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Are we really this desperate for news fodder? With all that's going on in technology is this the best use of the BBC's time and resources? Because the kid see

by SamAtt 17y ago

Are we really this desperate for news fodder? With all that's going on in technology is this the best use of the BBC's time and resources? Because the kid seems pretty intelligent and while reading I kept thinking "If you're going to have this kid write an article aren't there topics that would be more interesting for him to write about? Like how he thinks the future of technology will turn out or what's the most significant technology he uses on a daily basis?" Instead we get insights like this (which the BBC actually chooses to highlight) Another notable feature that the iPod has and the Walkman doesn't is "shuffle", where the player selects random tracks to play. Its a function that, on the face of it, the Walkman lacks. But I managed to create an impromptu shuffle feature simply by holding down "rewind" and releasing it randomly - effective, if a little laboured. Wow. If I'm ever stuck on a desert island with only a walkman and am jonesing for shuffled music I'll now know what to do.

kyro 17y ago
I doubt the BBC poured all its resources into producing this article. You're being a bit dramatic. Plus, I think it's just as important to remember and reflect upon technologies of past ages as it is to speculate about future technologies. Kids today should be aware of these things as it should give them much more respect for what we have, seeing how far we've come. I found the article interesting.
- SamAtt 17y ago
  The resources I was referring to was the kid's time and the point I was making is that this article provided no insight that an adult who thought on the issue for half a minute couldn't have come up. If you're going to have this seemingly intelligent kid spend time writing a piece why not try to get some insight out of him that is useful and that the rest of us don't already know. Heck, if you asked the kid a series of questions and had one of them be "What do you think of this Walkman?" that would be ok. But the whole reason the piece is so frustrating is because it's a waste. Have the kid hold a walkman for 5 minutes and he'll tell you everything you heard in this article.
- kenver 17y ago
  I also thought it was quiet interesting, considering some of the rubbish my licence fee goes on, I'm pretty sure this one is insignificant on the expenses front. It took me by surprise that there are a generation of kids out there who have probably never seen a tape, these are things that were cutting edge during my time growing up, even the move to CD. I remember taking my cassette players apart and fiddling with them to see how they worked. Unfortuantely you cant really do that with the modern stuff, which is a shame. I'm turning into my father!
chaosmachine 17y ago
On the other hand, the author is 13. It's a novelty piece, not an attempt at serious news.
- wglb 17y ago
  I wonder. None of the 13-year-olds that I know or knew would be anywhere in the same zip code (or postal code) as the word "plethora".
  - mquander 17y ago
    Nor would any of them dump their iPhones for Walkmen, I wager. I wrote about like that kid does when I was 13 years old.
  - yan 17y ago
    To be fair, those 13-year-olds also don't have a BBC editor and their parents at their disposal. Well, maybe their parents :)
- riklomas 17y ago
  A 13 year old who works for CrunchGear too: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/06/29/one-of-our-interns-makes-it-big-by-carrying-a-walkman-for-a-week/ http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/06/29/one-of-our-interns-make...
- radu_floricica 17y ago
  Give 13 years old a chance and you'll be amazed at what they can do. It's one thing I'm really not happy about western society: forces teens to be kids until about 20. AFAIK, physical mental development ends around 9. After that it's only education which decides if you're mature enough at 12 or at 30.
  - wlievens 17y ago
    Except that between 12 and 17 you've got so many hormones racing through your body that you rarely make any sensible decisions...
rythie 17y ago
Well techcrunch said this "Wee Scott Campbell of Aberdeen, Scotland is 13 years old and sent us an email last week asking if he could write for us." So I would assume he wrote the piece and sent it to the BBC, they probably didn't do much except take a picture and publish it. What I think is interesting is that this kid is able to think up a story good enough for TechCrunch and BBC. If he could do that again it would be really interesting.

by SamAtt 17y ago

kyro 17y ago

I doubt the BBC poured all its resources into producing this article. You're being a bit dramatic. Plus, I think it's just as important to remember and reflect upon technologies of past ages as it is to speculate about future technologies. Kids today should be aware of these things as it should give them much more respect for what we have, seeing how far we've come. I found the article interesting.

SamAtt 17y ago
The resources I was referring to was the kid's time and the point I was making is that this article provided no insight that an adult who thought on the issue for half a minute couldn't have come up. If you're going to have this seemingly intelligent kid spend time writing a piece why not try to get some insight out of him that is useful and that the rest of us don't already know. Heck, if you asked the kid a series of questions and had one of them be "What do you think of this Walkman?" that would be ok. But the whole reason the piece is so frustrating is because it's a waste. Have the kid hold a walkman for 5 minutes and he'll tell you everything you heard in this article.
kenver 17y ago
I also thought it was quiet interesting, considering some of the rubbish my licence fee goes on, I'm pretty sure this one is insignificant on the expenses front. It took me by surprise that there are a generation of kids out there who have probably never seen a tape, these are things that were cutting edge during my time growing up, even the move to CD. I remember taking my cassette players apart and fiddling with them to see how they worked. Unfortuantely you cant really do that with the modern stuff, which is a shame. I'm turning into my father!

chaosmachine 17y ago

On the other hand, the author is 13. It's a novelty piece, not an attempt at serious news.

wglb 17y ago
I wonder. None of the 13-year-olds that I know or knew would be anywhere in the same zip code (or postal code) as the word "plethora".
- mquander 17y ago
  Nor would any of them dump their iPhones for Walkmen, I wager. I wrote about like that kid does when I was 13 years old.
- yan 17y ago
  To be fair, those 13-year-olds also don't have a BBC editor and their parents at their disposal. Well, maybe their parents :)
riklomas 17y ago
A 13 year old who works for CrunchGear too: http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/06/29/one-of-our-interns-makes-it-big-by-carrying-a-walkman-for-a-week/ http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/06/29/one-of-our-interns-make...
radu_floricica 17y ago
Give 13 years old a chance and you'll be amazed at what they can do. It's one thing I'm really not happy about western society: forces teens to be kids until about 20. AFAIK, physical mental development ends around 9. After that it's only education which decides if you're mature enough at 12 or at 30.
- wlievens 17y ago
  Except that between 12 and 17 you've got so many hormones racing through your body that you rarely make any sensible decisions...

rythie 17y ago

Well techcrunch said this "Wee Scott Campbell of Aberdeen, Scotland is 13 years old and sent us an email last week asking if he could write for us." So I would assume he wrote the piece and sent it to the BBC, they probably didn't do much except take a picture and publish it. What I think is interesting is that this kid is able to think up a story good enough for TechCrunch and BBC. If he could do that again it would be really interesting.