thomas fitzgerald.net

From Breaking News.ie:

An EU wide survey has revealed that Irish people spend over three times as much of their income on alcohol that their European counterparts.

Only three times? Most nations hate the typical stereotypes, such as the “dumb American”, or the “Rude Frenchman”, and in most cases it’s not true. Unfortunately in Ireland’s case it’s pretty much true.
[Read Irish spend three times more on alcohol than Europeans: EU survey | BreakingNews.ie]

When the iPhone launched in Ireland a few weeks ago it launched with some of the most limited options available to iPhone customers anywhere, with allocated minutes a fraction of what’s available in the UK for example. Perhaps the most obvious limitations though are the lack of visual voice mail and the 1 gig data limit. It is the later that has become a cause for concern.

Unlike the UK, the US, Germany and France, the iPhone tariffs offered by O2 do not come with an unlimited data plan. Instead customers get 1GB of data per month and are charged by the megabyte once they go over that limit. On a traditional mobile device 1GB may sound enormous, and the company claimed that 1GB of data was far more than most people would ever need. This may be true, but unlike traditional data capable cellphones, the iPhone has a full browser, and downloads full websites. In addition, Google Maps, YouTube and widgets all consume data. Having said that, you are probably unlikely to go over the limit unless you are a heavy surfer and not using wifi. Still, it is undoubtedly prudent to keep an eye on your data usage so you don’t get caught with a huge bill. And this is where the problem lies.

From RTÉ News:

Mobile company O2 says it has no plans to reduce the price consumers pay to buy an Apple iPhone here.

The UK arm of the company has announced that it is reducing the price of the 8gb model of the phone by £100 until 1 June.

The reduction means that, with current exchange rates, the phone now costs €209 in Northern Ireland and €399 in the Republic

[Read RTÉ News: O2 Ireland not planning iPhone price cut]

This really shouldn’t come as a shock to people. Mobile networks in Ireland have been fleecing people for years, why people are expecting it to be ay different with the iPhone is beyond me, although it does bring the issue of said fleecing into the wider public consciousness. Actually, the iPhone pricing in Ireland may be the least of the problems with the way O2 is dealing with the apple handset in this country. The tariffs and paltry 1Gig data limit are far more annoying than the price of the phone.

From Pocket Lint:

O2 has confirmed that following it’s launch of the iPhone in the UK, it will be the exclusive carrier for Apple’s mobile phone in Ireland.

It’s about time! Rates sound reasonable too:

“Three new iPhone tariffs will be available from O2, starting at €45, all of which will include anytime minutes, texts and a 1GB data bundle.”

Here’s hoping it’s true!

[Read iPhone to launch in Ireland]

Tonight at midnight marks a pivotal moment in the history of Ireland. At midnight tonight the official British Military Operation in Northern Ireland ends. Congratulations to all those who worked hard on all sides of the community to bring about this momentous occasion. I hope this moment can be an inspiration to other countries around the world as to what can be achieved if you give peace a chance.

Story

HDTV UK: Ireland airs its first HD broadcast on terrestrial TV:

While the game might not have been a classic, last Sunday’s Leinster Football final in Dublin was a momentous occasion in the history of Ireland’s HDTV evolution – the game was the first Irish terrestrial broadcast to be shown in high-definition.

HDTV is available via satellite in Ireland but this game marked the first time an HDTV broadcast was transmitted from a digital terrestrial network in Ireland. And, from today, a selection of HDTV programming will be available on a trial using the digital terrestrial TV network in preparation for the eventual analogue to digital switchover.

If anyone knows any more about this please let me know

If there’s one thing that annoys the life out of me it’s the complete and utter lack of technological motivation in this country when it comes to the communication infrastructure. For years consumers had to do battle to overcome the monopolistic tendencies of the main telecoms provider in order to get them to provide a semi decent broadband service at a reasonable price. And while provisions are still patchy and we certainly still lag behind the rest of Europe, at least broadband is much more widely available now.

But there is an equal lack of Wifi in the capital city. Wifi coverage is patchy at best and provided by a cacophony of competing providers with prices that are not particularly inviting. What’s worse though is that virtually none of the main cafes and restaurants on the main shopping thoroughfares have Wifi. When you see the recent announcements regarding Google and Wifi in San Francisco you have to wonder why a relatively small city like Dublin couldn’t have blanket coverage without costing the earth.

Wifi is the future, at least for now, and it would be nice if just for once Ireland were on the cutting edge rather than playing catch up.

I was walking up Grafton Street on sunday about to go into marks and spensers to do my shopping when I realised the doors were all closed and an alarm was going off. Next thing I know there were sirens wailing from behind me and the fire brigade came rushing up! I managed to catch the excitement on my camera phone, and here’s the footage. (click on the pic for movie)

They left pretty quickly, so I guess it wasn’t that serious.