The Big Tech Show

Adrian Weckler recently learned how hard it can be to quit a gambling app. He signed up to one, LivescoreBet, just to watch a football game. But it wouldn’t let him delete his account.

Six times he asked, six times he was refused. He then signed up to other betting apps to see whether they were any better. Most allowed him to bet using his credit card through apps such as Apple Pay or Revolut, even though betting apps aren’t supposed to allow credit card betting.

What, he asks, must it be like for those with gambling addiction? Adrian discusses the scant regulation in Ireland and other elements of the issue with former gambling addict (now a counsellor) Tony O’Reilly and Prof John O’Brennan.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few years ago, an ambitious young entrepreneur made a big claim: she was developing technology that could diagnose illnesses from a drop of blood.
Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos dazzled investors with her pitch, dressing up like Steve Jobs and talking a perfect game.
As we now know, there was no ground-breaking technology. Holmes, who was faking it rather than making it, has now been convicted on several counts of fraud.
The episode, which captured the imagination of the world, has shone the spotlight on a darker side of startup ethics – how far can you stretch your startup’s claims of potential when looking for money? Is it still okay to fake it until you make it?
Joining Adrian to compare stories and discuss the issue is seasoned startup advisor Donal Cahalane.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will 2022 be all about NFTs and Apple's AR glasses?
Joining Adrian to go through his predictions for what will and won't happen this year is tech journalist Andy O'Donoghue.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2021 saw a number of winners and losers in the world of technology. From NFTs, a venture capital boom and 5G expansion to cybersecurity woes and folding phones, it was an eventful year both here in Ireland and internationally. But what soared and what stank? Adrian and Vizlegal CEO Gavin Sheridan pick the winners and losers in the tech year that was.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You walk up to a shop counter and put your milk, bread and paper on the counter. How do you pay? With cash? A card? Your phone? Or even your watch?
Is it easy to do these things? Should it be easier? What’s coming down the line? And how can Ireland establish itself as somewhere that leads in this area rather than follows years after everyone else?
To find out more, Adrian is joined by Elaine Deehan, Ireland Country Manager at Starling Bank and Paul Sweetman, director of Financial Services Ireland, which is part of Ibec.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How hard is it to make a living out of becoming a YouTuber or an Instagram influencer?
Is there a minimum number of followers you need? Do you have to pick a good niche? How many people actually make it?
Last week, YouTube revealed that there are now over 70 Irish YouTubers with more than 1m subscribers and over 450 Irish people with more than 100,000 subscribers.
In this week's podcast, Adrian is joined by two full time Irish professional social media personalities to talk about the nuts and bolts of how to make a living out of it.
Brian MacManus is the creator of the Real Engineering and Real Science YouTube channels, with almost 4m subscribers.
Clare Cullen is a former YouTube Ambassador to Ireland and host of the video podcast 'Storytime With Clisare'. She has 120,000 YouTube subscribers and over 30,000 Instagram followers.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stuck for a Christmas tech gift idea? Thinking about something fitness-related? Or headphones? Or just a stocking filler?
We’ve got you covered. From gifts for high rollers to penny-pinchers, Adrian is joined by Mark Kavanagh, tech writer for Irish Daily Star and IrishMirror.ie

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, Star Trek fans were given the bad news that its Star Trek Discovery series is being removed from Netflix, with all past and future episodes only available on yet another streaming platform -- Paramount Plus.
Will we just accept this and subscribe to yet another platform? Or are we reaching overload?
This week, Adrian calculates that his monthly TV streaming outlay is now €62, rising to €142 when Sky and Sky Go are included.
But are Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus and all the rest just the beginning? And what are the streaming platforms doing to television and movies?
To discuss it, Adrian is joined by Steve McCormack, Reflektor Media CEO and a producer on TV shows such as Fade Street, Screen Producers Ireland’s Anthony Muldoon and journalist Jennifer Gannon.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How old do you need to be to start a tech company that investors will take seriously? 25? 23? 20?
Today we talk to a couple of young Irish tech founders who are making waves at a very young age. Greg Tarr is 18 and the CEO and founder of an artificial intelligence firm called Inferex. Having won this year’s BT Young Scientist competition, Tarr received six-figure job offers and dropped out of secondary school. He is now skipping college (because it’s “a waste of time”) to focus on his firm, which has already raised €1.25m.
Adrian also speaks to Sean Finnegan, who is 20 and is currently raising money for his e-receipt software company, Receipt Relay.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s 20 years into the future. Robots are cleaning our beaches and rivers.Advanced technology lets us mine asteroids and collect materials on the moon. And while tech trillionaires enjoy the greatest concentration of wealth in human history, advanced countries now give a universal basic income to all citizens, eliminating poverty and allowing people to focus more on jobs they’d much prefer to do.

Sound like a fantasy? Not to our guest this week, the futurist Brett King.

Together with Dr Richard Petty, he has written a new book called The Rise Of Techno Socialism — How Inequality, AI and Climate will usher in a new world.
He tells Adrian about what he thinks will happen in the coming years, and why.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.