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European data authorities confirm Facebook facial recognition software deletion
After landing itself in hot water with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) and Hamburg's Data Protection Authority (DPA), Facebook has deleted all of its European photo tagging facial recognition data. After reviewing the company's source code and deletion process, DPC spokesperson Ciara O'Sullivan confirmed today that the regulatory agency was satisfied with the social network's compliance. Additional removal confirmation came from Hamburg's DPC's technical department, which also reviewed the firm's software to ensure that its standards were met. In a recent comment to CFO World, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed that the data had been deleted and that the social network has no plans to reinstate facial recognition software in Europe anytime soon. No word on whether Facebook will now purchase sadface.com for... oh, $80 million or so.
Intel gets go-ahead for $4 billion chip plant in Ireland, will produce its next-gen 14nm processors
Intel has been planning to make its Ireland base one of three global manufacturing sites for its 14nm chips since May last year, and its now been given the okay by Ireland's lead planning agency. The new $4 billion plant will create around 4,300 jobs for the region in Co. Kildare, where Intel already has around 4,000 on staff. The two-year plan involves redeveloping its existing operation, expanding and shifting to make its smaller, more efficient 14nm process. Intel's plans don't stop there, however. It still plans to roll out 10nm products sometime in 2015.
Irish government drops Blackberry, picks up iPads
The Irish government has announced that it will be dropping support for Blackberrys in favor of iPhones and Android devices, according to SiliconRepublic. The move affects Teachta Dála's (TD's) in the lower house of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament). The government has decided that it's no longer cost effective to maintain Blackberry support. According to SiliconRepublic: One of the reasons Blackberry support is being dropped is the Oireachtas ICT unit no longer wishes to pay to keep a BlackBerry Enterprise Server running when no such server is required for Android or iPhone devices. "The provision of support for BlackBerrys carries the additional cost of two separate servers, power, cooling, administration and annual support," the spokesperson explained. In another change up, the Irish government is also initiating a program where it will buy iPads wholesale and then allow TD's who wish to use the devices to refund the cost to the Oireachtas. Originally the Oireachtas planned to purchase the iPads outright and distribute them to its members, but because of budgetary constraints, the governing body has now decided that members who want them must pay the government back for them. Purchasing all new iPads, however, is a budget-cutting move, reports SR: One of the reasons the Oireachtas Commission appears determined to pursue the rollout of iPads is a 'print on demand' strategy with respect to parliamentary documents. An Oireachtas Commission spokesperson confirmed the move was part of a strategy to reduce print production costs throughout Leinster House. The idea is that instead of every office or department having printers, a smaller number of strategically located printers around Leinster House and Dail Eireann will be able to detect a member's iPad via Apple's AirPrint wireless technology and print a document from the iPad. Ireland follows in the footsteps of other governments around the world, including in the UK, Uganda, and the US.
Netflix Ireland, UK score deals to carry previous seasons of key Warner-distributed shows
Hot on the heels of a deal for Canada, Netflix and Warner Bros. have spread their newfound affection for each other to a multi-year, exclusive agreement for Ireland and the UK. Both island nations are getting streaming access to past seasons of four Warner-distributed TV shows, with availability staggered over the next several months. The Vampire Diaries is first out of the gate, with three seasons coming to Netflix on December 1st; five seasons of Gossip Girl follow on March 1st, while less definite schedules have all of Chuck and four seasons of Fringe appearing sometime in 2013. The arrangement isn't quite as ideal as it would be if episodes appeared as they aired, but it's a welcome expansion for a young regional service that's still locked in a battle for supremacy.
