Tech that refuses to die

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Phil.

And I’m Georgie.

The exciting thing about technology is that it’s always changing. Can you remember when computer floppy disks, hand-held Game Boys, and fax machines were in fashion? Do you still have a Walkman cassette player from the 1980s?

Today technology progresses so quickly that old tech soon becomes obsolete, no longer in use having been replaced by something better or more fashionable.

So, you might be surprised to hear that until recently the government of Japan still used three and-a-half inch floppy disks to store official documents; that around the world, music cassettes and Walkmans are making a comeback; and that even the world-famous Swiss CERN physics laboratory uses old-fashioned magnetic tape reels to record its data.

Yes, it seems that some old technology just refuses to die - maybe because people still love it, or maybe because of the old English proverb, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, meaning that things should only be changed if they don’t work. So, in this programme, we’ll be hearing about old tech which continues to be used today. And, as usual, we’ll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

But first I have a question for you, Georgie. Computers have seen some of the biggest advances in technology. But what was the name of the first computer developed for home use in the UK? Was it: a) the Commodore 64? b) the Sinclair ZX80? or, c) the BBC Micro?

Hmm, I’ll guess it was the Commodore 64.

OK, Georgie, we'll find out if that's the correct answer later in the programme. One reason for not updating tech is if the original design still works well. NASA engineer, Jonathan Sauder, designed HAR-V, a mechanical rover able to survive the inhospitable conditions on Venus where temperatures reach 460Celsius. Here’s Jonathan talking to BBC World Service programme, Tech Life:

…Venus has a very long night. It's actually about 60 days long that you're in total darkness. So that's where we came up with the concept for HAR-V: a mechanical clockwork rover that could be powered by Venus’s winds in order to allow it to survive Venus’s long hot nights.

Conditions on Venus mean that ordinary electronics simply won’t work. That’s why Jonathan built a clockwork rover, a machine with springs and wheels inside which works when it’s wound up with a key. Clockwork technology from the 1st century being used in 2024 by NASA!

Other tech which refuses to die is just too much trouble to change. For example, countries around the world use different electrical plugs which would be better to standardise – but imagine the work involved! Here, Chris Vallance, presenter of BBC World Service’s, Tech Life, discusses a similar example with Dr Tacye Phillipson, science curator at the National Museum of Scotland:

Another piece of tech that people say has sort of refused to die is the QWERTY keyboard, the layout of keyboards that we all have, and is perhaps not the most efficient layout in terms of the speed of typing.

It's the layout we're all really, really used to though, and if you see court reporters, stenographers, they have special keyboards and can type so fast to takedown verbatim, but they also look very complicated, I don't actually want to learn to use one of those so I'll stick with QWERTY for the moment.

Chris and Tacye discussed QWERTY, the traditional typewriter arrangement of keys on a computer keyboard in which the top line begins with the letters q, w, e, r, t and y. In terms of being able to type quickly, QWERTY isn’t the best - in fact, court reporters type much faster with alternative keyboards. Court reporters need to type fast to record cases verbatim, using exactly the same words that were originally spoken.

But because everyone is used to QWERTY keyboards, the tech lives on. That’s why Tacye says she’ll stick with QWERTY, she’ll continue using it and not change to something else. And speaking of QWERTY keyboards has reminded me of my question, Georgie.

Yes, you asked me the name of the first home computer released in the UK, and I guessed it was the Commodore 64…

Which was… the wrong answer, I’m afraid. In fact, the UK’s first home computer was the Sinclair ZX80 which was released in 1980 and used a whopping 4 kilobyte memory, that’s about half an email! OK, it’s time to recap the vocabulary we've learned in this programme starting with obsolete, meaning no longer in use, having been replaced by something newer or better.

The idiom, if it ain’t (or isn’t) broke, don’t fix it, is used to say that if something is working, there is no reason to try to change it.

Clockwork machinery uses metal springs and wheels which move when they are wound up with a key.

QWERTY refers to the traditional typewriter arrangement of keys in which the top line begins with the letters q,w,e,r, t and y

If you say something verbatim, you use exactly the same words that were originally used.

And finally, to stick with something means to continue using or doing it. Once again our six minutes are up, but remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. Goodbye for now!

Bye!