TechWire

Nokia introduces the Tubridy phone

Great news for luddites and men over-45: Nokia has updated its non-internet line of 'common sense' mobile phones.

This comes in the form of the 6303 Classic, which has no 3G, no internet and no wi-fi. All of this means that battery life is somewhat better than your ordinary mobile phone, at over two days on a single charge.

But it's not complete luddite country. The 6303 has a 3 megapixel camera and connects to a computer for the transfer of MP3 files, whatever they might be.

It's available from O2 for €130, from Vodafone for €100 and sim-free for €145.

Irish Indo goes app

The Indo becomes the second Irish newspaper to create an iPhone App for itself. Smart move. Surely only a matter of time before the Times follows suit.

The Munster Express was the first Irish newspaper to do so.

Why it's libelous to say someone is gay

Is it libelous to print that someone is gay, when they're not? It shouldn't be, but it is.

In Ireland, we imagine that we're enlightened. Being gay is okay. Ethnic minorities are to be respected. But this veil of tolerance falls sharply the minute an Irish person is associated with one of these tags.

Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in Irish libel law.

Consider the following test. Imagine that your name is Sean or Mary Mahony. Imagine that one of these statements appears in a mass-selling Irish daily newspaper. Which ones would you 'consult your solicitor' about?

1. "Sean Mahony is gay."

2. "Sean Mahony comes from a traveller background. Both of his parents were travellers."

3. "Sean Mahony is of mixed race. His father is Irish, his mother is black."

4. "Mary Mahony is a lesbian."

7. "Mary Mahony lost her virginity to a Nigerian."

5. "Sean Mahony is a Muslim."

6. "Sean Mahony is Jewish."

As journalists, we have to be careful about facts and the reputations of people we write about. But it goes beyond that. We also have to be careful not to offend against the bigotry and intolerance of the wider public. This is not just for pragmatic commercial reasons, but for legal ones, too. Being gay may be okay, but if you write that someone is gay, and they're not, all of a sudden it's a horrific, scandalous, deeply damaging attack on their reputation. Yes, yes, we're all enlightened -- but don't you dare call me gay, or I'll sue the hell out of you.

Chorus NTL boss proposes three strikes law in Ireland

Uh oh.

Looks like Liberty Global, which owns UPC, which trades as Chorus NTL, is having a rethink about this whole standing-up-to-the-music-industry thing.

"We would absolutely like to see a system put in place that will prohibit piracy," said Shane O'Neill (pictured above left), vice president of Liberty Global, at a Hot Press music event last weekend.

"We will participate in national schemes where there is a systematic, gradual approach. For example in France the three strikes law is back after the vote on the 22nd of September. In the UK, Ofcom have said that they will intervene to disconnect if the government creates a legislative framework on which the ISPs can then move. So we will do that."

"We shouldn't be fighting here in Ireland or suing one another. We actually should be both going hand in hand to the government and demanding that they put in place the same sort of national framework here that is starting to merge in France and the UK."

While not literally contravening what UPC has said about defying the music industry's demands on Irish ISPs, this could be read as a distinct softening of its attitude.