Wow. Surprised at the negativity here :( The BBC is giving every kid in the UK a free hackable computer. And we're moaning about the unit production cost or its comparison to Raspberry Pi? Perhaps the backstory of the BBC and its previous role in computing isn't captured here...
Like many other now 30 year olds in the UK, I grew up hacking games on a BBC Micro my school had, my family couldn't afford a decent machine at home so it was my only introduction to computers. And before the BBC Micro, most schools couldn't afford a set of computers either. It allowed us to learn to code in the lunch breaks, after school. It seriously drove many UK kids to code and now having a happy career in computing.
Now kids will get a similar, even more personal introduction to computing in an age of tap-and-swipe computing.
Like many other now 30 year olds in the UK, I grew up hacking games on a BBC Micro my school had, my family couldn't afford a decent machine at home so it was my only introduction to computers. And before the BBC Micro, most schools couldn't afford a set of computers either. It allowed us to learn to code in the lunch breaks, after school. It seriously drove many UK kids to code and now having a happy career in computing.
Now kids will get a similar, even more personal introduction to computing in an age of tap-and-swipe computing.
I for one applaud the decision!