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Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

usborne.com

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Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

#11

Post by timthorn »

vidarh wrote: post #7

It's great enough that they've released them, but I love how they've used them as a draw to the page where they present their new/current computing books by presenting both on the same page instead of hiding them away somewhere.

I got the Computers and Coding flap book for my 6 year old this Christmas, and got second-hand copies of many of the original books for myself. It's striking how closely the new publication's content matches that of the older books, despite the changes in the industry.

There are several other books from the Usborne 80's catalogue not shown on that page but worth having: Understanding the Micro, Usborne Guide to Computers, How to Make Computer Controlled Robots & How to Make Computer Model Controllers

Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

#13

Post by cpayne »

sqldba wrote: post #10

I can't tell you how much I loved these books growing up. I also own the collections of their puzzle books and wish they'd reprint their ghost puzzle collections.

I was the same. Spent many hours trying to convert the C64 / Apple code into the Dick Smith Wizard. Loved it and drove me nuts at the same time...

Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

#14

Post by ysr23 »

timthorn wrote: post #12
lowlevel wrote: post #4

Oh wow! I remember borrowing these from the library when I was a kid! Awesome!

And going back every second Saturday to renew the same book, again & again...

it was you!! - sleep with one eye open, timthorn

Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

#15

Post by harel »

I might actually try these on an emulator. Relive the past for an hour. On a side note, the fact that coding is part of the curriculum in the UK makes me very happy. I went to my son's open day at secondary and some kids were at the computer lab learning Python. They are learning at 14 what I make my living on.

Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

#17

Post by endgame »

sqldba wrote: post #10

I can't tell you how much I loved these books growing up. I also own the collections of their puzzle books and wish they'd reprint their ghost puzzle collections.

I think you can. These books resonate with many of us. I remember checking them out from the school library again, and again, and again, and again...

Trying to port them to my MS-DOS machine running QuickBasic was a bit hit-and-miss.

Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

#18

Post by bencollier49 »

From the website: "These books were written for 1980s computers such as the ZX Spectrum and BBC Micro. The programs will not run on modern computers."

Not true! They'll all run perfectly on RISC OS on the Raspberry Pi, especially easily on RISC OS Pico.

I remember several of these books very fondly, it's great to see them made available like this. Usborne Books in general are brilliant.

Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads

#20

Post by nvader »

I learned to program in BASIC from a copy of "The Beginner's Programming Handbook" that my father gave to me. Like many other commenters on this thread, I didn't have a computer, but the illustrations in the book itself made it clear that programs were always written on notepads (just look at the cover http://www.computinghistory.org.uk/userdata/images/medium/PR...). As soon as I found a sufficiently yellow notepad I knew I had everything required to code.)

This book showed me how to code simple car crash games, in-memory databases, Eliza, bubble and shell sort.

I loved this book so much I've carried it with me over an accumulated 22,800km, in the hopes that one day, my kids too will have their imaginations full of gaudy little robots who run to interpret code on yellow spiral-bound notepads.

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