So I have been looking at Arduino and Raspberry Pi as platforms for doing various control systems for Aquaponics and Greenhouses.
Haven't done squat with that yet, but today my son sat down and got it configured so he could learn Python Programming via the Minecraft API.
If you don't know what
Minecraft is, its a really popular retro looking game where you generally explore a world, fighting monsters when applicable and BUILD things ( okay they are virtual things, but hell at least there is creativity involved) Both Boys and Girls love it, and there is a thriving "MOD" community - where users are writing modifications.. and this got my son interested in writing his own "MODS" - oh and the Pi edition is apparently FREE...
So I look into it, and there turns out there is a great setup for learning this on Raspberry Pi. Raspberri Pi just came out with a Mark II design (
http://www.mcmelectronics.com/content/en-US/raspberry-pi) - Its a Non-profit that makes and sells these things because they are trying to bring computing to the 3rd world - so MCM is certainly NOT the only place to buy these. Just where I bought mine..) But the "base" machine is $35, and you can get the base machine, a preloaded SD Card, power supply and case for $66 (including shipping) - You supply a HDMI capable monitor, keyboard and mouse and you are off to the races. And if your kid screws it up, erase the memory card, and reload it with the OS you want ( They have a great program called
NOOB for doing this) and you are back to square one - with no risk to you or your personal machine. (this would also be a great way to have a machine you only connect and use for secure on-line transactions...)
So I got it set up ( which was easy - only snafu was setting keyboard to be US instead of a UK mapping - my son typed "#" to set a comment in his code and got British Pound markings) and gave my son this
free online book which is meant to be used in conjunction with the free Python class at
codecademy but I am not sure its really all that required. My son sat down and got the first program exercise done in a matter of minutes, and better yet, seemed pretty darn pleased with himself.
Point here being that if you have a child or grandchild in your life that could stand to turn his screen time into learning a useful life skill ( and have fun doing it) - this may be the way to go.. The API is available on Windows and other platforms, but its harder to get it all setup, plus then you have to worry about your kid "doing something" that suddenly wipes the hard drive or something..