This knowledge will be lost in a generation.

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You might have seen an advert on television recently featuring Ronan Keating's wife and daughter playing (New) Super Mario Bros. on a Nintendo DS, during which Mrs K says "I used to play this when I was a little girl, you know". It would appear that the DS is this generation's Werther's Originals.

That comment got me thinking. Nowadays of course, it's possible to play the whole game on a games console of roughly the same physical size as the original version's cartridge. Kids these days would have no idea what to do with one, and they'll probably be looking back at MiniDisks, cassette tapes and VCRs in a few years time (if not already) as if they're from another planet. Technology is progressing so quickly, that cutting-edge developments can become low-tech overnight.

This is a little bit frightening in itself, but perhaps more worrying is that an entire generation of practical knowledge could also be lost. As anyone who owned (or owns) an "old school" games console will tell you, there is one tried-and-tested method for getting troublesome cartridges to start working properly: take it out the console; bang it; blow it; then bang it back in the console with a firm whack. This method never failed.

* * *

I got in a bit of a panic yesterday morning. I was on my laptop, just about to check my e-mails, when it suddenly died. Without warning, the screen went blank, the lights went out and the hard drive fell silent. At first, I thought the battery had come loose, but it hadn't (and besides, it was still plugged in to the mains). I tried pressing the power button, but still nothing. I unplugged everything, tried again... nothing.

By now I was getting worried. The last thing I need now is a hefty repair bill (or even the hassle of getting a new laptop). I opened up the back, took out the hard drive, took out the RAM, put everything back, checked all the screws, pressed the power button and... still nothing.

I had hit a dead end... but then I remembered... a last resort; it was so crazy it might just work.

I unplugged the laptop; banged it; blew it; then plugged it back in. God bless you, years wasted playing Sega Master System.

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