It's 4.30 on a gloomy winter's afternoon. I'm sitting with my grandson having one of those conversations in which grandsons explain complicated stuff to their grandads. He is 4 years old, omniscient in the way that 4-year-olds are, and tolerant of my ignorance of important matters.
The conversation turns to computing and he inquires whether I have Talking Tom Cat on my iPad. "No," I say. "What is it?" He explains that it's a cool game that his grandma has on her iPad. There is a cat called Tom who listens to what you say to him and then repeats it in a funny voice. Also there's a dog who does funny things.
So I dig out my iPad and we head over to the App Store where, sure enough, Talking Tom Cat 2 is available as a free download. A few minutes later it's running on my iPad. A scamp in feline form stands looking quizzically at me. As I speak, he cups a paw to his ear, listens intently, and then repeats what I say in a high-pitched voice. The animation is beautifully done and nicely rendered. It is indeed, as my grandson observed, "cool."