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 latest tech news from the week on Tech Tent on the BBC World Service. Here's what we're looking at this week.



Big Data on the Farm



It is the most storied industry in the world, and it is one that you might not consider to be the most forward-looking. But farming is now experiencing a revolutionary shift in data-driven technology. From drones giving aerial surveys of crops, to combine harvesters that precisely measure the amount of output per square metre, or sensors that provide minute-by minute updates on the health of animals, farmers are dealing with an ever-growing volume of data. A farmer who raises chickens will share his experiences with this innovative method of working. Rob Carter, co-founder of Field Margin, will be our special guest. Field Margin is a smartphone app that helps farmers manage their data. Our BBC Radio colleagues from 4's Farming Today have been covering farming technology throughout the week. Minecraft-servers-list.co They will be giving an exclusive report on Saturday's On Your Farm.



Minecraft in the classroom



We've heard nothing about Microsoft's plans for Minecraft since it was purchased by Microsoft. But this week , the software giant announced a big push into education, launching an online version of the game. Jane Wakefield, Jane's correspondent, went to BETT the UK's biggest educational technology event to discuss with Microsoft about the plans that allows children to learn Minecraft at school and then play the game at home. Schools will need to have an Office 365 account to log into the education edition. We'll be asking whether this is part of Microsoft's plan to battle Google as the prime software provider in the classroom.



Lessons from the experience of Kickstarter



When the Zano mini-drone crashed to the ground in November last year, Kickstarter came in for lots of criticism from those who lost their money. The crowdfunding platform employed an investigative reporter to investigate what went wrong. Mark Harris' 13,000-word report was published this week. It is both an incredibly detailed account of how to run a tech company as well as a warning to anyone who isn't aware that crowdfunding isn't the same as buying products from Amazon. We chat with him on the programme about where he thinks crowdfunding is an option to get technology ideas off the ground.



Doom is able to move up a level



Twenty three years after the legendary game Doom came out the game has a dedicated community of players, and they're celebrating this week. John Romero, one of the original developers, has released the first level in the mid-90s. Our reporter Zoe Kleinman has been talking to him - he admits that he was a bit nervous about how the community would react but the majority of fans have been overwhelmingly positive.



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


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