01 June 2003

Underway in Ireland is moving to its own domain KILKENNY ORMONDE HOTSPOT -- Time to reset your preferences to continue reading this weblog. After 24 June 2003, Underway in Ireland will be situated on its own domain of the same name. The RSS feed will percolate into the major directories as time goes along. Because I know most aggregators won't get this message, I'm going to refresh both radio.weblogs.com/0102560 and www.topgold.com/blog with a summary of the most requested pages from the previous month. However, my daily writings will upload to Underway in Ireland. x_ref1256

Extracting value from Irish capital investment ORMONDE HOTSPOT -- A visitor at Kilkenny's Cat Laughs Festival pointed out that in the minds of Microsoft, IBM or Oracle, Ireland's cost factors aren't as important as the regulation and policy environment. Said another way, that means large companies value Ireland's low corporate tax rate. Accoridng to Dan O'Brien, senior editor of the Economist Intelligence Unit, Ireland still delivers the highest returns on capital in the world. x_ref17

New media training in medieval Kilkenny location ORMONDE HOTSPOT -- While sitting in the lobby of the Kilkenny Ormonde Hotel, I chatted with two couples who are interested in exploring how artistic Kilkenny can serve their educational needs. Here's what they would like to see: Introduction to photography (30 clock hours) Digital Imaging and Adobe Photoshop Post-production training in Final Cut Pro x_ref19

Free broadband for Irish schools SUNDAY TIMES -- Hundreds of thousands of Irish children will enjoy broadband access in the next school year at no cost to the taxpayer. That's the plan of Dermot Ahern, the communications minister as he intends to place a €30m levy on telecoms firms operating in Ireland to subsidise the initiative. Neither Eircom nor EsatBT are enthusiastic -- they cannot see the business return. From personal experience, I know most schools don't have the €350 required to set a DSL modem and rudimentary firewall protection. This funding channel will result in hundreds of new business accounts for the telecoms. Stephen O'Brien: "Ireland's telecoms to fund broadband in Ireland" in The Sunday Times, June 1, 2003 x_ref153

Linking third level institutions to e-learning companies GARRINGREEN ISDN -- There are lessons to be learned from companies like PulseLearning in Tralee who look outwards for strategic interests from like-minded organisations. PulseLearning is a fast-growing company that has set up locations in New York and in the National Software Centre campus in Cork. There are synergies in both locations. I think there is a basis for collaboration between Irish e-learning companies and third level institutions. Both could benefit from the dynamic exchange of ideas. x_ref153

Waiting offline for flat rate Internet access in Ireland GARRINGREEN ISDN -- The frequency of my updates to my weblog might appear to stretch out from their normal interval because I have to cut back on my telephone sessions. In most days, I can make my uploads at a Wi-Fi hotspot (the Garringreen hotspot) but as summer sun pushes into the frame, my hotspot activities will recede. That's because the hotspot operator doesn't let it run continuously when there's a compelling reason (sun on the sand) to shut down and use the time productively elsewhere. When I'm relegated to Eircom ISDN, I have to consider the costs of connectivity. My personal experience shows that it costs me €300 in Eircom data charges during the months when I work from home. Like many teleworkers, I think those charges are exorbinant, so I'm staying offline most of the day. That kind of posturing does not enhance my electronic profile. Like many others who want to build the profile of a connected Ireland, the costs of doing the business are too stifling. However, if the Irish ComReg has her way, both Eircom and EsatBT will make dial-up Web access available for less than €30 a month. Based on my usage statistics, I will slot in at the top tier of the Eircom pricing structure, meaning my fees will likely reach € monthly. That's actually good news because I could reduce my charges for Internet access by more than 60%. Read about the woes of Internet access on the Ireland Offline forum. Stephen O'Brien: "Cheapest internet use in Europe, promises EsatBT" in The Sunday Times, June 1, 2003 x_ref17

Setting the business case for digital creatives GARRINGREEN HOTSPOT -- Colleagues from Unlimited, an Irish e-learning company located in Dublin's Digital Hub, are out of work after Unlimited failed to merge with Educational Multimedia Group. Add them to the start-up woes faced by the optimists behind the cluster concept of "creative IT" and you face major questions about the placement of government money in The Liberties at a time when most international companies are clustering to areas where costs are significantly below those in Ireland. Philip Flynn, the man behind the running of the Digital Depot and who needs to build a credible international footprint for the area, wants to attract "the Disneys, the Electronic Arts, and the Universals." Attend any international digital media event, perhaps with the animators in Annecy this week, and you can see the faces of the competition. For one-third the costs, Western media companies can set up operations in Korea, India or the Philippines. Ireland can no longer compete on a cost advantage basis. Matthew Magee: "Aiming to energise the Digital Hub" in The Sunday Tribune, May 25, 2003 For excellent examples in the realm of digital art, see the animators at Annecy 2003 and the graduate show at the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. x_ref19