Re:BBC gives children mini-computers in Make it Digital scheme
by pjc50 on Thursday March 12, 2015 @09:24AM
(#9190582)
Yes, the BBC Micro was great, thirty years ago. The world has changed somewhat. You can't build a technology programme on nostalgia.
The comparison to existing platforms is being made because platforms matter. 30 years ago there were no deemed adequate platforms so the BBC had to build their own. Today there is at least the Pi and the Arduino, as well as the Lilypad wearables series. Creating a new platform for the sake of it dilutes effort rather than strengthening it.
I'm concerned that this is the domestic equivalent of a fly-by-night aid initiative, that drops in a whole bunch of resources and expensive personnel for a year or two then vanishes.
The comparison to existing platforms is being made because platforms matter. 30 years ago there were no deemed adequate platforms so the BBC had to build their own. Today there is at least the Pi and the Arduino, as well as the Lilypad wearables series. Creating a new platform for the sake of it dilutes effort rather than strengthening it.
I'm concerned that this is the domestic equivalent of a fly-by-night aid initiative, that drops in a whole bunch of resources and expensive personnel for a year or two then vanishes.