Daniel makes stuff, and, in his spare time, writes about things like movies, kid culture, and geek stuff.
How Will the Apple Tablet Change Our Kids’ Lives?

GeekDad’s resident GeekMom, Jenny Williams – on Apple’s revolutionary new iPad, and what it means for our kids:

The possibilities are really endless, limited only by our imaginations. We shall see how the tablet really affects us, but children will instantly invite this technology into their lives. Watch how they use it, and you’ll learn new areas to develop. Inevitably, children invent new ways to use technology, so pay attention. You might learn something.

I can’t help but think that we’ve gotten one huge step closer to a glorious “Star Trek”-like future – and I’d be so excited to be a kid today, amid all of it. Sure, it can scare us all, and as adults and parents, we might not know how to react to new technologies like this. But as in “Star Trek,” humanity always adapts, and usually ends up the better for it. You just have have some trust in the future – and in our own and our kids’ limitless capacity to boldly meet that future.

Jan 27, 2010 :: Tagged under: , , , , :: #

Hired by Apple at Age Fourteen

You gotta love stories like this: Tom Williams was a 14-year-old who teachers regarded as rebellious, stubborn, and non-conformist. But in a powerless situation, he found his own solution in self-initiated entrepreneurial enterprises, and ended up completely taking things into his own hands. He started with activities like being a wholesale chocolate retailer, selling lemonade, writing birdwatching newsletters to sell – but soon moved onto pestering a local sales office for Apple Computer Co. to give him a job as a software developer.

As he recounts:

This was the stepping stone. It was clear to me that I wanted to try and short circuit life’s path. I didn’t want to stay in school until the 12th grade or at home. I wanted to live on my own and be free.

Eventually Williams got his job – hired by Apple at age 14 – and became a renowned developer in his own right. It’s just proof positive that kids can do big things when they dream big.

Jul 06, 2009 :: Tagged under: , , , , :: #