[pickarooney]

I don't understand the philosophy of this - how is it going to help schoolchildren get into programming exactly?

[PrzemoF]

I think it's the same idea as OLPC. And it's much easier to mess with a 30 euro box and do something that might break it, compared to a 1500 euro PC that is your main PC.

From http://www.raspberrypi.org/about :

"Something had changed the way kids were interacting with computers. A number of problems were identified: the colonisation of the ICT curriculum with lessons on using Word and Excel, or writing webpages; the end of the dot-com boom; and the rise of the home PC and games console to replace the Amigas, BBC Micros, Spectrum ZX and Commodore 64 machines that people of an earlier generation learned to program on. There isn’t much any small group of people can do to address problems like an inadequate school curriculum or the end of a financial bubble. But we felt that we could try to do something about the situation where computers had become so expensive and arcane that programming experimentation on them had to be forbidden by parents; and to find a platform that, like those old home computers, could boot into a programming environment."

[Johnboy1951]

Originally Posted by pickarooney

I don't understand the philosophy of this - how is it going to help schoolchildren get into programming exactly?

There will be educational additions especially for the purpose by the time it is introduced into schools.

One way to look at it is this : ..... use it to control something physical as an example .... maybe a motor, or several motors ..... use them to move a robot ..... change the code and alter the behaviour .....

Also of course for creating software for display purposes, such as games ...... write code to create simple games and output to the TV ..... maybe something like snake ... and move on from there ......

So give a kid such a system ..... with no worries about damage or losing data .... and let their imagination rule .....

[pickarooney]

Originally Posted by PrzemoF

I think it's the same idea as OLPC. And it's much easier to mess with a 30 euro box and do something that might break it, compared to a 1500 euro PC that is your main PC.

From http://www.raspberrypi.org/about :

"Something had changed the way kids were interacting with computers. A number of problems were identified: the colonisation of the ICT curriculum with lessons on using Word and Excel, or writing webpages; the end of the dot-com boom; and the rise of the home PC and games console to replace the Amigas, BBC Micros, Spectrum ZX and Commodore 64 machines that people of an earlier generation learned to program on. There isn’t much any small group of people can do to address problems like an inadequate school curriculum or the end of a financial bubble. But we felt that we could try to do something about the situation where computers had become so expensive and arcane that programming experimentation on them had to be forbidden by parents; and to find a platform that, like those old home computers, could boot into a programming environment."

Computers have become expensive and arcane? The complete opposite is true. There are any number of used PCs knocking about for next to nothing and programming is simpler to understand now than it ever has been. I kind of like the idea of kids building robots with these but I just don't see where they're going to find teachers with the knowledge and interest to facilitate that.

[EarthlyPangaea]

Originally Posted by pickarooney

Computers have become expensive and arcane? The complete opposite is true. There are any number of used PCs knocking about for next to nothing and programming is simpler to understand now than it ever has been. I kind of like the idea of kids building robots with these but I just don't see where they're going to find teachers with the knowledge and interest to facilitate that.

I think it's just that there are loads of programming frameworks out there. It might just be a bit overwhelming for which language to pick if you wanted to learn from the very beginning. I quite like the approach here. By producing the educational materials in Python, they'll get children (and others too) getting the basics of a langauge learned. By the time they learn more and hit the limits of what a low-spec ARM computer can do with Python, they can then start learning more complicated languages and try to get more raw power out of it.

While learning to program may be part of a course with the RPi, I think the trustees of the project are looking to people who are interested in learning for themselves. They're trying hard to recreate the spirit of the Commodore 64/Sinclair ZX81 etc with this. Computers went from (by necessity) something you had to program yourself to make them vaguely useful, to black boxes that are just used and never understood.

As you said, used PC's are everywhere, and they're cheap. But imo administration costs are the downside of just roping together a bunch of old PC's and setting them up. It would be unlikely that each used machine is exactly the same spec, so more time goes into preparing a suitable OS image that will suit all of them.

Imagine if a kid completely messes up the OS on a bog-standard used PC, you're looking at a few hours until you're up and running again. With the Pi, just image the SD card if the OS gets borked, and carry on learning - imaging an SD card will take about 10 minutes.

[Johnboy1951]

Originally Posted by pickarooney

Computers have become expensive and arcane? The complete opposite is true. There are any number of used PCs knocking about for next to nothing and programming is simpler to understand now than it ever has been.

the costs of introducing maybe 50 or 100 cast-off PCs into a school environment would far outstrip the cost of working with the Pi ... hopefully the schools will be able to tap into all those used monitors that are being dumped ...... although I must admit to not having come across many amongst all the used PCs I handle.

I kind of like the idea of kids building robots with these but I just don't see where they're going to find teachers with the knowledge and interest to facilitate that.

