Obama school speech praises Google, Facebook, Twitter, iPhone – disses Xbox 360
By Dave Parrack
President Obama today gave a speech to schoolchildren across the United States. He mentioned a number of companies in the speech, praising Google, Facebook, and Twitter. However, like he has in the past, he singled out the Xbox 360 as an example of what isn’t a good activity for kids to be involved in. Microsoft must either be spitting mad at the dishonorable mention or loving the publicity.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week or so you’ll be aware that President of the United States, Barack Obama, today gave a speech to schoolchildren across the country. Far from being the political indoctrination many Republicans and right-wingers assumed it would be, it was actually just a message of hope and encouragement designed to inspire youngsters.
Alongside the sections of speech which saw Obama imploring the youth of America to stay in school and better themselves, there were also mentions of a number of technology companies and products.
According to Search Engine Land, in the Prepared Remarks, which may differ slightly from the final speech Obama gave, Obama mentioned Google, Facebook, and Twitter in a very positive light, saying:
Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
While Apple will no doubt have been very pleased to have the iPhone mentioned alongside life-changing discoveries of new medicines and vaccines, with Obama saying:
Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine.I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
And so we come to the Xbox 360, which Obama has mentioned on a number of different occasions in the past. Apparently, far from being a simple games console which gives kids the chance to relax when they get home from a hard day at school, the Xbox 360 is the root of all time-wasting evil. Obama said:
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
What about the PS3 and Wii? Don’t they count? Did Microsoft wrong the president in some way? Maybe he’s always had trouble with his Windows PCs and wanted to get his own back now that he has the power and public forum to do so. I kid of course but the singling out of one games console while other companies and products were given massive kudos is slightly bizarre.
I know that some parents have larger concerns about the speech than which games consoles were mentioned and which weren’t but focusing on this aspect of it is no more strange than describing it as “socialist indoctrination” in my opinion. And this is a site about technology rather than politics.
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Stumble It!
September 9th, 2009
Just like the Armageddon that would befall us in the year 2000, the speech that was suppose to indoctrinate our youth. Now who was spreading the baseless lies…..hmm…..oh ya, “Fake News”. Is anyone real surprised? Too funny.
September 9th, 2009
The way he says something is just as important as what he says.
“that Xbox” sounds like he’s trying to indicate electronic gaming in general, rather than single out a sole console.
He could just have easily said Playstation and was probably using a name of a console to relate to the audience he was trying to reach.
Would’ve been a slightly strained speech if he’d have said
“don’t spend every waking hour in front of your Xbox’s, Playstation’s; Wii’s, DS’s; PSP’s and PC’s”