IT skills shortage remains problematic

The current IT skills shortage continues to have an negative effect on the economy, according to the majority of people surveyed by the UCD Graduate School of Business. The shortage was found to be most pronounced in the IT sector where 58 per cent of the managers interviewed said that it was a problem. A similar number indicated that staff retention was a major challenge.

The survey showed that 67 per cent felt staff shortages hampered their company's growth, activities and development. Training emerged as a key method for staff retention with 97 per cent of the opinion that continuous training of employees was "an important factor in their retention strategy". The survey was carried out on behalf of QA Training, one of the largest IT training companies in Europe.

FREE DOWNLOADERS: Up to 13 million Net users have downloaded music for free, according to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, with only two per cent ever paying for the music they downloaded.

COURT ROOM CHAT: Two lawyers held the first online pre-trial conference in the US last week. Along with a judge, they used an AOL chat room to discuss a lawsuit concerning a purchase of replacement windows, of the glass rather than software, variety.

PORTABLE PLAYSTATION: Sony is to launch a compact PlayStation console that can be connected to mobile phones by the end of the year. The new console, called PS one, will be based on the original PlayStation but will be one third of the size.

RAMONES FREE: Philippines authorities dropped a case against a bank worker suspected of involvement in the creation of the Love Bug virus. A state prosecutor said there was no law which could be used to prosecute Mr Reonel Ramones.

FUTURE FRIDGES: Networked fridges have come a step closer after computer and electronics manufacturers announced they had formulated a standard for turning electrical wiring into a data network. The HomePlug Powerline Alliance, which includes Intel and Motorola, have found a reliable and simple way to let computers, TV sets and other appliances communicate through their power cords. The first such products could come out early next year.

SPYING SETBACK: Draft legislation allowing security officials monitor business emails could hamper Britain's e-commerce development, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned. It said companies could face huge liability claims from clients who believed confidentiality was breached.

ABUSIVE PHONE CALLS: A virus targeting mobile phone users in Spain has shown the potential for viral crossovers into the wireless world. The worm-type virus hit customers of Spain's Movistar service sending insulting text messages from PCs to mobiles.

HEALTHY OPTION: More than 60 million people searched the Internet for health information last year and a new health portal, www.irishhealth.com, created specifically for the Irish market is now available, albeit in an embryonic state. The site, which will be fully interactive later this summer, aims to be Ireland's first independent online health community.

SEALAND'S SECURITY: A World War two fortress in the North Sea hopes to become a hub for secure off-shore electronic business. The company, HavenCo, will operate from Sealand, founded as a sovereign Principality in 1967, six miles off the eastern coast of Britain. The company says it will provide data co-location services to a clientele that wish to operate businesses in an e-commerce friendly legal jurisdiction with strong guarantees of privacy, security and reliability.

IN BRIEF...Trintech is to supply Bank of Ireland with Europe's first virtual credit card application. . . Smartazz Kids, the global Internet toy store, is to stock a selection of products from the Fair Trade Organisation. . . The FBI is investigating whether groups of people are driving up prices on eBay and other Internet auction sites by bidding on each others' items. . .