Notes

Tech Tent: Future Farmers, Minecraft And Doom

Tech Tent: Future farmers, Minecraft and Doom Rory Cellan-Jones Technology correspondent @BBCRoryCJon Twitter



22 January 2016



Every Friday we go through the week's technology news on Tech Tent on the BBC World Service. Here's what this week will look like.



Big Data on the Farm



It's the oldest industry in the world and one that you wouldn't consider to be a forward-looking one - but it's now experiencing an entire new revolution in data-driven technology. Farmers are confronted by an ever-growing amount of information. From drones that offer aerial views of crops to combine harvesters that measure the output of every square meter, to sensors that give minute-by-minute information about the health of animals, there is a lot of data. We will be hearing from a chicken farmer who is adjusting to this new way of working. Our special guest is Rob Carter, the co-founder of Field Margin which aims to aid farmers in managing their data using an app on smartphones. Also our BBC colleagues on Radio 4's Farming Today have been covering farming and technology all week long and will be presenting special reports on Saturday's On Your Farm.



Minecraft in the classroom



Since Microsoft bought Minecraft we've heard very little about its plans for the popular game of world building. The software giant has announced a major expansion into education by launching an educational version of Minecraft. Jane Wakefield, Jane's correspondent, went to BETT, the UK’s largest educational technology show to discuss with Microsoft about the plans that allows children to learn Minecraft in school and play it at home. Schools will require an Office 365 account to log into the education edition. We'll be asking whether this is part of Microsoft's plan to take on Google as the leading software provider in the classroom.



Lessons learned from the experience of Kickstarter



Kickstarter received a lot of criticism following the Zano mini-drone fell to earth in November. The crowdfunding platform employed an investigative reporter to examine the reasons for the failure. Mark Harris' 13,000-word report was released this week. It's an excruciating account on how to run a tech company as well as a warning to anyone who doesn't understand that crowdfunding is not like ordering products from Amazon. We talk to Mark Harris about his thoughts about crowdfunding as a way of getting tech ideas off-the-ground.



Doom increases in level



Twenty-three years after the original game Doom was launched, there's still a dedicated group of players. This week, they have something to celebrate. John Romero, one of the original developers has released the first game since the mid-90s. Prioritygame He spoke with Zoe Kleinman, our reporter. He admitted that he was a bit nervous about the response of the community, but the majority of players have been very positive.



For all of this and much more watch the BBC World Service at 15:00 GMT or listen to the podcast later.


Website: https://prioritygame.com/