Austin-area kid checks software for chipmaker

This one falls directly into the category of "why do I feel like such a wastoid when I read these kinds of stories?"

An 8-year-old boy who lives just outside of Austin, Texas, has been helping out chipmaker Actel with its software evaluation.

This didn't spring up out of nowhere. Carson Page, a third-grader, has been tinkering with technology since he was 2, according to an article in the Austin American-Statesman.

By 4, he was fixing driver problems and installing operating systems by himself. At age 7, he started programming circuits with software from Mountain View, Calif.-based Actel. The kid's "in" with the company was his dad, who is an electronic design consultant and a customer of Actel.

An Actel engineer noted that this is the first time the company has turned to an elementary school student for help with its software. Really?

The boy apparently was able to offer decent feedback, so much so that the company wants to use his services again.

"It's amazing; when you talk to him it's like you're talking to a regular guy doing design," the engineer told the Austin newspaper.

The pint-size beta tester was paid for his work with a $250 gift certificate to Fry's. I bet he was worth every penny.

[dcsonka]

Need more like that to compete..

We're going to need more kids like that growing up in the USA if we're going to compete with China, India, and eastern Europe in the next 15-20 years.

[basraw]

these prodigies burn out..

sex, drugs and rock and roll destroy these youth.<br /><br />he'll be burnt out at 16.

[KrazyTechGuy]

Dreams

There are soo many kids like him who have learned so much by <br />watching. Sooo many people from ages 5 to 20, have learned <br />sooo much about technology, most people can't understand <br />how. Many learned just by watching others do the same. The <br />more parents allow their children to embrace the technology, the <br />better off we will be. <br /><br />Many technological idea's are floating around the net written by <br />people who are still in middle or high school, but are ignored <br />because they don't have anyone helping them. With proper <br />assistance, many people could be learning technology at <br />incredable rates but are limited by situations that don't allow <br />them to learn such things.

[FutureGuy]

go tell that to your congressmen

who are busy sending money to iraq and giving oil companies tax breaks rather then spending on education.