Latest news with #Conn
Irish Daily Mirror
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
'This magician told me to pick a number, now I think he hacked my brain'
'Pick a number between 1 and 100,' magician Conn McCormack asks me, as he explains that he has a numbered list on his phone of all his magic tricks. I pick 59, and as I do I wonder why I pick it. As if he's reading my mind, Conn asks if it has any special meaning to me and I say no. He hands me his phone, tells me to open up the notes app and scroll down to number 59. It says 'This is the number Ciara is going to pick'. Now I'm bewildered, Is this man able to read my mind? Alas, he isn't, but he can control it. In the few seconds that the mentalist was explaining his list to me he was displaying the numbers five and nine on his fingers. I didn't even think my brain was taking in what he was doing with his hands. It's scary how easy the human brain can be manipulated. While Conn's act is all about fun, can he use it to his advantage outside of putting on a show? 'There are skills that you can use outside of magic tricks as well," he says. "I couldn't use them to rob a bank or anything crazy, like you see in the movies. But it's fun to think that maybe you could leave a job interview and if that person was asked to say a number they'd probably say 27 for the next three days or something.' At 28 years old, the Dubliner is a rising star in Ireland's small circle of magicians and mentalists. He knows all the big names across the globe- Keith Barry, Darren Brown, Dynamo and David Blaine. And while he looks up to them, the performer is doing things his way. Since the age of seven Conn has spent endless hours studying the craft and coming up with his own ways of tricking others for wonder. He's also an actor- and believes being a confident performer is the biggest component of being a successful magician. 'I think you could teach a really skilled actor, if you said here are five tricks and they weren't really slight, heavy tricks. There are certain slights with cards that have taken me 10 years to do this. Some are really sore, but totally worth it.' Magician Conn McCormack pictured showcasing his tricks. (Image: Collins Photo Agency) Some sceptics love to catch magicians out, but Conn says a key skill is even being able to trick people when things go wrong. 'If I said 'pick a card', and you picked the queen of hearts, and then I messed it up, flicking out the two of spades, you can tell that I clearly got it wrong. 'So I would say 'Oh, it wasn't this card? No way. What was it?' And I'll flick a queen of hearts. Now the audience's expectations were down, but they were shot back up again.' A big reason why the Dubliner got into magic may surprise some- as a child he was a big fidgeter and needed something to do with his hands. 'I used to fidget a lot, but there are loads of random stories that I suppose got me here, and I feel like they all connected at some point. 'My dad's friend did a trick on me when I was a kid and it fooled me. So I spent years in retaliation, learning the craft. So I've been doing it professionally since I was 16. That started with 'I'll give you 50 quid to come to the tennis club and do card tricks for an hour'. 'And now I'm booked up for weddings for the year, and I've got corporate events all the time. I did Joe Duffy's retirement party and each year I do the Irish rugby team's ball in the Shelbourne.' The Liveline Host, who recently left RTÉ after being at the helm of the popular show for 27 years, is a fan of the young magician. While they both live in Clontarf, the man of the people enjoys a good trick or two. They met while Conn was working at a show in Malahide, and Joe knew he'd be the perfect person to have people in awe at his retirement bash. 'Joe loves magic, he was saying 'I love magic, show us a trick!' So I did the number notes trick on him straight away.' Like most people that Conn manages to fool, the broadcaster was in awe. Getting a good reaction from people and bringing a bit of child-like fun into their lives is why the mentalist loves his job so much. 'It's like Santa Claus. Everyone knows in their rational mind there's a method behind all of it, and there's a method to the madness. 'The magic world is so cool, sometimes I wonder' Why doesn't everyone want to know how to do this?' It's so fun, why doesn't everyone want to make someone smile?' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Washington Post
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Washington Post
Wimbledon men's final ratings up and semifinals were most-viewed since last Federer-Nadal matchup
BRISTOL, Conn. — Jannik Sinner's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon men's final earned a 31% increase over last year's title match, after the semifinals were the most-watched since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met for the final time in 2019, ESPN said Tuesday. The final between the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the men's rankings averaged nearly 2.9 million viewers. That came after semifinal Friday, when Sinner beat Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz ousted Taylor Fritz, averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 34% from last year.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wimbledon men's final between Sinner and Alcaraz on ESPN draws most viewers since 2019
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Jannik Sinner's victory over Carlos Alcaraz was the most-viewed Wimbledon men's final since Novak Djokovic edged Roger Federer in a five-set thriller in 2019. ESPN said Sunday's match averaged 2.9 million viewers, a 31% increase over last year's final and its best performance since about 3.8 million watched Djokovic win a fifth-set tiebreaker in a match between two of tennis' greatest champions. Advertisement The network also said Tuesday that ratings were up for the both the men's and women's semifinals. The women's semis, which included American Amanda Anisimova upsetting No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, averaged 897,000 viewers, the most since 2015, when Serena Williams was part of the final four. The men's average of 1.31 million was the highest since 2019. ___ AP tennis: The Associated Press
Associated Press
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Wimbledon men's final between Sinner and Alcaraz on ESPN draws most viewers since 2019