Ireland completes spectrum auction after analog shutoff, LTE rollout pegged for mid-2013
The dust has settled after Ireland's recent spectrum auction, and wouldn't you know it, Vodafone, O2, Meteor and Three have picked up a combined 140MHz of paired spectrum across the 800, 900 and 1800MHz bands. According to the country's regulator, ComReg, the auction will effectively double the spectrum available in these bands and will allow for LTE deployment across Éire. For its part, O2 has committed to begin its 4G rollout in the first half of 2013. To ensure quick deployment, all license holders are required to make their new spectrum available to 70 percent of Ireland's population within three years. In all, the companies will pay €855 million ($1.09 billion) for spectrum rights until 2030, of which, €482 million is payable up front. Curiously enough, the country's 800MHz spectrum was freed up just last month after its analog shutoff. To find a complete breakdown of the situation, feel free to hit up the announcement from ComReg at the source link below. [Thanks, Neil] [Photo credit: Seattleye / Flickr]
PlayStation 3 hurdles over the 5 million mark in the UK
PlayStation 3 is now over the 5 million mark for UK sales, Sony announced today. The milestone followed soon after the release of the 500 GB PS3, which upped the console's sales during its launch week by 138 percent. The 12 GB model launches across Europe tomorrow. Earlier this month Sony also announced 4 million PS3 sales in France."This is another historic moment for the PlayStation brand, and something I'm incredibly proud of," said Fergal Gera, SCE vice-president and managing director for UK & Ireland, "I'd like to thank all our consumers, retailers and 3rd party partners for helping us achieve this figure, and look forward to continued success."The last revealed UK milestone for PS3 came in early 2011, when Sony announced 4 million sales of its home console. Microsoft tends to stick to worldwide sales figures, and the last time the company did that was in May, revealing a figure of 67 million. That compares to 64 million sales for PS3, which Sony revealed two months prior in March. The Nintendo Wii remains the home console leader according to latest figures, with 96.5 million worldwide sales as of June 2012.
Free Skype WiFi hits Ireland and the UK through Wicoms, steps up the quality of public hotspots
Let's face it: many free WiFi hotspots are tacked on as bullet point items to get customers into a shop or hotel, without much concern for quality high enough that it keeps visitors coming back. Wicoms is hoping that a strategy to offer free Skype WiFi in Ireland and the UK will reverse that neglect. Instead of leaving stores to go through carrier partnerships or devise their own solutions, the partnership has stores pick up a £49 Wicoms router and commit to either a £10 ($16) monthly rate or prepaid brackets of £49 ($79) for six months and £95 ($153) for a year. The aim isn't just to provide a more consistent level of performance -- the Skype deal also provides a ready-made sign-in process, whether or not visitors have Skype accounts, as well as someone to turn to for help. While temptations exist to go with earlier alternatives, Skype and Wicoms are giving away the router during October to help sweeten the pot, even for those outlets that drop the Skype WiFi solution later on. Let's hope the hotspots work well enough on the public-facing side; we could all use a few more shelters from low data caps and oversaturated access points.
PSA: iPhone 5 available in 22 more countries, on Cricket and US regional carriers galore
Disappointed that your country or favorite carrier missed the initial cut for the iPhone 5 launch? Odds are that you're all good now. Worldwide, 22 more countries have joined the mix as of today, including wide swaths of Europe as well as New Zealand; you'll find the full list in the release here. Americans also don't have to turn to the big carriers, as they can now opt for prepaid carrier Cricket in addition to a slew of extra providers that include C Spire as well as regionals like GCI and nTelos. In some cases, you'll even snag a discount by going with one of the smaller networks. If you bagged an iPhone in Barcelona, or caught one on Cellcom, let others know how it's going in the comments. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
PopCap Dublin shuts down
PopCap closed its Dublin office this morning, former PopCap Mobile Associate Producer JP Vaughan confirmed the closure, later tweeting that the studio had "30 days to prepare" for the news. Last month, a round of layoffs at PopCap's Seattle offices saw 50 employees lose their jobs, with reports of jobs at the Irish office being under threat.A source with knowledge of the situation tells Joystiq the closure occurred following a meeting which took place at 11AM UK time. Our source confirms the company's official line that 96 people have been affected in total by the layoffs, which began last month, with the closure of the Irish studio today merely completing the consultation period. The consultation period is a concept under Irish law where if there is a particular amount of layoffs, employees must receive 30 days notice."Europe remains a critical market for PopCap and we will continue to grow our presence through centralized services operated from our North American offices and through the extensive European EA network," PopCap informed Joystiq in a prepared statement.The news follows the creation of 300 jobs at EA's Customer Service Center in Galway, Ireland. PopCap is an EA subsidiary. No sense in EA doubling up on tax havens.
