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Adrian Weckler

@adrianweckler.bsky.social
5.9K followers 149 following 1.7K posts

Tech editor, Irish & Sunday Independent. Podcaster. Photographer. Dublin, Ireland.

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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 10h
Blacksod Lighthouse, mid-June, 4.50am
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 16h
Fair! Although another perspectives that if you have Gmail or use and Android phone, it’ll blow your mind to know who has theoretcial access to all your personal data
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 18h
More tips here: www.independent.ie/business/tec...
independent.ie
Adrian Weckler: Late to the AI party? Here are eight simple ways to make it work for you
From planning trips to decoding complicated documents, the tech can make life much easier
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 18h
I’ve a guide to beginners’ tips for AI in today’s paper — this tip is one of the handiest If you link Gmail or Outlook, you can unearth ‘lost’ details of stuff in seconds (we all spend ages searching for things in our email)
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Wow. Must have been right by a tower. I only got over 100Mbs once, over 5-6km zone in the city
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
More detail in my written review: www.independent.ie/business/lid...
independent.ie
Lidl’s new €9 5G mobile service actually works – for your phone and as a cut-price broadband stand in
The retailer’s new Mobile Connect service, which uses Eir’s 5G mobile network, can double as a discount broadband hotspot because of a high ‘fair use’ data policy
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
In fairness, the new €9-per-month mobile service from Lidl is pretty good! PROS: - decent signal - physical sim or eSim - hotspotting allowed = makeshift cut-price broadband - 1TB ‘fair use’ data CONS: - rarely over 45Mbs (actually fine bit not top 5G) - customer service all through Lidl Plus app
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Rage, rage against the dying of the light
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Update from Asos: “Basic personal information including name and contact details may have been accessed. We do not believe that payment-card information or account passwords, were impacted. “Our website and app are operating as normal, with no current disruption to any aspects of our operations."
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
It’s so strange (though unbelievably lucky, to be sure) to be in a situation where we cannot afford — at all, in any way — to pay for the running of our country. Without this magic money tree, from foreign entities that don’t earn money in the country. Even with oil, it’s at least in the territory
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Weird that 3 US companies -- Apple (€4.1bn), Microsoft (€5.6bn) and Eli Lilly (€5.7bn) -- now pay for people's heating oil, pension increases and tax cuts in this Budget. Near directly. They file windfall taxes = we hike social spending and cut our income tax. Utter, depressing dependence.
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Irish customers among those to get this push notification today, entitled “ASOS HACKED”... “Dear ASOS DPO and IT, we have full compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it.”
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Asos hacked -- customer notification contains apparent threat www.independent.ie/business/onl...
independent.ie
Online fashion retailer Asos hacked
Customers of the UK-based fast fashion retailer received a push notification today with an apparent threat from hackers
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
www.independent.ie/business/adr...
independent.ie
Adrian Weckler: Will AI kill us? What the insiders say about what might be the most urgent question in the history of humanity
Some believe the tech could destroy everything we’ve ever built on a quiet Tuesday afternoon – other, equally authoritative peers, say it’s nowhere close
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Will AI kill us? 1. “Yes/Maybe” - Bill ‘1 billion dead’ Gates - Geoffrey ‘AI godfather’ Hinton - Dario Amodei (Anthropic) - Elon Musk 2. “No/It’s overblown” - Yann “zero concerns” LeCun - Jensen “it’s preventable” Huang - Mark Zuckerberg
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The €60,000 student job Irish tech interns now earn up to €60,000 (pro rata) at Google, Stripe, Squarespace et al A few months and they’ve paid off their year’s accommodation, tuition www.independent.ie/business/iri...
independent.ie
Irish tech interns can now earn equivalent of €60,000 a year
New salary data shows Stripe and Google are among those leading the way
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Journal is launching a €50 (per year) paywall. (For "some" articles) www.independent.ie/business/the...
independent.ie
The Journal to launch paywall of €50 per year
The online news site, founded by Eamonn and Brian Fallon, will put a paywall on “some” articles for the first time
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Here's the full document d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2026/...
d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
On the document signed between Trump and the big AI executives, 'United States' is spelled wrong. 'Super intelligence' is off to a good start.
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ireland's DPC says AI firms unlikely to be permitted train data on private messages, because it would breach GDPR Likely a blow to WhatsApp, which launched Muse AI within WhatsApp in the US DPC says it also killed or delayed 9 AI services pre-launch www.independent.ie/business/blo...
independent.ie
Blow to WhatsApp as Ireland's DPC says tech giants can’t use private messages to train AI
The data watchdog also says it delayed or killed nine AI launches in Europe in recent years after the services failed to meet privacy standards
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
What Rupert Murdoch told Mark Little right after buying his news verification startup Storyful for $25m "Let's go make some f***ing money.” Interesting stuff from Mark on today’s pod - his time at Twitter, AI, Elon, social media, missing TV, what comes next Big Tech Show from Irish Independent
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Eir
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Only needs one app — 4 different lines supported per app
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The 'fair use' policy is up to 1TB, Lidl tells me. For casual use, that's way more than enough -- 10 hours per day of Netflix (HD) or around 5 hours of Netflix in 4K (I'm trying to look past fact that 1TB of "fair use", okay as that is, obv isn't "unlimited")
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
It launches its cut-price mobile service next week www.independent.ie/irish-news/d...
independent.ie
Discount retailer Lidl enters mobile phone market with cut-price deal for first 100,000 customers
Sim-only plan is much cheaper than those on offer from main providers
