Sharp fall in pay TV subscriptions (Sky, Virgin etc) — from 70% to 57%. Netflix etc subscriptions unchanged. Seems like dodgy boxes (400k homes) are now really biting, shrinking the TV industry here m.independent.ie/business/tec...

‪Outlook as Gaeilge‬

Fón as Gaeilge don seachtain (Outlook ina measc) … iPhone: Settings —> General —> Language & Region Android: Settings —> System —> Languages/Input

Apple’s new budget (€699) MacBook Neo - 13-inch size - 256GB or 512GB - iPhone chip (A18 Pro) - MacOS - battery life slightly less than other MacBooks - multiple colours

So Apple has increased prices by $100 in US and £100 in UK — but no price increase in EU. = Apple forecasting strong € and weak $ and £

Apple has announced new MacBook Air M5 and MacBook Pro today. Good news 1: twice the base storage Good news 2: no price increase here in € (but $100 more in US! Trump tariff!) Bad news: no charging adapters included anymore (charged separately!)

Today’s ep: “I was naive and stupid”. Interview with a guy who had €30k of crypto stolen — he had stored the keys in a Gmail draft (Big Tech Show podcast, Spotify/YT etc)

Full review now published: www.independent.ie/business/tec...

Apple just soft-launched its new ‘budget’ phone — the iPhone 17e. 256GB, €729, one rear camera

Tesla has fallen out of the top 10 electric car brands in Ireland. It has also fallen outside the 20 of overall car brands here. Its best-selling car, the Model Y, is now a lowly 78th.

I’ve taken thousands of photos of the moon. I’ve never taken (or seen) a remotely passable one from a phone — until now. Am astonished by the telephoto zoom lens on the new Xiaomi 17 Ultra which I’m currently testing.

Anthropic’s Claude suddenly soaring up app charts all over the world, after Trump ban. eg Ireland

‘Israel hacked a popular Iranian prayer app to send notifications to millions of phones on Saturday, urging the country’s military personnel to defect from the regime’ www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

😖

Dave Fanning turns 70 today. Happy birthday!

Vodafone plans satellite calls (inc video calls and data) direct to ordinary smartphones. Testing it in Ireland now. Has test license from regulator to do it. Would be the first. m.independent.ie/business/tec...

This is a very bad look for UCD. That poor student www.thejournal.ie/medical-stud...

If Stripe buys PayPal, what happens? A few things. www.independent.ie/business/tec...

Sidenote: PayPal employs over 2x staff in Ireland (1,500) v Stripe (650). An acquisition would make Stripe one of largest tech employers in the state, a $200bn+ firm (most valuable in Irish history) Quite a journey for the Collisons m.independent.ie/business/iri...

Wow, Stripe considering acquisition of PayPal. (- Bloomberg) Senior, SENIOR hurling now.

Ireland’s AI committee (somewhat relevant here) asked the main AI giants in for a chat. Google turned up and engaged. OpenAI and Microsoft told us to get lost, X didn’t bother responding. Notable in terms of US multinationals’ attitudes. (Ireland isn’t Montenegro. HQs are here. It’s relevant.)

Stripe revalued at $159bn (€135bn). $1.9tn in annual payments, up 34% Spoke to John Collison. - Housing/infrastucture: “people should be fed up” - Banks not lending enough to small biz - US Trump tariffs + he spoke about interviewing Elon Musk www.independent.ie/irish-news/p...

Wow, IBM shares fall 11% after Anthropic blog post explains how its AI can update Cobol-coded machines www.cnbc.com/2026/02/23/i...

Broadband subscribers now starting to notify customers of (scheduled) price rises in April. eg Sky up €3.50 in April Now is the time to switch to a cheaper package with the same speed/quality that likely uses the same broadband line into your home. www.independent.ie/business/tec...

‘Tech sovereignty’ is sweeping Europe. But not Ireland. Two govt cabinet ministers — Peter Burke and James Lawless — say it’s impractical, unwise and unscheduled m.independent.ie/business/tec...

