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

9 Oct 2015

Apple Watch review, UCC president encourages drop-outs and Dell/EMC merger impact on Irish jobs

Ten nuggets of knowledge to take away for the weekend, including: Apple Watch review, UCC president encourages drop-outs and Dell/EMC merger impact on Irish jobs.

1. UCC President: we encourage students to drop out and start-up (video)

UCC president Dr Michael Murphy has said the university would actually encourage some students to drop out if they wanted to start up their own businesses.

2. Apple Watch review: perfect timing for a brand new form factor (video)

There is more to the Apple Watch than meets the eye. It’s not just a pretty piece of jewellery, but it is in fact a powerful statement of intent about Apple’s hardware and software ecosystem long into the future.

3. Dell’s rumoured EMC interest affects 6,000 Irish jobs

The rumours surrounding a mega tech merger between Dell and EMC has thrown up question marks over the future operations of both businesses in Ireland, with thousands employed across numerous sites.

4. Watch: Facebook Reactions now live in Ireland and Spain

As we reported yesterday, Facebook has rolled out a new Reactions feature in Ireland and Spain, allowing users to do more than just ‘like’ what we see.

5. Elon Musk calls Apple ‘Tesla’s graveyard’, criticises company’s innovation

Elon Musk has been familiarising himself with his European workforce and talking with politicians on the continent this week, but did not shy away from putting the boot in against a soon-to-be rival in the electric vehicle (EV) market.

6. NASA report details space agency’s plans for journey to Mars

In a report released on Thursday, NASA has detailed plans for humankind’s journey to Mars, saying, “we are closer to sending humans to Mars than at any point in NASA’s history”.

7. Amazon upsets Etsy’s knitting with a new arts and crafts platform

E-commerce giant Amazon is setting out to take on Etsy with a new e-commerce store for artisans – Handmade.

8. Apple to launch iPad Pro and Apple TV at end of October

The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the Siri-powered Apple TV are expected to appear for sale online in late October, and will be in stores in early November, according to reports.

9. Video wars: Twitter takes on YouTube with pre-rolls

Twitter is muscling in on YouTube’s territory with an advertising approach that is eerily similar.

10. Five ways the internet of things will change your everyday life

The internet of things (IoT) is both present and future, as the explosion of sensors rockets ahead. But, for the uninitiated, what aspects of life will be affected? Well, pretty much all of them.

Weekend takeaway image via Shutterstock

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

editorial@siliconrepublic.com