We’re looking back on top stories of 2025 and critically, looking ahead at 2026!  Dusty and Niall are joined by Tech Central journalist Jason Walsh for a sparky show. Warning: Opinions May Differ!

Also, we say thank you to RTE’s digital radio service RTE Radio One Extra.  For many years Tech Radio has been a feature on their schedule but from Dec 31st all will fall quiet as the radio service closes.  Our thanks to Erik and the team for believing in our show and bringing it to new audiences across the country. 

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Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube
https://www.podfollow.com/tech

This week, we look at two massive, international developments that will reshape how we all use the internet, whether you're a heavy user or just checking in now and then.

We're asking a vital question: Where Australia goes, so goes the world? The country has just implemented a pioneering, comprehensive ban on social media accounts for anyone under 16, and the fallout is immediate—not just for Big Tech, but for the kids now searching for alternatives. 

And speaking of big changes, the US is looking to make your digital past a part of your future travel plans, demanding a lengthy history of your social activity just to get an ESTA.

In our interview this week, we talk about the journey of AI, from Clippy in Microsoft Word to ChatGPT, with Brian Mac Namee, Associate Professor in the School of Computer Science at UCD. He'll explain how large language models are only the public face of a technology that’s been evolving for decades.

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Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube
https://www.podfollow.com/tech

We got you covered with smart gift ideas that'll actually get used, from VR headsets that don't need a gaming PC to AI phone assistants with a proper Dublin accent.  On top of dozens of tech gift ideas you also learn how to spot tech worth buying secondhand, subscription services actually worth paying for and why fitness tracking doesn't need a smartwatch.

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Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

https://www.podfollow.com/tech

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TECH FIRE 

TechFire returns on 9 December with a look at cyber resilience. 

Organisations are clinging to the idea, that resiliency begins and ends, with backups and out-of-date disaster recovery plans. 

So how do we untangle the services and dependencies holding your IT estate together? And what is the role of partners in making sure the limits of policy and resources, don't get tested by a security incident?

Join 

- Bill Unsworth, Director of Cloud for UK & Ireland at IBM
- Declan Hussey CEO of DNA IT Solutions
- and Robert Kelly, founder of HRI …

… to explore the difference between high availability, disaster recovery, and cyber resiliency.

That’s TechFire on 9th December at 10am. Register for place for free right now at techfire.techcentral.ie

This week, we're diving into the EU's push to ban social media for Irish kids, Ireland's space economy is having a record year and we share our Black Friday tech bargains.

Plus, we look at AI in the workplace and how it is forcing companies to rethink their ways of doing business internally and out with Neil Bowden from Dell Technologies Ireland.

If you would like to hear the previous episode we mentioned about the Irish Space Industry, you’ll find it here;
https://www.techcentral.ie/an-irish-perspective-on-space-4-0/

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TECH FIRE

TechFire returns on 9 December with a look at cyber resilience.

Organisations are clinging to the idea, that resiliency begins and ends, with backups and out-of-date disaster recovery plans.

So how do we untangle the services and dependencies holding your IT estate together? And what is the role of partners in making sure the limits of policy and resources, don't get tested by a security incident?

Join

- Bill Unsworth, Director of Cloud for UK & Ireland at IBM
- Declan Hussey CEO of DNA IT Solutions
- and Robert Kelly, founder of HRI …

… to explore the difference between high availability, disaster recovery, and cyber resiliency.

That’s TechFire on 9th December at 10am. Register for place for free right now at techfire.techcentral.ie

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Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

https://www.podfollow.com/tech

This week, why Apple might be pulling the plug on the iPhone Air before it's barely started and what Tim Cook's potential departure next year could mean for the company's direction. We also look at how 20% of the internet went dark this week and are we watching an AI bubble burst in real-time. 

Plus, we talk about how colleges can embrace AI instead of being afraid of it with our guest Dr Hazel Farrell from SETU.

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Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

https://www.podfollow.com/tech

This week, Apple's planning a budget MacBook targeting the space Chromebooks have dominated for years. We also break down the eye-watering $38 billion OpenAI-Amazon deal and why it’s like Netflix paying your Netflix subscription.

Plus we find out more about Science Week with Ruth Freeman from Research Ireland. For more on Science Week, 09 - 16 Nov, see scienceweek.ie

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Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube
https://www.podfollow.com/tech

This week, Amazon's mass redundancy tells us a lot about the world's AI transformation. We also look at the less than stellar way they explained it in an internal email to employees. Microsoft's had a proper wobble with Azure taking out Microsoft 365 services, yet their valuation still hit a record high. And the continuing row over the appointment of an Irish Data Protection Commissioner steps up a gear. 

Plus, with Beta Festival starting next weekend the 7th of November, we find out more about the ton of tech events lined up with festival founder and director Aisling Murray.  You can find our more about the festival at BetaFestival.ie

Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

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Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-radio-ireland/id256279328
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5vAWM1vvHbQKYE79dgCGY2
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TechRadioIreland
RSS - https://feeds.transistor.fm/techradio

We cover the really mundane reason Monday's massive AWS outage shut down the internet, exposing an uncomfortable truth about how we've essentially put all our eggs in just three baskets: AWS, Google, and Microsoft.

Closer to home, an AI-generated deepfake video showed an Irish election candidate withdrawing from the race, complete with a convincing fake Sharon Ní Bheoláin presenting it on RTÉ News. The question everyone's asking: who made it, and how do we stop this becoming the new normal? Plus, we'll look at why your driving licence is going digital by 2030.

Plus, we’ll be chatting with Grace Dinan of JunieXR about how live Augmented and Virtual Reality works on all our TV sports coverage.  You can also meet her when she exhibits at Prism next week, on October 29th, at Dundalk Institute of Technology.  See Eirmersive for more;

https://www.eirmersive.com/listings/prism

Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube

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Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-radio-ireland/id256279328
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5vAWM1vvHbQKYE79dgCGY2
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TechRadioIreland
RSS - https://feeds.transistor.fm/techradio

Windows 10 is finally being killed off by Microsoft. We look at what you can do and what Microsoft's strategy is going forward.  We also check out the all new MacBook Pro M5, and dig into a surprise move from Google with Europe's DMA.

Plus, we have a fascinating chat about AI in the workplace with Lisa Hunt, Microsoft Practice Director at Viatel Technology Group.

Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube
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Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-radio-ireland/id256279328
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5vAWM1vvHbQKYE79dgCGY2
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TechRadioIreland
RSS - https://feeds.transistor.fm/techradio

We unpack Budget 2025's AI spending commitments and ask whether the money will actually make a difference to Irish businesses trying to navigate digital transformation. We're also looking at the uncomfortable question everyone in tech is thinking but not saying out loud: are we in an AI bubble and what happens when it bursts? Finally, we explore why billionaires think hosting your data in orbit might be a brilliant idea 

Plus, our guest Kieran McCorry, Microsoft’s National Technology, fills us in on why AI is being used less by women and Gen Z and how more people than ever are looking to move jobs.

Listen to Tech Radio now on Apple, Spotify and YouTube
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Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tech-radio-ireland/id256279328
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5vAWM1vvHbQKYE79dgCGY2
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TechRadioIreland
RSS - https://feeds.transistor.fm/techradio