix is an expensive platform that's not very flexible, and you're really tied in to an expensive [Sun] SPARC server," Steinman...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

Now you can download the movie at home

THE days of leaving the house to rent a video could soon be over after Apple announced a new online rental service with the backing of all six of Hollywood’s "major" studios.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Now you can log on in Hebrew, Arabic and Chinese

Internet regulators last night heralded a new era of international web use that will no longer be dominated by the Latin alphabet.
Publication date: 2009-10-31 more

NUI Maynooth’s road trip to technology success

Last week, while many Irish college students were enjoying their summer holidays and still sleeping in, three National University of Ireland (NUI) Maynooth lads were zooming towards the Channel Tunnel to Paris, smelling faintly of chip oil with a few hungry seagulls hovering overhead.
Publication date: 2008-07-17 more

O2 announces data plans for iPad

O2 has announced it will offer dedicated data plans for iPad with Wi-Fi and 3G in Ireland.
Publication date: 2010-07-21 more

O2 creates online business community

Telefonica O2 Ireland has launched a new business blog to encourage small and medium sized businesses to talk to each other in new ways.
Publication date: 2009-11-30 more

Obama is game for online campaign

Web-savvy Barack Obama has started advertising his campaign on online video games.
Publication date: 2008-10-24 more

Office workers stop working, start online shopping on Wednesday at 4pm

Bored office workers are most likely to set aside their tasks and indulge in a spot of online retail therapy at 4pm on a Wednesday.
Publication date: 2010-08-25 more

Oldest domain name on the internet symbolics.com is finally sold

The oldest domain name on the internet, www.symbolics.com, has finally been sold, nearly a quarter of a century after it was claimed.
Publication date: 2009-09-01 more

OMG, Twittering teens are changing the dictionary

TWITTERING teenagers have shown their influence over the English language by introducing dozens of new words to the dictionary and helping to reinvigorate older ones.
Publication date: 2009-08-31 more

On the hunt for this year’s killer app

Few technologies bar email and mobiles have changed the workplace. What new killer apps are on the horizon?
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

On the lookout for the next big thing

With a fund of €100,000, Eircom is hoping to attract the tech world’s bright young things, perhaps cultivating an Irish Google or Facebook. Dervilla Mullan is head of online at Eircom.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

On your trike for 3D view of top spots

THE inhabitants of Dublin Zoo are set to get the Google Street View treatment -- although the loss of their privacy is unlikely to ruffle any feathers.
Publication date: 2010-09-08 more

Online advertising spend overtakes TV in Britain

Online advertising expenditure in the UK grew 4.6% to £1.75 billion in the first half of 2009 overtaking TV for the first time, according to a study by the Internet Advertising Bureau and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
Publication date: 2009-10-01 more

Online bingo poised for growth

For most people, bingo brings up images of elderly ladies in smoke-filled halls. But many online gambling executives say it's the next big growth area.
Publication date: 2008-06-27 more

Online fraud danger as research speeds ahead

Market research is seeing big changes and the days of interviewers calling to homes on winter nights armed with a clipboard and pencil are numbered. But while face-to-face interviews are giving way to online studies, researchers must be wary of deception.
Publication date: 2008-11-06 more

Online gaming section in €1m Lotto overhaul

THE National Lottery has awarded a €1m contract to an interactive agency to transform their website to include such new features as online gaming.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Online sales will rise as high-street sales fall this Christmas

The credit crunch and subsequent recession will result in a surge in online spending over high-street retail spending this Christmas, as prudent shoppers will shop early to purchase smaller items.
Publication date: 2008-10-23 more

Online spread betting tipped to even the odds for novice investors

SPREAD betting, a form of gambling that has its origins in the Seventies, is big business in 2008. As markets around the world rise and fall, the genre has been seized by one of Ireland’s largest betting firms as a way to allow punters to gain using the internet, whether stocks rise or fall.
Publication date: 2008-07-25 more

Only printing can save banks

THE near-collapse and bail-out of Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns raises fundamental questions about the value of bank shares.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Only smart thinking will turn Brand Ireland into a digital economy leader

IN March, while the nation continued to digest more bad economic news and feel helpless as the rate of unemployment continued to accelerate, there was a break in the clouds.
Publication date: 2009-06-04 more

Oracle's Mobile Sales Assistant for Road Warriors

Sales professionals are the original road warriors, so it makes sense that they should have mobile tools that will keep them up-to-date on customer data and other information that could help them close sales. Oracle's new Mobile Sales Assistant may be a valuable weapon for these warriors. Mobile Sales Assistant gives customers access to Oracle CRM On Demand by leveraging the BlackBerry wireless platform from Research in Motion. The mobile application is designed to allow sales reps to more efficiently manage appointments, collaborate with colleagues, and connect with customers on the road. The assistant features a simple interface that makes it possible to manage frequent tasks with a single click such as setting appointments, calling colleagues, text messaging, and even getting driving directions. Automated prompts at the end of calls remind users to enter notes so that important information isn't lost or forgotten. Java Client A Java client rather than a browser-based CRM solution, Oracle says Mobile Sales Assistant supports offline usage while leveraging the BlackBerry Enterprise Server's security and push-based architecture. Since it's delivered as a service, small and midsize businesses can benefit from predictable costs and ease of deployment and management. "We connect a sales professional to CRM data and CRM services and also connect them to other services in the context of their day," Anthony Lye, senior vice president of CRM at Oracle, told us. "We connect them to location services, mapping services, PIM [personal information management] data, and use SMS and Vcard standards for social networking." Web 2.0 for Sales Pros The application highlights the growing importance of Web 2.0 to sales professionals. Access to social-networking groups and blogs enables sales professionals to keep up-to-date on news and events that may affect their customers. On its Web site, Oracle calls collaborative applications, social networking, and mobile the "driving forces behind Web...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Orange to pilot world's first e-newspaper next week

The world's first entirely electronic newspapers will go on trial in France next week, offering not only morning headlines but automatic updates every hour throughout the day.
Publication date: 2008-05-22 more

Ousted CEO of HP is given $11m to join rival IT firm

Oracle plans to pay newly appointed President Mark Hurd a base salary of $950,000 (€750,000) a year. The company also says the former Hewlett-Packard CEO, who was ousted by that company last month, is eligible for a fiscal 2011 bonus of as much as $10m.
Publication date: 2010-09-09 more

Out-of-this-world technology has the potential to save Irish lives

TECHNOLOGY developed for astronauts working in the Earth’s orbit is being deployed by Dublin fire brigades and could soon go live countrywide.
Publication date: 2009-04-23 more

Paddy Power boosted by online growth

Paddy Power, Ireland’s largest bookmaker, reported a 9.6 percent increase in annual profit as more customers placed bets online, and said it’s "satisfied" with its progress in the first two months of 2009.
Publication date: 2009-03-02 more

Palm 'for sale'

Palm, maker of the Pre range of smartphones, is seeking bids for the company, according to reports
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Palm greased by Bono

Elevation Partners, the private equity firm backed by U2 frontman Bono, is poised to invest
Publication date: 2009-09-27 more

Paper and pencil rival Nintendo for 'brain training'

A 10c pencil stimulates the memory just as well as a €150 Nintendo DS, according to a study that dismisses the machine's claims to boost the brain.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

Papers retain third of online readers in spite of 'pay wall'

TWO of the best known newspapers in Britain and Ireland have retained about a third of their online readership since they started to charge users for access.
Publication date: 2010-07-20 more

Parallel universe: A-Z of The Sims

It's the mega-selling video game that lets you build a virtual community - and its latest chapter is hitting the shops
Publication date: 2009-06-05 more

Parents pay firm to 'spy' on kids online

A US firm will monitor your kid's Facebook or MySpace site for a fee
Publication date: 2008-10-20 more

Patent Suit Challenges Apple iTunes Store and iPod

On Wednesday, ZapMedia Services filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Apple. But this time it's not over the iPhone. The Atlanta-based company alleges Apple's iTunes Store and iPod music players infringe on its patented methods for distributing digital media over the Internet. ZapMedia Services sued Apple in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a venue known for its friendly stance toward plaintiffs. ZapMedia Services claims the lawsuit comes after multiple attempts to resolve its concerns with Apple over infringement of ZapMedia Services' patents. "The complaint alleges that ZapMedia Services' property is being exploited in a manner which is unlawful, and by law ZapMedia Services is therefore entitled to a reasonable royalty on Apple's revenues related to the infringement," said Steven G. Hill, of Hill, Kertscher & Wharton, LLP, ZapMedia lead litigation counsel. Two Patents Granted Here's the story as ZapMedia Services tells it: Beginning in the late 1990s, ZapMedia, the predecessor of ZapMedia Services, created a digital media platform. As part of its strategy, ZapMedia developed a system by which it could provide hardware, software and content to consumers to allow them to gain control over their digital media assets. In 1999, ZapMedia applied for two patents, each of which is entitled "System and method for distributing media assets to user devices via a portal synchronized by said user devices." One of the patents was granted in March 2006. The other was granted Tuesday. In the course of its efforts, ZapMedia Services said it met with many major technology and media companies around the globe, including Apple, to describe its vision in great detail. Without asking ZapMedia Services for permission, the company claimed, Apple unveiled its own system. Apple announced its iPod MP3 player with an integrated iTunes software application in October 2001 and its iTunes Store in April 2003. ZapMedia Services said it...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Pay a visit to the cyber clinic

DO you find it impossible to watch TV medical dramas like House and Grey's Anatomy without leaping to the internet to see if you've got the same symptoms? When your baby develops a cough do you Google furiously to discover what it is?
Publication date: 2009-09-21 more

PC owners vulnerable to ID theft

ALMOST half of all computers in the UK and Ireland are vulnerable to identity theft.
Publication date: 2008-11-28 more

Peer-to-Peer Networks Go Legit

The technology best known for pirating movies, music and software online is increasingly being adopted by businesses as a cheap way to get video content to customers. A number of startups are embracing so-called peer-to-peer technology and have convinced some big-name media companies to use them to deliver legal content. "In 2005 when we met with content owners, 'peer-to-peer' was a dirty word," said Robert Levitan, chief executive of file-sharing company Pando Networks Inc. "In 2007, finally, content owners came and said 'Yeah, we think there's a role for P2P.'" Levitan was speaking Friday at the first "P2P Market Conference" of the Distributed Computing Industry Association, a trade group with more than 100 members. Pando is prime example of mainstream acceptance: It's providing the means for NBC to provide DVD-quality downloads of its shows, including "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. But 90 percent of P2P downloads are still of illegally copied content, according to David Hahn, vice president of product management at SafeNet Inc., which tracks the networks. Hahn said 12 million to 15 million people are file-sharing across the world at any one time, mainly on the BitTorrent and eDonkey networks. The attraction of file-sharing is not just that it's free -- there's also content available that can't be had by legal means, like TV shows that haven't aired in Europe. The BitTorrent software was invented and set free on the Net in 2002 by Bram Cohen. He later started a company to profit from the technology. In 2005, BitTorrent Inc. stopped providing links to copyright content in 2005 and now helps studios distribute movies. Overall, acceptance of P2P technology is higher in Western Europe, where piracy using the technology also happens to be especially rampant, according to SafeNet. The British Broadcasting Corp. uses P2P technology from Verisign Inc. for its iPlayer, which streams some of its...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

People 'anxious' when cut off from internet

People are more likely to feel "anxious" when cut off from the internet or their mobile phone than feel "liberated", according to a British survey.
Publication date: 2009-10-13 more

People, planet, profit – metrics that drive environmentally savvy firms

Where are Irish companies poised in order to reduce waste, carbon and energy usage?
Publication date: 2009-04-10 more

PeopleSoft founder buys Cape Clear

Workday Inc, the new venture of billionaire founder of PeopleSoft, David Duffield, has acquired Irish web services technology company Cape Clear for an undisclosed sum.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Pepsi apologises for 'sexist' iPhone app

Pepsi has apologised for releasing an iPhone app that encouraged men to brag about their sexual conquests.
Publication date: 2009-10-13 more

Perception gap fuels skills shortage

Ireland’s IT sector has many well-paid job opportunities for skilled graduates – so why are they going unfilled?
Publication date: 2008-05-30 more

Philips slashes 6,000 jobs after loss

Royal Philips Electronics, Europe’s largest maker of televisions, will cut 6,000 jobs and stop buying back shares after reporting its first quarterly loss in almost six years.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

Phishing attacks jump by 150pc as some suffer €30,000 loss

THERE has been a 150pc increase in phishing attacks, with some bank customers having their accounts cleaned out, it has emerged.
Publication date: 2009-04-02 more

Picture is rosy for Andor as profits soar

Pre-tax profits at Belfast- based digital camera firm Andor Technology climbed 22pc to £800,000 for the six months to the end of March.
Publication date: 2008-05-22 more

Picture these

The words "photo album" have changed in their meaning over the past 10 years. Back then, you'd be talking about a leather-bound volume, probably brown, containing slightly faded snaps of tedious family events, hanging at a diagonal because the corner mounts had come unstuck.
Publication date: 2008-10-22 more

PIN theft jumps as black market price falls to 38c

Businesses saw an ‘explosion’ in thefts of PIN numbers last year as criminals, faced with a glut of stolen credit cards on the black market, sought to add value to pilfered data.
Publication date: 2009-04-16 more

Pirate Bay defendant’s lawyer demands retrial, Billboard says

Peter Althin, a Pirate Bay defendant’s lawyer, says he intends to demand a retrial following reports on Swedish Sveriges Radio’s P3 news that Judge Tomas Norstrom, who presided over the recent music file-sharing trial, is a member of the same copyright protection bodies as entertainment industry representatives, Billboard reported.
Publication date: 2009-04-24 more

Pirate Bay founders facing jail sell to Global Gaming Factory X

Global Gaming Factory X AB will buy The Pirate Bay file-sharing website from its founders and will start paying owners of content on the site.
Publication date: 2009-06-30 more

Pirate Bay founders sentenced to one-year jail terms by court

The four founders of The Pirate Bay, an online site for free sharing of music and films, were found guilty of contributing to copyright infringement and sentenced to one-year prison terms each.
Publication date: 2009-04-17 more

Pirates v the Premier League: a war on the web

England's match in Ukraine this weekend is a major landmark in the history of sports broadcasting: as many as a million fans will subscribe to Britain's first high-profile football match available exclusively online.
Publication date: 2009-10-06 more

Placing the spotlight on Ireland's new lean, green R&D territory

Publication date: 2009-10-08 more

Planting the seeds for growth on the campus

After a slow start, there are promising signs that efforts to turn ideas from Irish universities into products or companies are having some success.
Publication date: 2008-06-27 more

Playing the game: Irish playboy builds a global online empire

DYLAN Collins, the entrepreneur who three years ago, at the age of 26, sold his Dublin-based technology company, DemonWare, to the world's biggest computer game firm, Activision, for $15m, is focusing his energies on helping Ireland emerge as a player in the online games publishing business.
Publication date: 2009-06-04 more

Playing to win big on the iTunes App Store

At just 20 years of age, Steven Troughton-Smith is a student of digital-media engineering at Dublin City University, and also a successful developer of iPhone applications for Apple’s iTunes App Store
Publication date: 2009-03-12 more

PlayStation 3 games available in 3D

Sony has launched a range of 3D games, including Wipeout HD and Pain, available from today through the PlayStation Network
Publication date: 2010-06-10 more

