
The Big Tech Show
585 episodes — Page 8 of 12

What effects do crashing tech stocks have on your pension and pay?
Over the last week, tech stocks have crashed. The likes of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Tesla and Amazon lost between €120bn and €200bn each in their market value. Some others, like Zoom and Netflix, are even worse, down between two thirds and three quarters in value. What the hell is going on? Are we all suddenly reassessing what we think the value of these tech companies is? Or is something else causing these valuations to slide? Could it affect your pension? Or, if you work for a tech firm, your pay? And what on earth is happening to sections of the crypto market? To discuss the issue, tech editor Adrian Weckler is joined by Jon Ihle, deputy business editor of the Irish Independent.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you have to be an asshole to be a top tech founder?
Elon Musk is a genius and an inspiration to millions. But he's also acting like an asshole in his drive to buy Twitter.So do you have to be a bit of a bully to succeed in tech? Do you have to mete out abuse like Steve Jobs… to achieve things like Steve Jobs? Or can you be a nice guy like a Collison and still get all the way to top? To discuss this, Adrian is joined by Conor Neill, the founder of six companies, best known of which is Taxijet. He also holds a psychology degree and is professor at one of the world’s top business colleges, the graduate business school of the University of Navarra, IESE. He is also president of Vistage in Spain, which describes itself as the world’s leading CEO organisation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Dublin becoming San Francisco?
Are the tech companies, with their high salaries and expanding campuses, making it unaffordable for everyone else?And does this make Dublin a blander, less interesting city?Joining technology editor Adrian Weckler to discuss the issue is Leonard Hobbs, director of Trinity College Dublin’s Research and Innovation; artist Claire McCluskey, whose inner city Richmond Road Studios workplace recently recover an eviction notice; and Mark Cullen, director and curator at Pallas Projects studios in Dublin 8.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The most irritating, broken tech in our daily routines
What everyday tech quirks really get on your nerves?Banking? Online players? Services not letting you cancel online? Adrian Weckler discusses some of the worst offenders with journalist Jonathan Keane and broadcaster Andy O’Donoghue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A beginner’s guide to raising startup cash — from those who are doing it right now
Ever wondered about raising cash for a startup? Unsure where to start or how to go about it? About grants? Or venture capital firms? Or investment ‘angels’? Or even asking family and friends?This week, Adrian Weckler gets answers to these beginners’ questions from Jack Cantillon, CEO and co-founder of the new Dublin-based startup Herd, which has just raised €600,000 with commitments for another €400,000.Donal ‘DC’ Cahalane, the experienced startup consultant now working with Dogpatch, also joins the podcast to offer his advice on what to do when you’re starting off.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What you need to know about buying an electric car
Electric cars are hot. But it’s really hard to get one. And there are still lots of basic questions that many people have, which often aren’t answered by dealers or pundits. Does the promised range fall drastically on a motorway? What’s the actual availability of public chargers? And what’s the likely resale value compared to petrol or diesel cars in a few years?For some plain-speaking questions and answers on the topic, Adrian is joined by motoring journalist Geraldine Herbert.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The EU gets tough with Big Tech
Should Apple and Facebook be forced to allow you to send texts from Whatsapp to iMessage?That’s one of the possible ramifications from a new EU law that big tech firms are up in arms about.Will it break encryption? Could it cause spam? Or is it consumer progress?And what’s going on with the new data transatlantic treaty?To discuss these issues, Adrian is joined by Mark Scott,Chief Technology Correspondent at Politico.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A beginner's guide to putting in solar panels at home in Ireland
Fuel and electricity prices are going through the roof. There is one thing you can do, and help the planet while you’re at it — put in solar panels.But how easy or hard is that to do? How expensive is it? And how much of a dent might it really make in a country known for cloudy, rainy days and dark winters?Joining Adrian on this week’s episode is someone’s who done it – Castlebridge founder (and Wexford householder) Daragh O’Brien. A longstanding expert in domestic solar installation, Tim Cooper, also gives Adrian an A-Z of practical questions that someone considering solar might have.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to avoid the Netflix price hike (and other penny-pinching tech tips)
Electricity bills. Fuel costs. Diesel hikes. Streaming prices rises. Most of us are currently drowning under inflationary pressure that is ramping up our cost of living. Can tech help? Sort of. Adrian Weckler and consumer journalist Siobhan Maguire discuss ways that tech can help to cut your bills.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to set up an NFT
