alpine_saint Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17190918 Its a f**king ZX-80........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torres Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 It's quite a sweet bit of kit for £22. Ordered mine yesterday, no idea when it's going to arrive though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17190918 Its a f**king ZX-80........... Is there ever any good news in your world? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 1 March, 2012 Author Share Posted 1 March, 2012 Is there ever any good news in your world? Oh come on. This story is seriously funny. I remember the first computer craze in 1981/82; this whoe activity is being generated by nostalgic 40-somethings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecuk268 Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 A problem at the moment is that ICT in schools is mainly about how to use office applications (Word, Excel etc). There's very little technical content or programming. The Universities are complaining that Computer Science undergraduates are lacking the necessary knowledge of how a computer actually works. The Raspberry Pi is designed to be cheap enough for schools to buy and to use to teach programming and basic computer science. The ZX81 and the BBC Micro inspired a whole generation of computer scientists and developers and there is a need for a low-cost device to help create the developers of the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alanh Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 It's a great idea, but I don't think it's really necessary for schools. Is this machine able to do anything that a regular Windows desktop can't already do? I know it's running Linux but relatively few kids are going to understand the differences between operating systems. Most schools have pretty extensive ICT facilities having teched-up over the last few years. They use them in a variety of ways, some much better than others, but they have the hardware to be able to teach programming. The investment needs to be in software, curriculum development and training for teachers to be able to teach programming rather than a nerdy looking motherboard masquerading as a cure for the country's computer ills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 I've got mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, it's great that kids and enthusiasts are getting close to the hardware again. As someone who has dabbled with a bit of assembly code myself, it's definitely an edifying experience. That said, the stuff I do professionally involves none of that. We have come a long way in 30 years. My job is easier because I'm standing on the shoulders of giants, and that's the way a lot of development is going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saint si Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 This is old world. Hardware is now commodity and people tinkering at the hardware level won't achieve anything. Cloud is the future with software and code now abstracted multiple levels from the hardware. The next Steve Jobs isn't working away in a garage, he's dabbling on Amazon EC2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintbletch Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 (edited) Oh come on. This story is seriously funny. I remember the first computer craze in 1981/82; this whoe activity is being generated by nostalgic 40-somethings. ...it might be nostalgia but I'm not quite that cynical. I imagine those behind the initiative remember the swathes of programmers that were created from the last mass-computer ownership drive, and who lament that the youth of today look at the wondrous technology around them and don't challenges themselves to get involved. I do like the initiative but I'm not sure it'll wake our youth from their treatment of technology as some sort of invisible or abstracted utility that is supplied to them from they know not where. But if this gets 10-16 year olds programming or even challenging themselves to consider what they could achieve in a career in high-technology then it'll be excellent. Edited 1 March, 2012 by saintbletch Well, after re-reading it, it didn't make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking Warrior Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 I still use my amstrad 464 seeing we are in the nostagla mode Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpine_saint Posted 1 March, 2012 Author Share Posted 1 March, 2012 ...it might be nostalgia but I'm not quite that cynical. I imagine those behind the initiative remember the swathes of programmers that were created from the last mass-computer ownership drive, and who lament that the youth of today look at the wondrous technology around them and don't challenges themselves to get involved. I do like the initiative but I'm not sure it'll wake our youth from their treatment of technology as some sort of invisible or abstracted utility that is supplied to them from they know not where. But if this gets 10-16 year olds programming or even challenging themselves to consider what they could achieve in a career in high-technology then it'll be excellent. Well, maybe you are right. If it gets kids being more curious and de-stigmatises having an interest in how things work rather than what they have materialistically , like JK Rowling got kids reading and de-stigmatised kids wearing glasses, it will have some worthwhile result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintbletch Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 This is old world. Hardware is now commodity and people tinkering at the hardware level won't achieve anything. Cloud is the future with software and code now abstracted multiple levels from the hardware. The next Steve Jobs isn't working away in a garage, he's dabbling on Amazon EC2. Agree with the general trend of moving to the cloud. But it does depend on what you're developing. Hardware is a commodity? The iPhone, the iPad, Kindles? I think you're limiting your thinking saint si. Having run Amazon EC2 instances, I wouldn't want to own hardware again - unless I was developing a device driver or custom hardware. Look at the packaging of this thing - or rather the lack of it. It was launched so that we get to see the circuit board because it's all about showing kids the physical hardware. It's about removing