Water on Mars Raises Questions about a ‘Prime Directive’
I’m looking forward to The Martian, the new film starring Matt Damon which opens this week. The word is that if you like your science fiction with the emphasis on science, rather than fiction, it promises to be a rewarding experience. Yesterday, NASA announced the results of research which shows that liquid water has been observed on the surface […]
Social Media and the Super Moon Eclipse
Last night’s lunar eclipse was all over over social media feeds this morning. The eclipse coincided with the moon at perigee – its closest distance from earth, making it appear up to 14% larger in diameter. The coincidence of supermoon (perigee) and blood-red eclipse last occurred in 1982, making last night’s occurrence a spectacular event, with unusually clear […]
Podcast from the Padded Cell [Audio]
Today’s podcast is recorded in Michele Neylon’s office at Blacknight HQ in Carlow. It’s our first show recorded there since we refurbished it with echo-absorbing acoustic panels. Michele jokes that I’ve put him in “a padded cell” – but the sound quality is hugely improved! Click on the player above to listen to the show, or download it here: 34:31; 20MB; […]
Animals Attack Drones [Video]
Drones (or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to be correct) are a cool technology, but they’re not without concerns about safety and privacy. Recent cases have led to prosecutions in the UK, and here in Ireland companies like Flightpath Consulting offer advice about legal and regulatory requirements. But our friends in the animal kingdom don’t care much for the […]
Medieval helpdesk
Technology advances all the time and new technologies can bring challenges for users ..
Web Awards Finalists Announced – Which Site Is The Most Influential Irish One EVER?
The finalists for the 2015 Realex Payments Web Awards have been announced Apart from the “standard” categories there is also an award for “The Most Influential Irish Website Ever”. This is an award that fascinates me and the shortlist is a very interesting cross-section of new, old, serious and “light”: UCC – they were one of the […]
Web Summit Moving To Lisbon
The big story in Irish tech today is that Web Summit will not be held in Dublin from next year. They’ve decided to move the event to Lisbon. There’s a post over on their blog announcing it, as well as an opinion piece by Paddy Cosgrave over on the Irish Times which explains the thinking. […]
Netflix Uses Big Data To Detect The Addiction Tipping Point For TV Shows
Netflix has a very large subscriber base and they obviously track a lot of different data points. Earlier today they released some data in relation to people’s viewing habits, more specifically at what point in a TV series run people get addicted. What’s interesting is that the pilot episode isn’t a strong indicator of “addiction” […]
Galway Gamers’ Kickstarter Launches Biker Mice for Mobile
Fans of nineties TV animation Biker Mice from Mars have an opportunity to help turn the franchise into a mobile game, thanks to a Kickstarter launched by an Irish company yesterday. Galway-based game developers 9th Impact beat off international competition last year to get the licence to develop a Biker Mice game for Android and iOS. They’ve been working […]
XKCD on Tech for Tech’s Sake
This recent cartoon from XKCD will strike a chord with many, especially those of us who maintain aging systems.