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

7 Nov 2014

Ten nuggets of knowledge for this weekend, including highlights from Silicon Republic’s Women Invent Meet-up, stories from the Web Summit and Ask.fm’s controversial move to Ireland.

1. We’ll make fashion smart, says Intel’s head of new devices (video)

Intel is working with fashion brands such as Fossil and Opening Ceremony to put digital technology into everyday fashion items, the company’s vice-president and general manager of new devices Mike Bell said.

Bell, who is spearheading Intel’s wearable tech strategy, said the chip giant is going about its mission in a very considered way.

“Whatever we do it needs to be as fashionable as it is technologically enabled. Our best strategy is to partner with people who are the best at what they do in this field. They know fashion, they know their customers and they know what looks good and we know how to make it smart.”

2. Young scientists from Cork may commercialise their food tech idea yet

The young ladies who won the 2013 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition and the recent Google Science Fair say they may commercialise their winning idea yet.

3. Controversial social Q&A site Ask.fm is moving to Ireland

A Pandora’s Box of emotions has been opened in Ireland with the news that Ask.fm, the controversial anonymous social network for teenagers, is moving from Lativa to Ireland.

4. Stop fixing, mentoring and supporting women – just invest in them, says Astia CEO

Astia CEO Sharon Vosmek discussed the gender gap in STEM, Gamergate and why venture-capital culture – not women – needs to change, during a Q&A at the Women Invent Meet-up in Dublin.

5. 400 tech jobs announced across 8 companies in Dublin, Cork and Galway

One of Ireland’s largest jobs announcements in recent months has revealed 400 jobs are to be created across eight tech operations in Dublin, Cork and Galway by both North American and European companies.

6. Women need to be more visible role models, says Julia Hartz of Eventbrite (videos)

More women need to become visible role models for other women if they are to achieve gender parity in all aspects of STEM, said Julia Hartz, president and co-founder of Eventbrite.

7. Making hardware is just as accessible as coding, says littleBits’ Ayah Bdeir (video)

From kids in elementary school to executives at ad agencies and inventors in garages, more and more people are getting into hardware prototyping thanks to MIT graduate and CEO of littleBits Electronics Ayah Bdeir.

8. The interview: Mark Hatch, CEO, TechShop (video)

TechShop is coming to Dublin and very soon anyone who has the ambition to mass manufacture their invention will have the firepower to build a working prototype, the CEO of TechShop Mark Hatch said this week.

9. Answering medical queries should be as easy as catching an Uber cab, says Remedy CEO

At the 2014 Web Summit in Dublin, we spoke to 20-year-old Noor Siddiqui, co-founder and CEO of Remedy, a company intent on improving healthcare with wearable and mobile technology.

10. Intel Capital makes Braigo Labs founder youngest person to ever receive VC funding

Intel Capital, the investment arm of chip giant Intel, has said it will invest in Braigo Labs, making its 13-year-old founder Shubham Banerjee the youngest person ever to receive venture-capital funding.

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

editorial@siliconrepublic.com