Some mock them, others worship them. But non fungible tokens – NFTs – look here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. If you’ve a passing interest, how might you get started? How might you separate the real thing from the scams? And why are so many damn celebrities trying to sell you one?To explain all of this, Adrian is joined by Lory Kehoe, the newly-appointed director of NFT Success at Coinbase, and who is also the founder of Blockchain Ireland as well as being an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Ukraine-Russia cyber fallout and HSE attacks: an interview with the newly-appointed cyber boss
Ireland has had relatively thin layers of protection against cyber attacks and IT threats. But after a catastrophic attack on the HSE, the state beefed up Ireland’s National Cyber Security Centre, doubling its staff and increasing its remit. Will it be enough? Or does Ireland remain dangerously exposed? What are the threats now from a Ukraine-centred cyber war?Joining Adrian Weckler to discuss this is the newly-appointed director of the National Cyber Security Centre, Richard Browne.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Helen Dixon on big tech
Who watches over the biggest tech firms in the world? Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner. This week, we talk to Helen Dixon about the challenges her office faces, criticism she has received and some of the biggest issues on how big tech intersects with our lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bank Of Ireland and cybersecurity
How does your bank rate when it comes to keeping your everyday transactions safe and reliable? What are the larger cybersecurity challenges we’re now facing? Our guest on the show today is Paul Swift, Bank of Ireland’s Head of Technology, Media and Telecoms Sector.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Does Ireland have its own Tinder Swindlers?
According to authorities here, ‘romance scams’ cost victims an average of €18,000 each. How do they happen? Who are the perpetrators and the victims? If you’re on a dating app, what should you avoid?Adrian is joined by the cyber-psychology researcher and lecturer, Dr Nicola Fox Hamilton.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are tech graduates who earn six figure salaries making Dublin a boring city?
Last month, Stripe co-founder John Collison told me something I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to.“A starting salary in some software engineering jobs is more than €100,000,” he said.“I don't think this has leaked its way out into the popular consciousness here… There’s a career conservatism in Ireland.”Indeed. This week, the Big Tech Show decided to tease this out. Are software and tech graduates the new mega rich class? If so, what wider effects on society are we starting to see from this? Will conservative, middle-class parents now say things like ‘help! My daughter, the software engineer, is drowning?’And what are the effects on things like rents and house prices? If the premium rental residential areas in Dublin start filling up mostly with engineers and other tech graduates, do we risk creating the type of bland, homogenised cultural atmosphere that has made cities such as San Francisco into the boring, vanilla-flavored metropolitan areas?Joining me, Adrian Weckler, to discuss all of this is Stephen Kinsella, the newly-tenured professor of economics at the University of Limerick and that institution’s director of Immersive Software Engineering.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who gets your social media accounts when you die?
We’re all going to die.The question is: what happens to our social media accounts when we do?Who gets the photos in them? The documents? The DMs?Is it different for Facebook and, say, iCloud?Can your Whatsapp account be claimed by someone as an inheritance?And what about other important online accounts you have, like Microsoft’s OneDrive or Google Drive?Is there anything you can do in advance to prepare?Or if you’re a family member of someone recently deceased, how do you go about trying to get access to a social media account that might have an important piece of information or document needed to settle an ongoing probate or legal issue?Joining Adrian to talk about the answers to these questions are Susan Murphy, a solicitor with makemywill.ie and Damien Mulley of Mulley Communications.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The problem with betting apps
Adrian Weckler recently learned how hard it can be to quit a gambling app. He signed up to one, LivescoreBet, just to watch a football game. But it wouldn’t let him delete his account. Six times he asked, six times he was refused. He then signed up to other betting apps to see whether they were any better. Most allowed him to bet using his credit card through apps such as Apple Pay or Revolut, even though betting apps aren’t supposed to allow credit card betting. What, he asks, must it be like for those with gambling addiction? Adrian discusses the scant regulation in Ireland and other elements of the issue with former gambling addict (now a counsellor) Tony O’Reilly and Prof John O’Brennan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learning lessons from Theranos: is it okay for startups to fake it until they make it?
