Who Made Wikipedia the Judge on ‘Monkey Selfie’ Copyright?
If a monkey picks up your camera and takes a selfie: who owns the copyright? Well, clearly not the monkey. Everyone agrees that a monkey is not a person under the law, and cannot ‘own’ property – intellectual or otherwise. Many would agree with photographer David Slater, who travelled to the habitat of the Crested Black Macaque in Indonesia on […]
Irish Genius Hacker Inspires new US TV Series
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news: your son is a genius”, says the character Walter O’Brien in the pilot of the new drama series Scorpion, which will premier on CBS next month. It tells the story of a consulting firm staffed by high IQs, who have “saved the world several times over“. It’s the […]
BBC Reports on Dairymaster and the Happy Cows
Many of the farmers I know are born engineers: witness the enthusiasm for machinery, both vintage and cutting-edge, at summer agriculture shows around the country. But as this BBC report suggests, the most successful agricultural entrepreneurs are sympathetic to nature as well as technology. Based in Causeway, Co Kerry, and run by former Entrepreneur of the Year Dr Edmond Harty, […]
Rosetta Spacecraft Catches Comet after 10 Year Chase
This week, the Rosetta spacecraft reached the destination it’s been working towards since its launch in 2004, and for many years before that: Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. On RTÉ’s Drivetime on Wednesday, Kevin O’Rourke of The Planetary Society, pointed out that this project has become the life’s work of a generation of scientists, including many here in Ireland. It’s a mission on an […]
Four Lads in a Mini, Four Days in Ireland
It’s not California, as Michele and I discussed yesterday, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ireland is having a fantastic, sunny, showery summer. Talk to any farmer: they’re delighted with the weather. Driving through Tipperary yesterday I was struck by the greenness of grass and crops. And suntanned people are lapping it up. This video […]
Irish Web Awards Nominations Now Open
Nominations for the 2014 Realex Fire Irish Web Awards are now open. Nominations are open from today until September 5th 2014. The event itself will be held in the Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin on October 22. Entry is 100% free and based on past experience the evening itself is always really good fun (there is a […]
Promiscuous Mode [Audio]
Conn and Michele recorded a podcast (37:19; 34MB; MP3) in Michele’s office at Blacknight HQ this afternoon. We discuss the Russian Blogging Crackdown and the recent US court ruling that Microsoft must hand over data on a server located in Ireland. Last week, Michele broke the news that ICANN’s 54th public meeting will be held in Dublin next […]
Shutterstock Proves Stock Photos Can Be Amazing
Shutterstock, are celebrating a major milestone: 40 million images in their collection! In celebration, they’ve curated a selection of spectacular images on their blog, ranging from stunning portraits, to vivid landscapes, wildlife, food and art. They’ve kindly allowed us to feature some of them on Technology.ie. Enjoy! To see the full selection, visit the Shutterstock blog. […]
New IP Bill will Enhance Legal Protection for Generic Drug Development
The Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014, which is published today, will enhance the immunity from patent infringement for companies involved in testing generic versions of drugs while the original drugs continue to enjoy patent protection. A case in 1984 in the United States resulted in legislation allowing for the Bolar Exemption, which allows companies to use patent-protected drugs in tests to develop […]
Citrix and ICT Ireland Offer Free Cloud and Virtualisation Training to Unemployed Graduates
Citrix has partnered with ICT Ireland Skillnet to offer unemployed Computer Science graduates a unique fourteen week high-level Cloud Computing and Virtualisation training programme to equip them for fast-track entry to a job as a technical support engineer. There are fifteen places on the training programme. Citrix plans to offer up to half of the […]