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).
Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
61–70 of 244 posts
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#62Recommend you look at something like the Raspberry Pi 400: https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-400-unit/ These are about USD100 a pop and need a HDMI screen and you're all set. And then configure it to run a Basic or Python REPL on boot, to give that 1970s home PC feel.
I also think the raspberry pi 400 is your best bet right now. It has that feeling of being an 80’s computer, but it boots to a modern graphical desktop with lots of open source educational software that they can do explore freely.
If you want your kids to dip their toe into the field of programming, show them around scratch for 10 minutes and let them explore on their own. Set them up with a scratch account and they can work on their projects on any computer with web access. My 10yo started with scratch a few years ago and is now starting to learn javascript. The real challenge to getting them into this stuff is the lack of boredom. Kids have so many options to keep themselves entertained nowadays that they tend to not be bored long enough to start tinkering.
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#63I think the problem here is that the world has moved on a lot since some of us kids were amazed at what we could make machines like an AppleII do with basic (and assembler and peek and poke). I remember being amazingly proud of myself for getting an ascii version of Space Invaders working. I could, as a 10 or 12 year old, make something for myself that kinda looked like and was way more fun (for me) to play that _lit…
> I think the problem here is that the world has moved on a lot since some of us kids were amazed at what we could make machines like an AppleII do with basic
OTOH, "open ended ways to create" have grown as well. There's of course programming, but also office activities, desktop publishing, making simple websites. If they're interested in modern 3D games like Fortnite, they might experiment with the basics of 3D rendering and game development using something like Godot. They won't come up with the next AAA title, but simple, proof-of-concept arcade or puzzle games ought to be feasible.
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#64I think it needs a change of perspective. It's very hard to get a child interested in things like programming by introducing him to it. I picked up programming by watching my brother do programming and I asked him to teach me some basics. I think this is a better approach. Instead of introducing a kid to Python, work on a simple game in Python and let him watch. He will see that you find it cool (despite it being "boring" compared to alternatives like Roblox), and he will see what it looks like, and if all goes well, he will ask you to teach him to do the same.
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#65Scratch works pretty well on the iPad for programming, and there's Scratch Jnr for younger learners.
Repl.it also works well on the iPad, as long as you sign in for them, so they can play with any language they like.
If you want an actual computer that they can play around with that's cheap then a Raspberry Pi is a good choice. The Pi 400 with it's integrated keyboard is excellent.
If you want some programming projects then have a look at https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en
They're not just projects for using the Raspberry Pi. There's a tonne of Scratch, Python and HTML stuff for them to work through as well.
I'd suggest https://projects.raspberrypi.org/en/pathways/scratch-intro if they've never used Scratch before. All the projects are tablet friendly as well.
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#66Just buy them a couple of Raspberries and maybe a few accessories. I don't have kids, but sure I would have loved them as a kid :)
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#67I 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…
Thanks for reminding me of the more "individual challenge" aesthetics of early coding. But I have to ask - you say, "oh well," like that's not something cool. I would have no idea where to even start with a storage virtualization system.
Maybe it's not evil genius, but it sure sounds cool.
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#68Colour Maximite 2
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#69My son's almost 4, on his birthday him an old tower(hooked up to the lounge tv) with a MES emulator. My plan is to approximately every 6 months upgrade his emulators to next gen.
Between SNES and N64 I'll introduce him to dos games. Then basic to show him how to control basic output and PC speaker(that's going to be a hunt).
I'll see how he likes all that stuff and if he is interested, steer him through how I had access.
I know once he hits 8ish he and his friends will be into whatever is popular at the time online wise, but it's the only way I can figure to see if he is interested enough to try programming.
Re: Ask HN: How can I make a “kid's computer” today as good as an Apple II?
#70Maybe think of building an RC2014 with CP/M. If it's completely self built there is another sense of specialty no prebuilt system can reach. And it's a good project to do together, too. There is also a variant with an 6502 instead of Z80 (RC6502), which can be built Apple I compatible.