Banks face Net losses in online market

Traditional financial services companies in Ireland face a growing threat from online rivals, according to a new report by the IT consultancy Cap Gemini. The report, A Blue- print for Financial Services, was based on interviews and research with business leaders from companies in Britain and Ireland. It was compiled to outline the changes in financial services and forecast the implications for the industry.

The arrival of the Bank of Scotland on the Irish market exposes the conventional wisdom that the Irish market is too small or too competitive to attract outsiders, according to Eamonn Doyle, the MD of Cap Gemini in Ireland. In the report, Mike Harris, CEO of Egg, the banking offshoot of Prudential, says the only solution is for traditional players to aggressively enter the online world and cannibalise their existing customer base.

No Copyright Protection: Judge Penfield Jackson has brushed aside Microsoft's antitrust trial defence that its federal copyrights allow wide discretion in the way the company designs and distributes software. "Copyright does not protect the conduct with which your client is charged," Jackson told Microsoft lawyers.

Mobile Momentum: Two thirds of Europeans will own a mobile phone by 2003, European industry commissioner Erkki Liikanen has predicted. Europe now has 50 million Internet users, but when the Net goes mobile, this may jump to 220 million.

Shanghai Shanghaied: China has selected Shanghai for an experimental project which will bring Net access to the city's 13 million residents. Internet connectivity will however be developed under the eye of city fathers who want to eliminate "unhealthy things" on the Web, according to mayor Xu Kuangdi.

Shrinking Web: Oracle is creating a company to specialise in shrinking Web sites for mobile phone screens and plans to launch a new Web portal to provide mobile access to major consumer brands.

No Net Tax Haven: It is essential to keep the Internet from becoming a tax haven for Web entrepreneurs seeking tax breaks not available to traditional bricks-and-mortar stores, US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers has said.

Cheap Cracks: Recent attacks caused only minor financial losses to online auctioneer eBay and the company is set to push forward with a European expansion campaign, according to CEO Meg Whitman. Apparently the attacks only cost $80,000 in new expenses and nothing in lost revenues.

Buried Live Online: A funeral director in the US is offering to broadcast funerals on the Internet out of compassion for loved ones and friends who cannot attend funeral services in person. "I don't think there's going to be a big demand for it," said Fred Fergerson, who is providing the free service.

Zombie Alert: A new version of the software that crippled online retailers earlier this month allows crackers to launch attacks from Windows-based PCs as well as Unix machines, a US computer security company has said. According to Finjan Software, the newly released Trinoo Zombie program is deliverable by email and allows crackers place zombie agents which launch a stream of Net traffic from Windows- based PCs.

Ringing Northern Ireland: eircom is to invest £25 million in the development of a new broadband fibre optic ring in Northern Ireland. The new ring will link into eircom's southern broadband network.

Europe Online: Over 50 Members of the European Parliament have established a new, non-partisan policy network to be called the European Internet Foundation. The Foundation will address itself to e-democracy, the new economy and social change.

Learning Linux: The Irish Linux Users Group is running monthly seminars on various aspects of running and using Linux from an introductory level to more advanced system administration and software development material. Info - www.linux.ie/DublinMeetings.html

Porn Free: Voters in Holland, Michigan, have become the first community in the US to defeat a proposal aimed at forcing the local public library to install filters on computers to block pornography.

In Brief...ICL and Nokia have formed a joint venture called Nice-business Solutions to support Nokia's e-Business development. . . CardBase is to collaborate with Baltimore Technologies to facilitate the bulk issuance and management of digital certificates on smart cards. . . Accuris has won a multi-phased contract to develop an automated telephone number management system for eircom. . . Trintech has announced the launch of eVia 2000, an electronic payment appliance designed for mobile payment environments. . . Psion has done a deal with Citrix Systems to enable its handheld computers to log into corporate servers. . . Jinny Software has raised $2.5 million investment capital. . . Francis Buggy has been appointed Chair of the Irish Internet Federation. . . Buytel has secured a £2 million venture capital investment from Trinity Venture Capital. . . Connexus Technologies has completed a £1 million contract to design and implement a server-based computing platform for Dublin Corporation. . .