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Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#171

Post by 509engr »

Teknoman117 wrote: post #35
billziss wrote: post #8

I had a similar problem a few years ago. While I never found the perfect machine here is how I have been introducing my now 10 year old son to the world of computers: - I bought him a Kano computer kit when he was about 7. The kit retailed for about $250 at the time and a kid could assemble it "like LEGO". It came with educational software that introduced him to programming languages, etc. (Unfortunately I do not thi…

When I was around your son's age, my parents introduced me to computers by getting me a LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 2.0 set for Christmas in 2001. My favorite thing in the world was the Exploration Mars expansion. The "hacker" community around Mindstorms was huge in the 00's. After the RCX was reverse engineered, all sorts of language support appeared. BrickOS for C and C++, lejos for Java, NQC, etc. I…

I was in middle school around that same time, my parents got me the educational equivalent of Mindstorms (with RCX 1.0). We didn't have a PC and the educational edition came with a alternative LabView-based UI that ran on classic Mac OS. I remember seeing that article in Macworld and wanting to learn some of the other languages, but I never had much success. I can't say it was totally life altering, I was already headed down the path of an engineering career.

My college was still using the official Mindstorms sets for their intro to engineering classes, and so I recall finally getting my hands on the official Mindstorms software and finding it lacking. A classmate was using NQC to do it all, and his team let him do the programming. My team wasn't a fan of that approach so I stuck to the hardware.

Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#172

Post by AlanYx »

jfmc wrote: post #61

I've using Raspberry Pi 400 + PyGameZero + emacs for a 8yo. I miss a good book that keeps complexity very low to give him some independence (I need to constantly supervise his steps and what he is understanding at each point).

Have you seen the Raspberry Pi Foundation's book "Code the Classics"? It's a pretty gentle introduction to game programming using PyGame Zero, building old-style games like Frogger. It's quite colorful and meant to appeal to kids, a lot like the old Usborne books.

Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#173

Post by MaKey »

tommica wrote: post #47
Teknoman117 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was around your son's age, my parents introduced me to computers by getting me a LEGO Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 2.0 set for Christmas in 2001. My favorite thing in the world was the Exploration Mars expansion. The "hacker" community around Mindstorms was huge in the 00's. After the RCX was reverse engineered, all sorts of language support appeared. BrickOS for C and C++, lejos for Java, NQC, etc. I…

I remember being a kid, and really wanting one of those for xmas - I think it was the first versions they had made of them. Unfortunately it was too expensive, but man did it look exciting, and the idea of having your own robots was so cooooool. Oh well, years later I got access to computers and ended up doing programming, but now that I could afford one, I cannot find them anymore :(

I got it as a kid but after diving into it I lost interest once I got everything working. I guess for me assembling things and getting them to work was always the most interesting part, after that I moved on to something else. Today I'm a DevOps Engineer :D

The parts should still be somewhere in my father's basement but getting them would take time. I found a new Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 1.5 on eBay (auction number 324365658011) if that is the one you are looking for.

Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#175

Post by kfarr »

Love this prompt!

In theory Raspberry Pi could be a perfect kid's computer, but the software side still needs help to make it a useable experience for younger ones.

Here's an example of a super simple app that I made trying to solve that problem for a very tiny use case: https://medium.com/@kfarr/part-1-babypi-a-simple-raspberry-p...

Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#176

Post by LeoPanthera »

m-i-l wrote: post #53

My daughter just built her very own Raspberry Pi 4 based computer[0] last weekend for her 10th birthday. Key points: - She picked the components herself (with dad's supervision to make sure they would work together), so the case and keyboard and so on are ones she likes the look of and wants on her desk. - She assembled it all and installed the OS herself (again with dad supervising but trying really hard not to help…

It's worth noting that a lot of Raspberry Pi software and projects assume you are running the default "Raspberry Pi OS", because it comes bundled with a lot of Pi-specific libraries and hacks.

Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#177

Post by Cd00d »

branon wrote: post #94

Former kid here, one of the toys my parents provided me with early on was Snap Circuits: https://www.elenco.com/brand/snap-circuits/ Not strictly programming-related per se, but they were a very educational toy. Messing around with these from a young age probably helped to cultivate an interest in electronics, how things worked, and later computing/programming.

Super happy to hear this. Got my 7yo daughter a snap circuits kit for xmas, and she's pretty curious and so far has enjoyed following the initial setups.

Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#178

Post by carapace »

It's not a computer (although there's a computer in it) but I thought I'd mention "Robot in a Can" ( https://robotinacan.com/ ). They have a kit and online classes, and partner with some educational orgs like Centre d’art de Préville in Montréal. The kit is Open Source ( https://github.com/Robot-In-A-Can ) and the robot can be programmed via wifi using a Scratch-based UI.

> Turn the kit on and you can start programming in less than a minute without any difficult driver installation or software setup. The main component of the kit is our custom WiFi microcontroller board. It can be programmed and controlled by a phone, tablet or laptop. Using our easy-to-use, open-source, browser-based, drag-and-drop coding system.

https://robotinacan.com/products/robot-in-a-can

Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?

#179

Post by ddingus »

Well, you could just get an Apple. New plus boards are being made, the cards you need are available.

Mine is equipped with:

80 Col / mem expansion to 128K

Fast Chip for some speed, up to 16Mhz (which is crazy fast on most software designed for 1Mhz)

HDMI output device, VidHD card. This thing is GREAT.

CFFA / USB Flash disk solution for loading programs, disk images, etc...

My younger granddaughter enjoys the machine. I've got a joystick on it, and am seeking a mouse card. Those are a PITA right now, and I may just build one.

I need a printing solution and that's true for my home overall right now. Gotta break down and get a good printer. I just hate doing that. Need to talk to some people and get one I won't get pissed off at.

Right now, we play games, education and action, create with the various programs, painting, etc... She enjoys time on the machine and soon will write some little programs.

LOGO is just too much fun for little kids. I can't wait to see her try it. And with a little speed boost, the machine should really perform!

That all said, my mind goes right to the Raspi 400. It's a pretty cool little computer, built into a keyboard, has the right ports, etc...

If you do some setup on that thing, a younger person could have a good time, and could by the way run an emulated Apple and have a good experience.

I see billziss talking about building the Ben Eater 6502. This is something I would enjoy with them. And if successful, that is a powerful experience on par with anything we had back then.

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