PlayStation 3 Update Will Bring Interactive Blu-ray

Sony on Thursday said the next firmware update for the PlayStation 3 video-game console will add Blu-ray Disc Profile 2.0. The update is due out late this month. Known as BD-Live, the update will offer PS3 players interactive features, such as downloadable video content, ringtones and games. Beyond BD-Live, the update will make room for photo and music playlists on PS3 to be copied to a PSP handheld device. It's all part of Sony's attempts to evolve the PS3 as a home entertainment hub. Regular updates like this one and future-proofed technology make the 10-year life cycle of PS3 possible, according to Scott Steinberg, vice president of product marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America. "With Blu-ray established as the high-definition optical disc standard, more consumers are ready to jump in and take advantage of everything the format offers," Steinberg said. "Whether you want to download movie extras, send ringtones to your phone, or play interactive games, BD-LIVE will offer exciting new ways to enjoy a Blu-ray movie." BD-Live Possibilities BD-Live offers plenty of possibilities, but Sony said the benefits will vary by movie title. For example, movie studios could deliver bonus scenes, shorts, trailers, subtitles and ringtones that can be sent to mobile phones. On the gaming side, interactive movie-based games can pit players sitting in the same room or across the world. In conjunction with the firmware update, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced two BD-LIVE-enabled titles to be released on April 8 -- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story and The 6th Day. Both titles will include exclusive downloadable content that goes beyond what is available on the Blu-ray discs, Sony said. These initial releases preview some of the developments that will soon be available from BD-LIVE. Downloading BD Profile 2.0 requires an Internet connection and at least 1GB of storage space. BD-Live aside,...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

Pleased to meet you, virtually

Recently, 240 employees of the Revenue Commissioners from 11 regional offices attended a seminar on VAT. In the past, this would have involved a mass exodus of staff to a central location such as Dublin, an administrative hassle trying to accommodate the numbers in one room and thousands of man-hours lost as workers made the journey.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Police raid Gizmodo editor's home over iPhone leak

A technology blogger who edits the Gizmodo website which last week showed off a prototype of Apple's new generation iPhone has had his home raided by police.
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Pope channels mass appeal of YouTube

Pope Benedict may well play with light sabres in the privacy of his own bedroom, but don't expect to see evidence of this on YouTube.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

Porn software can detect sex-addicted employees

With Ireland ranking top of the list for searches of the word ‘porn’ on Google, the country’s employers will be interested in newly-developed porn-detecting software.
Publication date: 2008-11-27 more

Powering consumer electronics

Intel wants to do to home entertainment what the Pentium processor did to the PC business over the past 30 years
Publication date: 2008-05-15 more

Predictive Analytics to drive profitability and reduce costs

The premier event for Predictive Analytics in Ireland gives attendees the opportunity to discover the latest trends and best practices in analytics for successful customer experience, sales and marketing strategies.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Premature obituaries may force new Wikipedia rules

Entries on the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia may have to be pre-approved after it wrongly claimed that Senator Edward Kennedy had died.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

Premature obituaries may force new Wikipedia rules

Entries on the internet encyclopedia Wikipedia may have to be pre-approved after it wrongly claimed that Senator Edward Kennedy had died.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

President Obama hires US's first cybersecurity tsar

President Obama has finally hired America’s first cybersecurity coordinator, seven months after pledging to personally appoint someone to the post.
Publication date: 2009-12-23 more

Prince: the internet

Prince, the 52-year-old music icon has pronounced the internet dead, refusing to use any digital platforms to distribute his music.
Publication date: 2010-07-06 more

Print Media Popular Online, But Money Is a Problem

Despite years of hype about the impact of bloggers and the so-called Long Tail on the news business, traditional media sources are increasingly popular online even as their offline businesses continue to go south. The idea of "The Long Tail" was that a great multiplicity of blogs and citizen journalism sites could match or exceed the value of traditional news gathering. But the reality is "more complex," says the Project for Excellence in Journalism's new report, State of the News Media 2008. "Looking closely, a clear case for democratization is harder to make," the report said. "Even with so many new sources, more people now consume what old-media newsrooms produce, particularly from print, than before." Advertising Woes Indeed, traditional media, derided by some as "mainstream media," represents more of an oligarchy online than in print. According to researcher Matthew Hindman, the top 10 news sites represent 29 percent of all Web traffic but only 19 percent of newspaper circulation. In the newspaper sector, circulation fell 2.5 percent and overall advertising revenue fell 7 percent in 2007. Even online advertising grew just 20 percent, compared to 30 percent growth in previous years. "For 2008, the hope is that a collaboration of more than 400 daily papers with Yahoo will generate a kick of as much as 10 percent to 20 percent in online advertising because it will be much easier to buy and place ads under the new arrangement," the report said. Hope in Innovation Newspaper Web sites are much improved -- with "a 24/7 diet of breaking news, an array of multimedia features and a wave of redesigns" -- but they have yet to figure out how to adequately monetize the efforts, the report said. The New York Times killed its online paid subscription service, which had 200,000 subscribers, and Rupert Murdoch announced plans to unleash much...
Publication date: 2008-03-18 more

Privacy implications have Google running scared

An internet service launched last week by Google to help cameraphone users to identify strangers in the street has been blocked because of alarm over its threat to personal privacy.
Publication date: 2009-12-14 more

Private sector should drive the bulk of next-gen network investment, says new BT chief

IF there is one lament that the new CEO of BT Ireland North and South Graham Sutherland has for the telecoms industry in the Republic it is that circumstances over the last decade have prevented telecoms from being considered a competitive tool in Ireland’s economic make-up.
Publication date: 2010-08-19 more

Probe into Pirate Bay takeover after rise in buyer's share price

The Swedish Economic Crimes Authority has begun an investigation into events surrounding the planned acquisition of controversial website Pirate Bay -- the site Eircom said it will block its internet customers from accessing following a request from Irish record labels.
Publication date: 2009-08-26 more

Product Review: 3G broadband stick

Let me start by saying that mobile broadband, when it is working, is a wonderful thing. Enjoying a sturdy internet connection no matter where you are, be it in your home, on a train or while out and about, is becoming almost indispensable for the modern worker.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product Review: AeroGarden

The further technologically advanced we become the more we can feel that we are moving away from nature but sometimes a gadget can bring Mother Earth, or in this case a selection of her herbs, right into our lives.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product review: Apple iPhone

Several friends (and taxi drivers who were listening in on our heated conversations) have dismissed the iPhone as a glorified iPod ‘with a phone bit stuck on’, which made me wonder if it really is the revolutionary communications device it has been touted as.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product Review: Canon digital camera

When I was a child, I would crawl around my parents’ garden in search of insects, spiders, ladybirds and any interesting plants and weeds that caught my attention, examining them intently for hours and pretending they were a part of my imaginary zoo.
Publication date: 2008-05-22 more

Product Review: Dell Laptop

These days technology is as much about lifestyle and self-expression as it is about functionality and nowhere is this more apparent than in Dell’s latest TV advertisement for its range of Inspiron Colours laptops.
Publication date: 2008-04-10 more

Product Review: HP personal digital assistant

Pros: Google Maps and GPS nav combo is pretty cool Cons: Screen is far too small Price: From €399
Publication date: 2008-06-19 more

Product review: Lenovo desktop tower PC and monitor

Is it my imagination or is it that as notebook computers become slimmer and lighter and less business-like, their desk-bound brethern are getting larger, more serious, even menacing. Lenovo describes its M57p ThinkCentre Tower as a "workhorse". Just don't go dragging this workhorse to water or you'll do your back in.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product Review: MacBook Air

My mother always told me it’s the little things in life that count. She probably didn’t mean to extend this to one of the lightest and slimmest laptops on the market but when I set eyes on the MacBook Air I knew she was right.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product review: Mobile Skype phone

Voice over IP technology’s ability to make cheap or free phone calls to anywhere in the world presents the classic opportunity/threat dilemma for mobile operators.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product Review: MP3 player

You know the score: you’re listening to a great song on your MP3 player, tapping your feet and bopping your head. Then, your friend or partner asks if they can listen in too, resulting in one pair of earphones stretched between two people and literal head-banging.
Publication date: 2008-04-05 more

Product Review: Nintendo Wii Fit

Pros: Gives a surprisingly solid workout Cons: Set-up is really time-consuming Price: €80 from PC World
Publication date: 2008-05-30 more

Product Review: Nokia music phone

Pros: Looks great, sounds great Cons: Inscrutably short earphones Price: Available from Vodafone for €199
Publication date: 2008-05-06 more

Product Review: Samsung laser printer

In the gadget family, printers are seen as the boring uncle who talks in a monotonous voice about how Tayto cost 2p when he was a lad. So it’s inevitable that buying a new one to meet your business needs can seem like an unsavoury task – but what if your office printer looked like it had been designed by Darth Vader from Star Wars?
Publication date: 2008-04-19 more

Product Review: Sony Blu-ray player

If anyone remembers the old battle between the video standards VHS and Betamax, they will recall that when the porn industry rowed in on the side of VHS, the prime backer of the Betamax standard, Sony, was vanquished.
Publication date: 2008-04-24 more

Product Review: Sony Ericsson multimedia phone

For a mobile phone to be ultimately successful in the mass market, there are three things which need to be achieved. First, good, attractive, design – it must have the wow factor. Secondly, the device must have an operating system people will find easy to use. And thirdly, it must sport nifty technology that sets it apart from the pack.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product review: Sony Ericsson P1i

It seems like a long time since Sony Ericsson has brought out a business smart phone device. Everything else has been for the consumer market and despite its edge with a 3.2-megapixel camera – and lately a five-megapixel camera phone – it’s about time it got back into this market.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product review: Sony Walkman NWZ-A816

Sometimes simplicity is the top priority when looking for a new gadget and as a digital media player the 4GB Sony Walkman NWZ-A816 couldn’t be easier to use.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product review: Tablet PC

It occurred to me when the PC industry came out with a new type of computer that it was no small irony it had been called the ‘tablet’.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product Review: TomTom GPS navigator

As someone who spends too much time in his car due to Ireland’s notoriously clogged-up road networks, a device that helps navigate around traffic jams ought to be a godsend.
Publication date: 2008-06-12 more

Product Review: Touch-sensitive mobile phone

It’s all about touch these days, isn’t it? The very stylish Samsung Soul mobile phone makes a good compromise with two screens: a large upper screen and a smaller, touch-sensitive one called the ‘Magic Touch’.
Publication date: 2008-06-05 more

Product Review: Touchscreen phone

Your mobile phone says a lot about you; in fact it is viewed by some as a status symbol akin to what car you drive or where you holiday. The LG Prada phone is for those who want to discreetly say: I have money and style.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product Review: Ultra-light laptop

Pros: Light but sturdy and powerful Cons: Old-fashioned appearance Price: From €1,995
Publication date: 2008-06-27 more

Product review: USB broadband modem

Pros: Very solid, resilient connection Cons: Speeds seem standard Price: €149
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Product review: Why you'll want a Flip video camera

Imagine a hand-held video camera that fits in your pocket and allows you to begin recording within just three seconds, it also promises to create small video files that can be easily uploaded to a social networking site or emailed to a friend. Sound too good to be true? Danielle Cahill takes a look at the Flip to see if it lives up to the hype.
Publication date: 2008-11-07 more

Product Review: Wi-Fi media player

My apartment complex has a ‘no pets’ rule so I viewed the Nabaztag as an opportunity to own an electronic pet that not only happily eschews the usual pet habits of eating and excreting but can connect to the internet and do useful things like read me my email.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Project Natal wins support of major games publishers

Microsoft's Project Natal controller-free gaming system moved a step closer to its rumoured 2010 release after several high-profile video games publishers and developers announced at the Tokyo Games Show that they were working on titles for the platform.
Publication date: 2009-09-24 more

Public Enemy’s Chuck D to promote fan-funded music site in U.S.

SellaBand AG, an Amsterdam-based music Web site where fans can listen to unsigned artists and help pay for recording costs, will be promoted by Public Enemy frontman Chuck D when it brings the service to the U.S.
Publication date: 2009-03-10 more

Publicis snaps up Microsoft's Razorfish for $530m

France's communications group Publicis has outbid WPP to buy the Razorfish agency from Microsoft, paying around $530m (€373m) for a business that entrenches its position as the world's leader in digital advertising.
Publication date: 2009-08-10 more

Publishers land lucrative ad deals for iPad launch

Magazines and newspapers are planning to launch special editions for the forthcoming Apple iPad, with the support of millions of dollars in revenue from advertisers.
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Puma unveils solar-powered phone

Puma, the sportswear brand, has teamed up with Sagem to create a bespoke mobile phone that can be recharged by the sun.
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

Punters back recall for 'bad Apple' iPhone

APPLE is increasingly likely to recall its iPhone 4 after complaints about poor reception and a critical review from Consumer Reports, according to a betting company that tracks odds for such events.
Publication date: 2010-07-15 more

Pure genius: The inventors' hall of fame

This spring, America's National Inventors' Hall of Fame will confer its greatest honour on the men and women whose ingenuity has changed our lives. The creations may be familiar, but how much do we know about the people who gave them to us?
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Put to the test: Blu-ray high definition players

Are you a gadget addict who buys new electronics as soon as they hit the shelves? If so, you may have paid a high price for early Blu-ray high definition players. But in the last two years prices have dropped from €1,000 to an entry level price of around €230.
Publication date: 2009-04-16 more

Put to the test: MP3 & MP4 players

Consumer electronics, including MP3 and MP4 players, are constantly evolving. Many now have touch screens and as well as playing music, viewing photos and videos, some allow internet connection. This week, Smart Consumer looks at portable media players.
Publication date: 2009-03-12 more

R&D provides building blocks for construction sector's road to recovery

A concrete example of how export opportunities still exist for Ireland's stricken building sector
Publication date: 2009-04-30 more

Race for fibre leadership: how Ireland

THE nations that will attract the most foreign direct investment and that will give their homegrown businesses the best fighting chance in the decades ahead will be the ones with the most sophisticated and powerful fibre networks.
Publication date: 2010-07-22 more

Radio 2.0 – why it’s not too late to save the broadcasting business

A COMBINATION of music downloads and audience engagement via social media platforms such as Twitter, MySpace, Bebo and Facebook could restore profitability to the radio business and, eventually, TV broadcasters too. That’s if proven Irish technology entrepreneur John Shiel has his way.
Publication date: 2009-03-26 more

Re-using technology to liberate and educate

Former investment banker Cormac Lynch believes education is key to solving Africa’s problems and has persuaded Irish businesses to donate some 7,000 computers for schools and colleges on the troubled continent
Publication date: 2008-08-07 more

Record labels hail biggest ever year for downloading

Digital music sales accounted for more than a quarter of the music industry’s global income in 2009 for the first time, according to a new report.
Publication date: 2010-01-21 more

Record second quarter for .ie namespace registrations

146,000
Publication date: 2010-07-29 more

Red faces at Microsoft as server failure turns smartphone dumb

Not so smart after all. Microsoft and T-Mobile executives have been humiliated by their Sidekick smartphone, which first lost internet access and then deleted its customers' numbers, photos and other important data.
Publication date: 2009-10-14 more

Red Hat Will Buy Systems Integrator Amentra

Red Hat will acquire privately held Amentra, a provider of systems-integration services to smooth the transition to service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) projects. "We are now focused on expanding further into the enterprise," said Red Hat Vice President Craig Muzilla. "The depth of solution-oriented consulting services provided by Amentra will help enterprises begin deploying JBoss Enterprise Middleware products with confidence." Strong SOA Growth Ahead The acquisition is intended to complement Red Hat's recently announced Enterprise Acceleration Initiative, which targets the delivery of products, programs and services to help enterprises accelerate IT deployments, particularly in SOA and BPM. It comes amid an accelerating IT drive to adopt SOA, according to the latest survey from Forrester Research. "A year ago, our data highlighted a general slowness in moving from SOA planning to actual use of SOA," said Forrester Research Vice President Randy Heffner. "This slowness disappeared in 2007's data, with strong growth in current use of SOA across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific regions." Even better, "a strong majority of current SOA users plan to do more SOA," Heffner noted. "... more and more SOA users are seeing its role for enabling strategic business transformation." Heffner pointed out that the most critical aspects of SOA are business-oriented. "SOA technology is merely a foundation for business-oriented restructuring of IT's processes and deliverables," he added. An Open-Source Middleware Play Amentra has more than 140 employees at its offices in Philadelphia, Charlotte, Tampa, Richmond and Washington, D.C. When the deal is final, Amentra will function as an independent Red Hat company, with existing customers continuing "to receive the benefit of Amentra's model, as they do today, with the breadth and depth that comes from the many synergies that Red Hat and Amentra bring to each other," said Amentra CEO Matt Ernst. Red Hat spent $350 million...
Publication date: 2008-03-17 more

