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

1 May 2015

Food image via Shutterstock

Ten nuggets of knowledge to take away for the weekend, including: marriage referendum Yes vote in Ireland’s economic interests, Elon Musk’s energy revolution and Silicon Republic CEO accepts ICS fellowship.

1. Ann O’Dea accepts ICS fellowship as champion for women in STEM

Silicon Republic CEO Ann O’Dea, Minister Richard Bruton, TD, and CPL chief Anne Heraty have been recognised for their contributions to the ICT sector in Ireland.

O’Dea, Heraty and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation were awarded fellowships from the Irish Computer Society (ICS) to mark IT Professionals Day 2015, during the ongoing celebrations of Tech Week.

As co-founder and CEO of Silicon Republic, O’Dea has led the company’s campaign to champion women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) sectors. This has involved the establishment of the Women Invent campaign, which has been actively celebrating and promoting women in STEM since March 2013, and the launch of Inspirefest 2015.

2. Marriage referendum Yes vote would be in Ireland’s economic interest, says IDA chief

IDA Ireland CEO Martin Shanahan has said that a Yes vote in the upcoming marriage referendum would be in Ireland’s economic interest, while a No vote would send a negative signal to international businesses.

3.Tesla Energy revealed: Musk’s ‘extreme scale’ vision to change energy consumption forever

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed Tesla Energy, an ambitious battery system that will power homes, businesses and utilities. It includes two new products, Powerwall and Powerpack.

4. Apple’s Irish tax bill could run into billions of dollars, tech giant warns

Apple has warned in a regulatory filing that it may be forced to pay up to 10 years’ worth of back taxes in Ireland if a European Commission investigation finds against it.

5. How old do I look? Don’t ask Microsoft…

Microsoft is currently trolling the internet with a new website that it has just created. Now, by uploading a selfie of yourself, it spouts out an estimate of your age – and it’s terrible.

6. Castlebar gets €1.5m investment to expand fibre network

Castlebar, Co Mayo has become the latest town to receive a fibre network windfall after network operator enet announced it is to invest €1.5m for the construction of a new metro fibre network.

7. Apple Watch the most profitable product Apple has ever made

A teardown of the entry level Apple Watch Sport by IHS Technology has revealed that, in comparison to what it costs to manufacture, it is an incredibly profitable piece of kit.

8. Facebook adds 70 new gender options in Ireland

Irish Facebook users can now choose from more than 70 gender options, following on the heels of similar moves in the US and the UK.

9. Lobbying register set up by Irish Govt aims for more transparency

The dark art of lobbying is about to be given a 21st century upgrade in the form of an online lobbying register that will require lobbyists to register all activity from 1 September.

10. Ryanair and Adobe strike digital infrastructure and cloud deal

European low fares airline Ryanair has forged a new partnership with software giant Adobe to upgrade the airline’s app and website to become a world-class digital infrastructure.

Food image via Shutterstock via Shutterstock

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

editorial@siliconrepublic.com