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The BBC's Micro:bit computers won't reach kids until next year
As part of a wider initiative aimed at teaching children the basics of computing and programming, the BBC created the Micro:bit development board (with a little help from some high-profile partners). Unveiled in its final form this July after years in the making, the broadcaster had originally planned to send out the first batch of Micro:bits to teachers this month, before issuing one million of the things to Year 7 students across the country in October. The BBC has said today, however, that a problem with the power supply identified on a small number of the microcomputers means that timeline has been pushed back by a couple of months.
Meet the Micro:bit, the BBC's tiny programmable computer for kids
The Raspberry Pi has been a huge success story for Britain, giving millions of people an affordable way to tinker and learn with pocket-sized hardware. Now, the BBC is hoping to make a similar impact with the "Micro:bit." Like the Raspberry Pi, this tiny computer has been created to help youngsters learn the fundamentals of programming and computer construction. Today in London, the broadcaster unveiled the Micro:bit's final design -- a rectangular, credit card-style board measuring 4cm by 5cm -- and some of the all-important hardware features. These include 25 red LEDs, which can show messages and facilitate games, two programmable buttons, an on-board accelerometer and magnetometer. The device also offers Bluetooth LE connectivity, a microUSB slot and five input and output (I/O) rings that can be hooked up with crocodile clips and 4mm banana plugs. It's been a while since the original BBC Micro was considered cutting edge, but even so -- this new device is roughly 18 times faster and 67 times lighter than its spiritual predecessor.
RISC OS lands on the Raspberry Pi, relives the glory days
The Raspberry Pi received a RAM boost recently, but it certainly won't need it to run the latest officially supported operating system -- RISC OS. A far cry from Linux variants the naked board is used to, RISC OS was developed in the late eighties by the same hotshots who designed the first ARM processor. Fittingly, it's also related to the OS found on the BBC Micro, a computer that shared the Raspberry Pi's educational vision. Don't expect much from the simple OS, but it will run extremely fast given the Pi's hardware is practically futuristic compared with the computers it was intended for. The simplicity does mean, however, that it's much easier to get right into the system and start tinkering. It was formerly a closed-source OS, so luckily, there are a bunch of Programmers' Reference Manuals (PRMs) available to kick-start your next project. Whether you are totally new to RISC OS, or excited to dive in for nostalgia's sake, head to the source link for everything you'll need.
Google pumps cash into UK classrooms, will buy Arduino, Raspberry Pi sets for kids
Eric Schmidt has said that Google will make cash available through its investment into Teach First to buy Raspberry Pi and Arduino units for British schoolchildren. He was at the UK's Science Museum to talk about Mountain View's partnership with the charity, which puts top university graduates into schools to teach disadvantaged kids. The Android-maker wrote a cheque to fund over 100 places on the scheme, aiming to get bright computer scientists to reintroduce engineering principles to pupils. Mr. Schmidt hoped that with the right support, kits like the Raspberry Pi would do for this generation what the BBC Micro did three decades ago.
Raspberry Pi hands-on and Eben Upton interview at Maker Faire (video)
Unless you've been hiding under a rock lately, we're pretty sure you've heard about the Raspberry Pi by now -- a $25 credit-card sized PC that brings ARM/Linux to the Arduino form factor. As a refresher, the system features a 700MHz Broadcom BCM2835 SoC with an ARM11 CPU, a Videocore 4 GPU (which handles HD H.264 video and OpenGL ES 2.0) and 256MB RAM. The board includes an SD card slot, HDMI output, composite video jack, 3.5mm audio socket, micro-USB power connector and GPIO header. Model A ($25) comes with one USB port, while Model B ($35) provides two USB ports and a 100BaseT Ethernet socket. Debian is recommended, but Raspberry Pi can run most ARM-compatible 32-bit OSes. This past weekend at Maker Faire Bay Area 2012 we ran into Eben Upton, Executive Director of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, and took the opportunity to spend some quality time with a production board and to discuss this incredible PC. We touched upon the origins of the system (inspired by the BBC Micro, one of the ARM founders' projects), Moore's law, the wonders of simple computers and upcoming products / ideas -- including Adafruit's Pi Plate and Raspberry Pi's prototype camera add-on. On the subject of availability, the company expects that "there will be approximately 200,000 units in the field by the end of June". Take a look at our hands-on gallery below and our video interview after the break.%Gallery-155800%
