Articles by publication date
Below you'll find a list of my articles, organised by publication date - newest first.
March 2010
- Red Button and widescreen
Explaining widescreen and red button
August 2009
- CBeebies Through the Years - part 3
Final part of the tour through the CBeebies red button archives
August 2009
- CBeebies Through the Years - part 2
Continuing the tour of how the BBC Red Button CBeebies service has changed.
August 2009
- CBeebies Through the Years - part 1
Part 1 of a tour through the Red Button archives, looking at the CBeebies service.
June 2009
- More from the BBC Red Button "What If..." files
When the original BBC Text service was being planned, there were a couple of different designs tried. One was the very Ceefax inspired idea I wrote about recently. But there were more...
June 2009
- Delving into the archives - how red button could have looked in 1998
I recently came across a set of archive files on one of our computer servers. Amongst them were these mock ups made back in 1998 showing how the BBC's new digital text service could look.
April 2009
- Inside Da Vinci
The world of set top boxes in the BBC Red Button test farm.
December 2008
- Please Wait...
If you use the BBC Red Button service on a Sky box you may notice that every now and then you come across a large "Please Wait" screen. Here's what it's all about.
November 2008
- Welcome to Selkirk, West London
There's a new addition to our office in West London. Sat in front of a green glass screen, where everything is surprisingly dark and difficult to photograph, is another part of the country. Selkirk in fact.
October 2008
- Freesat Radio
On Tuesday 30 September, we launched our first radio service on the Freesat platform.
July 2008
- The importance of fish in interactive TV development
The internal video feeds which power BBCi development
May 2008
- BBCi on Freesat
Building BBCi on the first new digital TV platform in seven years.
April 2008
- Is DAB Dead?
There are technical reasons why DAB is not as good as it could be. But are implementation shortcomings enough reason to condemn the whole idea?
October 2007
- Past Radio 1
Remembering Radio 1 in the 1990s. Written in celebration of the station's 40th birthday
July 2006
- Mike Neville
North East television legend
June 2005
- Freeview: The rise and rise
How the analogue status quo came to Freeview.
March 2005
- Earth and Sky
Is Freesat a Freeview killer?
November 2004
- Whither ITV?
Lets dust off the crystal ball and envisage a post-analogue future for ITV.
October 2004
- DTT Challenge
An additional perspective on why analogue should end sooner, rather than later.
May 2004
- Tip top
Can they get this old ONdigital victim back into pay-tv?
January 2004
- Pure Evoke II.
Until the Evoke came along, DAB radio sets had been mostly hi-fi separates ? expensive tuners to sit in serious hi-fi systems. And then the Evoke I came along.
- London's news
The demise of the London News Network.
October 2003
- Alchemists of Sound.
BBC Four's documentary on the world of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
August 2003
- Fallen Idols
Watching Sadam Hussain fall to earth.
June 2003
- Real Men Drink Pints
Searching for a Father's Day gift that doesn't involve socks, football, beer, d.i.y or Homer Simpson. "It's hard to find any male-orientated card that doesn't include either beer, football, golf or a steam train coming out of a tunnel (ooh, the symbolism!)".
May 2003
- DABtastic?
The new form of radio, DAB, has well and truly arrived, but is it worth switching?
April 2003
- Ali G In Da USAiii.
Review of the 2003 Ali G programme, from Channel 4.
April 2003
- Trouble At The Top: The Headless School of Rannoch Moore.
Review of an episode of BBC Two's Trouble at the Top, featuring the attempts to save a private school in the middle of rural Scotland.
March 2003
- Rebranding TTT.
The prolonged death of Tyne Tees following a pretty major, but short-lived rebrand.
February 2003
- Paying Up.
A scandal erupts as ITV Digital's receivers demand ITV Digital's receivers back. And someone was spoiling for a fight that never came.
January 2003
- The Empire Strikes Back
Forty pounds or send the old ITV Digital box back. Forty pounds or bankrupt the receiver? Choices, choices...
January 2003
- Digital Acorns
From digital acorns do a mighty free to air digital TV system grow...
January 2003
- EMC Review of 2002
EMC's whistlestop tour of the year 2002. (Contributer).
December 2002
- Devolution
When there is but one ITV franchisee, it will be effectively unregulated. Let's preserve the best part of ITV1 now, and save tears later.
- An LWT Diary.
With insufficient sleep and a pen at the ready, it was time to chart the last day of LWT and its downfall.
October 2002
- Five Wins
Channel Five - or five as we must now call it - has succeeded in all it originally planned, and far more.
September 2002
- Futurecast
20 minutes into the future with digital television.
