Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent

This is public service

Over at the BBC, they're almost exploding with ideas at the moment.

Not only is the corporation preparing to take on sites like MySpace in the future, but they've just announced a new prototype of a project called InFax - basically a huge searchable archive of catalogued data from BBC shows over the past 70+ years. Search, and enjoy.

The creators - who include Tom Loosemore, Matt Biddulph and Ben Hammersley (the administrator of this fine parish) - are keen to stress that this doesn't cover every single thing the BBC has ever done.



The catalogue is not comprehensive. It does not contain an entry for every programme broadcast by the BBC on TV and Radio since the 1920s. The main exclusions are sport, feature films, other non-BBC copyright programmes (e.g. TV series imported from the USA), some regional programming and programmes which do not exist.



But it goes a long way.

I might not have been able to find my own appearances online, but I did find out there are 84 other Bobbies who have made it over the years. And is this our very own Jack Schofield? Is this chap the Guardian's Charles Arthur?

Much fun to be had, and who knows what the twisted minds of the public will do when the APIs are released.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.