The Department of Public Enterprise has received over 450 proposals as part of a competition to promote access to information and communications technologies. The Community Application of Information Technology (CAIT) is to make £2 million available for up to 25 projects aimed at tackling the digital divide. Grants will be made available to projects that encourage more people to become familiar with computers. The money will be available from April 2nd and at least one project will be located in each of the eight regional authority areas.
Napster's Nemisis: Recording industry officials have released new "evidence" in their attempt to prove that Napster has cut into their business. Shipments of CD singles sank by 39 per cent last year, according to data released by the Recording Industry Association of America. Napster chief executive Hank Barry said the association is twisting the data to support its claim that it has suffered "irreparable harm" at the hands of Napster.
Digital Overground: Digital Video Broadcasting World, the annual international conference on emerging technology for broadcasters, rolls into Dublin this week. The conference will examine technology available for digital broadcasting, the influence of multimedia and the future of digital broadcasting and delivery. More information and a full programme is available at www.dvb.org.
Foot And Mouth Cancellation: In order to assist efforts aimed at preventing the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease, Ericsson UK and Ireland have postponed a Conference scheduled to take place on Thursday in the Burlington Hotel.
China's Safety Net: The Ministry of Public Security has released new software designed to keep cults, sex and violence off the Internet in China. The software, Internet Police 110, is named after the police emergency number. It will prevent users from getting "unhealthy" information from foreign and domestic websites. China routinely blocks websites of Western media outlets, human rights groups, the Falun Gong spiritual group, Tibetan exiles and other sources of information it deems politically sensitive or harmful.
Net Giant: The newly merged media-entertainment giant AOL Time Warner accounts for nearly one third of the time spent on the Web by US Internet users. ADS UP: Surfers will soon find many sites with online advertisements that are bigger and - sponsors hope - harder to ignore, after a trade group set voluntary standards for larger ads. The new units include a square pop up box that's 250-by-250 pixels and a "skyscraper unit" that measures 120-by-600 pixels. Larger ads will also allow marketers to make their online message "more creative" and "more interactive". And considerably more annoying.
Dotcom Doom: The snowballing layoffs in the US dotcom sector are turning in an avalanche, with sackings in the last three months exceeding the previous 12 months, according to Chicago-based consulting firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The consultancy reported that 34,936 workers in the industry were let go in the last three months.
Let's Buy It Again: Letsbuyit.com, the retail site that recently won a last minute reprieve from bankruptcy, says it has re-opened for business across Europe. Letsbuyit said its product range reflected the preferences of its 1.2 million members, and would leverage its existing contacts with its most important suppliers. The company said a comprehensive revamp would help it back into the black by the end of 2002 as it slashes costs and pulls out of unprofitable operations.
In Brief... Epson, is to sponsor the 29th International Amateur Athletic Federation World Cross Country Championships which takes place in Ireland later this month. . . Internet Ireland has been awarded the Irish Hotels Federation Innovation Award for its new product NetHotel, developed to provide hotel guests with high-speed Internet access. . . Parthus Technologies has named Kevin Fielding as its new president and chief financial officer. . .