A quick glance at some of the technology stories breaking in the weekend papers.
Zamono’s risqué rub with Apps
The Sunday Independent reported how Zamano, the listed mobile phone content company backed by former rugby star Brendan Mullin and Enterprise Ireland, has had “three to four” soft porn iPhone applications removed by Apple from its app store. Last week Apple launched a purge of “risque” material from its hugely successful app download store. Around 50 companies had content removed, including Zamano. A spokesman said that the removed apps were “experimental” and that Zamano, valued at €16m, was moving away from these soft-core picture messages into “higher value content”.
Apple hits out at sharp practice
On Saturday The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple Inc. said audits of its suppliers uncovered 17 core violations of its policies, including three cases in which its contractors hired underage workers last year. The California company, in a report posted to its website, said three facilities had hired a total of 11 employees prior to reaching the legal working age in those countries. Some of the workers were as young as 15 years old, Apple said.
Sinclair: does not compute
The Observer carried an interesting interview with entrepreneur and inventor Sir Clive Sinclair, the man who brought you the Sinclair ZX80 and was a household name before Sir Alan Sugar. Sinclair helped transform Cambridge into the computing capital of the world, a homegrown version of Silicon Valley and Taipei, and for a couple of brilliant years he made the bestselling computers in the world. However, despite this contribution to the development of personal computing Sir Clive revealed he does not in fact use or own a computer. “I don’t use a computer at all. The company does.” “So you don’t do email?” asked veteran tech writer Jack Schofield. “No. I’ve got people to do it for me.”
Suits you sir!
In The Sunday Times, online legal expert TJ McIntyre wrote an interesting viewpoint on how Ireland’s outmoded online defamation laws which leave bloggers and sites where people post their points of view wide open to draconian censorship and liability. The net impact of this could be that Ireland’s success in attracting major internet giants like Google and Facebook could be ultimately eroded, he warned.
Tweet talking Twitter
The Irish media-sphere’s nascent love affair with Twitter continued to gain pace as veteran broadcaster Mark Little wrote a guest column in Reality Bytes in the Sunday Business Post telling us how Twitter has made him a better journalist, adding the community on Twitter is like a “family of eye-witnesses.” He added the social networking medium is now is first and last port of call now, his own personal newswire that connects him with unlimited sources.
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