A few years ago, an ambitious young entrepreneur made a big claim: she was developing technology that could diagnose illnesses from a drop of blood.Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos dazzled investors with her pitch, dressing up like Steve Jobs and talking a perfect game.As we now know, there was no ground-breaking technology. Holmes, who was faking it rather than making it, has now been convicted on several counts of fraud.The episode, which captured the imagination of the world, has shone the spotlight on a darker side of startup ethics – how far can you stretch your startup’s claims of potential when looking for money? Is it still okay to fake it until you make it?Joining Adrian to compare stories and discuss the issue is seasoned startup advisor Donal Cahalane.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What to expect in 2022
Will 2022 be all about NFTs and Apple's AR glasses?Joining Adrian to go through his predictions for what will and won't happen this year is tech journalist Andy O'Donoghue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech, Ireland and 2021: the big losers and the winners
2021 saw a number of winners and losers in the world of technology. From NFTs, a venture capital boom and 5G expansion to cybersecurity woes and folding phones, it was an eventful year both here in Ireland and internationally. But what soared and what stank? Adrian and Vizlegal CEO Gavin Sheridan pick the winners and losers in the tech year that was.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why fintech should be better
You walk up to a shop counter and put your milk, bread and paper on the counter. How do you pay? With cash? A card? Your phone? Or even your watch?Is it easy to do these things? Should it be easier? What’s coming down the line? And how can Ireland establish itself as somewhere that leads in this area rather than follows years after everyone else?To find out more, Adrian is joined by Elaine Deehan, Ireland Country Manager at Starling Bank and Paul Sweetman, director of Financial Services Ireland, which is part of Ibec.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to make money as an Irish YouTuber
How hard is it to make a living out of becoming a YouTuber or an Instagram influencer?Is there a minimum number of followers you need? Do you have to pick a good niche? How many people actually make it?Last week, YouTube revealed that there are now over 70 Irish YouTubers with more than 1m subscribers and over 450 Irish people with more than 100,000 subscribers.In this week's podcast, Adrian is joined by two full time Irish professional social media personalities to talk about the nuts and bolts of how to make a living out of it.Brian MacManus is the creator of the Real Engineering and Real Science YouTube channels, with almost 4m subscribers.Clare Cullen is a former YouTube Ambassador to Ireland and host of the video podcast 'Storytime With Clisare'. She has 120,000 YouTube subscribers and over 30,000 Instagram followers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ho ho ho — the tech gift guide
Stuck for a Christmas tech gift idea? Thinking about something fitness-related? Or headphones? Or just a stocking filler?We’ve got you covered. From gifts for high rollers to penny-pinchers, Adrian is joined by Mark Kavanagh, tech writer for Irish Daily Star and IrishMirror.ieSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Enough streaming platforms already
Last week, Star Trek fans were given the bad news that its Star Trek Discovery series is being removed from Netflix, with all past and future episodes only available on yet another streaming platform -- Paramount Plus.Will we just accept this and subscribe to yet another platform? Or are we reaching overload?This week, Adrian calculates that his monthly TV streaming outlay is now €62, rising to €142 when Sky and Sky Go are included.But are Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus and all the rest just the beginning? And what are the streaming platforms doing to television and movies?To discuss it, Adrian is joined by Steve McCormack, Reflektor Media CEO and a producer on TV shows such as Fade Street, Screen Producers Ireland’s Anthony Muldoon and journalist Jennifer Gannon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finding the next Irish Collison
How old do you need to be to start a tech company that investors will take seriously? 25? 23? 20?Today we talk to a couple of young Irish tech founders who are making waves at a very young age. Greg Tarr is 18 and the CEO and founder of an artificial intelligence firm called Inferex. Having won this year’s BT Young Scientist competition, Tarr received six-figure job offers and dropped out of secondary school. He is now skipping college (because it’s “a waste of time”) to focus on his firm, which has already raised €1.25m.Adrian also speaks to Sean Finnegan, who is 20 and is currently raising money for his e-receipt software company, Receipt Relay.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our utopian technosocialist future
It’s 20 years into the future. Robots are cleaning our beaches and rivers.Advanced technology lets us mine asteroids and collect materials on the moon. And while tech trillionaires enjoy the greatest concentration of wealth in human history, advanced countries now give a universal basic income to all citizens, eliminating poverty and allowing people to focus more on jobs they’d much prefer to do. Sound like a fantasy? Not to our guest this week, the futurist Brett King.Together with Dr Richard Petty, he has written a new book called The Rise Of Techno Socialism — How Inequality, AI and Climate will usher in a new world.He tells Adrian about what he thinks will happen in the coming years, and why.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where are our chips?