Reinvent the media with a tech start-up mentality

Dear reader, it would be interesting to see how many of you are reading this column on a physical newspaper and then compare it with the number of those reading it online - for free.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Report Says Microsoft, Yahoo Discussed Merger

Senior executives from Microsoft and Yahoo powwowed this week to discuss Redmond's $44.6 billion offer to acquire Yahoo, according to The Wall Street Journal. The reported gathering could bring the companies closer to agreement. Executives from the companies had not met to discuss Microsoft's Jan. 31 offer since Yahoo rejected it in February. Citing "people familiar with the matter," the Journal reported that Monday's meeting wasn't a negotiation, and no bankers attended. Instead, Yahoo allowed Microsoft to present its vision of a merged company at a location near Yahoo's Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters. Yahoo executives reportedly listened, but further talks were not scheduled. It remains unclear, the Journal reported, whether Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer were present at the meeting. A Well-Timed Talk? The talks come a week after Yahoo amended its bylaws to extend the deadline for nominating directors to its board from March 14 to 10 days after the public announcement of the date for its annual meeting of stockholders. The amendment gives stockholders who want to nominate one or more directors, including Microsoft, more time. The extension also lets Yahoo pursue alternatives to a Microsoft takeover. When Yahoo's board unanimously rejected Microsoft's offer, it said it would not even consider discussing acquisition possibilities unless Microsoft anted up at least $12 billion more. Microsoft will not offer more money, the Journal reported, unless it gets a closer look at Yahoo's books. That's when talk of a hostile takeover began, and Microsoft seems determined. The company hired Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz, along with Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group, to help it acquire Yahoo. Meanwhile, Yahoo began holding talks with other potential buyers, including News Corp. and Time Warner. News Corp. said earlier this week that it would not wrestle with Microsoft for Yahoo. Is Yahoo Worth the Price? Even at with the...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Research and riches are a two-way street

In 1999, before the term ‘knowledge economy’ became an abused form of political rhetoric of present-day Ireland, Dr Kevin McDonnell of University College Dublin (UCD) was working on a project for the Department of Agriculture.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Research in Motion unveils speedier BlackBerry, beating IPhone

Research In Motion Ltd. unveiled a BlackBerry phone with quicker Web browsing and more room for songs and videos, getting a jump on a faster iPhone that analysts expect next month.
Publication date: 2008-05-12 more

Revamped R&D guidelines are designed to keep Intel onside

THE decision by the Government to amend its rules relating to tax credits by including companies using only part of their buildings for research and development (R&D) purposes was made in a bid to retain chip giant Intel at its Kildare base. Intel is currently considering whether to go ahead with an investment in a new line of products at its Leixlip plant.
Publication date: 2008-11-21 more

Revealed: the YouTube rich list

MILLIONS OF people watch them each day around the world. Their audiences are young and tech-savvy and most people over 30 would be forgiven for never even having heard of them.
Publication date: 2010-08-26 more

Review: Internet Explorer 8 Eases Web Sharing

Many people now create and share content on the Internet or blend services from various sites in their daily tasks, reflecting the medium's clear evolution from a place for simply consuming Web sites. The upcoming version of Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer, version 8, embraces those trends by adding an "Activities" feature that makes all that easier for PC users. Although it's still in a "beta" test mode meant mostly for Web designers to try out, I'm liking what I'm seeing so far. Internet Explorer's main competitor among browsers for PCs, Firefox, also has been testing an update, although the most promising features await implementation by Web sites. More on that later. With Activities, one of several new Internet Explorer features, Web services like Facebook, eBay and Yahoo can write tools that users can install with just two clicks. For example, Microsoft links a slew of Activities to its e-mail, blogging and news services, among others. Yahoo Inc. has one for maps, and auction site eBay Inc. has one to search its listings. The online hangout Facebook, of which Microsoft owns 1.6 percent, offers tools for finding friends or sharing content on its site. Say you are reading a news article you'd like to e-mail to friends. Simply right-click and choose Microsoft's Hotmail, and the e-mail service opens in a new browser tab with that item already added to the subject line and message body. If you'd rather blog about the item, simply right-click and choose Microsoft's Live Spaces. Mapping is initially the only service where there is choice of providers: Yahoo or Microsoft. In either case, you also get a thumbnail image of the map if you select an address and right-click. You can expand the map in a new tab with another click. Other uses for Activities include looking up definitions of selected words or translating...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

Reviewed: Amazon Kindle

As an unabashed bookworm I have to admit I was initially dismissive of e-book readers, from the Amazon Kindle to the Sony Reader. A library full of books says something about the man, or so I thought. Well, (a) I hardly ever read the same book twice and (b) books can create a lot of clutter. And since most of us search for the information we want these days, surely reading off a screen is not a big deal?
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Reviewed: Samsung Galaxy S

THIS smartphone looks good, feels good and what's more, it's one of the most user-friendly models on the market.
Publication date: 2010-08-12 more

Reviewed: Sony PlayStation Move

I’LL be honest. I didn't know a lot about PlayStation Move before I tried it out this week. Despite a release date for 17 September there hasn't been much hype about Sony's take on motion-controlled gaming.
Publication date: 2010-08-19 more

Reviewed: the Apple iPad

I'VE read scores of reviews, rants and love poems about the Apple iPad, but believe me, all of your initial preconceptions dissolve once you get to hold the device in your hands.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

RIM and Nokia hit back at Apple's defence of iPhone 4

The mobile phone industry has hit out at Apple's attempt to claim that the reception problems afflicting its new iPhone are an industry-wide phenomenon.
Publication date: 2010-07-19 more

Ringing the changes: telecoms sector plans for challenges ahead

The telecoms industry should come up with an investment strategy which avoids duplication of fibre-optic networks and it is imperative that parts of the country are not left without access to next generation broadband when the new system is rolled out, a conference in Dublin heard yesterday.
Publication date: 2009-09-22 more

Ringing up a storm on phone lines

At 11.00 yesterday morning two Australians and a Frenchman walked into finance minister Brian Cowen's Merrion Street offices. The delegation represented Eircom and Babcock & Brown Capital, the Australian venture capitalist which controls Ireland's largest telephone company.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Ringtones most popular downloads among Irish mobile users

A new survey has found that ringtones are the most popular downloads among Irish mobile phone users.
Publication date: 2008-09-04 more

Rise of the machines, end of the humans?

So, there are these two scientists researching artificial intelligence. One is Satinder S Baveja, director of the University of Michigan's AI laboratory; the other is Miles Bennett Dyson, director of research at Cyberdyne Systems of California. Both men are asked to reflect on what the ultimate outcome of their work on AI will look like. Might it, for example, get a little bit dystopian out there?
Publication date: 2009-02-04 more

RoboDoc ready to get tough on disease

YOU've heard of Robocop, now here comes RoboDoc.
Publication date: 2009-10-07 more

RTE keen to realise iPhone app ambitions

LESS than two months into its iPhone flirtation, RTE is already experiencing the slings and arrows of outrageous iTunes shoppers.
Publication date: 2010-02-04 more

Rupert Murdoch could ban Google access to his newspapers' content

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, is considering removing his newspapers’ content from Google’s search index.
Publication date: 2009-11-09 more

Ryanair appeals for patience as new site fails to take off

Ryanair last night appealed for passengers' "patience" as the airline's newly revamped website continues to endure "bedding-down problems" in the coming days.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

SaaS Data Storage Partnership Announced

Iron Mountain Digital and N-able Technologies are working together to provide backup and archiving services using software as a service (SaaS) technology. The alliance will help SMBs to monitor and remotely manage server-data backup and recovery. N-able provides SaaS platforms that provide managed service providers (MSPs) with remote monitoring, management, and desktop support technology. In this co-marketing relationship with Iron Mountain Digital, the technology arm of storage giant Iron Mountain, the two companies will introduce channel partners to the other's services to educate the market on the benefits to SMBs of using managed services for backup and storage. "We monitor and manage devices," looking at the network and its assets, and monitoring how much backup space is available, explained Elias Diamantopoulos, chief operating officer of N-Able. Iron Mountain's services, which address both immediate backup needs and offline backup, will be integrated into the N-able platform. That hasn't happened yet, but will soon. The theory, Diamantopoulos said, is that corporations will identify the data to be retained and create retention policies. N-able software will monitor how much storage is available for the backups, and then key data will be automatically moved offline and archived via Iron Mountain Digital. "The positioning is that end users can enable software to ensure that their networks and devices are managed and protected properly, and the content equivalently is managed and protected properly with Iron Mountain software," he said. Outsourcing Trend The partnership highlights the growing trend of SMBs to outsource as a way to save money, while getting a predictable amount for budgeting IT expenditures. "All these products can be delivered in a way that's cost-effective for SMBs. Once it's cost-effective for them, why not outsource it? You don't have to manage the day-to-day maintenance and management of the system," Diamantopoulos said. Outsourcing also helps ensure that IT...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Sage advice on the shifting business landscape

From eight people in 1999, through a strategy of acquisition, Sage has grown to employ 300 people in Ireland with revenues of 433m per annum. Liam Mullaney (pictured) is managing director.
Publication date: 2008-05-06 more

Sajan Software to create 35 jobs in Dublin

Sajan Software, a wholly owned subsidiary of on-demand translation technology and service provider Sajan Inc., has announced plans to generate 35 jobs in Dublin over a three year period.
Publication date: 2010-01-19 more

Sales of the iPad take off as three million sold in 80 days

Apple Inc said it has sold three million iPads in the 80 days since the device went on sale in the US, adding to evidence that chief executive officer Steve Jobs is building demand for tablet-style computers.
Publication date: 2010-06-23 more

Samsung plans Windows and Android-based mobile devices

From nowhere two years ago mobile maker Samsung has captured 20pc of the Irish handset market. Gary Twohig is country manager at Samsung Mobile
Publication date: 2009-07-16 more

SanDisk wins review of patent loss over flash-memory chips

SanDisk Corp., the world’s largest maker of cards that store digital pictures, won a second chance to argue that more than a dozen companies infringe its patents for flash-memory technology.
Publication date: 2009-08-25 more

Sarkozy in new attempt to halt illegal file-sharers

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government presented a new bill to curb illegal Internet downloads, two weeks after a key clause in a previous law was struck down by the nation’s highest constitutional court.
Publication date: 2009-06-25 more

Sarkozy’s web piracy law passed

France passed one of the world’s harshest laws against Internet piracy, giving the government the right to disconnect users who illegally download music and film.
Publication date: 2009-05-14 more

Satellite firm shows the way to bridge the digital divide

Satellite Broadband Ireland is creating 30 new jobs after winning a contract to support 3 in rolling out broadband under the National Broadband Scheme (NBS). Kevin Ryan is CEO and co-founder
Publication date: 2009-12-03 more

Save money by ensuring you are not overinsured

AT Chez Weston we like to save money.
Publication date: 2010-06-17 more

Saving money with your smartphone

The most common misconception about the smartphone is that it costs a packet to run. If you use it cleverly, it will not only perform for you on a modest monthly amount but it can also save you money
Publication date: 2010-07-15 more

Savvy entrepreneur knows how to raise and change the game

Having sold his games-software company, DemonWare, to Activision for $15m three years back, Dylan Collins recently scored another coup when GameStop made a major investment in his internet games company, Jolt Online.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Scammers target 100,000 AIB clients

INTERNET fraudsters have attempted to steal from the AIB online accounts of more than 100,000 customers over the past week.
Publication date: 2009-08-31 more

Science is something worth talking about, isn't that right TED?

ACCORDING to the State Examination Commission, in 2006 the average mark for the Junior Cert written science exam was a disappointing 55pc.
Publication date: 2009-08-20 more

Science solves 'Italian Job' cliffhanger

It was probably the greatest cliff-hanger in cinema history, leaving fans of The Italian Job wondering how the mobster Charlie Croker could have extricated his gang - and the gold bullion - from a bus hanging precariously over the edge of a mountain road.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

Scientists on way to creating 'television wallpaper'

Scientists are embarking on a project that they say could one day lead to our homes being decorated with "television wallpaper".
Publication date: 2009-02-23 more

Scientists use computer to 'read minds' on screen

Scientists have discovered how to read 'the mind’s eye' using a computer that can replicate what humans are seeing or recalling by monitoring their brain activity.
Publication date: 2009-11-02 more

Scrabble owners to sue Scrabulous makers

Hasbro Inc., maker of the Scrabble board-game, sued the creators of ''Scrabulous,'' an online version found on Facebook.com, claiming it violates the company's copyrights and trademarks.
Publication date: 2008-07-25 more

Search deeper and it's clear you can't judge a book by its cover

HE may run the Irish operations of internet giant Google, but John Herlihy is also surprisingly old-fashioned in some ways.
Publication date: 2009-10-15 more

Search engine ads roar in downturn

INTERNET
Publication date: 2008-10-18 more

Search giant Google to unveil its first phone

FOR months, the technology world has been gossiping about Google's most closely guarded secret -- the arrival of its first very own mobile phone.
Publication date: 2010-01-04 more

Security Concerns Dog Mobile P2P Payments

More and more vendors are rolling out technology that will allow consumers to use cell phones to do their banking. They're just waiting for customers to start using these technologies. While it will eventually happen, these companies should have some patience, because consumers are still wary about the perceived risks. A study from Javelin Strategy & Research, a financial-services payment research company, reveals that customers are interested in the idea of mobile P2P banking, but are not yet confident that these technologies are safe to use. James Van Dyke, Javelin's president and founder, says that companies still need to make security a priority. "A full third of our report is devoted to security simply because we find that industry companies so often get security issues wrong. It's so unbelievably misunderstood," Van Dyke said. "We'd like to see more authentication measures where people are asked to remember key phrases and things like that." Risky Behavior, Not Technology Still, Van Dyke said that security concerns were more a matter of perception than actual risk. "What's interesting is that we don't see significant security features going in, but we don't expect to see widespread actual security risks. We expect to see widespread security fears, yet we don't see [mobile P2P banking] as a particularly risky thing to do," he said. One reason the security risks will be lower than for desktop PCs is that there is a wide range of mobile platforms in use rather than one monolithic platform, he added. He noted that dangers are more likely to arise from behavior by users -- particularly young people -- rather than security flaws. Young people "take undue risks with personal technology," he said. Some reasons for that, he surmised, are that they "typically don't have as many financial assets, and they tend to be haphazard [with...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Selling Ireland's technology sector: 'the diamond in the rubble'

YOU could argue that Eileen Sharpe has one of the most important sales jobs in the land. She and her team of less than 30 people spread across the globe are responsible for landing the multi-billion tech investments by multinationals that Ireland is still winning despite the global downturn.
Publication date: 2009-06-25 more

Sergey Brin: My upbringing in USSR helped 'shape' Google's views on China

Google co-founder Sergey Brin says his experience of living in the Soviet Union has influenced his company's stance.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Setting the security trend

Dave Rand, chief technology officer for Trend Micro, talks about the scale of security threats and what can be done to stop them.
Publication date: 2008-05-30 more

Setting the standard for the mobile web

Dublin-based DotMobi has sold over 800,000 mobile domains to brands that include Rolls Royce and Hilton Hotels. Norbert Grey is vice-president of finance
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Sex domain .xxx approved by regulators

ICANN, the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers, which is responsible for overseeing the creation and distribution of web addresses, finally gave the go-ahead for the special .xxx domain name at a meeting in Brussels.
Publication date: 2010-06-28 more

Sex.com, 'most expensive domain name in history', up for auction

Sex.com, the web domain touted as the most expensive in history, is up for auction, with bidding starting at $1m.
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Shaking up the Airwaves

The champagne will start flowing at 11 o'clock this morning, figuratively speaking at least. One hour before their first broadcast, team iradio are hosting a glitzy launch of the classic media variety.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Shannon call centre to close with loss of 71 jobs

