What we learned this week #63

Whatta week whatta week whatta week whatta mighty good week. There’s 73 days until Christmas, as I often tell people who question my constant singing of ‘Little Saint Nick’ by the Beach Boys, so this week we looked at some potential presents for your gadget-hungry kids. Wearable tech! Minecraft! And robots (duh)!

Obsidian is expensive, these aren’t!

Since most mines are now closed, and most also stopped allowing child labour in the not-so-distant past, a literal translating of Minecraft to the real world isn’t so easy. But there is, of course, a swathe of merch spawned like a Creeper from the phenomenally popular game, as Joanne Mallon told us:

‘There are some bargains to be mined out – Creeper t-shirts are a pretty good bet (my son loves his). eBay has quite a few reasonably priced Minecraft hats and other merchandise, but many of these are from overseas sellers so you will need to order in plenty of time for Christmas.

‘And check out the newly-released Minecraft books. Best price for the Official Minecraft Annual right now is The Book People, who have it at £3.99 (RRP £7.99) This is the gift to give if you despair of your child ever coming off the computer long enough to read a book.’

Wearable tech: it’s for kids too!

No longer just the pursuit of Christ Traeger types, wearable tech is being employed as the new way forward for child safety, as Tamsin Oxford explains:

‘The Filip is the first device that slips into the wearable technology world for kids. It was invented by a father who lost his three year old son for half an hour. That mind melting moment when breath stops and you think, ‘No, please, no.’

‘The Filip clearly isn’t kidnap proof as it can be pulled off your kid’s wrist in a matter of seconds, but it does give parents and children a bit more breathing room. It looks like a watch and can handle dirt, dust, water and shocks. It has a built-in smart locator and a phone and a watch. It is voice activated so kids can shout for help and has an emergency button that will trigger an automatic location beacon, ambient sound recording and calls every one of the five contacts programmed on to the phone until someone is reached. And YOU, the parent, can call them using your mobile phone and find them on a map.’

About Tom

Tom Baker is a recent graduate from University of Derby's joint Creative Writing and Media Writing programmes. He has written lots of short stories, a whole mess of music writing, two poems, and a song about a mentally ill playwright.

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