The Big Tech Show

Why is Bluesky getting a million new followers a day? How big is it in Ireland? And how do you find people once you join? Producer, JJ Clarke, joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. Bluesky is a social media platform that was founded as part of Twitter in 2019. In 2021, Jay Graber became CEO of the platform, with Dorsey leaving the platform's board in May. The site was initially invitation-only but was then opened to the public. Adrian began by addressing the narrative that people are leaving X and joining Bluesky on account of political ideology. However, he said the main reason users are signing up to the platform is because it is the first alternative to X where users can go and get the news. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Is Apple’s new MacBook Pro M4 worth getting? Is it better than an updated MacBook Air? And what type of work requires one? Producer, JJ Clarke, joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. For the last week Adrian has been testing out the 16-inch space-black, nano-texture version of the new MacBook Pro M4. He gives his verdict on the laptop which starts at a fairly lofty €2,999. Whereas the entry-level 14-inch M4 model (€1,949) has a few immediate upgrades worth noting, including double the RAM (16GB), a better chip (M4) and its €100 less than the M3 model. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Why did the FBI set up their own encrypted phone company? How did it result in the biggest drug trafficking sting in history? And is law enforcement finally catching up with criminals online? Author of Dark Wire and co-founder of 404 Media, Joseph Cox, joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. In 2018 the Federal Bureau of Investigation set up ANOM, a supposedly secure smartphone-based proprietary messaging app. It was a sting operation that intercepted millions of messages sent through the service. The ANOM service was widely used by criminals, but instead of providing secure and encrypted communication, it was in fact a trojan horse distributed covertly by the FBI between 2018 and 2021. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What effect will President Trump’s win have on Ireland? Is it the end of Ireland’s US multinational corporation tax bonanza? And will Elon Musk be given free rein to promote his interests? Producer, JJ Clarke, joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.

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How do you make an impression as a startup founder? Does walking into a big company and asking to see the CEO work? And how do you get past gatekeepers? Oran O’Flynn, CEO and co-founder of Talio, an AI-powered market research co-pilot platform joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.

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What is the hardest part of founding a tech startup? How do you choose a business partner? And what do you give up in the pursuit of success? Adrian was joined this week on The Big Tech Show by Nocomed founders, Rosemary Durkan and Donal Adams to discuss their startup journey. Nocomed is the first sustainability platform for life science companies. The business allows companies to measure and reduce their carbon emission. Adrian asked the co-founders about how they chose each other, and it turns out that Rosemary and Donal sat together on the first day. The tech editor quizzed them about what they had to give up, Rosemary spoke about less money while Donal mentioned the time demands to get the enterprise on its feet. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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How can tech allow blind people not just hear but feel the action as a fan? How does Field of Vision’s haptic device work? And how was the Irish startup created? Co-founder of Field of Vision, David Deneher, joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. David describes the device as a tablet which has a small magnetic finger piece that moves based on where the ball is on the pitch. There are tactile pitch lines which the blind or visually impaired person can feel which allows the fan to feel exactly where the ball is on the pitch at any given moment. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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What’s going on with electric cars? Has Ireland made a complete bags of it? Or is it just a blip in a general upward trend? And what are the top EV models to look at right now? This week on the Big Tech Show, Adrian is joined by Derek Reilly, partnership director with Nevo.

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How big is the rift emerging between the US and EU over AI? Why are tech giants going big on nuclear AI data centres? And are we witnessing the end of the non-robotic taxi? To discuss, Adrian was joined by head of growth at Humanloop and founder of Taxbot.ie, Conor Kelly, on the Big Tech Show. Conor began by talking about his recent move to San Francisco and the attitude there to Europe. He said that all the innovation in the artificial intelligence space is coming out of Silicon Valley with all big tech companies releasing new AI models there. The Dublin native noted that Europe is so far behind the US that the newer models can’t even be brought to Europe anymore. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Is the answer to Ireland’s data center energy problem nuclear power? Why are Google and Microsoft investing in it? And why are 15 data centres across the country paused? Adrian was joined by Senior Lecturer in Clean Energy at University College Cork, Dr. Paul Deane, to discuss the issue.

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