Weekend takeaway: Crunching the data

28 Oct 2016

Essential tech reading for this Hallowe’en weekend. Image: Jaturong Srilek/Shutterstock

From the leading lights of data science to the new MacBook Pro, we cover all the important areas in the sci-tech world this week.

1. 18 top data science accounts you need to follow on Twitter

Need a daily data science fix? Try these Twitter accounts for regular updates on data, analytics, machine learning and more.

2. Rebirth of the laptop: New MacBook comes with Touch Bar and USB-C ports

Apple has taken the wrappers off three new MacBook Pro laptops that come with four USB-C ports, two of which sport the new Touch Bar.

3. Fionnuala Meehan to take reins of Google in Ireland, Harris to lead UK

Fionnuala Meehan is to become Google’s new country manager and the head of a 6,000-strong organisation, as Ronan Harris takes up a new role as head of Google UK and Ireland.

4. TSSG’s Barry Downes: ‘Our computer sciences need to embrace VR and AR’

Ireland’s academic landscape need to embrace augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to meet the future needs of entrepreneurs and industry, said academic and entrepreneur Barry Downes of TSSG.

5. Brendan Mooney of Belfast’s Kainos named Entrepreneur of the Year

Brendan Mooney, the CEO of Belfast software company Kainos, has been named EY Entrepreneur of the Year for 2016. Irish astrophysicist Susan McKenna-Lawlor was also honoured.

6. Senan Byrne, Ireland’s biggest Vine star, reacts to its death

Twitter has decided to pull the plug on its ‘loopy’ video app Vine, but what does Ireland’s biggest star on the platform, Senan Byrne, think of it?

7. Developing your data skills will make you more employable

If we’ve learned one thing from Data Science Week, it’s that analytics and data mining skills are becoming essential for a career in tech.

8. Want to be a data scientist? ‘Stay humble and never stop learning’

Data science is an incredibly broad area and knowing what role to pursue can be challenging. Hearing from someone already working in the industry may help.

9. IoT leads to rise in cyber risks, says Aon’s Stephanie Snyder

Cyber risk is evolving at an astonishing pace, driven by the digital transformation of traditional companies into tech companies and the explosion of internet of things devices, warns Aon’s Stephanie Snyder.

10. Nuritas secures €3m in EU funding to halt spread of diabetes

As one of Ireland’s biggest biotech success stories, Nuritas has now been awarded €3m in EU Horizon 2020 funding to commercialise a peptide that could potentially offer a new weapon in the fight against Type 2 diabetes.

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

editorial@siliconrepublic.com