A Web site for Leitrim and Fermanagh has been launched as a result of a cross-border programme funded by the International Fund for Ireland's Wider Horizons Programme. The online programme aims to provide Internet training for unemployed local people and to contribute to business and social co-operation between counties north and south of the border. A core group of 15 young people from Leitrim and Fermanagh participated in a training programme before designing FALCON www.falcon.ie (Fermanagh And Leitrim Community On-line Network) including a local business directory, information on environmental issues and community events.
Y2K Restrictions: Almost half the top 500 companies in Ireland are restricted from extending their Internet and multimedia capabilities because of more urgent Year 2000 compliance issues, according to a survey carried out by Midas-Net Ireland. However, the findings also highlight considerable growth in multimedia and Internet use since March 1997. -info: www.midas.ie/survey/survey1998.html
Neighbours from hell: South Korean police have arrested a teenager for creating a website paying homage to North Korea. He faces charges of violating the national security law which outlaws "possessing or distributing data that can benefit, eulogise or encourage the enemy." Kim Suk-joon's home page featured a large North Korean flag and showed his own country's flag in flames.
Euro ok: The European Commissioner for Industrial Affairs, Martin Bangemann, has expressed satisfaction with the creation of the new Internet governance regime. It addresses the EU's concerns about fair representation on the managing board of ICANN, the new body managing the Internet numbering system and the Domain Name System.
Pirates ahoy again: Ireland has a high awareness of software licensing, but the piracy rate here stands at 65 per cent - the second highest in Europe - according to a report commissioned by Business Software Alliance Europe. While 93 per cent of Europeans are aware that their software programmes carry a license, 32 per cent admit that they have never checked them.
Salt lake shutdown: A computer shutdown in Utah blanked radar screens for nearly a minute for about 200 passenger planes over five western US states. The computer that operates the Salt Lake Air Traffic Control Center crashed last Tuesday bringing the backup system with it.
Content is king: Businesses that recognise information as their chief asset and manage it properly will win in the information age and failure to protect information could cost an organisation dearly, according to a Novell report. Electronic Confidence: Doing Business in the 21st Century, identifies information, rather than raw materials or capital, as the most valuable corporate asset.
Knifing the baby: A Microsoft employee made clear to Apple Computer developers that the company wanted Apple to "knife the baby" - drop its QuickTime multimedia playback program - and stick to the multimedia authoring side of the market, according to testimony at Microsoft's antitrust trial. The testimony came from Avadis Tevanian of Apple, who said that Microsoft proposed dividing the multimedia market with Apple. He conceded under cross-examination, however, that Microsoft only had a small percentage of the multimedia streaming market.
An Taoiseach ar ais aris: The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, returned to his alma mater in Drumcondra, Dublin, to present it with a £1,000 grant for technology spending. The computer multinational EDS made the grants to six schools, including St Patricks BNS, and plans to increase the number next year. Pictured with the Taoiseach and present-day pupils above is Liam Halloran of EDS Ireland.
In Brief... MCI WorldCom reported third-quarter revenues of $3.8 billion, a 97 per cent increase over last year . . . Informix, which employs over 100 people in Dublin, has announced a net profit of $18.4 million in its third quarter . . . Ballinnabranna National School, a rural school with 80 pupils in County Carlow, has recently opened a new computing facility which includes eight PCs, colour printers, scanners, MIDI music equipment, a fast Internet connection, and video-conferencing . . . Intel has released the In Business Email Station. . .