From my point of view, the Barbie label and girlishly designed box will make more girls become interested in computers. These are the girls that wouldn't go near a computer otherwise (possibly). Because sometimes it's the final result that's more important than the path it takes to get there.
I too am 21 and female. Right now I'm finishing up my BS in CS and painfully obvious that the Computer Industry is male dominated. DOn't get me wrong, I love the occasional game of Star Craft just as much as the next guy, but that's not the case for everyone. I'm also not a big fan of Barbie, but millions of little girls are. Girls who are intelligent and could go very far computing world if they are given the chance and the reason to sit in front of a computer.
Maybe this is a step in the right direction, a computer which appeals to the softer sensory needs of a young female. With time they could move on to the sterile beige boxes just waiting to be attacked with spray paint (mine has the half finished sketches for a grateful dead mural on the side right now).
But at this point the small numbers of women interested in computers is enough to justify the Barbie computer. In this case the ends do justify the means, even if the means are sexist and silly
The big question is why the unbalance in software?
(oh yeah, when i first saw this computer it didn't have any reference to barbie on the image -- it looked like an attempt at a 60's hippiesh style thing)
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I too am 21 and female. Right now I'm finishing up my BS in CS and painfully obvious that the Computer Industry is male dominated. DOn't get me wrong, I love the occasional game of Star Craft just as much as the next guy, but that's not the case for everyone. I'm also not a big fan of Barbie, but millions of little girls are. Girls who are intelligent and could go very far computing world if they are given the chance and the reason to sit in front of a computer.
Maybe this is a step in the right direction, a computer which appeals to the softer sensory needs of a young female. With time they could move on to the sterile beige boxes just waiting to be attacked with spray paint (mine has the half finished sketches for a grateful dead mural on the side right now).
But at this point the small numbers of women interested in computers is enough to justify the Barbie computer. In this case the ends do justify the means, even if the means are sexist and silly
The big question is why the unbalance in software?
(oh yeah, when i first saw this computer it didn't have any reference to barbie on the image -- it looked like an attempt at a 60's hippiesh style thing)