Moves this week by Apple, Microsoft and OpenAI show that Ireland’s lucrative mega-billions tech boom is still very much alive, despite Trump, EU ‘tech sovereignty’ etc Remember: 46% of our corp tax (€33bn) comes from 3 companies incl Apple and Microsoft www.independent.ie/business/tec...

Remote working numbers have fallen. New figures show companies accelerating their plans to bring people back into the office again. The biggest remote working orgs may soon be public sector or semi-states, which are more union-led. m.independent.ie/business/job...

Cork has had a nice long run, but… Apple unveils new Dublin office with space for 300 people. Also, Cathy Kearney (top Irish boss) says the tech giant is only thinking of growth/expansion here (Cork). Context interesting: Apple uneasy with EU regs etc www.independent.ie/business/tec...

This is one of the most fun gadgets I’ve reviewed in a while. Fujifilm’s Instax mini Evo Cinema (€380) is a hybrid instant camera that can shoot stills or short video clips and print photos on the spot. It has dials, knobs and buttons and is pretty great craic. www.independent.ie/business/tec...

1 in 4 Irish homes now have a video doorbell like Amazon Ring. + continuing to rise. It’s the new norm, despite privacy concerns. (Source: Deloitte 2026, 1,000 adults)

Old Twitter vibes here. (No application or subscription)

Most Irish adults think: — it’s okay for kids to have phones from the age of 12 (secondary school) BUT — they should not be on social media at that age Still questions: is WhatsApp, usually parent-approved, social media? (EU now says it is!) www.independent.ie/business/tec...

Samsung is number 1 for phones in Ireland, overall, but there’s a massive generation divide — just look at how Gen Z won’t touch anything but iPhones. Likely the same with Gen Alpha, the next wave. (Source: Deloitte Digital Consumer Trends, 1,000 Irish adults surveyed)

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission is the latest regulator to launch an enquiry into X over Grok, sexualised images and child abuse imagery www.independent.ie/irish-news/i...

Manchester’s mayor responds. Suggests Jim Ratcliffe and the Man Utd owners/org are the real leeches, offering “little contribution to our life here and [who] have instead spent years siphoning wealth out of one of our proudest institutions”.

Man Utd boss who lives in Monaco to avoid paying tax that pay for UK services

One of the Anthropic Superbowl ads mocking ChatGPT that Sam Altman is annoyed about. Really clever

Beware a breakdown on a bank holiday weekend in the most popular EV No tow, no fix, no taxi — you’ll be stranded. At least that’s what happened to me m.independent.ie/business/tec...

Mark Little made this point really, really well in our pod discussion last week — ‘safety by design’ (actual reform of the platform) trumps targeted bans (eg u16s) every day of the week

One other point: This is a FAR more effective way to ‘make social media safer for kids’ than u16 bans. Bans sound good to many people but don’t work very well and may not actually change anything. E Commission says TikTok now has to change the app — MUCH more effective than any u16s ban

Two observations: 1. Americans unlikely to scream about this one as much as TikTok Ireland/Europe isn’t ‘theirs’ 2. Even if they did, atmosphere here has changed after Grok and Greenland — EU bodies and countries (incl Ireland) starting not to give a damn about US howling (cf u16 social media bans)

Big decision against TikTok. EU Commission preliminary finding — TikTok is “addictive” (kids and adults). Infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications and recommender system. Plus young kids not being detected. Fine of up to 6pc turnover now possible. www.independent.ie/business/tec...

This is our new eternity

Amazon says it will spend $200bn on capex in 2026. Ireland’s entire annual national budget is $152bn.

Washington Post under Bezos is dying. Today’s cuts — international, books, sport

Dirty, dark, wet evening in Dublin

Duvillaun, Achill, Blacksod. Feb 1st, St Brigid's Day

Lá Fhéile Bríde (St. Brigid's Day), celebrated on February 1st, marks the beginning of spring in Ireland.

Lá fhéile bríde sona daoibh - first day of spring!!!

Ireland is edging closer to a social media ban for under-16s. After Australia and France, it is becoming a mainstream idea with momentum in Europe — even in Dublin, home of the mega-tax-paying big tech corporations. Recent weeks (X/Grok) have accelerated things. m.independent.ie/business/adr...