the layers of abstraction that makes technology inscrutable to so many people and showing our youth the direct result of their computing efforts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 Agree with the general trend of moving to the cloud. But it does depend on what you're developing. Hardware is a commodity? The iPhone, the iPad, Kindles? I think you're limiting your thinking saint si. Having run Amazon EC2 instances, I wouldn't want to own hardware again - unless I was developing a device driver or custom hardware. Look at the packaging of this thing - or rather the lack of it. It was launched so that we get to see the circuit board because it's all about showing kids the physical hardware. It's about removing the layers of abstraction that makes technology inscrutable to so many people and showing our youth the direct result of their computing efforts. That's why I'm keen on it. I genuinely think my generation of programmers were the last lot to have proper experience with command-line stuff. That said, aren't they shipping a small version of Linux with it? If that's the case, then many of the low level stuff that we want them to get close to ( hardware interrupts, etc ) may well be abstracted too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintbletch Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 Well, maybe you are right. If it gets kids being more curious and de-stigmatises having an interest in how things work rather than what they have materialistically , like JK Rowling got kids reading and de-stigmatised kids wearing glasses, it will have some worthwhile result. I think the JK Rowling analogy is a good one alpine_saint. The question remains whether the 'story' will be interesting enough to get kids excited about developing software that is so basic compared to what they can download for free on their tablet or phone of choice. I hope so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintbletch Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 That's why I'm keen on it. I genuinely think my generation of programmers were the last lot to have proper experience with command-line stuff. That said, aren't they shipping a small version of Linux with it? If that's the case, then many of the low level stuff that we want them to get close to ( hardware interrupts, etc ) may well be abstracted too. I saw the project as less about the hardware and more a ready made device for learning Basic, C, Python and Perl. I too cut my coding teeth on the BBC Micro. I taught myself Basic and 6502 Assembler, wrote games, moved on to the PC, taught myself 80x86/8088 assembler and C, wrote device level stuff and then a bunch of business software. Then had a lobotomy and went into a career in marketing for years. Oddly enough I just recently taught myself Python and now run Linux (Ubuntu) as my desktop Os of choice. I wouldn't have had a career in high-tech if it hadn't been for the Sinclair and BBC computers. Actually some days I wonder whether that's a good thing! As for Linux being an abstraction from the hardware - you're right. But of course they should be able to download the source and get as close to the hardware as they like.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecuk268 Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 This is old world. Hardware is now commodity and people tinkering at the hardware level won't achieve anything. Cloud is the future with software and code now abstracted multiple levels from the hardware. The next Steve Jobs isn't working away in a garage, he's dabbling on Amazon EC2. Hardware is useless without the firmware that makes it work. If you're going to develop firmware you need a good understanding of how the hardware functions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saintandy666 Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 If it gets younger people involved in programming, then that's good. We will need that for this country in the future. IT lessons at school are a joke at the moment. Or at least they were when I was there a few years ago. We need to teach people computing rather than just how to use excel and word for 5 years. Wish I knew how to programme stuff. I don't have a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedelldays Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 I am planning on doing the MCITP Enterprise admin course....I plan to take over the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pap Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 I saw the project as less about the hardware and more a ready made device for learning Basic, C, Python and Perl. I too cut my coding teeth on the BBC Micro. I taught myself Basic and 6502 Assembler, wrote games, moved on to the PC, taught myself 80x86/8088 assembler and C, wrote device level stuff and then a bunch of business software. Then had a lobotomy and went into a career in marketing for years. Oddly enough I just recently taught myself Python and now run Linux (Ubuntu) as my desktop Os of choice. I wouldn't have had a career in high-tech if it hadn't been for the Sinclair and BBC computers. Actually some days I wonder whether that's a good thing! As for Linux being an abstraction from the hardware - you're right. But of course they should be able to download the source and get as close to the hardware as they like.. I've done nothing but C#, SQL and Javascript for the last 9 years. Was a Perl/Unix boy before that (and still may go back - the sort of awe you can inspire with a one-line piped command amongst juniors is worth it). My experience to assembly was limited to simple stuff ( parity checking, etc ) on the x86. Funnily enough, those 6502's are everywhere now - a mate of mine was doing embedded stuff for them - there is good money in it. Never did anything as hard-core as writing games. /bows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony13579 Posted 1 March, 2012 Share Posted 1 March, 2012 I love the idea of a cheap micro processor that can be the centre of any great project. It's cheap enough to fit to an R/C model or your central heating system or a web cam or to a weather ballon. It's cheap enought to stuff down the drain or up the chimney. it could control my camera Or you could just record films and play them back through this device. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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