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

29 May 2015

10 tech stories you need to read right now

Ten nuggets of knowledge to take away for the weekend, including CoderDojo’s vision to bring coding to every child, two Irish start-ups on Mary Meeker’s radar and a sci-tech event with a rocking free summer festival.

1. CoderDojo’s vision to bring coding to every child

Giustina Mizzoni is unequivocal when she says CoderDojo’s aim is to bring coding to every child in every school – and, with a growing worldwide presence, this cool project is well underway.

2. Intercom and Stripe feature in Mary Meeker’s influential Internet Trends report

Two Irish start-ups, Intercom and Stripe, have featured in Mary Meeker’s influential Internet Trends report for breaking down complexity in the areas of customer relationship management and e-commerce respectively.

3. 8 things that Google revealed at I/O 2015

At Google I/O the internet giant gave a tantalising view of where it is headed next – domination of the internet of things (IoT) and mobile devices. Here’s our list of the key developments you need to take stock of.

4. Inspirefest: a sci-tech event with a rocking free summer festival

The best networking at tech conferences happens in relaxed, social settings – but that shouldn’t confine delegates to pubs and bars. Inspirefest unlocks Dublin’s potential with an outdoor Fringe festival to entertain and connect its visitors through a variety of events and performances.

5. Germany’s 700MHz spectrum auction will be a first for Europe

Germany this week became the first country in Europe to auction low frequency 700Mhz wireless spectrum that will boost wireless broadband availability in rural areas, making it possible to beam wireless up to 10km.

6. Serial podcast to return with two new stories

Phenomenally popular podcast series Serial has announced two new seasons that are ready for release this year and next.

7. EuropeanPioneers: Have you got a €250,000 idea?

EU funding programme EuropeanPioneers is seeking 13 start-ups and SMEs from all over Europe to pitch ideas for a chance to receive equity-free funding of up to €250,000.

8. John Sculley talks smartphones and Apple’s future

Former Apple CEO John Sculley reveals how he plans to empower the next 2bn members of the world’s middle classes with his Obi smartphone and how success in business today requires harnessing the power shift to consumers’ opinions.

9. Apple moves into augmented reality with acquisition of Metaio

Apple has set its sights on the burgeoning augmented reality space with the acquisition of Metaio, a company that is an offshoot of an R&D project at Volkswagen.

10. Robot cheetah sticks the high jump

An MIT robot modelled after the cheetah has become the first four-legged robot to autonomously jump over obstacles.

BBQ image via Shutterstock

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

editorial@siliconrepublic.com