A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
E-learning for schools starts
Enovation Solutions, the Irish company that has had significant success selling open-source e-learning systems to third-level institutions, has launched a "teaching and learning framework" for secondary schools.
Integrating several open-source products with software developed by Enovation, it provides an e-learning environment, content management system for a school website and administrative tools such as attendance tracking, timetable management and disciplinary records. Portmarnock Community School is the first customer for the framework and assistant principal Donal O'Mahony said it would "promote enhanced learning possibilities among all students and of course offer extra benefits to those with special learning needs".
Linux car last place in race
There was disappointment for a group of Linux fans who teamed together to sponsor a car in the Indianapolis 500 race which was run last weekend.
The open-source enthusiasts had hoped to make the operating system a household name through their sponsorship, but the Linux car was the first to crash.
Data company at web summit
Irish Web 2.0 company PutPlace is one of 20 international companies selected to present in the Startup Arena at the Next Web Conference, which takes place in Amsterdam today.
The company, which recently moved into a public beta of its service to help consumers manage online data, will demonstrate its wares to high-profile investors and internet executives.
Irish iTunes store opens
It has been a busy week for Apple. Irish music fans can now purchase high-quality MP3s from EMI artists from the iTunes store, following the announcement of the deal in March. iTunes Plus provides high-quality versions of tracks by artists including Coldplay, the Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra and Pink Floyd. Apple has also introduced iTunes U, a service that provides lectures and other content from leading US universities like Stanford University, UC Berkeley, Duke University and MIT.
For those who don't get enough of YouTube while at work, Apple said that from the middle of this month, its Apple TV set-top box will wirelessly stream videos directly from the popular Google service and play them on a user's widescreen TV. However, it also emerged in The Irish Times this week that the Dublin-based European Consumer Centre has had a significant increase in complaints about the US computer maker.
CBS buys music site for $280m
The similarities between the original dotcom boom and the current wave of interest in Web 2.0 companies was underlined this week with two major acquisitions of companies with minimal revenues but large user bases. US media giant CBS paid $280 million (€208.28 million) in cash for Last.fm, a London-based social music network which has 15 million active users.
Not to be outdone, eBay spent €75 million (€55.8 million) on StumbleUpon, a Canadian start-up that recommends websites based on users' preferences.
Web 'exciting' for advertisers
Many advertisers are still struggling with the fact that teenagers and young adults spend more time at their PCs and mobile phones than watching TV or reading newspapers. But Jessica Greenwood, staff writer with Contagious Magazine, believes it is an exciting time for the industry. Speaking at a breakfast briefing organised by Cawley Nea/TBWA, Ms Greenwood talked about the era of "radical transparency" that the internet has createdand the challenges and opportunities it presents for the