A Co Clare-based firm is closing its call centre in Shannon and relocating to the UK with the loss of over 70 jobs.
Publication date: 2009-04-16 more

Sidelining SMS bullies is a numbers game, say tech firms

If emerging Irish technology companies have their way, consumers will soon be able to avoid receiving text messages from bullies and stalkers by blocking their numbers.
Publication date: 2008-07-31 more

Silicon Valley Insider

Growing up in Silicon Valley, Robert Scoble has circuitry in his veins and the credentials to carry on the legacy.
Publication date: 2008-06-05 more

Siliconrepublic.com scoops 'Best Technology Website' award

Also taking home an award on the night was IDA Ireland for Best Government and Council Website. Sponsors included iQ Content, BH Consulting, DoneDeal.ie and Beaut.ie.
Publication date: 2009-10-15 more

SIM cards to protect kids from bullying

REGULATED SIM cards that protect children from unwanted texts and calls on their mobile phones could be available for the Christmas market.
Publication date: 2008-10-20 more

Sky News website sabotaged by hacker with a grudge against Rupert Murdoch

A computer hacker infiltrated the Sky News website and tampered with a petition to support the proposed television debate between the UK's main party leaders, renaming it "The Windbag Debate Petition".
Publication date: 2009-09-12 more

Slowly getting up to speed

In a country that pitched itself as a European technology hub, Ireland's broadband infrastructure has been akin to the dotty family relative that shouldn't really be mentioned at the dinner table.
Publication date: 2008-04-05 more

SlySoft Offers Blu-ray Copy-Protection Cracker

SlySoft is at it again. The Caribbean firm says it has broken the copy-protection technology used on some Blu-ray discs to prevent consumers and bootleggers from copying movie content. SlySoft is offering a 20 percent discount on its latest version. Last year SlySoft launched HD-DVD-cracking software designed to let consumers decrypt HD-DVD movie discs and copy them. AnyDVD HD software cracked the Advanced Access System, a specification for managing content stored on HD DVDs. SlySoft also produces several other copy-protection software tools, including CloneDVD to burn copies of DVDS, Game Jackal Pro, which burns CD games to the hard drive, and Virtual CloneDrive, which is virtual drive software. SlySoft could not immediately be reached for comment. Focusing on Blu-ray Now that Blu-ray is the clear winner in the high-definition format battle, SlySoft has turned its attention to the Sony format. The latest version, AnyDVD HD 6.4.0.0, promises to crack Blu-ray copy protection. SlySoft is peddling the program on its Web site for $47. SlySoft's claims about its software appear to be accurate. The company has a track record for its ability to hack CD and DVD copy protection and let consumers clone the files. But Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering Group, said the program may not work with all Blu-ray discs. "We don't have the package to know whether this works with a handful of discs or would work with the latest Blu-ray discs with Sony and Fox, but we are doing tests," he said. "We should have more information to report next week." A Slew of Crackers "AnyDVD HD comes with the same functionality as AnyDVD, but with additional features for full Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD support, including decryption of Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies," the SlySoft Web site says. Specifically, SlySoft is cracking BD+, a technology Macrovision developed. According to Macrovision, more than 20...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

Small firms are being 'crucified' by long delays in payments

SMALL business lobby group Isme yesterday claimed its members were being "crucified" by late payments, after new research showed companies were waiting an average of 75 days for accounts to be settled.
Publication date: 2009-12-22 more

Small Scottish enterprise set to launch free music downloads

The brainchild of singer Indiana Gregg and her record producer husband Ian Morrow, Glasgow based company Kerchoonz is about to launch it’s free and legal music download service.
Publication date: 2008-09-11 more

Smart card firm close to administration

TECHNOLOGY ID Data, the UK company that makes smart card systems, is on the verge of calling in administrators after falling short of raising the cash it needs for short-term funding.
Publication date: 2008-10-17 more

Smart energy and thinking needed to electrify our nation’s economic future

Building smart electricity interconnectors and gaining from renewable energy is a matter of urgency
Publication date: 2009-04-23 more

Smart firms would be keen to erase data loss

UNDER the Data Protection Act, all businesses are expected to protect customer data. Are many opting for online backup and restore?
Publication date: 2009-04-10 more

Smartphones pave the way for the new augmented reality

Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

Smoking hot 'Playboy' now available at work

Playboy yesterday launched a new, non-nude website that it described as being safe-for-work and a "satirical antidote to the drudgery of the work day."
Publication date: 2010-07-21 more

So what does a Google boss surf when on the net?

Mr Herlihy gets up at 5am every day and reads emails as well as visiting his favourite magazines -- which include the 'Economist', 'Harvard Business Review' and the 'Wall Street Journal'.
Publication date: 2009-10-15 more

So, Mr Wayne, how does it feel to lose

There must be mornings when Ronald Wayne wakes up feeling an urge to weep until his tear ducts run dry. Wouldn't you be the same if you had passed up the chance to remain an investor in a little start-up company called Apple in the 1970s, subsequently missing out on a
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Social media revolution hits warp speed

The social media revolution may be a well-known phenomenon to those in the 'industry', but among the wider world the speed of social media's expansion, the depth of its reach and the vast advertising potential are still enough to draw gasps.
Publication date: 2009-10-22 more

Social media’s lingua franca is ‘Tweet’-talking its way into business

If ever an emerging technology had its ‘flash in the pan’ moment, it was this week when popular messaging platform Twitter informed the world it was no longer footing the bill for sending SMS messages to its 1.2 million dedicated followers.
Publication date: 2008-08-21 more

Son's website may help solve Mum's murder

A website set up by a son for his murdered mum may have yielded results
Publication date: 2008-10-20 more

Sony and YouTube in talks to put full-length films on web

Sony’s entertainment division said it is in talks to post movies on Google’s YouTube video-sharing Web site.
Publication date: 2009-04-10 more

Sony announces 3D television plans for every home by 'end of 2010'

Three-dimensional television, once the stuff of dreams in science fiction movies, is to become a reality in British homes by next year, after Sony announced plans to implement the technology across its range of products.
Publication date: 2009-09-02 more

Sony delays release of Gran Turismo 5

Sony delayed the Japan release of its "Gran Turismo 5" video game for its PlayStation 3 console, due to go on sale in March, citing development issues, the company said in a statement today.
Publication date: 2010-01-14 more

Sony disables PlayStation 3 OS function

Sony has said that from April 1 it will disable a function on its PlayStation 3 console which allows users to install alternative operating systems.
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Sony Ericsson earnings hurt by lower phone sales

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd., the smallest of the world's four main mobile-phone makers, said first-quarter earnings and revenue will fall on slower handset sales, higher research costs and a component shortage.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Sony Ericsson Says Slowing Sales Will Hurt Income

Sony Ericsson said slowing growth in mobile-phone sales will hurt its sales and income for the current quarter. The joint venture between Sony and Ericsson cited component shortages and a sales slowdown in the world's more mature markets, which some analysts warn are on the verge of saturation. "This has been more pronounced in the mid- to high-end replacement sector of the market in Europe, where Sony Ericsson has stronger than average market share," said Sony Ericsson President Dick Komiyama. Slowing Growth Ahead IDC Senior Research Analyst Ryan Reith said it would be unreasonable to expect the global handset market to maintain the high growth levels it has seen over the past three years. "We expect growth to be in the single digits throughout 2008 and most likely for years to follow," Reith said. Other industry analysts agree that handset sales growth will be more moderate this year than in the past. "We expect the growth in sales of mobile devices to end users will decelerate in 2008 and fall to about 10 percent growth as mature markets become more saturated," Garter Research Director Carolina Milanesi said earlier this month. "The mature Western Europe and North America markets are driven by operator contract terms and replacement cycles and will account for just 30 percent of the global mobile-devices market in 2008." Handset makers had been counting on 3G phone sales to help lift sales in mature markets. But mobile chipmaker Texas Instruments recently scaled back its first-quarter growth estimates because of a decline in demand for the latest 3G handsets. Targeting New Markets Up till now Sony Ericsson has enjoyed the most success from sales of its higher-priced Cyber-shot and Walkman models. But as Milanesi pointed out, handset growth over the past several quarters has been driven primarily by sales in emerging markets such as...
Publication date: 2008-03-20 more

Sony joins Universal Music to show artists on YouTube

Sony Music Entertainment agreed to put videos from its artists on Vevo, the music Web site being developed by Universal Music Group and Google’s YouTube.
Publication date: 2009-06-05 more

Sony may cut PS3 price to stimulate sales

At 5.30pm this afternoon in an exhibition hall in Cologne, Germany, Sony may make an announcement that will give the computer games market the shot in the arm that many argue it badly needs.
Publication date: 2009-08-18 more

Sony moves to next dimension with 3D TV rollout

Sony will launch 3D televisions in June, entering an increasingly crowded market that is betting the revolutionary TV will become the next hot product in the electronics industry.
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Sony plans PSP Go and motion-sensing stick to challenge Nintendo

Sony introduced a handheld video-game player without a disk drive to compete against Nintendo’s top-selling DS and meet the threat posed by Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch.
Publication date: 2009-06-03 more

Sony PS3 network glitch affects thousands

Thousands of PlayStation 3 owners have been hit by a software problem that crashes their games console.
Publication date: 2010-03-01 more

Sony PS3 problems fixed

Sony says that its games console problems have been fixed and no data has been lost.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Sony PSP Go to double as ebook reader

Sony’s new handheld games console will also allow users to read books and comics on the go.
Publication date: 2009-08-20 more

Sony reveals the PS3 Slim

Sony has unveiled a cheaper, slimmer version of its PlayStation 3 games console, as it seeks to win over users from rival platforms, such as Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.
Publication date: 2009-08-19 more

Sony to install Google Chrome browser on PCs

Google has struck a deal with Sony that will see its Chrome web browser pre-installed on some Sony computers.
Publication date: 2009-09-01 more

Sony to launch 3DTV in June

Sony 3D TVs will be available in the UK and Ireland from June, the company has announced. Pre-orders are being taken now, and Sony is also offering blu-ray players and 3D movies and videogames.
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Sony unveils internet-enabled TVs

Sony's new range of televisions will let viewers access catch-up TV services and YouTube in their living rooms.
Publication date: 2009-09-03 more

Sound waves

Man has gone to great lengths to make exercise less mind-numbingly boring. Visitors to gyms have it pretty good - TV screens show music channels, while rowers and runners can compete in virtual races via built-in computers. And outdoors, joggers have the ubiquitous iPod.
Publication date: 2008-10-01 more

Sound Wikinomic theory?

Mass collaboration using blogs and wikis could result in the greatest change in the architecture of business since the industrial revolution
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Spammers fined

A GROUP of spammers responsible for a third of the world's junk mail has been fined
Publication date: 2009-12-02 more

Speeding up Ireland's next-generation network rollout

ComReg today publishes a paper on the best way to rollout next-generation broadband, which will be central to revitalising the Irish economy. Alex Chisholm is a commissioner at ComReg
Publication date: 2009-07-09 more

Spotify to make 'significant' revenue for UK record labels 'within six months'

Spotify, the online music streaming service, will generate "significant" revenue for UK record labels within the next six months if it continues to grow at its current rate, industry sources say.
Publication date: 2009-08-25 more

Sprint Nextel Fate Source of Speculation

Sprint Nextel Corp.'s plummeting stock price and the expected exodus of millions of subscribers this year have yielded a fresh round of speculation about the company's future. But analysts disagree whether the nation's third-largest wireless carrier is ripe for a takeover, is likely to begin selling parts of its operation to generate cash and make itself more agile, or will soldier on as-is. "Any time you have a stock that's down as much as this one is and with management departures and things like that, people start speculating on all kinds of things that the company may or may not do to improve things," said Todd Rethemeier, an analyst with Soleil Securities. So far neither Sprint nor its prospective suitors will comment on the rumors. In the meantime, investors seem skeptical of a turnaround: Sprint's shares have lost more than half their value since the beginning of January. They lost 23 cents to close at $5.99 Thursday. Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kan., has struggled since acquiring Nextel Communications Inc. in August 2005. Two weeks ago, it announced it had lost 683,000 wireless subscribers with annual contracts and expected to lose another 1.2 million in the current quarter and a similar amount in the second quarter of 2008. A Merrill Lynch analyst speculated this month that Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of No. 4 wireless company T-Mobile, might consider buying Sprint to bulk up and prevent an escalation of flat-rate pricing in the industry. But the two carriers' technologies are incompatible, a challenge Sprint has already seen enough of in the merger with Nextel. The Wall Street Journal has surmised that Mexico's Carlos Slim, who operates the dominant wireline and wireless networks in that country, might see Sprint as a way to get into the U.S. wireless market. "We do note that it still has compelling assets that could...
Publication date: 2008-03-17 more

Spy satellite will monitor illegal logging across six African countries

A spy satellite is to be trained on the vast rainforests of central Africa as part of a British project designed to protect them from illegal logging under plans to be unveiled today.
Publication date: 2008-06-17 more

Star trekking and the next generation

Not content with having been a Topgun fighter pilot, part of the US Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor programme, or an astronaut with NASA, Joe F Edwards Jr is using his retirement to tour the world.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Starry-eyed fans are all a-twitter over spacewalk

Astronauts inside the international space station yesterday used robotic arms to move a storage pallet holding equipment for three experiments from the belly of the docked space shuttle Endeavour to the outside of the outpost's Japanese-made lab.
Publication date: 2009-07-22 more

Start-up promises to get small firms paid on time

Billfaster.com offers an easy-to-use online invoicing and cash-management system, helping businesses create and send invoices and manage payments in just three clicks. Rod Condell is co-founder
Publication date: 2010-05-13 more

Stay in tune with the latest must-have music players

Come Christmas time, buying an mp3 player for a loved one used to be such a cinch.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Steve Jobs comeback unveils new video camera iPod nano

Apple's co-founder and chief executive, Steve Jobs, made a triumphant return yesterday as he unveiled a new range of iPods – including an iPod nano with built-in video camera.
Publication date: 2009-09-10 more

Steve Jobs is entrepreneur teenagers most admire

Steve Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple, is the entrepreneur most admired by teenagers, according to a new survey.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Steve Jobs voted

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, has been voted the CEO of the decade by Fortune magazine.
Publication date: 2009-11-06 more

Steve Jobs won't appear at Apple agm

Apple will hold its annual meeting this week without chief executive officer Steve Jobs, his first absence since he reclaimed leadership of the company more than a decade ago.
Publication date: 2009-02-23 more

Storm warning: the next generation of mobile is here

Vodafone Ireland chief executive Charles Butterworth is quite generous in his praise of Apple’s iPhone. Although Vodafone doesn’t sell the device in this country, Butterworth nevertheless gives credit where it’s due.
Publication date: 2008-10-16 more

Street in Palestinian refugee camp named after Twitter account

A street in a Palenstinian refugee camp has become the first in the world to be named after a Twitter account.
Publication date: 2009-09-30 more

Struggling with New Year broadband blues

Are Irish firms paying too much for broadband services that are too slow? Seen through the lens of experiences in other European countries, the answer unfortunately is yes.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Student Claims to Have Cracked Smartcard Encryption

A University of Virginia graduate student and two fellow hackers say they have cracked the encryption code used to protect millions of wireless "smartcards" in use across the globe. With readily available equipment that cost under $1,000, Karsten Nohl, 26, and his two Germany-based partners say they dismantled a tiny chip found inside many smartcards and mapped out its secret security algorithm. With the cryptographic formula in hand, the hackers were then able to run it through a computer program that tried out every possible key. It broke the encryption after a few hours. If they were to try again, Nohl said, it would take a matter of minutes. "I don't want to help attackers, but I want to inform people about the vulnerabilities of these cards," said Nohl, a doctoral candidate in computer engineering at U.Va. who is originally from Germany. Wireless chips, which employ technology known as radio-frequency identification, or RFID, are found inside most modern credit cards, car keys, security keycards and subway passes. The chips send an encoded numeric signal to the reading device, which allows the user to wave their card to gain access to secure buildings, remotely unlock a car, pay for public transportation and much more. The popular chip that the trio "dissected" is called the MiFare Classic RFID chip and is manufactured by NXP Semiconductors, a Netherlands-based company. Nohl and his colleagues found that it was fairly easy to crack the RFID chip's code. The three computer whizzes announced their findings at the Chaos Communications Congress in Berlin, an annual worldwide convention of hackers. They are not releasing the details of how they beat the chip's security code. But, Nohl added, it is possible that criminals might also have done so. Manuel Albers, director of regional marketing for North and South America for NXP, disputed that Nohl and his compatriots...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Successful classroom tech is about educating the educators

