This is the real beauty of the RasberryPi. I heavily doubt that it will in it's default state convince anyone to start controlling their computer. (I explicitly avoid the phrase "Become a programmer" here because it has all sorts of baggage that shouldn't be there but is. "Programming" is really about controlling computers. To say anything else is misleading.) But the range of environments that it allows hacker-types to build and experiment with will be what spawns the renewed interest in deeper interaction with computing systems. At least I hope so.
It's a cheap, more powerful, streamlined Arduino without a lot of the messy bits that make that product and it's kin what they are. (And make no mistake, those bits are what make the product desirable for it's target market.) The ability to fashion something as simple as a BASIC environment without having to sacrifice an expensive computer to do it is key.
But then, you're a part of that sort of hacker phenotype. How would a person who doesn't have that experience know how to do that for their kid? How would they even know that they should do it in the first place?
Once we can answer those questions in a satisfactory manner the world will be a better place.
It's a cheap, more powerful, streamlined Arduino without a lot of the messy bits that make that product and it's kin what they are. (And make no mistake, those bits are what make the product desirable for it's target market.) The ability to fashion something as simple as a BASIC environment without having to sacrifice an expensive computer to do it is key.
But then, you're a part of that sort of hacker phenotype. How would a person who doesn't have that experience know how to do that for their kid? How would they even know that they should do it in the first place?
Once we can answer those questions in a satisfactory manner the world will be a better place.