A round-up of other technology stories in brief.
Terminalfour lands local authority deals
Content management group Terminalfour has won eight contracts to power local authority websites. The Dublin company's Site Manager enterprise content management system was chosen to drive the sites of councils in Galway city and county, Cork city and counties Sligo, Mayo, Wexford, Kerry and Westmeath.
The contracts, worth €500,000, bring to 12 the number of local authorities using the Terminalfour system. The company is also in the running for a number of similar contracts.
Terminalfour says its system makes council websites easier to use for members of the public and staff. It allows, among other things, for councils to publish their sites in several languages and also facilitates councillors in communicating within a secure setting.
Robert Curley, head of ICT at Galway City Council, said the system "has helped us to develop and deliver a scalable, easy-to-use and accessible website, which can be maintained by any of our staff members, regardless of their technology expertise".
Ebay Ireland sells an item a minute
Online auctioneer eBay is celebrating its first year of trading in Ireland with the news that every minute an item is sold on the site by an Irish seller.
David Jesse, managing director of eBay Ireland, welcomed the news and said the launch of the eBay.ie business centre - a new online facility for small and medium-sized business - had helped the success of the company in Ireland.
In March, eBay announced plans to hire an extra 300 staff this year, bringing its total Irish workforce to more than 900.
Cybersquatting cases up by 20%
Brand owners are being urged to remain vigilant after the number of cybersquatters - people who unlawfully use trade marks as internet domain names - rose by a fifth to reach 1,456 cases last year.
Kate Colleary, a solicitor at O'Donnell Sweeney IT Litigation Group, said that while many brand owners were vigilant, the proliferation of new domains meant it was more difficult to monitor use.
Strencom wins GameStop contract
Irish group Strencom, a provider of hosting and data connectivity services, has won a €150,000 four-year contract to supply a private broadband network to computer and video game retailer GameStop.
Under the terms of the deal, Strencom will also manage the network, which will facilitate the streamlining of GameStop's stock, sales and accounts systems and enable easy access to information in each of the group's 28 branches.
Website to offer Buena Vista films
CinemaNow, an online film rental and download service, is to start offering Buena Vista films for download after the company signed an agreement with Buena Vista's parent Walt Disney, according to US newspaper reports.
CinemaNow users will be able to choose from 30 Disney titles including National Treasure, Pirates of the Caribbean and Chicken Little immediately. From next week, they will also be able to download certain Walt Disney films to their computer the same day they are released on DVD.
Camara Africa charity details
Following a feature on the technology pages of last week's Business This Week concerning the recycling of computers for use in Africa, several enquiries have been received about how to participate in this exchange.
Anyone wishing to find out more about the Camara computers for Africa scheme should contact Cormac Lynch, whose details are on the group's website at www.camara.ie