August 2002
- Fourgone Conclusion
Once it lead the way, now it seems just to follow. Channel 4 has lost its way.
July 2002
- Branding Sacred Cows.
And then there was one... or so the Network Centre would like. But the bosses of ITV1 may not get things all their own way.
July 2002
- No News is Good News
The ITN News Channel? What a waste of time.
July 2002
- New Ways and Means
The fad of flagging "new" programmes onscreen.
- You the Jury
After the demise of ITV Digital, did anyone notice the absence of pay TV? Written with Jon Bufton, James Pittman and Catherine Redfern.
June 2002
- Five For News
C5 news bulletin presentation is setting the standard.
May 2002
- Federation News
ITV's regional news is falling away, unloved and uncared for. It's time to bring it back out of the ghetto. Originally published under the name 'Regionality News'.
April 2002
- Who Cares?
ITV Digital - so many channels and nothing to distinguish itself.
March 2002
- Set Pieces
The branding of ITN's news programmes for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
February 2002
- Rock and a Hard Place.
Which to choose? ITV Digital or Sky Digital? Well I couldn't see the difference...
February 2002
- Three's Company
A look at the disasterous, brief life of Channel 3 North East.
January 2002
- Ultimate Branding
Getting the viewers to stay: invision continuity is the secret to perfect TV branding.
January 2002
- All Together Now
Why the regional system is no longer appropiate for ITV.
- EMC Review of 2001.
EMC's roundup of the year 2001. (Contributer). Not currently online.
December 2001
- The Colour of News.
An authorative indepth look at the launch of the new regional news programme, BBC London News, and how its set and design fits into the overall scheme of the BBC News corporate look.
October 2001
- Fourth Estate
A look at the highly coordinated attempt by Channel Four to brand its station. Since this article was written, it appears that BBC Two has been taking some tips from the station.
February 1996
- Rant 'n' Rave: America
Bods goes off on one about America.
- On The Shop Floor
Part four in the intermitant series on supermarkets, and Bods explains what goes on behind the scenes.
- Get Wired
It's 1996 and the internet has just arrived. And it was dead cool. Honest.
December 1995
- Rant 'n' Rave: Why... (I write that is)
Why I write.
- Corporal Punishment, edition 5
Sorted for E's and whizz? Sex? Yes please!
- Sport
Hydra 'attempts' a sports section.
- In the Cutting Room
Not particularly subtle article relating to censorship in the October 1995 issue.
- The Mailbag, Christmas 1995
Answering non-existant letters, the Andrew Bowden way.
- The Student Cookbook
Student gormet delights.
- The Inner Circle, edition 1
High quality cartoon fun.
October 1995
- Rant 'n' Rave: Europap
Europap music gets the R'n'R treatment.
- What A Problem!
The male obsession with the problem pages from womens magazines.
- Supermarket Fun
The joys of filling in for your boss.
- Data Bytes Back
The Hydra computer muses on life, online can machines and more.
- Corporal Punishment, edition 4
Vanity, batman, Mark Tonderri and (amazingly) rag and bone men.
- The Mailbag, October 1995
Opening up Hydra's buldging sack. Mail sack that is.
May 1995
- The Rather Sad Diary Of Andrew Bowden
Diary entries from when I was 13. Real ones. Sadly.
- Corporal Punishment, edition 3
Des Lynham and sex on a stick? It could only be the Corporal.
- Rant 'n' Rave: Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops - it's apparantly a good laff, but for some reason, I can't remember why.
- The Mailbag, May 1995
More exciting correspondence on Hydra's letters page.
April 1995
- Rant 'n' Rave: Deodrant Free Zone
Deodrant stinks! When you get it for every birthday.
- Supermarket FAQs
The guide to working in a supermarket continues with a look at how to answer those customer questions.
- Corporal Punishment, edition 2
The Corporal returned for episode 2 - and was twice as big and twice as odd.
- Clubs and Societies
A tour of the odder end of the student social scene as Hydra revealed some of the odder clubs and societies.
- The Mailbag (Easter 1995)
More exciting correspondence on Hydra's letters page.
February 1995
- Rant 'n' Rave: How Do They Do That?
How do they do that? Do what? Make a TV programme that diabolical! (Hint: if you don't remember How Do They Do That? with Des Lynham, this article will probably make no sense at all!)
- Supermarket Speak
Learn the supermarket lingo of 1995 with Supermarket Speak. It's probably not changed much to this day!
- Corporal Punishment, edition 1
Hydra's answer to... err... something... makes his very first appearance. And I'm sure the world rejoyced when that happened!
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