Tech Tent Future farmers, Minecraft and Doom Rory Cellan-Jones Technology correspondent @BBCRoryCJon Twitter
22 January 2016
Every Friday, Tech Tent on BBC World Service provides the latest technology news. Here's what we are watching this week.
Big Data on the farm
It's the oldest industry in the world and one you might not have thought was so modern - but it's going through a massive data-driven revolution. From drones giving aerial surveys of crops to combine harvesters that precisely measure the output of every square metre, or sensors that provide minute-by minute updates on the health of livestock, farmers are navigating an ever-growing amount of data. A chicken farmer will discuss 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 application that helps farmers manage their data. In addition our BBC colleagues on Radio 4's Farming Today have been covering technology and farming all week and will have special reports 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 huge move into education, and launched a classroom version of the game. Jane Wakefield, Jane's correspondent went to BETT the UK's biggest educational technology show in order to talk with Microsoft about the plan that allows children to learn Minecraft at school and later play the game at home. Schools will need an Office 365 account to log in to the education edition - we'll be asking whether this is part of Microsoft's plan to compete with Google as the prime software provider in the classroom.
Lessons from a Kickstarter
Kickstarter received a lot of criticism following the Zano mini-drone project went down to earth last November. The crowdfunding platform employed an investigative reporter examine what went wrong. Mark Harris' 13,000-word report was released this week. It's an incredibly detailed account of how to run a tech company as well as a warning to anyone who isn't aware that crowdfunding is not like purchasing products from Amazon. We talk to Mark Harris on the show about where he thinks this leaves crowdfunding as an opportunity to get tech ideas off the ground.
Doom moves up a level
Twenty-three years after the first game Doom was released, there is still an active group of players. This week they have something to celebrate.Servers John Romero, one of the original developers, has released the first Doom level in the mid-90s. He spoke to Zoe Kleinman, our reporter. He admitted that he was nervous about the reaction of the community however, the majority of fans have been positive.
Tune into the BBC World Service at 15:00 GMT for all that and more or catch the podcast later.
