One of my youngsters is after a raspberry pi for Christmas.
Is this any good?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raspberry-Pi-Desktop-Starter-Exclusive/dp/B00T638EFA/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1449240582&sr=1-2&keywords=raspberry+pi#productDetails

Does the OS have scratch and Python built in?
Excluding the website, what other resources are there that are kid friendly?

Apologies for the out of touch Qs. It’s been a while…

I guess it depends on which version of Linux you install. The ‘default’ version I installed has Python, not sure about scratch.
Edit, you need to check the monitor you plan to use has HDMI input, and there’s a network connection near (or buy a wireless USB stick thing).

Does the OS have scratch and Python built in

Yep. Start at the web site and there will be links to loads of other resources.
Price for the kit is a little high but then it’s all there for you. Personally I’d be getting a bare pi 2(you really don’t need a case), microSD card and an edimax wifi card (I’m sure you’ve got an hdmi cable somewhere. How about adding the camera module (or use a spare usb camera if you’ve got one)?

The main thing is that you have some kit available so that they can actually make something happen such as take pictures and email them, read temperatures and send them to t a web dashboard (def use Initial State for this – it’s easy) or switch things on and off (look at the energenie wireless sockets, I’ve got them all over the place switching lights and heats on and off).

I don’t know how useful this would be to your kids but the current Humble Bundle is a bunch of downloadable books for the Raspberry Pi/Arduino

Humble Book Bundle

You might want to consider buying from Pimoroni:
https://shop.pimoroni.com/collections/raspberry-pi/products/raspberry-pi-2-starter-kit

Proper grassroots Pi business based in Sheffield.

I’ve got one for my big lad this Xmas. The idea is to use it for stuff like suggested above ^ scratch, expermients with LEDs etc. Also I’m going to try using it as a thin client for him. Looks like with freeerdp I will be able to rdp him into a session running on my desktop computer for doing homework using word etc. (there’s a trick available to allow multiple concurrent RDP sessions on windows). Either that or run a VM anyway.

I don’t know how useful this would be to your kids but the current Humble Bundle is a bunch of downloadable books for the Raspberry Pi/Arduino

Ooh, how did that pass me by? Cheers for the heads-up.

What age are they suitable for?

What age are they suitable for?

30 and up 😉

It’s basically a little cheap computer running Linux.
Scratch (the supplied graphical programming language) is accessible to 5 and up with some parental help.

Thanks. I just bought this as a low risk present for my niece – I’ll see how she gets on before next Christmas!

CodeBug

Oh, that’s ace.

Nice choice.

The “Circuit Stickers” book is a nice intro to basic circuits too. Each page has a circuit printed on it which you complete with the conductive tape, LED stickers and a watch battery.

And for folk getting a Pi for kids, consider the “Adventures in Raspberry Pi” book. It’s a good overall kid-friendly intro to Pi, Scratch, Python, and beyond.

I am 99% sure this is going on Santa’s list. Any further advice gratefully received. Graham S advice will be followed “Rainbow” plus the Adventures book.

Carrie Ann, the Author of “Adventures..” also has a website called http://www.geekgurldiaries.co.uk with a bunch of YouTube videos. Lots of good stuff on there for slightly older kids, with a definite girl-friendly slant.

Not sure if it still works but the code “landlubber” used to get you a discount on Pimoroni gear.

Important- do not get hung up on hdmi

An hdmi to vga cable converter costs about 2 quid .
Then you can use any old monitor.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/resources/learn/

HDMI to DVI is readily available too for a couple of quid.
(Though judging by the Pi forums it requires a little config tweak to make it work)

Ordered, thx all 🙂

I’ve got a passive HDMI to DVI cable which I often use (and have used with a variety of monitors and with both original and Pi2) and have never needed any tweaks for it – it just works.

From what I briefly read on the forum it’s only neeeded in some situations.
Something to do with the CEC signal or hot-plugging.

If you don’t need it then all good, but there are some config options discussed here:
http://elinux.org/R-Pi_Troubleshooting#No_HDMI_output_at_all

I’ve needed to do tweaks like that when using a HDMI to VGA converter, but not with the DVI cable. YMMV, but my experience with a variety of monitors suggests it’s not usually needed.

They’re bloody good fun, but don’t buy one.

It will eat into your valuable bike time… 🙂

And don’t forget the Pi Zero – at £4, an even cheaper computer. They’re giving them away free with the mag Mag-Pi this month – if you can find one.

And don’t forget the Pi Zero – at £4, an even cheaper computer. They’re giving them away free with the mag Mag-Pi this month – if you can find one.

You can get a 3-month sub to The MagPi magazine for £12.99 and you’ll get issue #40 with the Pi Zero on it included in that. Details here (you need to call for the 3 month sub):
https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/subscribe/

Thanks. I just bought this as a low risk present for my niece – I’ll see how she gets on before next Christmas!

The latest episode of The Ben Heck Show has him using the CodeBug to go over the basics of programming. Might be a useful resource:

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BqHH2vbThI[/video]

Resurrected to say I just visited my niece and saw the Codebug in action – really impressive for a little gift and she was quite adept at building code from the web interface. Thanks for the tip!

Daughter has just made the case and put the Pi in, going live tomorrow.