I think the author's point about how computers used to come with programming manuals is a good one. The spirit is different. The computer environments now are, in my opinion, better for learning programming. More languages are installed by default or easily available and the Internet is much better for learning than the books I remember using. But this kind of assumption that people would be buying a computer in order to mess around with Basic or Hypercard no longer seems to be the rule.

I was actually kind of impressed with the Sugar environment when I tried it out with my nephews. They spent a lot more time experimenting with the thing than I even expected. Something was different about that system. It encouraged exploration in a way that their normal YouTube and video game habits didn't. Maybe it was just the nature of the applications.

I'm a pythonista myself. The instructions to someone wanting to do Python are:

- find out what platform they are using (Unix, Windows, Mac, iDevice, Android etc)

- Ensure Python gets installed or is accessible (add in version 2 versus 3, 32 bit versus 64 bit)

- Work out what the text editor or "IDE" will be

- Enter the code (no gotos in Python)

- Run the code and view the output

While these hoops are nothing for you or me, they are significant for others. Note how people report A/B testing showing that extra steps towards various goals results in big dropoffs.

Incidentally this is what repl.it does with QBasic:

     > 10 print "hello"
     Parse failed: Syntax error at 1:10: Token("hello")
     > help
     => 0

I understand your point, but I think it comes down to self-discovery. Using the C=64 (and other home computers of the era) enabled you to discover that programming existed as a thing, and then to learn more by digging deeper. Modern computers are much, much better at the digging deeper side of the equation, but completely fail on creating the initial spark of interest.

In my experience, if you can create that initial spark with your kids (as I did with my daughter, just by showing her the C=64 programming book I had as a kid), then they _will_ want to know more.

You are surely correct.

The proportion of people with access to a computer in 1984 was much lower than it is today as well.

Far more kids can get to a browser and to some kind of editor.

That gives you a javascript development environment.

In addition you have access to the internet that provides you will endless tutorials and places to ask questions.