Are you struggling to find a Playstation 5? Or dismayed at month-long waiting lists for an iPhone 13 Pro? Or may your car dealer says you can’t change to a new model until next year because they can’t get any?All of these shortages have one thing in common: a supply chain crisis in computer chips.But in this high-tech world, how can this be happening? What’s behind it? And will it get better any time soon?To discuss answers to these questions, Adrian is joined by consumer journalist Siobhan Maguire and motoring journalist Geraldine Herbert.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Drone deliveries in Irish towns
Imagine you’re peckish. There’s nothing in the fridge but it’s lashing outside — you don’t want to go the supermarket, and ordering your regular takeout will take ages.Now imagine a different scenario: you order a takeout and it arrives in 10 minutes. Why? Because it skipped the roads and came instead by drone.That’s an option that the residents of Oranmore in Galway, Moneygall in Offaly and, from next week, Balbriggan in County, will have had. Because Irish company Manna Aero has been delivering coffee, fast food, medicine and other things with drones in under 10 minutes to those communities.The company says it wants to expand to dozens of towns by the end of next year.Is this the future? Is it safe? Will it be allowed to go national and maybe international?Joining Adrian this week from the Web Summit in Lisbon to discuss this is Manna Aero founder and CEO Bobby Healy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are data centres sucking the energy out of Ireland?
As warnings of energy blackouts this winter emerge, there are questions being asked about the value of data centres to Ireland. Are they energy hogs? Do they hold their own as worthwhile businesses? And what should our policy be going forward?With over 70 major data centres located in Ireland, some political parties are calling for a moratorium on new data centres. But is this a weak admission that we can’t set up our own modern electricity grid correctly?Joining Adrian to discuss this issue this week is Social Democrats TD and spokesperson on climate, Jennifer Whitmore, the founder of Host In Ireland, Garry Connolly, and the Irish Independent’s environment editor, Caroline O’Doherty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is Facebook's new metaverse?
Will we all switch over to a new, more integrated virtual reality to socialise, play, work and shop?That's what Mark Zuckerberg thinks is going to happen. He and Facebook are now about to start building this 'metaverse', partly in Ireland.How will it benefit our lives? How might it hurt our lives?To dig deeper into what the metaverse will and won't be, Adrian is joined by Bloomberg's technology editor Nate Lanxton and TCD professor Eoin O'Dell. The panel take a look at how the metaverse will work and what the privacy and regulatory implications might be.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will Bitcoin survive China's ban?
This week, Adrian looks at whether China's ban on cryptocurrency will scupper the prospects of Bitcoin, which has been soaring in value in recent years. He is joined by James Nagle, CEO of the Irish cryptocurrency-trading firm, Bitcove. James doesn't think a reciprocal ban is likely in the US or the EU, but says that there are some concerns over the energy consumption that Bitcoin-mining takes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are Facebook's new video-recording glasses creepy?
