Adrian Weckler

Dubliner Shane Curran landed a €14.7m funding round for his Evervault startup.

How Irish startups get cash from VCs - and who to pick

Despite worries that venture capital funding would slip into a Covid-induced coma, substantial Irish tech deals have continued with little fall-off.

Facebook plays host to adverts from over seven million advertisers

Adrian Weckler Opinion There's plenty of outrage, but is the Facebook ad boycott real?

Over the last 10 days, some big international companies announced a boycott of Facebook ads. Unilever, Coca-Cola, Starbucks - real giants.

Excellent value: Sony A6000 with 16-50mm lens

Ask Adrian: digital camera options and best mobile broadband router for holiday use

Question: My uncle is turning 70 next week, has recently retired and wants to take up photography as a new hobby. He is a total beginner and not very tech savvy. Our budget is around €500 and for his birthday we'd like to buy him a digital camera and maybe a lesson or two. Is there any camera that you would recommend as suitable for him?

The Big Tech Show: 'I came within hours of selling it for $1bn'

This week, Adrian has a lively chat with one of Ireland’s most interesting serial entrepreneurs, Norman Crowley.

Upgrade: Rural residents will get higher broadband speeds

NBP to triple basic broadband speed for 500,000 rural residents

The new Government is to target a speedier rollout of the National Broadband Plan, with new higher basic speeds.

Vodafone to kickstart 5G service by 'sharing' 4G waves

Vodafone is aiming for a third of the population to be covered by its 5G service by March 2021.

Flagship ahoy: the ultimate guide to today's top-end smartphones

IF you need a new smartphone to look after your life, there has never been more choice. Adrian Weckler looks at some of the very top flagship devices and assesses their advantages and drawbacks.

Thrifty tech: the smartphones under €100

Looking for an ultra-budget smartphone? Maybe you need an emergency spare for the car. Or perhaps you could use a handset for when you next travel that won't cause a €1,000 hole in your pocket if mislaid. Maybe you're simply looking for something affordable to hand to a teen or an elderly family member for a specific purpose, such as staying in touch over WhatsApp. Here, Adrian Weckler picks five models that cost under €100, with two standout recommendations.

NBP to triple basic broadband speed for 500,000 rural residents

The new Government is to target a speedier rollout of the National Broadband Plan, with new higher basic speeds.

New design: Purportedly leaked CAD drawings and images hint at a new shape for the iPhone 12. Images: everythingapplepro

Apple's new iPhone 12 'to come without a charger or earphones'

Apple's iPhone 12 will not include a charger or earphones, according to the tech industry's top research analyst.

Viral content: Irish dancer Morgan Elizabeth from the US shot to fame with her TikTok videos

TikTok to base its European privacy operations in Ireland

The social networking giant TikTok will now base all of its European privacy operations in Ireland.

TikTok shifts European privacy base to Ireland

The social networking giant TikTok will now base all of its European privacy operations in Ireland.

Switzerland launched the SwissCovid contact-tracing app for its residents

Adrian Weckler Opinion Contact-tracing app gets my vote

I'm going to download the new Irish contact-tracing app. Despite the delays and the data protection queries, it's worth a try.

Funding news: Journal Media CEO Adrian Acosta speaking to Adrian Weckler on the Big Tech Show podcast

Journal media funding campaign attracts 5,000 donations in two months

The chief executive of Journal Media says that the company has attracted over 5,000 financial contributions from readers in the two months since it launched its funding campaign.

Surveillance: Contact-tracing apps have been used in several countries

Contact-tracing app technology will have limitations - HSE design firm

The company building Ireland's contact-tracing app says the original centralised model, which was abandoned in favour of a design created by Apple and Google, would have been doomed primarily for data privacy reasons.

Popular programmes such as 'Tiger King' have driven Netflix subscriptions higher in Ireland (Netflix/PA)

Netflix nearing a million Irish subscriptions

Netflix is approaching 1m subscriptions in Ireland, sources close to the company have said.

Easy rider: Adrian Weckler takes the Niu MQI+ Sport for a spin. Photo: Eve Golden

Tech review: Trendy scooter from Niu gives e-bikes a run for their money

ACROSS Irish cities, bicycle shops have queues coming out of them. Electric models, while not experiencing quite as much of a crush in demand, are also hot items.

Tech review: Sony sticks to the straight and narrow as it eyes film fans

SONY has doubled-down on what it thinks is its ergonomic design advantage: 'skinny' phones.

Room with a view: Cinemas face the threat of coping with the post-Covid restrictions and the rise in streaming services.

Time to movie on - have social distancing and streaming services finally killed off the cinema?

FROM Monday, cinemas will reopen in Ireland. But will people go? Even when things fully return to normal, will our mass adoption of streaming services and giant, cheap televisions mean less regular visits to the local multiplex?

Vodafone launches new dedicated support helpline for over-70s

Vodafone has launched a new support helpline for those over 70 years of age.

The charge is estimated to affect tens of thousands of Eircom.net email address users.

Eir to ask customers to click on email links for €5.99 Eircom.net charge setup

Eir is to ask customers to click on email links for payment of its new €5.99 Eircom.net charge from next week.

Hearing boost: The BigTel 40 Plus describes itself as super loud

Ask Adrian: The best phones for the elderly and hard of hearing

Question: I have a relation in a nursing home who is not tech-savvy. I would like to be able to video call her. Could you recommend a phone or tablet that would be easy for her to use?

The Big Tech Show: The Steorn story: a cautionary tale of delusion, Irish tech and the search for a perpetual motion machine

This week, Adrian dives into the amazing story of Ireland’s most fantastically controversial startup of the last 20 years: Steorn.

John and Patrick Collison’s Stripe raised an astronomical €600m

Adrian Weckler Opinion Is Irish tech thriving or choking?

Is tech entrepreneurship in rude health or in dire danger in Ireland?

Looking to the future: Niall McGarry of Maximum Media. Photo: Getty Images

In examinership with €6m debts - but McGarry says Maximum too big to fail

With his company stuck in a High Court examinership process, Maximum Media chief Niall McGarry believes the online publishing firm is "too big to fail" and has "too important a role" in Ireland not to successfully emerge from the insolvency procedure.

‘We’re too big to fail and I hope to be around for a while yet’ — Maximum Media boss

Maximum Media is “too big to fail” and has “too important a role” in Ireland not to successfully emerge from its current High Court examinership process, according to publisher Niall McGarry.

Login: Users will have to migrate to another provider or pay new fee

Users of eircom.net email service face €6 fee from July or risk losing account

Eir is to charge €5.99 per month for its webmail service from the start of July. The company had suspended the introduction of the fee during the pandemic lockdown.

Eir to charge thousands of email users €5.99 per month from July

Eir is to charge €5.99 per month for its webmail service from July first.

€12m raised by Irish engineer as tech privacy boom gathers pace

Dubliner Cillian Kieran’s privacy technology startup, Ethyca, has raised €12m, bringing to almost €100m the amount raised by Irish tech entrepreneurs during the harshest months of the lockdown.

Perfect travel partner - Microsoft's Surface Go 2 is a portable package with a stunning design, but an emphasis on fun can't make up for its lack of power

FROM the end of this month, you can holiday anywhere in the country. But can you really leave a laptop behind for a full fortnight? For many, work arrangements are still touch and go. Wouldn't it be satisfying to have something smaller, lighter and less soul-crushing than your 15-inch black office slab?