This is like copy-pasting commands from the Gentoo wiki so you "learn Linux". You don't learn shit, you just insert tab A into slot B, then play Minecraft.<p>Look at the list of things you can "build". You don't actually make any of those things:<p>>Build...<p>>A computer, powered by Raspberry Pi<p>Meaning: "stick it in a pre-made case"<p>> Games like Pong, Snake<p>Either you're playing the installed games, or writing your own... like you could do with any other computer out there. No kit required.<p>> Music and sounds<p>Translation: we have a speaker!<p>> HD video<p>Well, you're not going to be rendering any video on that little ARM processor, but I guess you can play HD video just like every other Pi.<p>> A speaker<p>Comes with a 1/8" connector just like fucking headphones<p>> Towers of dynamite (...in Minecraft)<p>Give me a break.<p>> A wireless server<p>Closest you'll get to building anything, although what might you serve? Well, you can serve anything with a package in Raspbian, no kit required.<p>>A custom case, with stickers, decals, or any printed design<p>You're not building this, it's built for you. Do they remember what this list was titled? It was titled "Build..." not "Included in the package:"<p>> Most Debian Linux packages<p>When I think of "building" a package, I think of compilation. At this point, though, their original concept of a list of things you can build has broken down until it's just a feature list.<p>Every single thing on this list, except for that bullshit about stickers, is just software that you run on a Pi. Pathetic.
A lot of the comments here seem to fall into the line of "Why would anyone use this Dropbox ? - you can just use rsync".<p>There's a huge gap between a Raspberry Pi which gathers dust in the corner and having a product that parents can buy their kids for xmas which they can use to teach themselves the basics of programming.<p>Yes, parents could source the components individually, install linux, setup up scratch, download some tutorials for their kids, etc. But realistically only very tech savy parents are going to be capable of doing that and even fewer of them actually will.
Is it just me or is anyone else getting tired of the constant onslaught of feel-good "code for the children" stuff?<p>After discovering at least three different non-profits dedicated to teaching children to code, I am starting to think it is not children that need help, but adults.
It's a cute idea but the contents of the box isn't really that much different from what you'd find inside the box of an iPad or....Microsoft Surface or any other piece of consumer electronics.<p>All this seems to be doing is taking most of the burden of having to source a keyboard, mouse and monitor if you want to use the Pi as a dedicated machine.<p>I'm not knocking that, it's just calling it "building a computer" seems wrong.<p>EDIT: I was probably being a bit harsh, it does seem like it's aimed at children. It looks like the booklets that come with it explain aspects of the Pi in a language children can warm to.
Has someone redefined the word "make"? Because plugging stuff together isn't 'making' anything, in fact it's undermining kids by setting the bar for 'making' so incredibly low.
How is that "Build your own computer"?<p>This is how to build one's own computer: <a href="http://nand2tetris.org/" rel="nofollow">http://nand2tetris.org/</a><p>No kit required.
Reading though the comments, I wish there was an easier way to fabricate electronics. Even etching a basic board is an error prone process involving nasty chemicals, and surface mount soldering can be like threading a needle without hands. I don't know a solution to this, maybe more home pick & place robotic arms and using reflow ovens, and some kind of way to print on the paste, who knows. It is a shame that this has all escaped an easier DIY level of skills. I want to be able to do this sort of thing, but it very quickly approaches the point where the time and cost involved to do it outweighs looking around to have someone build something for me instead.
Without watching the video and just looking over the images, it took a while to notice the difference between getting this and just getting a Raspberry Pi with a keyboard. So the package includes more stuff that makes it interesting for kids and techies to play around with the hardware and the components that come with it; pretty cool, if I had kids I'd definitely want to get something like that.
The keyboard looks cute, almost tempted to go in for that. Just almost though -- it seems awfully small for grown up hands, and touchpads greatly vary in quality. Also, waiting for more than half a year.
You guys should add an option to gift kanos to schools at a discount. Like "Buy 5 Kano's for the school of your choice." and "Buy 10 Kano's for the school of your choice."
The name made me remember Space: 1999
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kano" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Kano</a>
I am curious about the software stack. Google didn't return anything relevant about KanoOS.<p>Can anyone cast a light on this ?<p>(and I like that keyboard)