This week, Adrian is joined by technology journalist Andy O'Donoghue to discuss Facebook's new smart glasses, called Ray-ban Stories. Adrian realtyes his experience using the glasses, which can record 30-second video clips and take photos without people clearly being aware that they are doing so. Andy likes the idea of smart glasses in general and thinks they're here to stay.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Ireland's cyber security is still a joke
This week, Adrian is joined by Senator Gerard Craughwell and IT security expert Paul C Dwyer to look at whether Ireland's cyber security is up to scratch. Both men say that it is not. Senator Craughwell goes further, describing it as "an absolute joke". Both are also criticial of government ministers who dismissed as 'overblown' the Irish Independent's recent revelation that the HSE is still using almost 30,000 computers with Windows 7, an obsolete operating system.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The layman’s review guide on which iPhone 13 to get and which to avoid
This week, Adrian has a plain English review of the iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max.Adrian ranks them in order of which is best and what type of person should or shouldn’t upgrade.He’s joined by tech journalist Mark Kavanagh to talk about the iPhones and the iPad mini, which also also launched this week. Both journalists discuss why the mini is a better choice that Samsung’s Frankensteinish Galaxy Z Fold3.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to build a tech company in the West of Ireland
This week, Adrian talks to Fidelma McGuirk, founder and CEO of Payslip. Ms McGuirk decided to move to Westport from Dublin in 2015, after which she founded her payroll tech company. Despite attracting over €8m in funding earlier this year, attracting talented engineers and staff to a tech company outside a city has its own challenges.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Simon Coveney’s hacked phone is such a big deal
It has nothing to do with Katherine Zappone. This week, Adrian goes into depth about the problems around Minister Simon Coveney’s hacked phone.Together with freedom-of-information expert Gavin Sheridan and privacy expert Daragh O’Brien, the minutae of what we know, and what the law is, around Simon Coveney’s hacked phone are parsed in detail.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should we ban tech billionaires?
This week, it’s a panel show to discuss some of the big issues of the week: the iPhone 13’s potential satellite capability, Google Ireland’s delayed return-to-the-office mandate, the latest VC figures and whether you should use video on or off during Zoom calls. The topic of whether billionaires serve any purpose is also debated. Adrian is joined by the Irish Independent’s Jon Ihle and Reach’s Mark Kavanagh.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Etsy's Fisher king
This week, Adrian talks to Mike Fisher, the CTO of the giant online retailer Etsy, in the wake of that company's €1.3bn acquisition of Depop.Fisher is one of the most experienced CTO's around, having been a previous engineering VP of Paypal, among other roles.The two talk through a number of issues, spending a lot of time on what makes a good or a bad engineering culture and whether or not tech staff are likely to come back to offices any time soon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Making a hash of iPhone privacy
This week, Adrian hosts a spirited discussion about whether Apple is right or wrong to scan photos from your iPhone to iCloud for potential child sexual abuse imagery.He is joined by UCD's director of digital policy (and former Irish Council for Civil Liberties representative) Elizabeth Farries and Alex Cooney the CEO of CyberSafeKids Ireland.The whole thing raises some big questions. What is the moral difference between scanning a phone and a private online account for child abuse imagery?Why wouldn't Apple do the same for other types of illegal content in future? And why wouldn't countries now put more pressure on them to do so?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ireland’s cable guy
Conal Henry has had an interesting journey through the business and telecom worlds. From being commercial director of Ryanair, he built up Enet’s business around Ireland before joining the National Broadband Plan and then leaving to set up his own company, Fibrus Networks, which raised over €100m.That Belfast-based firm won a €200m contract to roll out part of Northern Ireland’s answer to the National Broadband Plan. Now he’s targeting rural broadband in England.Adrian and Conal discuss a range of topics, from the return of mobile roaming in the UK to why satellite will never match fibre in terms of broadband quality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Space tourism or tech titan egomania?
Is the new commercial 'space race' between Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and (the relatively poor) Richard Branson anything to celebrate for humanity? Or is it just one big egomaniacal episode?This week, Adrian and TCD professor Louis Brennan chew over some of the deeper questions around this year's commercial space launches.Is there a point to paying between €250,000 and €22m to go a few dozen kilometres up in the sky? What is the endgame for this activity and what use might it be? Are any of the principals really interested in saving our species through space exploration? Might they not spend a few quid to help stop the destruction of Earth instead?Adrian and Louis also differ on whether they would take a seat on one of the spaceflights, if the opportunity arose.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are we living in a simulation?
