22 March 2016

NEWS: BBC micro:bit released today


Bit of a computer.

If you're in your thirties you might remember playing with an old BBC computer while at school. Certainly we cut out teeth on the hulking great things (with actual 'floppy' floppy disks), but now it seems that the next generation of coders will be able to do the same. Being dished out to all UK Year 7 pupils is the BBC micro:bit; a single board computer designed to take coding away from screen.

The tiny gadget features a micro USB port, an accelerometer, a compass, Bluetooth, and a 5 x 5 LED dot matrix on the back. Like the Raspberry Pi and Arduino microcomputers, the micro:bit is intended to let kids play around with basic coding and electronics, presumably to train the future generation in the coming war with the machines. How the hell are we going to re-programme a Terminator to go back in time to protect John Connor, if kids don't start now?


Although the official release of the BBC micro:bit is today, it is expected to take a few months before all Year 7 pupils have theirs to experiment with. Or stick on eBay, whatever...


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