Inside View from Ireland: Irish Sunday News

I DON'T COVER current events in my blog but I like making a short video of the tech news found in the Sunday papers. This is the first time in five years that I haven't bought the Sunday Tribune--I've quit it and replace its declining page count with the upmarket Sunday Telegraph. By the way, the keyframe at left counts as tech news. It's a photo in Champions: Portraits by Anderson & Low, to benefit the Elton John Aids Foundation. [0] Closer to the geek side of tech, Stephen Fry mentions some of the gear he carries in his suitcase and since a few people reading Twitter didn't buy the Guardian yesterday, I made a Qik video about his bag of cables.[1] Fry is one reason I believe traditional papers have more life ahead of them than Damien Mulley would allow. Peter Preston makes the point that "a Guardian surge online that brings in more than 23m unique users a month on top of a million-plus print readers isn't carnage." [2] But we all know that there is no love between today's twentysomethings and the newspapers their parents read around the family homes. Actually, many of those in their twenties and lots of their parents click into blogs for their daily flow of information. [3] Naughton wants "English departments in all universities to start studying blogging sytles, for example the way in which accomplished online writers use hyperlinks."

Wind power doesn't add up. In news that Tom Raftery is probably tracking, Britain committed itself to cutting greenhouse gases by 80%. No country has tried to switch so fast to renewable energy. As John Vidal reports, rising costs and technical problems mean that, without urgent action and cash, the targets cannot be met. "The most that any country has ever built offshore is 350 MW in a year. The UK needs to install nearly 10 times that in 12 years, and most will be far offshore. It means they will have to install hundreds a week. They cannot do it." [4]

Greedy gadgets add up. Gadgets boost our carbon footprint, says Jan Battles. In 2006, the most recent year for which figures are available, the average Irish dwelling consumed 5,591 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, a 24% increase on the 4,526 kWh recorded in 1995. This was 20% above the average for the UK. The acceleration in the trend for Ireland coincided with the economic boom, which was when the demand for more and bigger appliances began. Almost 62% of Irish homes have a tumble dryer now compared with 27% in 1995. [5]

Talk to the Dragon. David Phelan awards 4 of 5 stars to Nuance Dragon Naturally Speaking, available from £79 online. [6]

Don't expect big strides in Irish e-government. Irish government departments have to meet a 3.5% pay increase due next September for public servants, from existing allocations. This could mean that outsourcing normally done by private firms for e-government projects will be curtailed. [7]

Expect Irish motorways. More than 90% of the National Road Authority's €1.4 billion budget for the next year will be spent on the five inter-urban motorways connecting Dublin with Belfast, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. [8] This is good news for Ireland and it also means the construction crews will be working hard to finish early and earn generous bonus payments. I'd like the M8 to be finished before 2010.

Expect better special effects. Technology by Irish games software company Havok was used to create visual effects for the film Quantum of Solace. [9] That would make the film worth collecting on DVD.

Impact of Migrants. We're filming for Newshour.org this week and one of the effects documented on film involves the role of migrants in the Irish economy. Adrian Weckler spotlights this as well. "Car dealers, clothes retailers and restaurants are reporting significant falls in business levels, and there are fears that gadgets and tech toys may be next in the firing line for Irish shoppers looking to rationalise their budgets." Weckler talked to Robert Brennan in the Laptop Shop, who said, "Many Europeans working here are very tech savvy and spend money on staying in contact with home." When they go, they take their buying habits. [10]

00. See the Qik video: http://qik.com/video/421403

0. The book Champions: Portraits by Anderson & Low is for sale in Room 40, the National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, London WC2.
1. Stephen Fry -- "A suitcase of cables" in the 17 Oct Guardian.
2. Peter Preston -- "Are papers in freefall? Not if they innovate." in the Media section of The Sunday Observer, 19 Oct 08.
3. John Naughton -- "Happy birthday, dear bloggers; you've written the rules" in the Media section of The Sunday Observer, 19 October 2008.
4. John Vidal -- "UK wind farm plans on brink of failure" in the energy section of the Sunday Observer, 19 October 2008.
5. Jan Battles -- "Greedy electricals use up energy savings" in the News section of The Sunday Times, 19 October 2008.
5a. Bonus Link to the green-gilded it@cork conference. And we talked about eWorkingIreland.com as well.
6. David Phelan -- "Techbyte" in Your Business, The Sunday Telegraph, 19 October 2008.
7a. Pat Leahy and Cliff Taylor -- "Heavy cuts due in public service jobs as government turns off tap" on the front page of the Sunday Business Post, 19 Oct 08.
7b. Ian Campbell -- "New era dawns for government" in the Sunday Business Post Trends section, 19 Ocot 08.
8. Nicola Cooke -- "NRA may freeze all new road projects for four years" on the front page of the Sunday Business Post, 19 October 2008.
9. Adrian Weckler -- "Havok stars in new Bond" in the TechWeek section of The Sunday Business Post, 19 Oct 08.