Well it is pretty amazing, but …

 Well a month off and I have been wondering again what might interest everyone. The computer in one form or another is getting everywhere. The latest thing set to be part of some of our lives is the POC Media Centre. It will provide music and television and all the clever recording methods so you can pause a programme while it is on and then start watching again while the rest is recorded. With the new big flat screens and HDTV (High Definition TV) which is just round the corner, the idea of buying a simple old fashioned TV or radio seems to be fast disappearing.

 I recently brought a new mobile phone. The old one was still working – used rarely round here, because of lack of signal, but the new phone is quite special. It has a camera, and will act as a diary, word processor, web browser, send e-mail, play games, have a street map of London, play music as an mp3 player and yes make telephone calls. It can have more storage space on it then the company computer I used in 25 years ago. So now I can carry one thing around as opposed to three.

 However I do see one problem with all these wonderful inventions – will anyone apart from a ten year old geek, ever be able to use all the fantastic op0tions and remember how to do so. And what does happen if the power goes off for a while, or the people you want to e-mail don’t have a computer. I sometimes get an uneasy feeling ….

John Kimberley

http://www.lordjohn.demon.co.uk/theboffin/