The Irish Tech News Podcast

Creating Moddable AAA Enabled Blockchain Games and Navigating Global Gaming Challenges, with Don Norbury and Shrapnel Don Norbury is Head of Studio at Shrapnel, the world’s first blockchain-enabled moddable AAA first-person shooter game. From the genre-defining franchises of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Bioshock, Sunset Overdrive, and Crackdown, to the sports superstars Madden NFL and NASCAR, Don has redefined creative boundaries across platforms and player experience for over a decade.Shrapnel is the world’s first blockchain-enabled moddable AAA first-person shooter game. Designed to reward and empower players and creators, the game is being developed by a BAFTA and Emmy award-winning team of game industry veterans with unmatched experience in transmedia, virtual production, gaming-as-a-service, and blockchain production. Spun-out from HBO Interactive, the acclaimed team have enjoyed past successes with some of the world’s leading game companies including Xbox, Electronic Arts, HBO, LucasFilm, Irrational, and Zombie Ent, working on titles such as Halo, Call of Duty, Star Wars, and many more. Jamil Hasan is a crypto and blockchain focused podcast host at the Irish Tech News and spearheads our weekend content “The Crypto Corner” where he interviews founders, entrepreneurs and global thought leaders. Prior to his endeavors into the crypto-verse in July 2017, Jamil built an impressive career as a data, operations, financial, technology and business analyst and manager in Corporate America, including twelve years at American International Group and its related companies. Since entering the crypto universe, Jamil has been an advisor, entrepreneur, investor and author. His books “Blockchain Ethics: A Bridge to Abundance” (2018) and “Re-Generation X” (2020) not only discuss the benefits of blockchain technology, but also capture Jamil’s experience on how he has transitioned from being a loyal yet downsized former corporate employee to a self sovereign individual. With over ninety podcasts under his belt since he joined our team in February 2021, and with four years of experience both managing his own crypto portfolio and providing crypto guidance and counsel to select clients, Jamil continues to seek opportunities to help others navigate this still nascent industry. Jamil’s primary focus outside of podcast hosting is helping former corporate employees gain the necessary skills and vision to build their own crypto portfolios and create wealth for the long-term.

Gregory Zaitsev is looking for NFT projects that want a safe home - come to Unique he says. Another of Zaitsev’s projects is to give a workshop where he can explain to devs how to build a marketplace in an hour. “Yes, we have a team working on this full time. They can provide the deployment tools, the Docker container units and the GIT repository links where everything is stored. Anyone can deploy a marketplace in a very short time and then they can customise as they see fit.” Up next Unique Network is planning for a crowdloan on Polkadot. Then to build the tech functionality outlined in the white paper. It’s a crowded path with lots to come to make Unique Network one of the most innovative as well as fun blockchains in the sector. To make this happen, they need projects to come and talk to them “Please yes, we’d love to do a callout for any projects looking for a safe home.” You read it here – anyone with a project that wants to work on Unique Network please join the telegram channel at or via the website at unique.network Your host is Jillian Godsil, award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found here https://persons-of-interest.io/

Mark Wittenberg  Mark is a crypto educator with a huge following. He has been in Partner Development with the Verge currency ($XVG) Core Team since early 2018. He was also an exhibitor and Top Influencer at CES2021. Mark is currently on the board of advisors for Voice Life Inc , Hypersphere Technologies, and CasinoCoin. His links with cryptocurrency go as far back as 2010. His love for all things crypto is reflected in his very impressive 239,000 followers on Twitter( @itsmwittenberg )  Mihael Radoslovic  Mihael is a member of both Verge and Voice Life teams. He was born in Rijeka, Croatia where he finished his education for mechanical engineer. He worked as an offshore mechanical engineer for 15 years where he was responsible for a team of engineers. However, he recently decided to focus on what he is most passionate about - changing the world for the better with new advanced technologies. As a true ambassador of decentralized and open-source projects, Mihael joined the Verge community in early 2017 and quickly realized he could support the project from within the team by managing the internal team action and communications. His roles in the Verge team have changed multiple times over the years and for the past two years he volunteers as Project Manager for Verge Currency. In September 2021 Mihael joined Voice Life as Project Manager where he oversees all aspects of the project and coordinates various departments to ensure all projects are delivered on time. He enjoys working with other individuals and teams on delivering the latest technologies and inventions to the world. Jamil Hasan is a crypto and blockchain focused podcast host at the Irish Tech News and spearheads our weekend content “The Crypto Corner” where he interviews founders, entrepreneurs and global thought leaders. Prior to his endeavors into the crypto-verse in July 2017, Jamil built an impressive career as a data, operations, financial, technology and business analyst and manager in Corporate America, including twelve years at American International Group and its related companies. Since entering the crypto universe, Jamil has been an advisor, entrepreneur, investor and author. His books “Blockchain Ethics: A Bridge to Abundance” (2018) and “Re-Generation X” (2020) not only discuss the benefits of blockchain technology, but also capture Jamil’s experience on how he has transitioned from being a loyal yet downsized former corporate employee to a self sovereign individual. With over ninety podcasts under his belt since he joined our team in February 2021, and with four years of experience both managing his own crypto portfolio and providing crypto guidance and counsel to select clients, Jamil continues to seek opportunities to help others navigate this still nascent industry. Jamil’s primary focus outside of podcast hosting is helping former corporate employees gain the necessary skills and vision to build their own crypto portfolios and create wealth for the long-term.

