The Big Tech Show

In 2007, Steve Jobs took to the stage to introduce what he called a “revolutionary new product”. This week 15 years ago, the first iPhone went on sale. Is it still an all-conquering device? What might September's iPhone 14 bring? And can the iconic smartphone stay at the heart of Apple’s world, or will smart glasses and cars become the company's new focus? Joining technology editor Adrian Weckler to discuss all of this is someone who was at the original launch – Stuart Miles, the founder and CEO of Pocket-lint.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 years ago, John Touhy set up the logistics and delivery company Nightline, which also spawned Parcel Motel. Having sold it to UPS for €30m in 2017, he's back with another offering in the field -- OOHPod. This is a smart locker service that is supposed to make it easy to pick up and return parcels in your own time. The company aims to place “out of home” lockers in 1,000 locations across the island of Ireland by 2025. John Touhy talked to Adrian about his past, present and why some entities in Ireland seem intent on blocking progress in the parcel delivery field.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s it like being the CIO of one of the most iconic pandemic-era tech companies in the world? No-one knows better than Harry Moseley, Zoom’s chief information officer . The man from Rathfarhnam has been close to the helm of a company whose very name has become a verb in the English language. But what’s coming next? Is the drive for remote working stalling? And can Zoom pull back from a steep decline in its own share price recently? Harry spoke to tech editor Adrian Weckler.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Apple, Google and Microsoft are joining forces to kill off passwords. They say that they will try to replace passwords by using smartphones as two-factor authentication via things like a PIN number or a fingerprint, and using that for verification on an operating system or website. But will this work? And what should you be doing to protect yourself with the passwords you already use? Joining technology editor Adrian Weckler to discuss this is Conor Flynn, managing director at Waystone Compliance Solutions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In recent weeks, Google and Apple have begun pulling all their Irish workers back into the office. Other big companies are starting to do the same, and it’s not just the tech giants here, such as Amazon, Intel and Salesforce. A glance at Indeed.com, the biggest recruitment site, shows that of 58,000 jobs currently advertised, just 4,000 — or around 7% — allow you to be remote. So here’s a question — what happened to all of the talk about our work lives changing forever? About having more choice in working outside the office? Was it all just BS? Or maybe just a beautiful dream? To discuss the issue, technology editor Adrian Weckler is joined by Tracy Keogh, co-founder of Grow Remote.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan Holland had a steady, comfortable life as a lecturer in artificial intelligence in University College Cork. But in 2012, he left it all to try and build a startup specialising in procurement automation. 10 years on, that company, Keelvar, has just picked up its latest funding round of $24m, with plans to increase headcount at the firm to over 100. Alan joins technology editor Adrian Weckler to discuss what it was like to leave the security of a college academic life for a startup. He also explains what's going to happen next in the supply chain crisis.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Does Elon Musk, conqueror of low orbit space, pioneer of the electric car, the nearest thing we have to a real life Iron Man, actually intend to buy Twitter or not? Is he really being put off about spam bots, the defeat of which was one of the reasons he said he wanted to buy the platform? Is he trying to back out because of the tech stock crash? Having already signed a contract, legally, *can* he back out? Or does he still want the company, but is just trying to lower the price? Tech editor Adrian Weckler has a basic explainer about what’s going on and what to expect next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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.