Facebook shutting down facial recognition in the EU, gets stamp of approval from Ireland DPC
Earlier this year, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner, a body whose decisions impact Facebook's policies in Europe at large, made several recommendations to bring the website in line with regional privacy laws, calling for greater transparency on how users' data is handled and more user control over settings, among other things. The DPC just officially announced that Zuckerberg et al. have for the most part adjusted its policies accordingly. The biggest change involves the facial recognition feature, which attempts to identify Facebook friends in photos and suggest their names for tagging. The social network turned off this functionality for new users in the EU -- and it will be shutting it down entirely by October 15th. It's not like Ireland, home to Facebook's European HQ, is the first to give the site flack about such features: Germany was having none of it when the site introduced facial recognition last summer.
Sky bags exclusive rights Warner Bros. movie catalog, makes LoveFilm and others wait
Sky has bested its broadcast and video-on-demand rivals by signing a deal with Warner Bros. for exclusive rights to its films in the UK and Ireland. Once the six-month cinema window has elapsed, each new flick (including Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Rises) will remain Murdoch-only for a full year before arriving on LoveFilm and its kind. Meanwhile, back-catalog titles like The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix will remain locked in the partnership's walled garden for an undisclosed period of time. Good news if you're a Sky customer, we suppose, and not if you're not.
EA expands European customer service, 300 jobs created in Ireland
EA is expanding its European Customer Experience Center, with 300 new jobs created for the facility based in Galway, Ireland. The announcement comes nearly a year after EA first opened its Irish studio, then dubbed 'BioWare Ireland'.EA says the expansion allows its European center to deliver multilingual support, and to provide customer service across its major titles. Earlier this year, EA opened its Worldwide Customer Experience center in Austin, Texas.
RIM promotes UK and Ireland head in preparation for BlackBerry 10
Thorsten Heins is assembling his crack team for BlackBerry 10, hiring and firing to assemble the lineup of business heavyweights he needs. RIM's UK and Ireland chief Stephen Bates is the latest to move, being promoted into the newly-minted role of European Managing Director, while former product manager Rob Orr will take his place. A RIM spokesperson told ZDNet that the moves are to ensure the company's BB7 legacy devices remain strong sellers in a key market while preparing the region for the advent of BB10.
Sky Sports TV app for Android now available, brings live events to the UK and Ireland
Not to be outdone by The Worldwide Leader in Sports, Sky's just released its own application to keep football enthusiasts entertained while on the go -- at least Premier League fans using Android slabs. Unlike the ESPN app, however, Sky Sports is charging £5 (around $8) per month for its offering, though it will -- with the help of ESPN, no less -- stream over 100 EPL matches live, so you're not limited to only highlights and previews. That being said, Sky Sports TV also lets UK and Ireland folks watch other sporting events, including F1 races, PGA Golf and tennis events like the US Open. The bad news is the app currently doesn't support Jelly Bean-loaded devices, which, for now, will most likely only affect a tiny section of Mountain View's user base -- if that's not you, though, the link to download is down below.
iTunes in the Cloud movies find their way to Australia, Canada, the UK and 32 more countries
The advent of movie support in iTunes for the Cloud was a boon to Apple TV owners as well as any iTunes user with a tendency to hop between devices -- within the US, that is. Apple today swung the doors open and let Australia, Canada, the UK as well as 32 other countries and regions around the world get access to their movies whenever they're signed in through iTunes or an iOS device. Not every studio is on the same page, as many American viewers will know all too well: it's more likely that you'll get re-download rights for a major studio title such as Lockout than an indie production, for example. Even with that limit in mind, there's no doubt more than a few movie mavens glad to avoid shuffling and re-syncing that copy of Scott Pilgrim to watch it through to the end.
