5 ms·

Au contraire, it's perfect for kids. First off (as a parent of two toddlers) it's CHEAP; if a kid manages to destroy it (the little entropy generators kids are)

Au contraire, it's perfect for kids. First off (as a parent of two toddlers) it's CHEAP; if a kid manages to destroy it (the little entropy generators kids are), so what - get another. Next, it starts so simple (and CHEAP) that you'll have no qualms about running simple cheap software on it. Then, you'll think nothing of putting money into a computer for any/all TV in the house (I'm waffling about a Mac Mini, but a RasberryPi is a no-brainer). So there's an easy, cheap, nigh-unto-disposable (we're talking kids here) computer that can run powerful stuff yet you'll have no qualms about devoting to a young mind. BTW: I started programming in 4th grade, with printing terminals and acoustic-coupled dial-up mainframes. A few years later I had a then-equivalent of the RasberryPi: Dad soldered together a $100 Sinclair ZX-80 (likewise, the screen was your TV), and I programmed that thing darn near non-stop. Heck yeah the RasberryPi is "gonna be much use to a primary school student". Can't wait to get my kids going on it.

JoeAltmaier 15y ago
Sounds idyllic; but what are you going to run? The latest Office suite? Photoshop? Whatever you answer, the cost dwarfs the device, and swamps its processing power. So, we're talking about teaching kids to use some special kid-computer with software/tools they will never encounter ever again. What tools are these? A BASIC interpreter?
- vidarh 15y ago
  > Whatever you answer, the cost dwarfs the device, and swamps its processing power. Linux costs 0, and runs on far less capable devices than the RaspberryPi.
  - colomon 15y ago
    And is already ported: "What Linux distros will be supported at launch? Debian, Fedora and ArchLinux will be supported from the start." (Raspberry Pi FAQ)
  - JoeAltmaier 15y ago
    So, Photoshop for linux? Mac dev tools? What apps?
    - vidarh 15y ago
      Why don't you go look up Linux, that way I don't have to list tens of thousands of applications, including dozens of language implementations. If you want someone to learn software development, or computing in general, Linux is a far better starting point than Windows or OS X.
      - JoeAltmaier 15y ago
        Yeah, yeah. Lots of open-source half-baked projects with no support and incomplete features. Advertised as "photoshop replacement" or "complete IDE" but turns out, missing critical features, crash right and left, won't work on modern hardware etc etc. Been down that road, burned more times than I can count. I wish it were true, but I don't fool myself into believing it.
    - burgerbrain 15y ago
      You do realize that with the exception of one or two of the IDEs, the "mac dev tools" run or originated on Linux or other similarly now free systems, right?
- ctdonath 15y ago
  In 6th grade I learned programming on a $100 computer with 1/1,000th the speed of this and 1/1,000,000th the memory and, yes, a BASIC interpreter. Load DSL (Damn Small Linux) on this, get gcc set up with a decent minimal text editor, and yes I'll start them with C++ from the ground up - akin to how I started, but with industry standard tools from square 1 and more introduced as they progress.

JoeAltmaier 15y ago

Sounds idyllic; but what are you going to run? The latest Office suite? Photoshop? Whatever you answer, the cost dwarfs the device, and swamps its processing power. So, we're talking about teaching kids to use some special kid-computer with software/tools they will never encounter ever again. What tools are these? A BASIC interpreter?

vidarh 15y ago
> Whatever you answer, the cost dwarfs the device, and swamps its processing power. Linux costs 0, and runs on far less capable devices than the RaspberryPi.
- colomon 15y ago
  And is already ported: "What Linux distros will be supported at launch? Debian, Fedora and ArchLinux will be supported from the start." (Raspberry Pi FAQ)
- JoeAltmaier 15y ago
  So, Photoshop for linux? Mac dev tools? What apps?
  - vidarh 15y ago
    Why don't you go look up Linux, that way I don't have to list tens of thousands of applications, including dozens of language implementations. If you want someone to learn software development, or computing in general, Linux is a far better starting point than Windows or OS X.
    - JoeAltmaier 15y ago
      Yeah, yeah. Lots of open-source half-baked projects with no support and incomplete features. Advertised as "photoshop replacement" or "complete IDE" but turns out, missing critical features, crash right and left, won't work on modern hardware etc etc. Been down that road, burned more times than I can count. I wish it were true, but I don't fool myself into believing it.
  - burgerbrain 15y ago
    You do realize that with the exception of one or two of the IDEs, the "mac dev tools" run or originated on Linux or other similarly now free systems, right?
ctdonath 15y ago
In 6th grade I learned programming on a $100 computer with 1/1,000th the speed of this and 1/1,000,000th the memory and, yes, a BASIC interpreter. Load DSL (Damn Small Linux) on this, get gcc set up with a decent minimal text editor, and yes I'll start them with C++ from the ground up - akin to how I started, but with industry standard tools from square 1 and more introduced as they progress.