RICHARD BANNISTER,
Sir, - Kevin Myers (August 14th) suggests that children should never have unhindered access to computers. Supervising children's access to the Internet is probably not a bad thing. However, restricting their access to computers is.
Thanks to the generosity of my parents, I had my own computer in my bedroom from the age of five. They saw to it that I did not know what a computer game was until I had figured out how to develop one myself. Because of this, I learnt how to type and how to write simple computer games in BASIC - all before I was ten years old. It was this experience that allowed me to develop some powerful sound editing software as a final-year project for college.
Like it or not, computers are a part of society now. Not being able to use a computer is akin to not being able to read. It is only possible to become comfortable with technology with practice. - Yours, etc.,
RICHARD BANNISTER, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2