If 2020 was the “New Normal”, what was 2021? What have we learned from the uncertainty and challenges from all aspects of our lives, and how will the financial services industry fare in this new year? Will we finally move out of the pilot villas and make banking better, not just for businesses and consumers, but for the bankers themselves?  In this episode of One Vision, Theo and Bradley chat with Virginie O’Shea, the Founder and CEO of Firebrand Research, on finreg, ESG, digital transformation, the great resignation, and her predictions for 2022.

Interview with Artur Pszczolkowski, CMO and VP of GamerHash Formed in 2017, GamerHash is a well-established project with just under 1 million users and a solid commercial base. In fact, given the commercial premise of the project, it is surprising there are not more copycat companies following their business model. However, it would be hard to catch up now given their early player advantage. In a nutshell, GamerHash combines unused CPU and GPU of gamer devices to mine cryptocurrencies. It only works on gamer devices with their powerful graphics cards. There is no extra electricity consumed, in fact it takes advantage of the electricity already being used. The software automatically selects which cryptocurrencies to mine from a basket of twelve. The user is unaware of the details but receives a reward in Bitcoin. The cost of these gamer machines is typically between $4000 and $5000. The more powerful machines are capable of mining more cryptocurrency, but an average machine can generate approximately $100 a month – enough to pay for bills or purchasing digital services or items, while the more powerful machines can earn around $250 per month, providing a possible decent payback of just over a year. So, the gamer who typically has the machine on 24x7 can earn a passive income without expending extra cost. To find out more, listen to the podcast. Your host is Jillian Godsil, award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found here https://persons-of-interest.io/

An interesting conversation with Robbie Smyth about the future of journalism, and the new postgraduate diploma in trust, safety and content moderation management. Robbie Smyth is Deputy Head of the Journalism Media Communications Faculty at Griffith College.  More about Robbie Smyth He has lectured across all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the faculty. As a journalist, he has been writing in the republican paper An Phoblacht since 1991 and is now editor of the magazine and online website. Robbie was also a board member of InterTradeIreland, an all-Ireland economic development agency set up under the Good Friday Agreement, from 2000 – 2007. Robbie’s PhD from Queen’s University Belfast, focused on the quality and accuracy of news media opinion poll reporting. His current research interests include how the media report politics, climate issues as well the general area of how the media business is being transformed in the digital era. Upcoming publications include The Invisible Republic, published by Palgrave Macmillan, which is about the economics and politics of Irish Republicanism in the 21 st Century. He is also collaborating with a colleague on a Public Relations textbook, due for publication in 2022. Griffith College, has launched a new postgraduate diploma in trust, safety and content moderation management. The first of its type in the world, it has been developed in partnership with Kinzen to meet the needs of industry in what is a rapidly expanding sector. The course will provide a postgraduate qualification for professionals working in internet trust and safety, a rapidly expanding sector of the economy. It will equip people working at social media platforms and business processing outsourcing (BPO) companies with the skills to think about, design and enforce policies that define acceptable online behaviour.

