New Twitter front page brings search – and world news - to the fore

Social networking site Twitter has unveiled a brash new front page look that puts search to the very core of what the micro-blogging service is all about, breaking the world’s news!

As reported yesterday on siliconrepublic.com, Twitter has been working on a new front page design to better define itself with a mission statement: “Share and discover what’s happening right now anywhere in the world.”

This simple and straightforward statement shows Twitter is keen to build on the unexpected kudos it earned as a disseminator of breaking news as it became one of the few means alongside YouTube through which information was able to reach the rest of the world during the recent political battles in Iran. Read More

Courtesy: Silicon Republic

Google is ‘the business’ for Irish shoppers

Since Microsoft launched its new improved search engine Bing two months ago it has set its sights on capturing a bigger market share (reflected even more in the new Yahoo! partnership) but how much ground has Bing gained and have Irish online shoppers made the switch?

A survey carried out by a group of Irish e-tailers focused on the search engine traffic over the last month for six commercial websites based here in Ireland and the results were clear: while Bing gained 3pc share of the search engine market, Google still has around a 92pc share of the traffic.
Aedan Ryan, owner of outdoor clothing store PuddleDucks.ie, said: "Google is still the overwhelming favourite for search among Irish online shoppers. Read More

Courtesy: Silicon Republic

Microsoft and Yahoo! sign landmark deal

Yahoo! and Microsoft have announced their much anticipated agreement to work together on internet search and advertising, in a move to challenge Google’s dominance in this area.
Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, said the 10-year partnership would provide choice, better value, and more search innovation for consumers, advertisers and publishers.
Under the deal, Microsoft will power Yahoo! search while the latter will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers.

According to the two companies, the deal will accelerate innovation by combining their “complementary strengths and search platforms into a market competitor with the scale to fuel sustained development in search and search advertising. Users will find what they care about faster and with more personal relevance. Microsoft’s competitive search platforms will lead to more value for advertisers, better results for web publishers, and increased innovation and efficiency across the internet.”Read More

Minister announces new round of science funding

The Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Conor Lenihan, has announced research funding awards of €20.7 million to be split across 22 projects under the Science Foundation Ireland Principal Investigator Programme.
Making the announcement, Minister Lenihan said: 'The Government remains firmly committed to developing the smart economy.
'It is research projects such as these that will support the next phase of Ireland's economic development. We must never lose sight of the fact that research and development is primarily about people - the individual and collective talents of our skilled personnel.

'We must continue to support the best researchers to bring about long-term economic benefits and with the assistance of support structures such as SFI, IDA and Enterprise Ireland, we can studiously bring these concepts to that next level, and through exploitation and commercialisation ensure economic and societal benefits for Ireland.'

Courtesy: RTE News

International Youth Day

South Dublin County Council celebrates International Youth Day on the 12th August 2009. A digital exhibition showcasing the Council’s work with young people will be shown in The Big Picture, our multi media hub and in County Library, Tallaght, from Wednesday 12th August to Friday 14th August. This exhibition is open to the public.

Young people make up a very high percentage of our population in South Dublin County. South Dublin County Council has numerous projects running for young people living in the County. We also work very closely with Youth Organisations to ensure that proper facilities and services are available in all areas of the County. Family Days, Sport Events, Comhairle na nÓg Events, Competitions, Music Workshops are only some of the activities from 2009 being showcased over the three days.

South Dublin Libraries will also be showcasing their Digital Library Service for young people in our Libraries throughout the County. .

If you would like more Information about the exhibition please contact Niamh Carton or Sabrina Fogarty, South Dublin County Council, 4149000 or ncarton@sdublincoco.ie / sfogarty@sdublincoco.ie

South Dublin County Council welcomes Real Madrid to Tallaght

Real Madrid Visit
South Dublin County Council's Tallaght Stadium will be the focus of the footballing world tonight Cristiano Ronaldo looks set to make his Real Madrid debut in Tallaght Stadium. The Portuguese star completed a €92 million transfer from Manchester United in time to line out for a friendly against Shamrock Rovers at Tallaght Stadium next week.
Read More

Free Electrical Recycling Day 25.07.09

WEEE Ireland are providing a FREE RECYCLING ELECTRICAL DAY
Proudly supported by South Dublin County Council
Date: Saturday 25th July 2009
Time: 10am to 4pm
Venue: Powercity Fonthill
Anything with a plug or a battery will be accepted including:
Video Players
Game consoles
Microwaves
IT Equipment
Dishwashers
Battery Operated Toys Fridges
Automotive Batteries
Kettles
Power Tools
TV’s
and many more items...
Click here to download poster.

Bord na Mona creates 300 green tech jobs

20.07.2009 Bord na Mona has announced 300 new green tech jobs as part of its vision to reduce CO2 per MW hour by 50pc and meet its target of providing 500MW of wind energy in the next five years. more...

Courtesy: Silicon Republic