IrishAsia - Technology

Dell ups Taiwan buying to $12.5 bln amid PC slowdown

Mon, 08 May 2006 04:42:10 -0600

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Dell Inc., , the world's top personal computer maker, wants to ramp up components sourcing from Taiwan by about a quarter to US$12.5 billion in 2006 and foresees global PC market growth slowing this year, its chief executive said on Monday.

Computer and consumer electronics vendors from Japan to the United States are increasingly buying from specialized Taiwan companies such as display maker AU Optronics Corp. to hold down costs.

Dell's move to increase purchases of components from Taiwan comes after posting a drop in worldwide market share in the first quarter, when its slice dipped to 18.1 percent versus 18.6 percent a year earlier, according to consultants IDC.

Ireland slips down e-readiness rankings

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 19:46:08 -0600

Ireland slips down e-readiness rankings
But Europe still dominates
By Ciaran Buckley, ElectricNews.net
Published Thursday 27th April 2006 09:41 GMT

Ireland has slipped into sixteenth place in the latest Economist e-readiness rankings, losing ground as our industrialised peers adopt VoIP and internet television.

That's according to the seventh annual e-Readiness Rankings, which measures the e-business environment of 68 countries around the world, gauging the extent to which each market is prepared to take advantage of internet-based opportunities in the public and private sectors.

The report, which was prepared by IBM and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), found that Europe continues to dominate the rankings, taking six of the top 10 spots. Denmark is the most "e-ready" country in the world, followed by the US, Switzerland, Sweden, UK, the Netherlands, Finland, Australia, Canada and Hong Kong.

BT Ireland quits local loop unbundling (LLU) talks

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 19:43:43 -0600

BT Ireland quits LLU talks
'Frustrated' by Eircom's lack of progress
By Tim RichardsonPublished Thursday 27th April 2006 15:06 GMT
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/27/eircom_llu/
BT has walked out of industry talks that are supposed to lead to greater competition for the provision of local loop unbundling (LLU) broadband operators in Ireland. The talks between the industry and Irish incumbent Eircom have been going on for two years and include, among other things, the creation of an automated system to help switch customers quickly and easily between different providers.

But on Tuesday, BT spat the dummy, threw its toys out of the pram, and turned its back on the talks. Frustrated by the lack of progress, BT said that Eircom's position on LLU would "jeopardise industry investment and impact on Ireland's competitiveness".

Pirates Knock Off Not NEC's Products, But The Whole Company

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 19:41:54 -0600

Pirates Knock Off Not NEC's Products, But The Whole Company
http://techdirt.com/articles/20060427/0940246.shtml
The International Herald Tribune has a fascinating tale of piracy today, in which the Japanese company NEC was targeted by Chinese counterfeiters. They didn't just make knock-off products, but instead stole the NEC brand, then essentially set up their own little NEC, coordinating manufacturing in 50 factories, organizing distribution and centrally collecting profits. The pirates even went so far as to develop their own line of products, which NEC says were of generally good quality, and carried NEC business cards and commissioned research in the company's name. Cases like this highlight the value of trademark law -- when it's properly applied, and not used as a tool to squash competition. Trademarks are intended specifically to address cases like this, where customers, retailers and even factory owners were tricked into thinking they were dealing with the real NEC, not to allow entities to completely prevent any mention of themselves that they may not like.

SanDisk eyes €1bn sales from new HQ in Swords

Wed, 26 Apr 2006 00:30:13 -0600

SANDISK, a $2.3bn flash storage card maker from Silicon Valley, expects to generate €1bn in sales out of its new headquarters for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) which has just opened in Swords, Co Dublin.

Ed Moro, SanDisk vice-president and chief executive of the Swords facility, said employment will be expanded to over 50 people in the near future. The Swords investment is costing less than €500,000 initially.

The high-growth company already sells more than 100m memory cards a year for mobile phones, MP3 players, digital cameras and laptops.

Mr Moro said the high penetration of mobile phones and digital cameras in Europe has led to the relocation of its headquarters from Holland to Swords.

Sex cues ruin men's decisiveness

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 00:41:47 -0600

Sex cues ruin men's decisiveness

Catching sight of a pretty woman really is enough to throw a man's decision-making skills into disarray, a study suggests.

The more testosterone he has, the stronger the effect, according to work by Belgian researchers.

Men about to play a financial game were shown images of sexy women or lingerie.

The Proceedings of the Royal Society B study found they were more likely to accept unfair offers than men not been exposed to the alluring images.

The suggestion is that the sexual cues distract the men's thoughts, preventing them from focusing on their task - particularly among those with high natural testosterone levels.

The University of Leuven researchers gave 176 heterosexual male student volunteers aged 18 to 28 financial games to test their fair play.

They are looking for opportunities to pass on their genes

Eircom gets takeover bid

Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:37:22 -0600

(Associated Press) Eircom Group PLC announced Friday night it had received a euro2.36 billion (US$2.86 billion) takeover proposal led by the Australian investment group Babcock & Brown, which in February declared its interest in buying Ireland's largest phone company.

Eircom, a former state monopoly privatized in 2000, said its board received a "joint proposal" from Babcock & Brown and the company's own Employee Share Ownership Trust that "may or may not lead to an offer being made."

Since October, Sydney-based Babcock & Brown has accumulated a 28.8 percent share of Eircom stock, while the employee trust holds 21.6 percent. The proposal would value Eircom shares at euro2.20 (US$2.67) a share, a 2.8 percent premium to Eircom's closing price Thursday in Dublin. The Irish Stock Market was closed for the Good Friday holiday.