computoman

If you want to get the older kids into tech or they want to get into tech, you might consider the MSP430 from Texas instruments. You can get almost seven of the MSP430 development kits for the price of just one Arduino. That is right you can get an MSP430 development board for just $4.30 shipped to you in the U.S.  You may want to play with it your self also. Ton's of online documentation. ( i.e. http://www.msp430launchpad.com/ ) Free development software is available for the most popular platforms also online (from T.I.). What is really interesting about this unit is that you can take some software source code for the Arduino and run it on the MSP430. Porting software to the Arduino should be easier if you plan to get the Arduino later. The unit even comes with extra dip chips for your use.The newer Arduino units are soldered in place so really can not do complete development on the unit alone.  Even if the kids grow tired of it, you have not invested a fortune in the un...

Most everyone knows about the amazing Arduino. This integrated circuit much acts like a minimal cpu chip. There are hundreds of uses for it. everything from Sous vide machines, mini-weather stations, game machines, water sprinkler control, and a host of other uses. It is even the perfect platform for making your own robot. The list is never ending. The project originally started in Italy as an open source project and has done nothing but grow exponentially in popularity. This simple 20 pin chip is amazing. It has become so popular, that several companies have made development boards for the chip (now there are even more advanced versions of the Arduino i.e. Mega.) Fry's carries the Osepp Arduino and Radio Shack carries the original dip version Arduino Uno, but now I think they have gone to a surface mount version. You can also get the chips and the boards from many electronics retailers such as Jameco. Early Arduino unos development boards came socketed, you could easily pro...

You can develop for the Android platform: Directly:      Android development kit      http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-4.0.html      http://phonegap.com/ Semi-directly:      Develop the app on the android using web languages.      http://ofps.oreilly.com/titles/9781449383268/      http://www.w3schools.com/ Indirectly: (requires use of a web server)      Develop regular web apps that the Andoid device can access.      http://www.instructables.com/id/Uses-for-your-own-private-cloud/      http://www.w3schools.com/

One of the major reasons I have not purchased a touch pad is that you can not easily program the devices for your own use. One thing I liked about the traditional personal computer is that you could develop programs fairly easily without having to buy both an expensive computer and development software just to get the device to do what you want. Not only that, you really can not use a program and easily port it from one device to another. That is just not right. Decided to look around for a possible solution to resolve the issue of not being able to create one's own software for the devices. There were basically three criteria. First you had to be easily able to port or move your program from one platform to another. The second was that you did not need an expensive machine and software for software development. Lastly, we did not want to have to be tied to some "APP store" to get our software. So what did we come up with? O'Reilly has some fine books. We prob...