How long have you been using computers? Ever since they came into the BBC in the mid-eighties... I took a lot longer to get one for home use though. We have two computers at home now that are supposed to be linked together by an AirPort wireless hub but it doesn't seem to work very well! I have a laptop I take away with me although it doesn't seem to matter what laptop I use - the screen always gives me a headache. If I'm away anywhere it lets me access the Herald site (www.theherald.co.uk though.
Do you have access to any special research resources through Newsnight? We don't really have anything different to what everyone else has access to. The BBC site is extremely good and I tend to use JournalismNet or sometimes MoreOver for news. Of course you can always go directly into Google. It does occasionally melt down though - I remember after September 11 when some sites were down and people went back to hard copy. I do love the idea that you can juxtapose views on the net and get a real overall sense of a story.
Do you always trust online content? I always double-bank things just to make sure. Content-wise I have to say that we have more of a problem at home now with the amount of porn spam we seem to get. It's a nightmare - this great open access tool and the idea of increasing democracy and we can't seem to stop porn coming in via email?
So you'd like to see some anti-spam measures? Surely some of the best minds can be applied to cleaning things up. We have junk-mail filters set but you still get the subject line of the mail and they can be absolutely hideous!
Broadband? I use it at work and we have NTL broadband set-up at home _ although I have to say it's not as fast as it could be. I think broadband will become more part of people's lives when they get more convergence with TV and other services. It is great having an ISDN line at home because I could even use it for broadcasting from home in the future.
Could you live without your mobile? I could but, funnily enough, I think life would be more complicated. I have a Nokia 6310i _ though I don't use Wap. I'm only learning how to text properly - I can't even use the predictive texting! My kids can text so fast and creatively. It's a generational thing.
Email? I still write letters... even though I send them as emails! I still think one of the best feelings is to leave a manila envelope by the front door ready to post. Email and texting are great but my little stand against the future is to always put 'see you later' instead of 'c u l8r' - I don't believe in leaving hanging participles!
You weren't impressed by the recent mass sacking via SMS then? I thought that was pretty shocking - it was like school kids being "chucked" by text! I used to think I'd never let my kids have mobile phones but I'm really glad they've got them now as they help them keep so in touch.
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