You’ve seen and heard it from every science fiction movie or TV programme. You’ve heard it from scientists and philosophers.So are we living in a multiverse? Is there a version of you that’s a billionaire? Or a mass-murderer? Or a talking frog?Or are we, like Elon Musk insists, living in a simulation created by some other intelligent species?To talk about some of these big philosophical, technical and scientific questions, Adrian is joined this week by Dr Mark Mitchison, recently appointed as assistant professor in quantum science at Trinity College Dublin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nip, tuck, cut, paste
Should Ireland follow Norway in bringing in a law that would make it mandatory for online influencers to disclose that they have digital altered images of their faces or bodies when promoting products? And if so, should it stop there? Should digitally-enhanced derrieres or dermatological features be admitted more widely, to give impressionable teens a truer idea of what is real and what isn’t?Adrian is joined by three experts in their field — Instagram makeup influencer Niamh Martin (‘Nima Brush’), YouTuber Clare Cullen (‘Clisare’) and Irish Independent columnist Tanya Sweeney.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Death and 12.5% taxes
Will tech companies flee Ireland if it abandons its 12.5pc corporate tax rate? Will the pipeline for new ones dry up?Adrian is joined by UCD business lecturer (and former IDA executive) Emmet Oliver and Irish Independent business reporter Sarah Collins to discuss the issue.Is the 12.5pc drive an about global equity, European jealousy or both? What will Ireland have to offer tech companies over other countries if the 12.5pc rate is uniformly introduced? How important is it relative to other infrastructural issues here?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How pub passes work with QR codes in Denmark
Can a pub pass work in Ireland? This week, Adrian talks to Irish ex-pat Zoe Healy Jensen, now living in Denmark. She explains how QR codes have been successfully integrated into everyday life in the Scandinavian country, allowing her and other vaccinated people to enter restaurants and pubs with little fuss.Goosed.ie’s Martin Meany also joins the conversation to talk about the background and context of QR codes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is Starlink perfect for Ireland or just Elon hype?
This week’s topic is Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite broadband service that some believe is the future for rural areas that have been deprived of broadband connectivity.But with the National Broadband Plan slowly being rolled out to every rural home here, does Starlink realistically have any role to play? Who would pay two to three times the price of a fibre connection for Starlink’s dish and monthly fees when it only delivers a fraction of fibre’s speed?Adrian is joined in discussion by Rory Fitzpatrick, CEO of the National Space Centre and Brian Flanagan, a retired business consultant who has been testing Starlink’s service from his home in Blackrock, County Dublin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Should we ban facial recognition?
This week, we debate whether facial recognition should be banned or curtailed. It comes after Europe’s data regulators called for a total ban on facial recognition in public places.But is that practical? What are the pros and cons?Adrian is joined by privacy expert Carey Lening and technologist and retailer, Colin Baker.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are Irish tech valuations out of control?
This month, $150m was raised by Peter Foley’s LetsGetChecked, giving the five year old startup a valuation of over $1bn. Last month, €100m was raised by two Irish startups — Wayfarer (€62m) and Qualio (€41m). The month before that it was a handful of others, such as Payslip.It means that well over €1bn will be raised year, significantly up on last year.What’s going on with these eye-watering sums? Is there any suspicion that we may be in a frothy boom at the moment? Is tech just benefitting from a lack of other places to put your money? Or has there been a transformation in the underlying value of Irish tech companies?Adrian is joined by seasoned venture capitalist (CEO of Scale Ireland) Brian Caulfield and the Irish Independent’s deputy business editor, Jon Ihle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dublin trembles as Facebook says workers can now work from abroad
Dublin looked on nervously this week as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that staff at the 6,000-strong Irish office can now work from the UK. From January next, they will also be allowed to move to France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland while working for the Irish office. This is a major policy shift. Until now, ‘remote’ working at tech multinationals meant somewhere else within Ireland.Will other multinationals follow Facebook’s lead? If so, does that mean the end of the tech boom in Dublin, with talented engineers free to base themselves in coastal Spain, Tuscany or the Black Forest?Adrian is joined by Boundless CEO Dee Coakley and Irish Independent business reporter Ellie Donnelly to discuss the pros and cons of remote working, and what we might see next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bitcoin: is now the time to buy?
Is it time to take a punt on Bitcoin? Or is it all a big Ponzi scheme waiting to collapse?Bitcoin’s value has slumped by 30pc this month.China, where so much of it is mined, is saying it might crack down. Environmentalists are against it, saying it uses up too much energy. And now even Elon Musk has nixed its use for buying Teslas. So what does this mean for Bitcoin’s value? Is it just a normal month in the ever-turbulent-yet-often-soaring life of crypto currencies? Or is there something different going on this time?Adrian talks to Goodbody senior trader David Bergin about the topic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.