21-07-2012, 08:58 PM
David,
I think the problem is, and has been for many a long year in some quarters, that the hype overtakes the reality, and that leads to a lot of disappointment when it doesn't work out.
I'll put that into context. My younger son was born in 1979 so he was the right age for the ZX80, Spectrum etc and the BBC, which by the way I thought was a ludicrous price and used the wrong Processor. And yes, apart from the overblown adverts - it wasn't until you saw one that you realised how small they really were - the Sinclair products really were better. When he was about 12 I cobbled together a PC for him out of an tiny SBC, a Floppy drive and a Mono Screen. He also had an Acorn and later, when a friend of ours went to work for Acorn, she got him a one of the prototype ARCs - now that was splendid. When he was at Secondary School I used to have to go round at 6 and drag him out before the Cleaners locked him in - they had an excellent range of Acorn gear.
Now for the tricky question. Out of all the teenagers who were at that school at the time how many would you guess made any sense of it all?
The answer is none. OK, Rob had an advantage, me, and actually several other people - friends. But in practical terms he was the only one that I knew who had the knack, ability and perseverance to make a go of it. The rest? They're on the Checkouts.
I'll take bets that the RP will never make any lasting impression and the vast majority will finish up gathering dust. RS already have a built-in Returns Procedure for dissatisfied Customers.
I'm all in favour of encouraging children to pursue such things if they have the knack and enthusiasm. But in the usual manner of the Educational Establishment, largely staffed by Left Wing Arts Graduates, once something is deemed a 'Good Thing' then everyone must get onto the bandwagon. Thus we have 6 year old learning Mandarin when they can't add 2 and 2 or teenagers trying the read Shakespeare when the can't read English.
Like I said, Humbug.
Alan
I think the problem is, and has been for many a long year in some quarters, that the hype overtakes the reality, and that leads to a lot of disappointment when it doesn't work out.
I'll put that into context. My younger son was born in 1979 so he was the right age for the ZX80, Spectrum etc and the BBC, which by the way I thought was a ludicrous price and used the wrong Processor. And yes, apart from the overblown adverts - it wasn't until you saw one that you realised how small they really were - the Sinclair products really were better. When he was about 12 I cobbled together a PC for him out of an tiny SBC, a Floppy drive and a Mono Screen. He also had an Acorn and later, when a friend of ours went to work for Acorn, she got him a one of the prototype ARCs - now that was splendid. When he was at Secondary School I used to have to go round at 6 and drag him out before the Cleaners locked him in - they had an excellent range of Acorn gear.
Now for the tricky question. Out of all the teenagers who were at that school at the time how many would you guess made any sense of it all?
The answer is none. OK, Rob had an advantage, me, and actually several other people - friends. But in practical terms he was the only one that I knew who had the knack, ability and perseverance to make a go of it. The rest? They're on the Checkouts.
I'll take bets that the RP will never make any lasting impression and the vast majority will finish up gathering dust. RS already have a built-in Returns Procedure for dissatisfied Customers.
I'm all in favour of encouraging children to pursue such things if they have the knack and enthusiasm. But in the usual manner of the Educational Establishment, largely staffed by Left Wing Arts Graduates, once something is deemed a 'Good Thing' then everyone must get onto the bandwagon. Thus we have 6 year old learning Mandarin when they can't add 2 and 2 or teenagers trying the read Shakespeare when the can't read English.
Like I said, Humbug.
Alan