Teachers are becoming bigger proponents of using ICT in classrooms than they are given credit for. That’s according to a company whose spelling software is deployed in 50pc of Irish schools.
Publication date: 2008-09-25 more

Sun Microsystems losing $100m a month, says Oracle's Ellison

Larry Ellison, chief executive of the software giant Oracle, has fulminated against European regulators, saying Sun Microsystems was losing $100m (€67.5m) a month while its takeover by Oracle remains unapproved.
Publication date: 2009-09-23 more

Superman builds platform for MySpace success

When Owen Van Natta left his role as chief revenue officer at Facebook last year, his goal was to become chief executive of a major consumer web company.
Publication date: 2009-10-23 more

Supreme Court Opens Door to Microsoft Antitrust Suits

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a lower court's ruling that Novell can proceed with an antitrust suit against Microsoft. The justices declined to hear Microsoft's appeal, with Chief Justice John Roberts recusing himself because he owns Microsoft stock. The court did not offer a reason for declining the case, its standard practice. The suit dates back to 2004. Novell sued Microsoft, claiming the software giant "deliberately targeted and destroyed" its WordPerfect word-processor and Quattro spreadsheet applications because they are compatible with operating systems besides Windows. Plaintiffs Could Multiply Microsoft has reason to be concerned, according to Mark Ostrau, co-chairman of the Antitrust and Unfair Competition Group and a partner in the Intellectual Property and Technology Transactions Groups at Fenwick & West LLP, a Silicon Valley law firm specializing in high technology. "As soon as you make it possible for people who have ancillary products or applications like WordPerfect to sue based on Microsoft's monopolization of the operating system, it opens up a larger class of potential plaintiffs than Microsoft has had to face before," Ostrau said. "So this case with Novell is a big issue." Microsoft settled a similar case with Novell in 2004 when it paid $536 million to resolve Novell's claim that Microsoft set out to run its market prospects for the Netware operating system. Ostrau said Microsoft could probably also settle this case. Killing the Antitrust Weeds Microsoft may have to look over its shoulder to see what other applications it allegedly crushed as it made market moves to protect its operating system. "Everywhere Microsoft looks it's trying to put all these antitrust issues behind it. But try as it might, new issues keep popping up," Ostrau said. The European Commission assessed Microsoft a record $1.35 billion antitrust fine just last month because, the watchdog group said, the company wasn't living up...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Surgical robots, hairy plants and self-piloting cars ... welcome to the future

Futurology has always fascinated us -- that urge to predict what's coming, to let our imaginations run wild in conjuring fantastic possible worlds.
Publication date: 2010-07-01 more

Survival of the fittest for Ireland’s emerging bioinformatics sector

Charles Darwin, born 200 years ago today on 12 February 1809, revolutionised science and modern thinking with the publication of The Origin of Species. His theories on evolution and natural selection are still hugely influential today.
Publication date: 2009-02-12 more

Switching it on for the virtual generation

Irish telecoms firms are investing 1700m in upgrading their infrastructure. But to ensure their confidence, Government needs to re-evaluate telecoms regulation, says Tommy McCabe of the Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF)
Publication date: 2008-09-11 more

SXSW: Wolfram Alpha wins 'best in show'

Wolfram Alpha, the 'answer engine', took two awards, including the Best of Show award at the SXSW Web Awards in Austin, Texas last night.
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Take-Two's 'Grand Theft Auto' may break game records

``Grand Theft Auto IV,'' the latest version of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s top-selling video game, is forecast to break industry sales records after it arrives in U.S. stores today.
Publication date: 2008-04-29 more

Taoiseach set to tweet as Govt unveils new social media strategy

THE Irish Government’s Information Service has built a new social networking-led internet platform based on WordPress, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter called MerrionStreet.ie.
Publication date: 2010-07-15 more

Taoiseach to launch global Irish web site in NYC for St Patrick's Day

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will launch the first-ever global Irish website in New York on Sunday, March 15, with a worldwide celebrity crowd of Irish and Irish-Americans in attendance.
Publication date: 2009-03-15 more

Taxman's on-trust expenses

WITH businesses across the country having to account for every last cent ahead of spiralling numbers of Revenue audits, it has emerged that Revenue Commissioners staff are entitled to expenses without having to show receipts.
Publication date: 2008-05-18 more

Tech firm makes a tasty feast out of convenient cooking trend

A CARRICKMACROSS-based company that says it's a software firm first is taking the catering world by storm and has made it possible for operators such as Eurostar to serve up gourmet meals.
Publication date: 2009-05-14 more

Tech stocks enter rough waters

Intel Corporation dropped the most in more than five years in Nasdaq trading after forecasting sales that fell short of analysts' estimates, heightening concern that earnings from technology companies will disappoint investors.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Tech titan: sector will survive crunch

$11.6bn storage technology giant EMC employs 1,600 people in Cork and last week announced 50 new jobs as part of a €20m investment. Joe Tucci is the company’s chief executive
Publication date: 2008-07-31 more

Technology to help public services perform better

Like business, Government should publish an annual report to show its stakeholders – ie citizens – the progress being made
Publication date: 2008-04-24 more

Techsploitation

Cyber bullies and sex predators are not the only web worries as advertisers charm money away from children
Publication date: 2008-04-24 more

Teen suspected in Twitter shutdown

An attack on Twitter which prevented users from "tweeting" yesterday could have been the work of a teenager in their bedroom, an expert said.
Publication date: 2009-08-07 more

Teen's 'Trojan' app dupes Apple

A 15 year-old boy duped Apple by creating a 'Trojan' iPhone app that allowed users to connect to the internet for free.
Publication date: 2010-07-23 more

Telecoms industry forms next-generation network plan

The Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF) is funding an Analysys Mason study into the best way Ireland can build its future next-generation network (NGN). Tommy McCabe is director of TIF
Publication date: 2009-07-30 more

Telecoms sector braces itself for the cold winds of change

The telecoms sector in Ireland spends €724m a year on infrastructure, but this rate of investment could be under threat as harsh economic realities emerge.
Publication date: 2008-10-31 more

Text of secret ACTA talks released

A full text of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) has been released for the first time, although information on specific country’s positions on the previously secret text is still not known.
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Text-message security flaw could leave iPhone open to hackers

A vulnerability in the way Apple's iPhone handles text messages could enable hackers to take control of your handset, warn security experts.
Publication date: 2009-07-31 more

Thanks for the memories -- the computer you'll never forget

RESEARCHERS have taken a leap into the world of science fiction by creating a computer programme that uncovers memories.
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Thanks to Internet, Starting Your Own Business Never Easier

The prospect of starting out on your own in business should not be a decision made on a whim. And it is usually not. But despite the "allure" of being an entrepreneur, many people never take the plunge. However, with today's economy, technology and conditions, there has never been an easier time to start your own company. I am amazed every single week at the sheer number of ideas that are floating around out there -- many of which have the makings of a serious business waiting to happen. I've recently been reading Chris Anderson's "The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More." Anderson makes the point that today's technology allows virtually anyone to be a publisher, distributor or retailer. There are so many goods and services that can be made available today at a profit that one decade ago would have been a failing business model. There are so many possibilities here, it would be impossible to mention them all. But here are a few ideas: -- Publishing: In literally minutes, you can have an Internet presence by starting your own blog, an online, interactive newsletter. This kind of online forum is critical to telling your particular story. -- Advertising: If you have a site with a decent number of visitors, this can be monetized by becoming an advertiser. Google, Microsoft and many others offer ad programs you place on your site and make money every time someone clicks on the ad. -- Retailing: Launching an online store has never been easier, nor have more options been available. You can let other companies like Amazon.com do most of the work for you, you can have your store hosted on Yahoo Stores, or you can run the entire site yourself with free software on your own server. If you aren't a...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

The

IT ranks among the worst business moves ever. In 1976 Ronald Wayne decided to pull out of his friends' computer company after two weeks, fearing he could be saddled with debts if it failed.
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

The 'most awesome' iPhone video game

A video game which allows you to turn your iPhone into a remote control that flies a drone around your house, has been dubbed "the most awesome" use of augmented reality.
Publication date: 2010-01-06 more

The 'Net Prophet

As you walk through MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, there is a yellow hazard sign erected by students at an intersection of walkways. 'Nerds x-ing' it warns, under a stick man with glasses, rucksack and satchel.
Publication date: 2008-04-19 more

The 10 best puzzle games

Pass the time with one of these puzzle games
Publication date: 2009-03-12 more

The Big Question: Why has Wikipedia changed editorial policy, and will it improve the website?

Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia launched by American entrepreneur Jimmy Wales in 2001 with the idealistic intention of being an online repository of all human knowledge, announced this week that it would have to abandon one of its founding principles.
Publication date: 2009-08-27 more

The Blog Digest

Welcome to the Blog Digest where we take a weekly look at the best of the blogosphere
Publication date: 2008-04-10 more

The Celtic Tiger is alive and well - in cyberspace

There was a time when kinky toys and naughty knickers were the only things that red-faced shoppers had smuggled to their doorstep through the secrecy of online shopping.
Publication date: 2008-07-25 more

The clash of the WiMax and LTE titans: are we witnessing VHS v Betamax déj

Ireland will be the scene of a collision between two emerging wireless broadband standards
Publication date: 2009-10-22 more

The environment to attract investment in Irish telecoms

The Telecommunications and Internet Federation (TIF) represents the local telecoms industry, which invests over €500m annually in infrastructure. Tommy McCabe is director of TIF.
Publication date: 2010-07-22 more

The first YouTube election

American voters go to the polls next month to elect a new president, but a clear winner has already emerged -- the internet.
Publication date: 2008-10-17 more

The future looks good … on paper

Imagine a world where you can design your own furniture, bring your invention from a sketch to physical reality or even produce an exact model of yourself, all done quickly and cheaply.
Publication date: 2009-04-16 more

The future of search is destined to be in the eye of the beholder

Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

The future sound of music

New digital tools, such as RjDj and MXP4, are set to transform the way we listen to music from a passive to fully interactive experience.
Publication date: 2010-02-04 more

The gamer's book of records

The launch of the Guinness World Records 2009: Gamer's Edition last month brought video gaming out into the fresh air and broke a world record into the bargain. A motley crew of gamers, alongside Tomb Raider's Lara Croft (played by model Alison Carroll), hurtled through the cold, crisp air of central London at 57mph on a mobile gaming rig – achieving the fastest recorded speed for someone playing a video game.
Publication date: 2009-03-04 more

The geek's guide to netiquette

Social networking is a minefield for manners - should you poke your boss? Can you have too many friends? Rhodri Marsden shares his golden rules
Publication date: 2008-06-19 more

The green web – sowing seeds of change online

Climate change is happening and getting people to think green – whether in business or in the home – has a knack to it. It is quite a social thing because it involves a change in lifestyle, and a rethink of how you view your world and the people around you.
Publication date: 2008-10-02 more

The iPhone 4 reviewed

First things first. Let’s deal with the reception issues associated with the iPhone 4. Unfortunately, the fact that Steve Jobs initially denied any problems with the antenna, then said other smartphone manufacturers had similar issues did not help matters.
Publication date: 2010-08-05 more

The long arm of the law has just got longer, says Dublin tech firm

Publication date: 2008-08-28 more

The making of an Irish consumer electronics giant

AS he eased himself into his airplane seat, his aching limbs could not dim Ivan Eustace's elation after completing the recent New York City Marathon.
Publication date: 2009-12-03 more

The man who is allergic to Wi-Fi

A club DJ, Steve Miller, has revealed he has been forced into exile by a powerful allergy to Wi-Fi internet waves which leaves him feeling dizzy, sick and disorientated.
Publication date: 2009-07-24 more

The man who wove the web

Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the world wide web, believes today’s internet needs to get smarter and more social.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

The number’s up for mobile market movers

Samsung has supplanted Motorola at the No 2 spot in the global mobile market and is making strides in the consumer electronics space. Gary Twohig is the new country manager at Samsung
Publication date: 2008-04-24 more

The perfect storm

When notice of a new malware threat surfaced on 17 January last year, few outside the IT security community paid it much heed and few within could have guessed its impact. Like many attacks before it, this piece of code tried to trick people into clicking on an email attachment containing code designed to hijack their computer.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

The pests in our pockets

Some come to solicit your money; others pretend they'll give you more of it. All make demands on your time, and very few are motivated by the noble intentions they profess to carry.
Publication date: 2009-06-17 more

The power of internet TV is about to be realised

Samsung's new family of LED-based TVs come with widgets for Yahoo!, Flickr and YouTube. Kevin Maguire is country manager, Consumer Electronics, at Samsung Ireland
Publication date: 2009-05-14 more

The proud worker who chose not to stay sitting silently

Tom O'Mahoney lost his job this year because of the recession. He decided that, instead of being quiet about it, he'd set up a website that would provide a voice for the 430,000 people out of work today
Publication date: 2009-10-01 more

The rise and rise of the laptop

Publication date: 2009-12-10 more

The tech of the Irish

You don't have to buy a potato sack full of orange wigs, inflatable Guinnesses and stuffed toy leprechauns to show your appreciation for Irish culture on St Patrick's Day. Mix one part 'innovation nation' and two parts 'Hibernian culture' and you have some clever applications to see your way through a fun, yet informative, Paddy's Day this 17 March
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

The ten best gaming gadgets

Stay ahead of the curve with our guide to the best gaming gadgets.
Publication date: 2009-02-11 more

The ten best pet gadgets

Treat your pet with one of these wonderful pet gadgets.
Publication date: 2009-02-24 more

The time of sleeping satellites is over

Earth-orbiting satellites may be mankind’s current monument to our state of evolution, but they haven’t always had good press. They’ve been cited as expensive failures, shot out of the sky by ballistic missiles or are simply viewed as an expensive method of communication.
Publication date: 2008-06-27 more

The ubiquitous broadband future is closer than you think, says Vodafone boss

It's time for the Irish telecoms industry to start pulling together, says Vodafone's Charles Butterworth
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

The ultimate remote control?

