Jun 14 2011
I read Irish start-up to revolutionise in-game payments at E3 last week, and I was quite impressed. Well done!
My only reservation would be that SMS feels like a fading technology to me, but perhaps it can succeed with the intended target audience!
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Jun 05 2011
Wow – I recently read that Ryanair uses HTTP Cookies to remember when a user returns to book flights for which he/she previously checked the availability. Fair enough, but apparently Ryanair charges a higher fare in this case!
I do not know if this is true, but I think it would be unfair and deceptive. This sort of practice certainly strengthens the arguments for the current EU proposals regarding HTTP Cookies!
May 30 2011
I just read that Marketo is to setup in Dublin, and in the process create 125 new jobs. See Silicon Valley cloud player Marketo creates 125 jobs in Dublin. It is great news, although from what I have read I do not think that it is really a true cloud computing player.
The other thing that concerned me was the following motivation in coming to Dublin:
Phil Fernandez, president and CEO of Marketo, explained the company selected Ireland because it needed a European hub with a large talent pool of skilled people.
I really hope that Marketo does not experience the same problems as many other companies here are experiencing (for example, see Demonware boss warns of skills gap in Irish computer science courses in the media this morning).
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May 29 2011
I read a very interesting article about technology vacancies in Ireland. See While chips down in many sectors, IT struggles to fill jobs.
The technology industry has, according to some of its leading figures and industry groups, several thousand of jobs lying open. The sector has also created about 1,250 jobs since the start of the year, according to IDA Ireland. These are “smart economy” jobs, available from the big multinationals, established indigenous technology companies and hot new tech start-ups.
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For some reason, this serious issue is ignored – I suspect because the public has wanted to hear about new job creation schemes from a new Government, new initiatives and new vision. But to my mind, new vision means looking at the underlying reasons why jobs are not being taken up by the existing population, many of them graduates obviously qualified to do so, and why companies also cannot easily get the employees they need from outside.
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However, it also indicates the education system may not be producing graduates of the calibre or skillsets that companies here need. Google, for one, has said so. This is a serious education issue requiring deep examination.
My experiences fully support the arguments made here! Indeed, unless something is done to change things I think Ireland will not have any hope of being a knowledge economy!
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May 16 2011
I came across a great story today – BehavioSec raises €1m for behavior-based identity theft prevention.
BehavioSec is a Swedish company. However, there is an Irish connection :o Its CTO is Neil Costigan, who is Irish and ex-DCU :)
Well done!
Apr 17 2011
I read an interesting article over the weekend questioning the value of many web start-ups. See Sun shining on the party of the big tech chase.
It is interesting, because I certainly am sceptical of the high levels of attention that some web companies are attracting. I also think that there is the potential that these companies form the next bubble to burst. (This might take a while though due to all the other bubbles bursting at the moment ;)
I think that this video explains it best:
It is very humorous, but it is also grounded in reality! Either way – enjoy it!
Feb 02 2011
Today I came across the first commercial deployment of an mPayment solution. At least I am not aware of any others! The service is being supplied by Orange, and more details can be found in Orange customers of Everything Everywhere get mobile payments.
I think that this is a very exciting area, and it is certainly something in which I am becoming increasingly interested. I think that there are huge opportunities for the telcos in this area, since they effectively already maintain electronic purses (or wallets :) for all of their customers. Most importantly, this is an area in which it is very difficult for over-the-top players to compete (although Apple‘s App Store has shown that it is possible).
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Jan 19 2011
Last weekend I needed to book Ryanair flights. I have a Visa Electron card, and I used to use it all the time to avoid the 5€ per flight administration fee. However, Ryanair changed the rules so that the only card that does not attract such a fee is a prepaid Mastercard. This is described in Why is there an administration fee when I reserve my flights?:
As a special offer to Mastercard Prepaid Debit (MP) card holders, Ryanair, will not apply an administration fee to those customers paying by this method of payment.
I am sure that the only reason for this prepaid Mastercard exception is that Ryanair can still advertise the fare excluding the fee, and it is probably the least common card type available.
Anyway, over Christmas I was lucky to receive a gift voucher for use in a large shopping centre (Whitewater). This gift voucher is actually a prepaid Mastercard, so I decided to give it a try.
Unfortunately, it did not work. I got a generic payment failure error instead of the page with my confirmation number and booking details. Perhaps this was related to the fact that I used my home address as the cardholder’s address, even though my address would not be associated with the card.
I was tight on time, so I went ahead and booked the flights using my normal credit card. If I had more time I would follow it up directly with Ryanair.
I have since read a very interesting thread describing how other prepaid Mastercard shopping vouchers have successfully been used. See Prepaid Mastercard No Loading or Purchase Charges (Works with Ryanair).
I will try one of these the next time!
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Dec 08 2010
Actually, it is probably over now (and I am too tired to actually check), but I hope that Cauwill Technologies got on well today!
To understand what I am writing about see Cauwill Technologies represents Ireland in global start-up competition.
Nov 27 2010
Amid all of the economic bad news, here is something positive! Intune Networks might be the next Irish company to make an IPO according to Intune targets IPO to be Ireland’s anchor tech firm.
This will be exciting to watch!
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