Weekend takeaway: 10 tech stories you need to read right now

24 Apr 2015

Weekend tech takeaway - 10 nuggets of knowledge

Ten nuggets of knowledge to take away for the weekend, including six research ideas that could change the world, easter egg wars between Apple and Google, and tech jobs boom.

  1. 6 research ideas that could transform society and the economy forever

The Irish Government has committed €30m to 23 major research projects that have the potential to impact society and the economy.

Ireland’s Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD, unveiled the investment in the 23 projects that are part of the SFI Investigators Programme, which focuses on Ireland’s society and economy.

The projects were selected by a competitive peer review involving 400 international scientists after a call for proposals across a number of thematic areas of national and international importance.

Funding for each project will range from €500,000 to €2.3m.

  1. Agora Publishing announces 100 jobs, opening technology services centre in Waterford

A publishing company has announced that it’s set to significantly expand its operations in the south east to create a multilingual contact centre and a technology services centre in Waterford.

  1. Irish jobs market still surging, IT roles up 11pc on last year (infographic)

The number of jobs advertised in Ireland in Q1 2015 is markedly up on this time last year, with job opportunities in the IT sector still plentiful.

  1. The Interview: Dr Stephen Brennan, chief digital advisor to Irish Govt (video)

If more Irish businesses adopt digital it will contribute to a rising tide that could potentially lift all businesses, says Dr Stephen Brennan, chief digital advisor to the Irish Government.

  1. Stunning reverse engineering Android app among DCU innovation award winners

A pretty brilliant computer aided design (CAD) app developed by Liam Sexton has won the students’ prize at this year’s DCU President’s Awards for Innovation.

  1. Doodle 4 Google Ireland winner Harry Kane’s moment in the sun

Following his success in Doodle 4 Google Ireland, six-year-old Harry Kane’s ‘My Perfect Day’ doodle is now live on Google.ie.

  1. Dell creates 100 new jobs in Limerick to drive global digital transformation

Dell is to create 100 new highly-skilled engineering jobs at its Limerick operation to drive the company’s global digital transformation.

  1. Cork start-up wins €50,000 in EU funding to recycle tyres faster and more cleanly

Composite Recycling, a Cork-based start-up, has been awarded €50,000 by the European Commission (EC) to recycle whole tyres within 30 minutes using a much cleaner scientific process.

  1. Apple plants iOS Voice Memo easter egg in plain sight

It has been sitting before our very eyes for two years but only now has somebody twigged that the Voice Memo logo on iOS is actually a waveform representation of the sound of someone saying “Apple.”

  1. Apple will not be impressed by the latest easter egg discovered in Google Maps

A new easter egg discovered hidden within Google Maps won’t improve the enmity that exists between Apple and Google over their respective iOS and Android operating systems.

Weekend break image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com