Other personal finance news in brief
New super-thin cable designed by Irish firm
Monster, the world's biggest manufacturer of cables for consumer electronics, this week launched its new line of "powered" super-thin high-definition cables which have been made possible using chips designed by Irish firm RedMere. Available in four, eight and 16ft versions, the cables are considerably lighter and thinner than standard HDMI cables, making them suitable for portable use with cameras.
The cables are made possible because RedMere's MagnifEye Active technology boosts the signal strength within the cable without the need for an external power source.
Bing gains search engine market share
Microsoft's Bing search engine won more market share from rivals last week, according to new industry data, but still trails Google and Yahoo.
Challenging market leader Google - which in turn is looking to break into Microsoft's core software market is a long-term project, said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.
"We have had some very good initial response," Mr Ballmer said at a conference in Detroit. "I don't want to over-set expectations. We are going to have to be tenacious and keep up the pace of innovation over a long period of time." Microsoft grabbed 12.1 per cent of US Internet searches for the week June 8th-12th, according to data released by industry tracker comScore. - (Reuters)
Broadband rural rollout by Q3 2010
Mobile phone operator 3 Ireland, the company which won the tender to provide broadband coverage in rural areas under the National Broadband Scheme, has said the roll-out of broadband will be complete by the third quarter of 2010.
Speaking at an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment this week, representatives from the company said the process is progressing well and they are confident that 48 per cent of areas under the scheme will be completed by Christmas.
The company will provide broadband access to the 10 per cent of the population without it.
3 Ireland's service is based on a third-generation mobile platform, and the firm said 388 additional base stations are necessary to provide the coverage needed. Some 160-170 are new sites, although 3 Ireland said its preference is co-location with other networks or service providers if possible.
Google draws Chinese ire
China's Internet watchdog condemned the Chinese-language version of Google yesterday.
The China Internet Illegal Information Reporting Centre said, "Google China has not conducted the oversight required according to China's laws and regulations, and a large volume of foreign internet pornographic information has entered our borders through this website." - (Reuters)