In these days of inflated fuel prices, central heating is both a necessity and a financial headache. If you don't want to leave it on all day, you have to wait for it to come on every time you arrive back from work, and even if it has a timer and you can work out how to set it, it's pointless to do so if you don't know exactly when you'll be back home.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

The weird and the wonderful at CES 2010

Sony Dash
Publication date: 2010-01-12 more

The West is awake to Gaeltacht areas becoming digital entertainment hubs

Broadband is the magic ingredient bringing Ireland’s Gaeltachts to Hollywood
Publication date: 2008-10-23 more

The wolves inside your door

IRELAND has been rocked by revelations of laptops belonging to banks and state agencies, which contained thousands of private citizens’ information, being stolen. In the UK, disks containing data on thousands of welfare recipients got lost by a courier.
Publication date: 2008-08-19 more

The world’s most pointless inventions

EVER wore yourself out eating an ice-cream? The constant movement of the wrist to catch melting drops and ensure the ice-cream gets in your mouth and not the floor? Well help is at hand with the first ever motorised ice-cream cone – which has just been judged the most wasteful consumer product made last year.
Publication date: 2009-02-23 more

There's life in the old blog yet, says WordPress founder

Publication date: 2010-02-04 more

Time for iTunes to face the music with competition

It's the free music service that's attracting thousands of new users every day, and now Spotify is taking on the daddy of online music – iTunes. The ondemand streaming service has signed a deal to sell MP3 downloads as well as just playing them.
Publication date: 2009-04-01 more

Time to start getting personal with the PC

The senior vice-president for global marketing with HP’s personal systems group, Satjiv Chahil, discusses how the computer company came to rethink and redesign the personal computer.
Publication date: 2008-07-17 more

Time to transform school into a place where kids go to learn, not to power down

Remember, the
Publication date: 2009-12-10 more

Together in electric dreams: the Irish automotive industry goes green

Can electric cars and motorbikes power their way to the top of the automobile market?
Publication date: 2009-03-05 more

Tomorrow's world today

While scientists continue to pull off extraordinary feats of ingenuity in harnessing our physical world, there are a few technological advances that have, over the years, proved to be stubbornly resistant.
Publication date: 2008-08-27 more

Top contenders to the Apple iPad

There is no doubt that Steve Jobs' iPad is the most hotly anticipated tablet computing device ever, but rein in the Apple hype machine and you will find that there are several more-than-capable competitors waiting in the wings.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Top ten internet passwords to be avoided

The ten most commonly used passwords on the web have been revealed as part of an analysis of tens of millions of internet accounts.
Publication date: 2010-01-21 more

Toshiba cuts profit target 31% on chip prices, HD DVD

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp., Japan's largest chipmaker, cut its full-year profit forecast by 31 percent because of falling prices for flash memory and costs to withdraw from the HD DVD business.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Toshiba to pull plug and admit defeat in battle with Blu-ray

Sony is to declare victory in the bitter war for the next generation of DVDs, as talk intensifies that Toshiba is preparing to pull the plug on its rival format.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Tough-talking commissioner drives hard bargain with telcos

She has raised the hackles of European fixed and mobile telecoms operators by forcing them to slash call and message costs, but is the toast of Europe’s 500 million citizens who feel ripped off when they get their post-holiday phone bills or who live in border areas.
Publication date: 2008-10-09 more

Tourism sector needs to go site seeing

Ireland’s hospitality sector spends just 1pc of its marketing budget online and is now falling behind global standards.
Publication date: 2008-06-12 more

Toyota thinking needed to turbo charge a State in need of tune-up

COULD 'lean' business thinking - a strategy concept embraced religiously in organisations such as Toyota, where it was invented, and practiced by strong-performing companies like Intel and Ryanair - be the key to restoring Ireland's lost competitiveness?
Publication date: 2009-04-30 more

Trafigura tops list of Twitter trending topics

Trafigura, one of the world's largest oil traders, was the most used word on the micro-blogging website Twitter this morning.
Publication date: 2009-10-13 more

Trapattoni gets busy

GIOVANNI Trapattoni has been busy. The Irish boss put aside his World Cup woe and went back to work by targeting Andy Reid, Jamie O’Hara and Marc Wilson for some personal attention.
Publication date: 2009-12-07 more

Trust, authenticity and Twitter - welcoming you to politics 2.0

IF there is a general election in the near future, you can be guaranteed that social-media platforms such as Twitter will feature strongly in future political debate by ministers, journalists and campaigners. All will be judged by voters.
Publication date: 2009-10-22 more

Tullow executives strike it rich

While most Irish stocks have been taking a long and cold bath, Aidan Heavey's Tullow Oil has been soaring up towards the sun. For a company that once upon a time couldn't find its way out of a paper bag, Tullow now seems to be hitting gushers with every drill bit.
Publication date: 2008-05-18 more

Tune in for the major changes hitting the TV as we know it

TV3's head of online, Peter Clerkin, has transformed the broadcaster's website into a major 'catch-up TV' hub. He says that, with social media, 3D and the mobile-apps revolution, we ain't seen nothing yet
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Turn on, tune in, brownout

Chief technology officer for Nortel EMEA, Dave Quane (pictured), talks about the increase in high-definition video on the web and whether this demand will kill the network.
Publication date: 2008-05-22 more

TVC to sell stake in ChangingWorlds

Investment company TVC Holdings has agreed to sell its interest on ChangingWorlds an internet solutions company.
Publication date: 2008-11-06 more

Tweeting their way onto the airwaves

A year after Sky News unveiled a Twitter correspondent, a regional radio station has unveiled a TJ -- a Twitter Jockey.
Publication date: 2010-07-22 more

Twitter 'could build its own client'

One of the biggest investors in microblogging service Twitter has hinted that the company might release its own mobile and desktop clients, a move that could impact third-party developers.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Twitter 'Suggested User List' should die, says chief executive

Evan Williams, the chief executive of micro-blogging service Twitter, says it's time to kill the service’s controversial ‘Suggested User List’.
Publication date: 2009-10-21 more

Twitter and Facebook used to serve papers on Pirate Bay officials

The Dutch entertainment industry association -- Bescherming Rechten Entertainment Industrie Nederland -- is using Facebook and Twitter’s social networks to serve legal papers to the three principals associated with the Pirate Bay file-sharing Web site, the Swedish Wire news Web site reported yesterday.
Publication date: 2009-06-25 more

Twitter attack affects thousands of users

Twitter users have been warned not to click links in some tweets, after the microblogging service fell victim to its second phishing attack in a week.
Publication date: 2010-02-26 more

Twitter close to raising $100m, valuing microblogger at $1bn

Twitter, the microblogging website used by US President Barack Obama, is reported to be close to raising up to $100m of fresh capital, valuing the two-year-old business at $1bn (€681m).
Publication date: 2009-09-25 more

Twitter emerges as a powerful search engine

Micro-blogging site Twitter's real strengths lie in the area of real-time search. Iarflaith Kelly is the founder and CEO of WebStrong, which has created a technology to capture this space
Publication date: 2009-04-30 more

Twitter hits 10 billionth tweet

More than 10 billion messages have been sent through Twitter since the microblogging service launched in 2006
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Twitter hits two billion tweets a month

Twitter has hit two billion tweets per month, the microblogging website has announced.
Publication date: 2010-06-09 more

Twitter Japan to introduce micropayments

Twitter Japan is going to introduce paid for premium accounts from next January, according to local reports.
Publication date: 2009-11-30 more

Twitter launches new home page

Twitter, the internet phenomenon and microblogging service which allows users to send messages with a limit of 140 characters, has launched a new home page.
Publication date: 2009-07-29 more

Twitter launching 'official' Android app

Twitter has confirmed that it will be launching an 'official' Twitter application for Google Android devices.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Twitter to charge publishers

Twitter has announced that it will no longer allow third parties to pollute the Twitter stream with messages advertising products and services.
Publication date: 2010-05-25 more

Twitter to launch 'promoted tweets' in a bid to make money

Twitter is launching "promoted tweets" this evening, which will eventually see branded messages appear in user’s feeds from the likes of Virgin and Starbucks and marks the first official commercialisation of the site.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Twitter to launch new features

Twitter is launching a raft of new features that could rival the services offered by third-party applications, according to a tweet from one of the social network’s engineers.
Publication date: 2010-03-01 more

Twitter users send 50 million tweets per day

Almost 600 tweets are sent every second through the microblogging site, according to its own metrics
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Twitter's clever strategy

Trouble, it seems, is brewing in the Twitterverse. The microblogging site has ruffled the feathers of a developer community that has done so much to ensure its success.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Twitter's Evan Williams announces @Anywhere platform

Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter, has announced a new platform, called @Anywhere, in his keynote at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Two Kerrymen walk into an LA bar … and emerge as tech pioneers

Six years ago, in a bar somewhere in LA, Tony McManus from Ballyduff, Co Kerry was winding down after a long day at the office.
Publication date: 2008-11-20 more

U.K. to pass e-mail addresses of paedophiles to Facebook, Bebo

The U.K. government plans to pass the e-mail addresses of people convicted of sex-related offenses to social-networking Web sites as a way of protecting children from paedophiles, Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker said.
Publication date: 2008-04-05 more

U.S.-Swedish Carrier Spat 'Breaks' Net

President Bush famously spoke of "the Internets" in 2004. Well, they're here. Since March 13, customers of two large Internet providers, Cogent Communications Group Inc. and TeliaSonera AB are unable to contact each other through the Internet, unless they have backup connections from other companies. This means, for instance, that some U.S. Web sites hosted by Cogent customers are inaccessible to surfers in the Nordic countries, where Sweden-based TeliaSonera is the largest telecommunications operator. It's like Cogent and TeliaSonera customers are on different Internets. "Basically, parts of the Internet can't talk to each other," said Earl Zmijewski, general Manager of the Internet data division at Renesys Corp., which keeps track of how carriers route traffic over the Internet. It's not the first time this has happened: Now and then, Internet companies indulge in what Zmijewski calls playing "chicken." If they're fighting over a contract, they disconnect each other, and wait to see who blinks first. The number of irate customers each company faces will probably determine who does. David Schaeffer, chief executive of Washington-based Cogent, said the two companies had a "peering" contract, under which they exchanged traffic from each other's customers, with neither company paying the other for access. But TeliaSonera continuously breached the terms of the contract by not exchanging traffic in certain locations, and refusing to upgrade connections that were saturated, Schaeffer said. That forced Cogent traffic to take long detours, according to Schaeffer. For instance, it sometimes had to carry data from a Cogent customer in Europe across the Atlantic to the U.S., then hand it over to TeliaSonera, which carried it back across the Atlantic to its European destination. Cogent cut its direct links to TeliaSonera on March 13. For a while, customers of the two companies were still able to connect indirectly, through intermediaries connected to Cogent and TeliaSonera, but that...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

Ubisoft shares jump as video-game sales beat forecast

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Ubisoft Entertainment SA, Europe's second-largest video-game maker, jumped as much as 10 percent in Paris trading after saying fiscal 2008 sales and profit beat previous forecasts on games including ``Assassin's Creed.''
Publication date: 2008-04-01 more

UK defends plans for 'Big Brother' database

Plans to create a giant database of mobile phone and internet records have been unveiled by the UK government
Publication date: 2008-10-20 more

UK hospital staff suspended over Facebook 'lying down game' pictures

Seven accident and emergency staff have been suspended from the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wiltshire, after they allegedly played the 'lying down game' during a nightshift and posted photographs of the stunt on Facebook.
Publication date: 2009-09-09 more

UK police are given a get-out-of-jail card

Dublin firm Saadian has given 18 UK police forces a prisoner intelligence system and has generated €1m in revenue. Cliodhna McGurk is founder and CEO.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Under no illusion: the future of optics will be truly smart

Tessera develops tiny yet powerful optics that transform next-gen devices, providing technology to Samsung and Toshiba amongst others. Michael Bereziuk is executive VP of imaging and optics
Publication date: 2009-08-13 more

University Bans Vista SP1 Upgrades as Problems Continue

Microsoft's Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is hitting more bumps in the road and institutions are beginning to weigh in. As one example, the University of Pennsylvania's IT department has reportedly issued a bulletin to faculty and students not to update with SP1, at least for the time being. The department has said it will support users who have Vista with SP1 preinstalled, however. Major Driver Problems Drivers are becoming a major issue. One of the reasons Microsoft delayed SP1's release was because of problems with drivers. New reports indicate that, while the actual number of problematic drivers may be small, as Microsoft indicates, their impact is not. The drivers include those in a common Intel chipset, the 945G Express series, used in PCs from Gateway, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard and others. Microsoft has recommended that all drivers be updated before installing SP1. One central location for SP1 complaints, as well as some favorable comments, is Microsoft's Vista blog. A commenter called rikki-UK sarcastically described Microsoft as "GENIUS at work" because it released the update two days before a long holiday weekend, thus limiting access to support. According to rikki-UK, the company issued advice to some users to replace an Ethernet card or a router, even though the same hardware worked fine on XP machines. One user going by the name of bowlman posted Friday that he has had SP1 installed for two days and the "only problems" are that e-mail opens slower, Vista wants to do an error report when it closes, and the documents folder "wants to lock up and takes 10 minutes to close it down." Exorcist Needed? "Sometimes," posted a user called Microsoft News Tracker, "I think what Microsoft's Vista operating system really needs is an exorcist" because of the number of "unnatural occurrences plaguing it." Laura DiDio, an analyst with industry research firm Yankee Group, noted...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

University researchers: ‘We are hungry to help grow the economy’

SMEs who want to beat the recession should start talking R&D with their local colleges
Publication date: 2009-03-19 more

Upwardly mobile Hartnett quits Palm for 'exciting new venture'

John Hartnett (right), one of the top Irish technology executives in Silicon Valley, is stepping down as head of global sales with mobile technology group Palm.
Publication date: 2008-11-07 more

US Defense Department mimics Google, Microsoft in cloud computing

When the US Defense Department’s John Garing met Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. to learn about cloud computing, he liked what he saw. Enough to send him back to Washington ready to change how government technology works.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

US hotel WiFi hack attack could happen here

Global Secure Systems, an IT security consultancy, has warned that insecure WiFi systems installed at hotels could be hacked with embarrassing consequences, as has happened with the high-end Thompson hotel chain in the US.
Publication date: 2008-10-13 more

US seeking new rules to prevent blocking of net traffic

US Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski has proposed new rules aimed at ensuring that network operators treat the flow of internet content without discrimination.
Publication date: 2009-09-22 more

US senators demand Facebook privacy changes

Let users decide which websites their personal information is shared with, demand Democrats.
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

US tech firm creates 20 jobs in Galway

StreamServe, a leading provider of business communications solutions, is to establish an inside sales and customer care operation in Galway, creating 20 jobs, with the support of the Government through IDA Ireland.
Publication date: 2010-01-19 more

US woman sues Google 'after Maps directions caused accident'

An American woman, Lauren Rosenberg, is suing Google, the search engine giant, because she was hit by a car after following its "safe" online mapping service.
Publication date: 2010-06-02 more

Using laptops or iPads just before bed 'increases risk of insomnia'

Computer users should turn their laptop or Apple iPad off at least two hours before going to bed if they want a good night’s sleep, scientists say.
Publication date: 2010-05-17 more

Value of mortgages falls

THE value of residential mortgages fell by
Publication date: 2010-02-20 more

Verizon Reports P4P Can Slash P2P's Impact on ISPs

With the ongoing debate over Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent traffic as a backdrop, Verizon on Friday released a study that shows new technology can dramatically reduce the impact of peer-to-peer (P2P) systems on Internet service providers. Yale University and Pando Networks worked with Verizon and Telefonica to test so-called P4P technology, which localizes P2P downloads. The results: the impact of P2P on Verizon's network was reduced 50 percent. Current versions of P2P systems speed up downloads of large files by breaking the files into small bits and distributing them among users. When a BitTorrent user requests a file, machines all over the world respond by each sending off a little chunk of the file. But the software doesn't check where the machines are located. Localizing Traffic P4P works by favoring machines closer to the requesting user, which has an outsize impact on network efficiency because P2P packets represent a huge amount of the traffic that passes over an ISP's network. Verizon senior technologist Douglas Pasko reported that 58 percent of P2P traffic remained local with P4P, compared to six percent with plain P2P. On average, P4P cuts the number of hops traffic takes to a destination from an average 5.5 hops to a mere 0.89 hops, Pasko said. That means not only substantial cost savings to Verizon but also much faster downloads for users. Pasko said users of Verizon's all-fiber Fios network downloaded movies twice as fast as normally, and in some cases six times as fast. So will other ISPs jump on the P4P bandwagon to cut costs and deliver improved performance? It's not likely, said Cynthia Brumfield, president of Emerging Media Dynamics, in a telephone interview. "You have to really be able to allow outside platforms to know something about your subscribers," she said. To implement P4P, Verizon communicated this information with select...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Verizon, AT&T Are Big Winners in FCC Auction

