Telecom Eireann has launched a digital media venture under the name "rondomondo". The company says it will produce a wide portfolio of titles and products, for various platforms and audiences. Original video, audio and text content in news, business, sport, music and in the Irish language are planned. It says rondomondo will enhance its existing Doras (doras.tinet.ie) sites and add new ones, including catalogue publications aimed at stimulating e-commerce. The new venture has a site at www.rondomondo.com but, apart from a promise of "content to follow" and a large Flash movie, it was empty on Friday.
ROWING OVER CHAT: America Online has claimed that Microsoft's attempt to link its new MSN Messenger system to AOL's Instant Messenger chat program "raises significant and serious privacy and security issues". It said it was "akin to hacking". An AOL vice president has been reported as saying that Microsoft was "violating a cardinal rule of the Internet" by asking AOL Instant Messenger users for their passwords and screen names. Microsoft brushed off such claims, saying it wasn't hijacking AOL technology but striving to meet consumer needs by making instant messaging more interoperable.
NET CREDIT: Esat Net has launched an online credit card payment system for Internet transactions in conjunction with the Bank of Ireland. Esat Net's ePay accepts secure real-time credit card payments and allows for immediate online payment clearance and verification. The company hopes that the number of Irish businesses selling on the Web will jump in the coming months as a result of the move.
CBT USES KNOWLEDGE WELL: CBT has announced results for its second quarter. At $47.2 million, they represent the highest quarterly revenues for the company. During the quarter CBT closed its agreement to acquire Knowledge Well, which recorded about $1.5 million in revenues for the quarter.
LOOKING TO LUCENT: Lucent Technologies has released its Managed Firewall, distributed in Ireland by Baker Consultants. The firewall is described as a bridge-level network device that works with existing infrastructure, obviating the need to remove or replace existing software.
IBOOKS A GOGO: Apple has introduced its much-anticipated iBook portable computer which weighs six pounds and offers Net access for home and schools via AirPort, its wireless link to local networks. It is expected to retail in the US for $1,500. (See report, left)
CHILD'S PLAY: The 2000 Cable & Wireless Childnet Awards, designed to encourage children to develop online communications projects, were launched by the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, last week. Pictured with her at the launch are Gordon Morrice of Cable and Wireless Ireland, Mairin Glenn, a teacher at Inver National School which won in the 1999 competition, and some of her pupils.
PI'S NET LOSS: US private detectives have claimed that their business is being hampered by people using the Internet to gather information that they used to employ a private eye to collect. Apparently some agencies have seen business fall by 40 per cent over the last five years.
STEPPING UP SPAM WARS: A coalition of anti-spam activist groups in the US delivered a database containing 150,000 unsolicited email messages to Congress and the Federal Trade Commission last week. The move is aimed at helping the FTC track down online con artists by gleaning information about the spammers from the messages. Meanwhile the Austrian parliament has made it illegal to send spam without the recipient's prior consent, while similar legislation in Italy came into force on June 21st.
IN BRIEF...Esat Telecom has opened a communications shop in Dublin's Temple Bar offering a range of on-site phone services, Internet access, email and office bureau services. . . Gateway has opened its first Irish retail store at the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. . . Texas Instruments has posted better-than-expected profits for the second quarter on an 8 per cent rise in revenue, as gains in semiconductor chips more than offset the loss of sales from the memory-chip business it sold last year. . . America Online has reported its quarterly profits nearly tripled, edging Wall Street expectations on stronger revenues from subscribers and advertising. . . Amazon.com's losses widened in the second quarter as the Internet retailer increased spending to expand its online offerings. . . Hemmington Scott, one of the leading British providers of investment and financial information on the Internet, has launched free Internet access. . . Xilinx, which employs 200 people in Ireland, has reported a 41 per cent increase in its first quarter revenue. . . Informix has announced a 19 per cent increase in revenues for the second quarter. . . Leading the results pack, however, is IBM, which reported net income of $2.4 billion on revenue of $21.9 billion . . .