As we start a new year hoping that this year will be better than the past 2 years, the environment is also high on our agenda. Tech and in particular data centres are not seen as environmentally friendly, but without tech and data centres the pandemic would not be the same. No online streaming and remote working would be a pipe dream. One Irish Tech company DataSolutions is taking the environment seriously and plans to be carbon neutral by the end of 2022. Ronan talks to Michael O’Hara the MD of DataSolutions about this and more. Michael talks about what DataSolutions does, the effects of the pandemic and brexit, DataSolutions plans to be carbon neutral by the end of 2022, what Techies Go Green does, making data centres more eco friendly and more sustainable, and how Techies Go Green helps companies go greener. More about DataSolutions: DataSolutions is a leading value-added distributor of transformational IT solutions in Ireland and the UK. Over the past 30 years they have brought the best of breed technologies to market quickly, driving business transformation and giving partners the best opportunity to differentiate themselves and stay ahead. DataSolutions is also a Co-Founder of Techies Go Green, a movement of IT and tech-oriented companies who are committed to decarbonising their businesses and making them green and verifiably sustainable by 2030.

As we bid farewell to 2021, how would you remember the year that was the “new normal” or the “great resignation”?  For some, this may have been a record year with funding and innovation. For some others, this may be a year for reflection and recalibration. Or perhaps changes and uncertainty are simply part of the new reality we are in. Regardless of where you are geographically and what role you play, one thing is for certain: There is no better time than now to be part of fintech, to flex your creative muscles and find new ways to serve more of our society, to put your heart and soul into an industry that never sleeps.  In this episode of One Vision, Arun, Bradley, and Theo reunited to chat about the year that was 2021, and what we think the future would hold for our ecosystem and beyond.

A very special guest to mark the 100th podcast episode by Jamil Hassan Solving the Global Trust Deficit with Bitcoin and Charlie Shrem on Crypto Hipster's 100th Episode Charlie is the host of UntoldStories.com. In 2011, at the dawn of the crypto era, Shrem founded BitInstant, the first and largest Bitcoin company. In 2013, he founded the Bitcoin Foundation and served as its Vice Chairman. Since then, Charlie has advised more than a dozen digital currency companies, launched and managed numerous partnerships between crypto and non-crypto companies, and is the go-to guy for some of the world’s wealthiest entrepreneurs. He recently started Crypto.IQ, a premier advisory firm providing expert research, education and advice in the world of crypto assets. Jamil Hasan is a crypto and blockchain focused podcast host at the Irish Tech News and spearheads our weekend content “The Crypto Corner” where he interviews founders, entrepreneurs and global thought leaders. Prior to his endeavors into the crypto-verse in July 2017, Jamil built an impressive career as a data, operations, financial, technology and business analyst and manager in Corporate America, including twelve years at American International Group and its related companies. Since entering the crypto universe, Jamil has been an advisor, entrepreneur, investor and author. His books “Blockchain Ethics: A Bridge to Abundance” (2018) and “Re-Generation X” (2020) not only discuss the benefits of blockchain technology, but also capture Jamil’s experience on how he has transitioned from being a loyal yet downsized former corporate employee to a self sovereign individual. With over ninety podcasts under his belt since he joined our team in February 2021, and with four years of experience both managing his own crypto portfolio and providing crypto guidance and counsel to select clients, Jamil continues to seek opportunities to help others navigate this still nascent industry. Jamil’s primary focus outside of podcast hosting is helping former corporate employees gain the necessary skills and vision to build their own crypto portfolios and create wealth for the long-term.

CyberArk recently released new research from researcher Ido Hoorvitch who recently went on a mission in his hometown of Tel Aviv to uncover how many WiFi networks he could crack with one simple trick, much like Alan Turing in his quest to crack the Enigma code. Ronan talks to Ido about this and more. Ido talks about his background, why he decided to uncover how many WiFi networks he could crack with one simple trick, and what he found. Ido also gives tips on how enterprises and consumers can protect themselves, and if there is any other potential hacks that could cause concern. More about Ido’s research: After sniffing 5,000 WiFi hashes and installing hashcat, Ido was able to execute several cracking attacks that took advantage of a habit most people in Israel have -- using their cellphone number or a weak alternative as their Wi-Fi password. Using this method, he easily broke more than 70% of the sniffed WiFi networks' passwords. This should be a wake-up call for enterprises and consumers alike. The continued move to hybrid work has expanded an already porous corporate security perimeter. The routers that were susceptible to this attack, from many of the world’s largest vendors, are used by households and businesses worldwide. The hack Ido did was ‘undetectable’ and couldn’t have been stopped by two-factor authentication, making it incredibly powerful.