The Federal Communications Commission auction for the 700-MHz wireless spectrum is over, and the winners are known. One obvious winner is the FCC itself, which exceeded its initial estimate of $10 billion with a $19.59 billion total. Among the bidders, Verizon Wireless and AT&T won big portions of the available spectrum, which is being vacated as U.S. television stations move to digital transmission. Google a Big Winner, Too Verizon took 108 licenses for $9.6 billion, and AT&T bagged 227 for $6.6 billion. Observers say Verizon's purchases will help it narrow a gap in coverage as it competes with AT&T. One potentially big winner is Google, even though it didn't win any bids. It bid $4.7 billion for the C-block frequencies, which triggered an auction requirement that any third-party compatible device or software must be able to operate on the bandwidth. That was one of the open-network provisions that Google, as head of an alliance of consumer organizations and businesses, was able to have adopted by the FCC. Verizon, which backed an open-network position shortly before the auction, bought the C-block license. Dish Network took 168 wireless licenses for $711 million, although it was not immediately apparent what it intends to do with them. Some observers are speculating it might be for a video service of some kind, but the company is prohibited from discussing its plans until it makes the down payment on April 3. One setback for the FCC was the auction of the upper 700-MHz D block. Earlier this week, the agency separated that block from the rest of the auction and said it will "consider its options for how to license this spectrum," since bids did not meet the $1.3 billion minimum. The D block was established to create a public-private partnership that would guarantee public-safety agencies bandwidth access in emergencies. Impact on Consumers The...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

Video calling: Webcams are a welcome sight for sore ears

Seen it? Heard it? Video-calling is hard to avoid and new webcams and services are making it easier to keep in touch.
Publication date: 2009-08-07 more

Video: Irish student invents 'best thing since Sellotape'

An Irish art student based in a warehouse in east London has invented a product already being described as the best thing since Sellotape and Blu-Tack.
Publication date: 2009-12-01 more

Viewers will call the shots in TV revolution

Ireland is emerging as a force in the evolution of home entertainment, where viewers can be their own producers
Publication date: 2008-06-19 more

Vincent Hogan: Deise-Rebel rivalryone of pure poetry

It should go down as Waterford's decade, albeit the loudest thunder peeled around the story of Cork's strike and redemption.The beauty came in the moments of intersection, when the two collided to toss fireworks at the Heavens. The pick of their games was probably the coruscating '04 Munster final in Thurles, though '03 (remember John Mullane's three goals) wasn't exactly humdrum either. To the end, their meetings were routinely epochal, even dipping outside the province to light up Croke Park with that replayed All-Ireland quarter-final of '07 or, indeed, the nerve-tingling semi of '06. The main gift the rivalry gave us was a habit of always eliciting something resembling a spectacle, of giving primacy to freedom of expression on hot summer days. Cork and Waterford took hurling to a place where tactics became secondary to the sweet and simple joy of hurling at full pelt.We didn't see it coming either. When Gerald McCarthy walked away from Waterford after the '01 Championship, there was easy consensus that he had taken them as far as they were destined to travel. One year later, Cork would rebel against their own county board and initiate the first players' strike in GAA history.unravellingIn both instances, the danger of a group of outstanding players unravelling and slipping away into oblivion was real and urgent.Maybe it was hurling's good fortune then that Justin McCarthy and Donal O'Grady stepped into the respective dressing-rooms. McCarthy took over in Waterford and, within 12 months, they were Munster champions. He had roomed with Gerald as a Cork minor in 1963, ironically the last time Waterford were kings of the province.O'Grady, meanwhile, was the players' choice to replace Bertie Og Murphy in Cork. Murphy had been an innocent victim of the players' war with their county board and would have been pretty hamstrung as a dispirited group fell heavily to Galway in the second round of All-Ireland qualifiers, having already been evicted from Munster. This wasn't a good time for Cork hurling.Since winning the Munster final of '00, they'd now lost four of their last five senior Championship games. O'Grady was stepping into a difficult place then. Yet, within six months, Cork would be the best-prepared team in the country. Three of the next four Munsters titles would fall their way, supplemented by two All-Irelands. They would play Kilkenny in three All-Ireland finals between '03 and '06. Yet, it was their rivalry with Waterford, the sense of two teams casting all inhibition aside and just shooting for the stars that gave Munster an electric glow. Where Tipp-Clare had been full of edge and enmity in the 90s, this rivalry carried the game to a higher realm.Brian Corcoran wrote thus of Cork-Waterford in his autobiography: "It's always been epic and it's always been a game of ball; there's hardly been any messing. It comes down to this. We believe we're a better team than they are and they believe they're a better team than us.power"So, when we meet, it's a case of let's just play and show who's the better hurling team. The odd time, they win. Most of the time, we win. Always, hurling wins. If we're Ali, then they're our Frazier."Corcoran might not like reminding today that, as the decade closes, Cork have lost four of their last six Championship meetings with Waterford. The balance of power has swung. Tipp have, to a degree, been the enigma of the decade. A flawless year under Nicky English brought every bauble possible to the Premier County in '01, yet it took them seven years to add another Munster. Still, they've won the last two and will be short odds to keep on moving forward next summer. Limerick and Clare have both drawn blanks this decade and, if the latter's U-21 All-Ireland win in '09 augers well, the former won't be slow to remind them that three such victories in a row didn't preface a single senior triumph for them. Maybe the minor figures are most sobering. Between them, Tipp and Cork have won all but one of the Munster minor titles on offer this decade. The old oligarchs still stockpile whilst others equivocate. Limerick represent the biggest worry. Since winning that third consecutive U-21 All-Ireland crown in '02, the sum total of trophies won by the county is ZERO. A generation has been lost and the county isn't exactly wintering well as we speak. The senior arithmetic is narrow in Munster for the decade too with Cork (four), Tipperary (three) and Waterford (three) dominating the honours board. Only Waterford's figures rippling with romance.
Publication date: 2009-12-29 more

Violent tramp video game provokes controversy in France

A new online video game in which users are invited to be tramps and steal and fight their way to success has provoked controversy in France, with its makers accused of stoking prejudice against homeless people.
Publication date: 2009-09-01 more

Virtualisation means no more bare metal cheek

Employing 80 people in Dublin, Citrix’s $607m acquisition of XenSource is key to it becoming a $5bn-a-year IT giant. John Glendenning is European server virtualisation vice-president at Citrix.
Publication date: 2008-04-05 more

Vista SP1 Updaters Report Problems, Successes

Rarely has a service pack received as much attention as SP1 for Microsoft's Windows Vista, officially released Tuesday. And while some users are reporting smooth installation and better performance, many are reporting problems. Vista SP1 was completed in early February, correcting a variety of bugs or performance issues in the Vista operating system. Shortly after its completion, it was shipped to computer makers, beta testers, big customers and subscribers to Microsoft's TechNet and Developer Network services. The software giant had said the full release of SP1 was delayed because of problems with some hardware-device drivers, and it needed time to provide new drivers or to block systems with bad drivers from installing SP1. Available Manually A notice on the Windows Vista blog Tuesday reported that it is now available through Windows Update -- if the user opens Windows Update and selects SP1. But if automatic downloading and installation through Windows Update is preferred, a user will need to wait until mid-April. SP1 is also beginning to be available through retailers. Regardless of the method to obtain SP1, updaters are reporting both problems and successful fixes. A poster named huddy reported on a bit-tech.net forum that, after installing SP1, his X-F1 sound card caused his computer to crash. "At least neighbors are happy," he reported. Another user, moshpit, said his post-SP1 computer now "runs butter smooth and has been problem-free," while someone named Akava said there were problems just downloading SP1. Even the Vista blog has reports of problems. A user named butters286 said that, after the SP1 installation, there's now no sound and the DVD drive doesn't work. A commenter named SeppDietrich said that installing SP1 was not, "in retrospect, my finest decision," calling it "a disaster" with all the Nvidia drivers being exiled to "the Bermuda Triangle" -- that is, vanished. Afterward, SeppDietrich...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Vodafone boss predicts a golden age for gadgets as mobile takes to the cloud

THE view from Charles Butterworth's Sandyford office reminds me of one of those Chinese wall prints that tell a story.
Publication date: 2009-06-25 more

Vodafone set to enter fixed-line business market

Next week, Ireland’s largest mobile player, Vodafone, will enter the business fixed-line telecoms and broadband market. Anne O’Leary is director of business and enterprise at Vodafone
Publication date: 2009-02-26 more

Vodafone to sell iPhone in UK and Ireland from 2010

Vodafone will sell Apple’s iPhone in the UK and Ireland from early 2010 as the exclusive contract of rival O2 for the popular handset ends.
Publication date: 2009-09-29 more

Wallace & Gromit: A World of Cracking Ideas

Take the lift up two floors at the Science Museum, go through some doors and a feeling of déjà vu envelops you. You have (surely?) been here before.
Publication date: 2009-04-01 more

We need to nurture the innovation economy, says Microsoft Ireland boss

There are two things occupying the minds of workers in Ireland today: the plight of fellow workers who have lost their jobs, and their own fate in light of the worsening economic situation.
Publication date: 2009-02-26 more

We will spy on your teen's website for you

Irish parents are the best in Europe at monitoring their kids on the internet. However, their kids are the least likely of all European children to turn to mum or dad for advice when something happens to them online.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

Web addiction: can this man survive two days without the internet?

This month's award for stating the bloody obvious goes to researchers in Leeds who have discovered a link between internet use and stress. The longer you spend online, they found, the higher your stress levels.
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Web could run out of addresses next year, warn web experts

Businesses urgently need to upgrade to IPv6, a new version of the internet's addressing protocol that will hugely increase the number of available addresses.
Publication date: 2009-11-03 more

Web pioneer: new media will help save traditional media

As Ireland's first ISP with Ireland Online and the first online advertiser in 1996, Colm Grealy of Digital Reach Group believes the onset of the iPad and quick response codes herald a strong future for traditional media
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Web, mobile and Facebook are the new trade routes for Irish business

FIRMS that don't have an online strategy at the heart of their business plan will find that the new routes to market in the 21st century will be closed to them.
Publication date: 2009-05-21 more

Website is a 'one stop shop for burglars'

The founders of a website, PleaseRobMe.com, which provides real-time updates on empty homes locations are "irresponsible" for providing a "one stop shop" for burglars, privacy campaigners say.
Publication date: 2010-02-19 more

Wells Fargo Offers Online Safe-Deposit Box

If you're security minded, you might keep your important paper documents in a safe-deposit box at your local bank. If those documents are digital, you can keep them in a virtual safe-deposit box so that they're not only secure, but also available from anywhere. Wells Fargo Bank will soon offer its retail banking customers a personal online safe-deposit box that it calls "a natural extension" of the company's 156-year security legacy. The Wells Fargo vSafe service is the first online storage solution offered by a financial services company, according to Katherine McGee, senior vice president of Wells Fargo's Internet Services Group. Like other online storage solutions, vSafe offers accessibility from any computer with an Internet connection. Documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, and even media files can be stored. McGee told us that the bank did extensive research with its consumer and small-business customers and honed the product to match their needs. The offering is integrated with the Wells Fargo Online Banking service so that customers can have account statements automatically added each month "It's secure online storage with an easy-to-use interface built for customers based on their needs," she said. The company offers a set of boilerplate folders to help customers get started quickly; there's also an option to create unique folders and subfolders. McGee said that online forms simplify the procedure of consolidating data from a plethora of sticky notes into one safe place (such as a PDF document). Users can add folders and upload files from any computer. Security a Priority With sensitive documents being uploaded and stored, security is naturally a priority to customers. According to McGee, vSafe "offers secure storage, and it's available through the Wells Fargo online banking session, so we leverage all the security we use for online banking," as well as additional measures that encrypt information as it crosses the Internet...
Publication date: 2008-03-23 more

What a poser A robot that thinks it's human

KOBIAN, a "humanoid" robot which can express seven human emotions, has been unveiled by researchers at Waseda University in Japan.
Publication date: 2009-06-24 more

What a poser: A robot that thinks it's human

KOBIAN, a "humanoid" robot which can express seven human emotions, has been unveiled by researchers at Waseda University in Japan.
Publication date: 2009-06-24 more

What is Nokia playing at?

This year represents a shift in focus for Nokia, first with the introduction of ‘Comes with Music’, a new subscription service offering unlimited music downloads and now with N-Gage, which launches officially in early 2008.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

What is the funding future for Irish-based start-ups?

In the US, venture-capital funding has fallen by 71pc and the same can be expected here. Fergus Bolster is partner in the corporate and commercial department at Matheson Ormsby Prentice.
Publication date: 2009-01-29 more

What is Wikileaks?

It has just released confidential documents that shed light on the war in Afghanistan, but how has Wikileaks become one of the most important whistle-blowing sites on the web?
Publication date: 2010-07-26 more

What the web is teaching our brains

Most of us in the developed world now have relationships with computers - and access to information and entertainment - that we could not have dreamt about even a decade or so ago. We spend our days sifting emails and browsing the internet, then relax by tweeting or networking online and playing computer games, sometimes all at the same time.
Publication date: 2009-11-24 more

What your web browser says about you

Soon after Google released its Chrome web browser in 2008, the company's marketing team took a video camera to the streets of Manhattan to ask passers-by what they thought a browser actually was.
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

What's the point of Twitter Peek?

There's lots of coverage on the internet today for a new device that has gone on sale in the US -- the Twitter Peek.
Publication date: 2009-11-04 more

Whatever happened to those fabulous techie dreams?

The launch yesterday of Apple's new iPad -- the all-singing, all-dancing gizmo that's expected to change computing forever -- has led many people to claim that we're finally catching up with the visions of the future laid out in science fiction.
Publication date: 2010-01-28 more

When the Net is just too good to be true

Heard the one about the steam-powered android who fought in the trenches during the First World War and later helped explore the Antarctic? Unveiled at the 1893 Chicago Worlds Fair, Boilerplate the robot was an overnight celebrity: presidents and tycoons clamoured to shake his hand; newspapers chronicled his every endeavour.
Publication date: 2008-10-17 more

Who owns your e-book?

Justin Gawronski, a 17-year-old American student living outside Detroit, had spent several weeks studying George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four when, one morning last July, Amazon ate his homework.
Publication date: 2010-01-06 more

Why Apple can't control its Chinese factories

While Apple is to be applauded for auditing its suppliers in an attempt to identify poor working conditions, its suppliers are so powerful that Apple can't effect real change - and nor can any other tech company.
Publication date: 2010-03-08 more

Why are video games so expensive?

Long before they see the "game over" screen, Xbox, Wii and PlayStation fans have already taken a big blow – to their wallets. The average price of console games makes them seem an exorbitant luxury in these recession-hit times, although the industry that creates these technological marvels tends to disagree.
Publication date: 2009-03-25 more

Why don’t we do digital dinner?

Some may ask that if male bias is a problem in the tech sector, why widen the chasm by creating a girls-only club?
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Why everyone is going, going, gone - to eBay

Last week, eBay announced that over 24,000 savvy Irish households are making as much as €10 a week from selling on the Irish auction site.
Publication date: 2009-03-19 more

Why everyone wants to be Twitter's friend

Twitter was the star of the show at the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco, with Microsoft and Google clamouring to strike a deal with the hottest property on the web.
Publication date: 2009-10-23 more

Why I'd prefer to be poked on Facebook than blog on Bebo

OMG! Just two years after it was sold for close to $1bn, social networking site Bebo looks set to log off for good following a catastrophic collapse in its membership in the face of competition from its more zeitgeisty rivals Facebook and Twitter.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Why Lisbon Treaty vote has mobilised Ireland's tech multinational leaders

Ireland's relationship with Europe is often central to swinging foreign direct investment decisions
Publication date: 2009-08-27 more

Why the world is suddenly all a-twitter

IT WAS established as a communication tool for geeks and now counts showbusiness stars and the American President among its users.
Publication date: 2009-01-28 more

Wi-fidelity as smartphones tie users closer to web experience

Ireland's oldest Wi-Fi hotspot provider Bitbuzz is six years old next week, and has more than 5,000 access points in 201 locations. Shane Deasy is managing director
Publication date: 2009-08-27 more

Wii: More than just a game

Believe it or not, a Wii handset can help with everything from making music to cleaning the house
Publication date: 2008-05-01 more

Wikileaks reaches funding target

WikiLeaks, the whistleblowing site that hosts leaked documents, has taken a step towards becoming fully operational.
Publication date: 2010-02-04 more

Wikipedia ends unrestricted editing of articles

Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia which can be amended by anyone, has introduced new measures that mean changes made to the pages of living people will have to be approved before they can be published.
Publication date: 2009-08-26 more

Wikipedia project 'losing contributors in record numbers'

Wikipedia is losing tens of thousands of volunteer editors a month, according to a study that suggests the pioneering spirit of the collaborative encyclopaedia is in decline.
Publication date: 2009-11-25 more

Wikipedia reaches three million articles

The English version of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, has received its three millionth article.
Publication date: 2009-08-17 more

Will BlackBerry boldly beat off ‘killer’ iPhone in competitive business market?

