Inside View from Ireland: Tech News from Irish Sunday Newspapers

TODAY'S TECH ITEMS from Sunday newspapers in Ireland are brought to you by the Letter P for Pat Phelan, the telecoms disruptor from Ireland who is currently an ocean away with a Silicon Valley commitment. Pat encouraged me to use Qik as a handheld scanner when talking about technology affecting Ireland. I've tried the idea for several months now, figuring out ways to speak extemporaneously about things that might interest readers of my tech blog. One of the side benefits was to reduce my time spent blogging on weekends. That hasn't happened. Another side benefit was to offer a sample of content that third level students might use as a reference point when creating similar multimedia videos about local interest items. We have done that and I hope the next three months offer readers more content to view as described by different voices. This week's Qik flick [35 MB 3gp file] through the Sunday papers takes longer than normal (12:00), ranging from recycled handbags, several mentions of electric cars that would please green monks, and the obligatory throw-away shot of the 3G iPhone. Show notes follow below the break.

Working off negative effects of flying. One way of offsetting the negative effects of flying is to get bags made of old seat coversa nd seat belts from Virgin planes. The Worn Again Virgin range includes a £65 Lydia bag. [1]

Business Travel isn't very green. Businesses may have exemplary environmental policies but there is very little evidence of any significant shift in the behaviour of business travellers. At Heathrow, 40% of all passengers are business people, even though viable video conferencing exists. [2]

Android Panned. The Financial Times isn't impressed by Google's Android Browser, and says so on the front page of the FT Weekend. "When the first of Google's long-anticipated Androind mobile phones hit the stores in a matter of weeks, they will land with a fizzle rather than a bang." [3]

Nokia Walks from Price War. Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker, yesterday warned that its market share would shrink in the third quarter, bringing to an end a period of almost uninterrupted growth and wiping almost 10 per cent off its share price. Nokia lost most of its share to low-priced handsets dumped on emerging markets. [4]

Sarah Palin, Woman in the News. The Republican VP nominee continues to defy expectations. She is a woman whose freezer is always stuffed with fish and game. [5]

e-car Pairing. Daimler and RWE are teaming up on an electric cars project in Germany's first pairing berween a car maker and a power utility. They are working on an in-car communication device that recognises customers when they charge their cars in public places so that they can be billed for the power at home. [6]

Electric Cars in Search of Charges. More than 1000 G-Wiz vehicles have been sold in the UK, despite a lack of charging points. [7]

Front Page news about nothing. "The 18 airmen in the Irish Ministerial Air Transport Service spent more than €127,000 last year on food, travel and accommodation expenses while on government business." [8] That means around €8,000 each in annual expenses for around 14 days of directed travel every month. I know civil servants who burn up more than that and they never leave the ground.

Expect Dell to Sell Limerick Plant. Nicky Hartery, head of Dell's manufacturing facilities in Europe, tried unsuccessfully to secure extra investment in its Limerick plant before his resignation last month. [9] Dell has told the market that it's going to get out of direct manufacturing.

Google's Chrome emerges. The search engine giant is challenging Microsoft with new software. [10]

1. "New-Born Virgins" in the "Arrivals" section of Escape magazine in The Observer, 9 Sep 08.
2. "Businesses ignoring green travel" in the "Arrivals" section of Escape magazine in The Observer, 9 Sep 08.
3. "Android Verdict" on the front page of the FT Weekend, 9 September 2008.
4. David Ibison -- "Nokia warning surprises investors in the "Companies and Markets" section of the FT Weekend, 9 September 2008.
5. Kevin Allison -- "Mrs Underestimated" in the "Comment" section of the FT Weekend, 9 September 2008.
6. John Reed -- "Daimler and RWE in pilot e-car pairing in Germany" in the "Companies" section of the FT Weekend, 9 September 2008.
7. Amanda Vermeulen -- "Electric Vehicles start to make some inroads" in the "Companies" section of the FT Weekend, 9 September 2008.
8. Colin Coyle -- "State pilots enjoy the high life" on the front page of The Sunday Times, 9 September 2008.
9. Tom Lyons -- "Dell snubs Limerick funds plea" on the front page of the Business section of The Sunday Times, 9 September 2008.
10. Dominic Rushe -- "Google spins world wide web" in the business features section of The Sunday Times, 9 September 2008.