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Jannik Sinner's victory over Carlos Alcaraz was the most-viewed Wimbledon men's final since Novak Djokovic edged Roger Federer in a five-set thriller in 2019. ESPN said Sunday's match averaged 2.9 million viewers, a 31% increase over last year's final and its best performance since about 3.8 million watched Djokovic win a fifth-set tiebreaker in a match between two of tennis' greatest champions. The network also said Tuesday that ratings were up for the both the men's and women's semifinals. The women's semis, which included American Amanda Anisimova upsetting No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, averaged 897,000 viewers, the most since 2015, when Serena Williams was part of the final four. The men's average of 1.31 million was the highest since 2019. ___ AP tennis:
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AI-powered Platforms Ease Hybrid Cloud Management
Enterprises seeking efficiency and resiliency flock to providers offering advanced automation, security, system visibility, ISG Provider Lens® report says STAMFORD, Conn., July 14, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A growing number of enterprises are adopting advanced hybrid cloud management platforms to improve operational efficiency and ensure business continuity, according to a new global research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® global Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Solutions report finds that the hybrid cloud management platform (HCMP) market is growing rapidly as providers integrate edge computing, enhance disaster recovery and introduce automation enabled by AI and ML. Increasingly complex hybrid cloud environments, growing cybersecurity threats and evolving regulations are driving demand for HCMPs with these new capabilities. "AI is becoming a foundational element of hybrid cloud management," said Anay Nawathe, ISG cloud delivery lead for the Americas. "Enterprises are seeking it out in solutions that provide a path from reactive, manual management to proactive, intelligent automation." The financial sector has made the largest investments in advanced HCMPs, though the adoption rate is now faster in the healthcare industry, ISG says. Growth is especially strong in Asia Pacific and Latin America, where many enterprises are pursuing digital transformation for greater agility, security and cost efficiency. The addition of AI and edge computing are significant catalysts for this adoption trend. Disaster recovery and resiliency are among the fastest-growing demands within hybrid cloud management, especially in Asia Pacific. AI-enabled HCMP and resiliency solutions aid integration of private, public and edge cloud environments, the report says. They offer real-time monitoring of hybrid cloud environments, predictive analytics and AI agents that can automate complex workflows. Leading solutions also look for security threats and automate regulatory compliance. Enterprises are using these features to better manage and optimize resources and automatically detect and fix anomalies. Companies are embracing resiliency platforms with AI for their ability to conduct continuous risk assessments, predictive disaster recovery and automated failovers, ISG says. Some vendors have helped enterprises significantly improve their return on cloud investments through AI-powered automation, which reduces training costs and improves operational visibility. These resiliency platforms can predict capacity needs and optimize workload placement for high availability and business continuity. Advanced cloud management platforms that offer comprehensive cost visibility, AI-enabled insights and financial accountability are helping enterprises optimize cloud resources through FinOps, one of the top priorities for most organizations, the report says. AI and ML can give organizations a more detailed understanding of cloud spending across platforms and identify and recommend cost-saving opportunities. "As enterprises increase their reliance on complex hybrid cloud architectures, they face a growing number of cloud monitoring and management responsibilities," said Shashank Rajmane, senior manager and principal analyst, ISG Provider Lens Research, and lead author of the report. "Solution providers are easing those burdens and ensuring efficient, resilient operations with innovative AI-powered features." The report also explores other trends in private and hybrid cloud solutions, including increasing demand for zero-trust security architectures and advancements in backup and storage for faster data restoration. For more insights into private and hybrid cloud challenges faced by enterprises, plus ISG's advice for addressing them, see the ISG Provider Lens® Focal Points briefing here. The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® global Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Solutions report evaluates the capabilities of 36 providers across two quadrants: Hybrid Cloud Management Platforms and Resiliency Platforms. The report names Broadcom (VMware) and HPE as Leaders in both quadrants. It names BMC Software, CloudBolt Software, Cohesity, Commvault, Dell Technologies, Flexera, HCLSoftware, IBM, Rubrik, ServiceNow and Veeam as Leaders in one quadrant each. In addition, Nutanix is named as a Rising Star — a company with a "promising portfolio" and "high future potential" by ISG's definition — in one quadrant. Customized versions of the report are available from ManageEngine and The 2025 ISG Provider Lens® global Private/Hybrid Cloud — Data Center Solutions report is available to subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage. About ISG Provider Lens® Research The ISG Provider Lens® Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage. About ISG ISG (Nasdaq: III) is a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. A trusted partner to more than 900 clients, including 75 of the world's top 100 enterprises, ISG is a long-time leader in technology and business services that is now at the forefront of leveraging AI to help organizations achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm, founded in 2006, is known for its proprietary market data, in-depth knowledge of provider ecosystems, and the expertise of its 1,600 professionals worldwide working together to help clients maximize the value of their technology investments. View source version on Contacts Press Contacts: Laura Hupprich, ISG+1 203 517 Julianna Sheridan, Matter Communications for ISG+1 978-518-4520isg@