BlackBerry and Palm’s dominance of the business market is to be tested
Publication date: 2008-08-28 more

Will Google Wave topple the email status quo and change the way we work?

A LITTLE over two weeks ago, the folks at Google began rolling out a preview version of a new web tool known as Wave to a limited 100,000 users. With mixed reviews, it has been labelled everything from "game-changing" to "unremarkable".
Publication date: 2009-10-15 more

Win an Xbox 360

Next week sees the return of everyone's favourite super-agents in Crackdown 2. It's time to clean up Pacific City again by any means necessary in the sequel to the free-roaming epic on Xbox 360.
Publication date: 2010-06-29 more

Windows 7 'free for first 120 days'

Computer users will be able to run Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 7, free for four months before having to purchase the product.
Publication date: 2009-08-21 more

Windows 7 fuels Microsoft growth

Microsoft’s new Windows 7 software fueled a surge in profit and revenue last quarter, making up for a lingering slump in the rest of its business.
Publication date: 2010-01-29 more

Windows 8 - coming soon?

Microsoft’s marketing campaign for Windows 8 appears to have begun – the company briefly published a blog on msdn.com, and then took it down almost immediately.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

With 100Mbps broadband, how fast is fast? Seriously?

UPC reveals that 100Mbps broadband will be available to over 500,000 Irish homes by late summer, enabling consumers to download an entire iTunes album in five seconds. Mark Coan is sales and marketing manager at UPC
Publication date: 2010-05-06 more

Woman arrested for killing online husband

Police have netted their first case involving online murder
Publication date: 2008-10-24 more

Woman found guilty of misdemeanor in MySpace trial

A Missouri woman was found guilty of misdemeanor computer fraud for posing as a teenage boy on News Corp.’s MySpace Web site and acquitted of more serious charges she did so to harm a 13-year-old girl who later killed herself.
Publication date: 2008-11-28 more

Work is something you do, no longer a place you go

The Travel disruptions in the past year have introduced Irish businesses to the real benefits of mobile working and unified communications. Mary Bradshaw is the managing director at Damovo
Publication date: 2010-08-05 more

Workers flout rules over internet usage

Three-quarters of employees with internet access flout company rules by surfing the web for personal use. A new survey reveals that workers are spending as much as an hour a day online at their jobs taking care of personal business.
Publication date: 2008-04-16 more

World Cup in 3D

This year's football World Cup will be broadcast in 3 dimensions, allowing viewers to watch the ball as if it were flying out of the screen.
Publication date: 2010-01-06 more

World's first 3D camera unveiled

The world's first 3D camera and printing service was launched on Tuesday.
Publication date: 2010-08-17 more

Xbox queen says it’s ‘game on’ for a nation of gamers

Xbox Live is set to increase the number of movies Irish people can download from 40 to 400. Orla Sheridan is country manager at Microsoft Ireland's entertainment and devices division.
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

Xbox to focus on social gaming

Microsoft Corp. will add new features to its Xbox Live online network, including games that let users put themselves in cartoon-like videos, in a bid to attract a broader audience.
Publication date: 2008-07-16 more

Yahoo 'damaged goods' after Yang fails to revive Microsoft deal

Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang's five-month conflict with Microsoft Corp. ended yesterday. The outcome may not be good for him or the Internet company's investors.
Publication date: 2008-06-13 more

Yahoo and Microsoft agree search ad deal

Microsoft and Yahoo! have agreed to collaborate on Internet search and online advertising, creating a united front to challenge Google.
Publication date: 2009-07-29 more

Yahoo drops on disappointment over Microsoft deal

Yahoo! fell 12pc, the biggest drop since November, after terms of an Internet-search accord with Microsoft were less favorable than analysts predicted.
Publication date: 2009-07-30 more

Yahoo introducing two e-mail domains to lure users

Yahoo Inc., operator of the most popular Web e-mail program the U.S., is introducing two new domains so users can choose names already taken on the main site.
Publication date: 2008-06-21 more

Yahoo lets music site’s users add content from iTunes

Yahoo’s music service is expanding its artist pages to include content and commercial offerings from across the web, including Apple’s iTunes and Google Inc.’s YouTube.
Publication date: 2009-04-07 more

Yahoo lines up a date in August for showdown with Carl Icahn

Yahoo! has set August 1 as the date for its shareholder meeting, starting the countdown to an epic battle with billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Publication date: 2008-06-05 more

Yahoo Releases Rosy Forecast

Yahoo Inc. has released a rosy outlook for the next two years, hoping to give investors a better understanding of why the Internet pioneer isn't willing to sell to Microsoft Corp. unless its suitor raises its bid above $45 billion (EU28.5 billion). Analysts interpreted Tuesday's unscheduled disclosure of Yahoo's internal projections as a sign that the Sunnyvale-based company's attempts to find an alternative deal to Microsoft's 6 1/2-week-old offer aren't bearing fruit. With its options narrowing, Yahoo appears determined to remain independent unless Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft boosts its unsolicited bid, originally valued at $44.6 billion (EU28.28 billion), or $31 (EU19.66) per share. Microsoft so far hasn't wavered from the offer, which it has described as fair. But the two sides signaled they might be ready to negotiate last week when senior executives from Yahoo and Microsoft held their first face-to-face meeting in Silicon Valley. No investment bankers attended that icebreaker. Stanford Group analyst Clayton Moran called the release of Yahoo's revenue forecasts through 2010 "another step in the public negotiation between these two companies. We believe this deal is turning friendly." Yahoo's move appeared to hearten investors as the company's shares rose $1.70 (EU1.08), nearly 7 percent, to $27.55 (EU17.47) during Tuesday's afternoon trading. As the company warned in late January just before Microsoft made its bid, Yahoo has modest growth expectations this year after a streak of declining profits in 2006 and 2007. Yahoo still anticipates its revenue, after subtracting advertising commissions, to total $5.7 billion (EU3.61 billion) this year, in line with analyst expectations. But Yahoo assured investors its plans to grab a bigger piece of the online advertising market will kick into high gear after this year, with revenue climbing by about 25 percent in 2009 and 2010. By 2010, Yahoo projects its revenue, after ad commissions, will total about $8.8 billion (EU5.58 billion),...
Publication date: 2008-03-19 more

Yahoo reveals demo of 'searchpad' product

YAHOO is testing a new 'searchpad' to help users automatically save notes and links to sites visited on its search engine.
Publication date: 2009-02-06 more

Yahoo rises after fourth-quarter sales top estimates

Yahoo rose 3.8pc in late trading yesterday after reporting fourth-quarter sales that topped analysts’ estimates.
Publication date: 2010-01-27 more

Yahoo secures rights to show Premier League highlights online

Yahoo has landed a deal to show Premier League highlights over the internet, following a competitive auction in which it outbid current rights holder Virgin Media.
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Yahoo shares drop after Yang's new deal

Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang's five-month conflict with Microsoft ended at the wekkend, but the outcome may not be good for him or for the internet company's investors.
Publication date: 2008-06-16 more

Yahoo spent $79 Million last year for advisers on Microsoft

Yahoo! Inc., owner of the second most used search engine in the U.S., spent $79 million (€62 million) in 2008 for outside advisers related to Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition bid and a failed partnership with Google Inc.
Publication date: 2009-03-02 more

Yahoo to cut global workforce 5pc as ad sales fall

YAHOO, the US internet company which employs about 600 people at its Irish operations in Dublin, said it plans to cut about 5pc of its workforce.
Publication date: 2009-04-23 more

Yahoo! 'signs' real time search deal with OneRiot

Yahoo! is understood to have signed a search deal with real-time search engine OneRiot, in a bid not to be left behind the likes of Google and Microsoft, which signed similar deals last week with Twitter.
Publication date: 2009-10-28 more

Yahoo! and Microsoft search deal delayed until 2010

Yahoo! and Microsoft’s search deal has been delayed and will not be competed until "early 2010".
Publication date: 2009-11-03 more

Yahoo! defends strategy to shareholders

Yahoo! Inc., battling billionaire investor Carl Icahn for control of its board, told shareholders that a partnership with Google Inc. was a better choice than a deal with Microsoft Corp.
Publication date: 2008-07-01 more

Yahoo! goes full circle as shares drop to pre-Microsoft bid levels

SHARES in Yahoo! plunged below the $20 (€12.6) mark earlier this week, coming close to its trading level before Microsoft launched its failed buyout attempt in February.
Publication date: 2008-07-03 more

Yahoo! revamps home page with Twitter and Facebook integration

Web giant Yahoo! has redesigned its home page to make it easier for users to access content from across the internet, including the latest news headlines and their Twitter and Facebook profiles.
Publication date: 2009-07-21 more

Yahoo! stock plunges after Microsoft about-turn

Yahoo! fell the most in almost two years on the Nasdaq yesterday after Microsoft abandoned its $44.6bn takeover of the internet search company because executives couldn't agree on a price.
Publication date: 2008-05-06 more

Yahoo!'s Carol Bartz fires missive as Carl Icahn reduces stake

Yahoo! chief executive Carol Bartz has ordered her staff to stop debating the merits of the company's landmark search and advertising deal with Microsoft.
Publication date: 2009-09-02 more

Yahoo, fighting Microsoft, agrees to test Google ads

Yahoo! Inc., seeking to scuttle Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion acquisition bid, plans to run some Internet search advertisements from Google Inc. as a way to resuscitate revenue growth.
Publication date: 2008-04-10 more

Yes, minister. The people have tweeted; it's social media

Twitter was vital to President Barack Obama's election campaign and is now a tool of choice, particularly among UK politicians. Alberto Nardelli is the co-founder of Tweetminister.co.uk
Publication date: 2009-10-15 more

You can always count on the web for answers

Young tech entrepreneur Aodhan Cullen talks about the growth of his global web analytics firm StatCounter and how the iPhone is faring as a web browser
Publication date: 2008-03-27 more

You want to find Ireland's answer to Google or Facebook? You're looking at it

The internet is slowing down, but Irish company Intune Networks has the solution to a global problem
Publication date: 2009-10-01 more

You won't believe your ears

In a swish recording studio deep within the bowels of the Abbey Road complex in north-west London, the play button is solemnly depressed on a shiny, tiny, all-in-one £70 stereo system.
Publication date: 2008-08-06 more

You’re a PC, not a Mac: Gates bans family from using iPods

Most would expect the children of the world's third richest man to have grown up spoilt by a constant supply of the very latest in cutting-edge gadgets. But yesterday it emerged that the offspring of Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates, are forbidden from owning the planet's number one gadget – the iPod.
Publication date: 2009-03-04 more

YouTube 'plans streaming movie rental service'

YouTube is in talks with the major film studios about streaming movie rentals in the US, according to reports.
Publication date: 2009-09-03 more

YouTube adds full length TV shows

YouTube has launched a new section of its site dedicated to playing full length episodes from popular series such as Channel 4’s Peep Show and Hollyoaks.
Publication date: 2009-11-20 more

YouTube adds movies on demand

Video service YouTube is adding more than 400 full-length films and starting a new movie category that it ‘hopes will grow in time’
Publication date: 2010-08-27 more

YouTube adds video captions

English-language video clips will be captioned automatically, in a move designed to make the site more accessible for the deaf or hearing-impaired.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

YouTube blocked in China over disputed video

YouTube, the video-sharing Web site owned by Google, is inaccessible in China for at least a second day, about a year after the country limited access to the site following protests in Tibet.
Publication date: 2009-03-25 more

YouTube blocks music videos in U.K.

YouTube, the video-sharing Web site owned by Google Inc., is blocking users’ access to music videos in the U.K. after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with a songwriters’ organization.
Publication date: 2009-03-10 more

YouTube blocks music videos in U.K. over fee dispute

YouTube, the video-sharing Web site owned by Google Inc., is blocking users’ access to music videos in the U.K. after failing to reach a new licensing agreement with a songwriters’ organization.
Publication date: 2009-03-10 more

YouTube considers subscription model

YouTube is considering introducing a subscription model to allow access to certain films and popular TV shows.
Publication date: 2010-01-06 more

YouTube didn

Google’s YouTube didn’t violate Viacom copyrights when content including clips from its MTV and Comedy Central cable television channels were posted on the video-sharing website, a judge ruled.
Publication date: 2010-06-24 more

YouTube discussing possible music web site with Universal

YouTube, the video-sharing Web site owned by Google, is in talks with Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group to create an online music Web site, two people familiar with the situation said yesterday.
Publication date: 2009-03-05 more

YouTube hits one billion views a day

YouTube is now serving over one billion views per day as it celebrates the third anniversary of being acquired by Google.
Publication date: 2009-10-10 more

YouTube hits two billion views a day

YouTube has exceeded two billions views a day as it celebrates the fifth anniversary since first launching in beta in 2005.
Publication date: 2010-05-18 more

YouTube launches citizen journalism channel

YouTube has launched YouTube Direct, a dedicated channel for citizen journalism, in an attempt to better connect news organisations with user generated content.
Publication date: 2009-11-18 more

YouTube launches new mobile site

New YouTube mobile site offers faster browsing, better quality videos and is built on HTML5
Publication date: 2010-08-24 more

YouTube seals UK music rights deal

After more than nine months of bitter wrangling, YouTube has agreed a licensing deal with British songwriters that will see thousands of music videos return to the online video site.
Publication date: 2009-09-03 more

YouTube to sign landmark content deal with Channel 4

YouTube and Channel 4 are on the brink of signing a landmark content deal which will see the majority of the broadcaster’s content hosted in full on the video sharing site.
Publication date: 2009-10-09 more

YouTube wants video creators to make money

YouTube is giving all amateur video-makers the chance to profit from their 15 minutes of internet fame.
Publication date: 2009-08-26 more

Zettabytes overtake petabytes as largest unit of digital measurement

The size of the "digital universe" will swell so rapidly this year that a new unit – the zettabyte – has been invented to measure it.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Zippy space-opera with mass appeal

Mass Effect 2, X360/PC
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Zoho Launches Web-Based HR Freeware

Running your small business just got a little easier. Zoho, which already offers a host of free software-as-a-service applications, has launched a beta of Zoho People, a human-resources management tool. Aimed at small and midsize businesses, Zoho People offers a range of HR functions that include everything from defining organizational structure to recruiting new workers. It's designed for companies with more than 30 employees -- the size at which keeping tabs on employees in ad hoc ways (such as Excel spreadsheets) becomes unmanageable, according to a blog on the Zoho site. Zoho already offers a suite of free Web 2.0 tools that compete with big-name Web applications, such as Google Apps. At the Zoho Web site, small-business owners can find integrated word processing, presentation, meeting and project-management tools. Most are free, though the company does offer some fee-based versions (for example, the Zoho CRM solution is free only for the first three users; after that, it costs $12 per month). Made for Non-Geeks Like the other Zoho applications, Zoho People is user friendly rather than tech-centric. For example, there are 28 premade forms (such as expense reports), but if you need to add or change some of a form's fields, you don't have to call in a programmer; instead, you can open another tool, Zoho Creator, and customize the form simply by dragging and dropping. HR managers can restrict access to forms and customization tools. So employees can find the forms they need and update personal information, but not gain access to compensation or other private data. In addition to forms, Zoho People has modules for recruitment, checklists, organization, self-service, and roles and permissions. Some of them are available only to an administrator, who can set access parameters for different modules. Safeguarding Your Data Though convenient, Web applications such as Zoho raise the...
Publication date: 2008-03-14 more

Zuckerberg says Facebook is getting 'privacy right on the whole'

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s founder and chief executive, has said he believes the company has got its privacy settings right "on the whole".
Publication date: 2010-06-03 more