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Lidl says you can use its new €9 per month 'unlimited' 5G mobile phone plan for hotspotting (laptops, other phones/tablets). ie cheapo broadband subscription for students, light users etc. €9pm vs €30-€55pm
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
OpenAI reveals it leaked uploaded images its users thought would be private. OpenAI: “We have discovered 53 cases where images that people had uploaded were posted to image-hosting sites as links that weren’t publicly listed.”
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Ex-CEO of Cubic Telecom, Barry Napier, has won a legal and planning battle to rebuild his demolished €7.5m waterfront home in Dalkey. www.independent.ie/irish-news/m...
independent.ie
Multi-millionaire tech boss and wife win battle to rebuild demolished €7.5m waterfront home in Dalkey
A multi-millionaire tech entrepreneur and his wife have won a planning battle concerning the demolition of their €7.5m home in Dalkey.
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Here are six settings you can/should change immediately on Revolut - transfer limit - anti-theft 'street mode' - disposable card - spending limits for cards - payment notifications - 'trusted merchants' check More detail: www.independent.ie/business/tec...
independent.ie
Revolut data leak: Six settings users should change immediately on their app or phone to keep their cash safe
It’s a good time to make sure you have certain settings activated. Here’s my easy step-by-step guide
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Revolut confirms that some Irish customers affected by new ‘third party’ data breach. It’s the second time this month that Ireland’s largest payments service is warning some customers of a risk to their personal data. www.independent.ie/business/rev...
independent.ie
Revolut confirms some Irish customers affected by new ‘third party’ data breach
It’s the second time this month that Ireland’s largest payments service is warning some customers of a risk to their personal data
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
AI usage daily, weekly, monthly (& never) -- Gallup poll of 37 countries eg Ireland -- 25% daily, 18% weekly, 13% monthly, 45% none
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It’s one straw in the wind. The cumulative trend does support the idea that more people are using AI, either semi-regularly or regularly. It may be at, or close to, half of us.
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Biggest increase in AI usage in 'global north' countries? - Shopping Global south countries? - School
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Ireland moves up to 3rd globally for use of AI (1st in Europe) -- per new global Microsoft study Saints and slop? Or peak productivity?
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This is the kind of thing that fed pop theories like ‘my phone listens to me cos how else would it know all that for ads’ (Your phone doesn’t secretly listen to you for ads)
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Google to appeal
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Google hit with €403m fine by Irish privacy regulator for location data misuse. First major fine for Google by DPC. In total, €4.4bn in privacy fines on big tech firms by DPC. (Most tied up in appeal.) Fines imposed on behalf of EU go to Irish taxpayer. www.independent.ie/business/goo...
independent.ie
Google hit with €403m fine by Irish DPC for misuse of location data
Latest penalty brings total fines by Irish watchdog to over €4.4bn
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
An Irish priest has become a spiritual, ethical and moral advisor to Anthropic and other AI companies, amid talk of doom. Fr Brendan McGuire, from Bray, has a parish in Los Altos, in the heart of Silicon Valley. Used to be in tech himself. Late vocation. Now he says mass and advises LLMs.
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Leak or no leak -- Here are six settings you can/should change immediately on Revolut - transfer limit - anti-theft 'street mode' - disposable card - spending limits for cards - payment notifications - 'trusted merchants' check Instructions on how: www.independent.ie/business/tec...
independent.ie
Revolut data leak: Six settings users should change immediately on their app or phone to keep their cash safe
It’s a good time to make sure you have certain settings activated. Here’s my easy step-by-step guide
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The obvious loophole is VPNs; If a kid uses a VPN on phone or laptop (to virtually base outside EU) no state ID required. VPNs are common and well known among young teens
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
EU’s new social media child protection rules to require state ID for all new social media accounts. Ireland’s new digital state ID wallet, a passport or another type of ID will be required, according to leaked documents for new EU law. www.independent.ie/business/eus...
independent.ie
EU’s new social media child protection rules to require all social media accounts to produce state ID
Leaked documents suggest that some existing accounts will also be subject to identification checks
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Yeah, but you can still get phones that have a week's battery life -- the tradeoff involved means no-one actually wants one
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Full review: www.independent.ie/business/rev...
independent.ie
Review: iPhone 18 Pro is the new battery king
The iPhone 18 Pro Max can last two days with normal usage, thanks to a big upgrade
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Have been testing the iPhone 18 Pro (black) and 18 Pro Max (burgundy). 2 reasons to consider them: - new monster battery life (up to two days per charge on Pro Max, easily) - fancy new main camera (lots more light) BUT also: - heavier (+8% Pro Max) - pricier (like most phones)
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
6 specific things to do *right now* to protect your Revolut account from data breaches or scammers - in-app check - active device check - turn on biometric - turn on transaction notifications - beware emails, calls, texts - monitor bank accounts / cards www.independent.ie/business/7-s...
independent.ie
7 steps to protect your Revolut account from scams and data breaches
With uncertainty over how many Irish people have been affected by the Revolut data breach, here are seven practical steps that will help lock down your account and thwart scammers
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
FFS
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Wtf
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
How to check whether you were affected in Revolut’s blunder in handing over customer passports, driver’s licences, addresses, phone numbers etc In-app: —> Account (top left of screen) —> Chats
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Yep two of them on the runway
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Adrian Weckler @adrianweckler.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
View from inside my just-landed SF plane in Dublin
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