Facebook App Center goes globetrotting with 7 new countries, blankets all of the English-speaking world
Facebook's App Center is having its passport stamped quite a lot lately. Just days after the HTML5 app portal set foot in the UK, it's making the leap to seven more countries. Brazil, France, Germany, Russia, Spain, Taiwan and Turkey will all get a crack at using web apps both on the desktop as well as in the Android and iOS native clients. The new group is coming onboard in the next few weeks. In the meantime, countries where English makes a frequent appearance -- Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the US -- now supply the App Center for every single user. To help speed along the virtual customs claims, Facebook is trotting out a translation tool to get developers on the right track. It shouldn't be long before App Center is a mainstay of the entire Facebook world, even though we may end up cursing the company after hour three of a Jetpack Joyride marathon.
Samsung finds exploding Galaxy S III was due to 'external source', owner says it was a 'mistake'
Remember the melted Samsung Galaxy S III that surfaced in an Irish forum a few weeks ago? Samsung said they were looking into it and, along with a third party investigation, have decided it occurred as a result of "external energy" being applied to the device, not anything from within the phone itself. The damage is apparently consistent with the phone going in the microwave. The original poster dillo2k10 has posted an update on Boards.ie, indicating it was a mistake by someone else in an attempt to recover the phone after it got wet. The Samsung Tomorrow post linked cites a report from Fire Investigations UK finding that the phone itself was not responsible for generating the heat that caused the damage, so GSIII owners (and the pockets of their skinny jeans) should be able to breathe easier.
Samsung Galaxy S III is hot: bursts into flames and melts through its own casing
It doesn't look good. This Galaxy S III apparently malfunctioned while in an in-car holster, causing some substantial melting and burn marks across the lower half of the device. The global HSPA+ iteration of Samsung's new flagship apparently sparked into white flames, followed by a bang. While it's certainly not the first smartphone to implode in transit, the damage -- along the base but separate to the charging port -- looks pretty substantial and although the screen still apparently worked, reception was dead. The phone has been whisked off to a repair center through phone retailer Carphone Warehouse for the full autopsy. User dillo2k10 was left unscathed, but it's apparently left some nasty molten plastic remains on the inside of his car. Hit up the gallery link below for some more scorch-marked close-ups. Update: Sammy updated its Samsung Tomorrow blog with a quick statement, reading: "Samsung is aware of this issue and will begin investigating as soon as we receive the specific product in question. Once the investigation is complete, we will be able to provide further details on the situation. We are committed to providing our customers with the safest products possible and are looking at this seriously." [Thanks Dillon]
Microsoft and Nokia bring enhanced traffic data to Windows Phone, announce international plans
Cross-pollination is a beautiful thing. In the natural world, it brings bountiful harvests and pretty flowers. In the mobile world, we benefit from the sharing of ideas and technologies. Case in point is Windows Phone, as Microsoft has just announced that it's adopted traffic information from Nokia into the Maps app of its mobile OS. In addition to providing Windows Phone users in the US with more detailed overviews of traffic flows and congestion, the functionality will soon become available for many cities across the globe. Perhaps the move shouldn't come as a total surprise, as just last month, Microsoft revealed the inclusion of Nokia's "Where" platform within Bing Maps. As for future availability, citizens of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom will benefit from the sharing of technologies within the next few weeks. For the moment, however, just hop the break, where you can see the before / after traffic data that's now available to Los Angeles residents.
CloudOn launching its iOS, Android tablet apps in 16 more countries, Office hounds rejoice
Surprise, surprise, CloudOn has just opened a fresh can of tablet-friendly Office and is getting ready to deliver it outside of the US, UK and Canada for the first time in its relatively short history. The cloud-based service announced it's now launching its iOS and Android applications in 16 more countries, making it a total of 19 with the addition of the aforementioned trio. Some of the lucky nations include: Spain, Germany, France, Ireland, Italy, Israel as well as the Netherlands -- and, in case you had any concerns, the app is keeping its free-of-charge status, so no need to worry. In addition to the beefy global expansion, CloudOn also released a few productivity-focused tidbits, giving users the ability to open links straight from the browser, copy and paste between the different built-in apps, plus a drag-and-drop feature to move around files and folders within the application -- unfortunately, this last one's only available to those with a Cupertino device (at least for the time being). All that's left to do now is grab yourself a copy from one of the links below, and be sure to check the presser after the break to see if your country made the cut.