[Coco] Computer learning tools (was: Coco4..Who needs it? I do.)

[James Dessart]

As far as simple programming goes, I had a lot of fun with Hypercard
on my Mac, after "graduating" from my CoCo. A more modern equivalent,
again on the Mac, would be AppleScript Studio.

Now, I'm not saying everyone should go out and buy a Mac, but I'm sure
there must be similar solutions on the PC. I'd suggest VisualBasic,
but afaic, that's like polluting a child's mind. :)

There are a number of learning environments out there. There's one set
up for Squeak that provides kids with a nice framework for learning
programming. Don't remember the name, but it should be easy to find.

As for hardware, there are so many different programming
microcontrollers out there now, many with USB interfaces, that I'm
sure someone will eventually make one that's as easy to use as the
CoCo was for hardware hacking. Maybe Arduino is that, I haven't looked
into it too deeply.

Actually, just looked into Arduino. It uses Processing, which may
indeed also be a good programming learning tool. Haven't looked much
into it either, but it's intended for visual arts folk, meaning it'd
probably be fine for kids as well.

Now, do we need to call this set of software and hardware a CoCo 4?
no. The CoCo will always be what it is right now, culminating in the
CoCo 3. I don't think a product based on the CoCo name would be all
that successful, and certainly not successful enough to go to the
expense of full R&D for a product.

-- 
James Dessart
<http://skwirl.com/cody/>