Lots of schools have computer facilities already .... and it is high time that the teachers who are supposed to be computer literate learn about programming too ....... well you did say it is much easier now, so there is no reason the teachers cannot learn along .......

[OSI]

So it's being delayed AGAIN! due to compliance certification issues:

Dear OSI

In recent days you may have heard various reports on the Web about Raspberry Pi, the need for compliance testing and possible further delivery delays.

We recognise the impact on our customers of the constantly changing delivery dates, and we apologise for the frustration and disappointment this is causing. We will supply you with accurate delivery dates just as soon as we can, as the Boards undergo compliance testing.

It is clear that many of our customers will be using the Raspberry Pi as a finished product, not just an engineering development board. As such, we see it as the most responsible approach to ensure that all Pis meet the required standards for finished products in all territories.

We are therefore going through a much accelerated compliance process, working closely with the Raspberry Pi Foundation and RS Components. We take our commitment and responsibility in this area very seriously and believe the short-term delays, whilst frustrating, will be worthwhile to ensure our customers receive a fully compliant product.

The exact situation at the present time is as follows:

2000 Raspberry Pi’s are now in the UK.You can see pictures of them leaving the factory in China here; http://www.raspberrypi.org/
The compliance teams of element14, RS and Raspberry Pi are working round the clock with the testing houses to assess the product now. Any issues that are identified (hardware or software) will then need to be rectified and we will ensure this happens as quickly as is humanly possible.
There are different compliance standards around the globe. We are focused on meeting all of those as quickly as possible. Some may take longer than others.
As soon as these initial 2000 Boards are compliant to at least one set of required standards, we will receive our share of this first batch from Raspberry Pi and ship these to customers in the locations where the compliance standards have been met on a strictly first come, first served basis. Those who ordered first in those countries will receive the product first.
Regrettably we cannot give any firm delivery commitments on Raspberry Pis until this testing is complete. Please be assured we will provide this information as soon as we can.
Once the product is fully compliant our manufacturing partners have the necessary stocks of components to ramp up production very quickly. So, despite these frustrating, initial delays we are confident the picture will improve and lead times for new orders will reduce.
We will email you individually to confirm your personal delivery date as soon as we are able to. We will continue to share generic information, but recognise that it is the detailed specific information to your order that is most important to you.
We will continue to post news and updates on our element14 community. Next week, on April 4th, Raspberry Pi founder, Eben Upton will give a 40-minute webinar on programming the Raspberry Pi as part of our element14 Design Flow series.
To join the 2000+ Pi fans who have already registered to attend and learn more Click here
Once again we apologise to all of our customers for this delay in providing the hotly awaited Raspberry Pi. Despite these initial teething troubles, we're certain you'll be delighted with the end result.

HOT OFF THE PRESS UPDATE FROM EBEN UPTON OF RASPBERRY PI:

“We have spoken with BIS this morning, and have been told that, given the volumes involved and the demographic mix of likely users, the development board exemption is not applicable to us; as a result, even the first uncased developer units of Raspberry Pi will require a CE mark prior to distribution in the EU...... ....we are working with RS Components and element14/Premier Farnell to bring Raspberry Pi into a compliant state as soon as is humanly possible.”

[EarthlyPangaea]

Originally Posted by OSI

So it's being delayed AGAIN! due to compliance certification issues:

Very interesting blog on that from Element 14 - http://www.element14.com/community/p...and-compliance

Looks like the board isn't quite perfect, they're mainly having trouble with the HDMI ports. The port is being overdriven, and the cable they picked in their pre-compliance tests isn't helping apparently.

[d31b0y]

\o/

Dear customer,
Having successfully passed its CE compliance testing, we can now confirm that your Raspberry Pi will be delivered in the week commencing 21/05/2012.
We'd like to thank you once again for your patience - by offering you 15% off your next online order over EUR 65. Simply enter the following code when you reach the checkout:
XXXXXXX
Prepare for your Raspberry Pi
Get ready for your Raspberry Pi by downloading all the software you need. To get started, visit our download centre.
If you have any further questions, please visit our FAQ page on element14 for more information.
Once again, thank you for being patient. We hope you’ll enjoy the limitless computing potential and enjoyment the Raspberry Pi offers.
Farnell element14

[OSI]

Originally Posted by d31b0y

\o/

Having successfully passed its CE compliance testing, we can now confirm that your Raspberry Pi will be delivered in the week commencing 14/05/2012.

[d31b0y]

Awww

That 15 percent will come in handy once they become fully available eh?

[NoDrama]

Mine is 04/06/2012

Yeah the 15% will come in handy alright.

[BopNiblets]

I got "end of June" email from Farnell/element14, woo!

[Stuxnet]

delivered the week starting 25/may they said for me !!

[TheDoc]

Originally Posted by Stuxnet

delivered the week starting 25/may they said for me !!

Sameas the above