Build your own computer with a step-by-step book, Raspberry Pi 3, programmable LED lights, DIY case, power button, wireless keyboard with track pad, 8GB MicroSD card, HDMI and power cables, stickers, Kano operating system, 100+ coding challenges, and 100+ apps
Plugs into any HDMI screen. Browse the internet, watch YouTube, write stories, 100+ apps, with 3 levels of parental controls
1x Raspberry Pi PCB
1x Case
1x Light board
1x Power supply
1x Power cable
1x HDMI cable
1x Set of books and stickers
1x 8GB microSD card
1x Power button
1x Wireless keyboard
@Oneroundrobb- Yea, that’s my state of affairs. I get low on cash this time of the month. My gift giving was low, but my Liquor & Beer bill was a bit higher than normal! Meh should offer the higher priced @ the beginning of the month. Come on meh, help us retired oldies & disabled vets out. I guess i shoulda posted this as my comment! My Bad, Oneroundrobbin!!
My only minor quibble is with the SD card. 8GB is not unusable, but it doesn’t leave a ton of room for your data.
$35 for the Pi and roughly $34 of accessories. The bluetooth keyboard is the most expensive part at around $15. Plus a couple of bucks for the case, a couple of bucks for the SD card, a few more for the cable, and that light board is probably $10 or so in bulk. Overall not a bad deal.
@craigthom@evbarnstormer I hope you guys are right because I have a high school senior that is terrified of computers. I hope this gets her on better terms with technology.
/giphy secretive-filthy-brandy
@craigthom@sammydog01 save all the links from the writeup! This is all linux based so hopefully won’t be too overwhelming to someone shy about computers, but the best tech skill one can learn is how to find the right answer.
Flabbergasted. My wife and I paid $130 + tax for this exact set as my (7 y.o.) daughter’s primary Christmas gift. She absolutely loved putting it together and getting it working. She is less thrilled that our dog ate the power button. I’m considering buying another kit as a hot spare in the inevitable event the dog decides to snack on something else from the kit.
If you have a kid, you really ought to buy one of these if you can spare the money. It’s really a fun and subversively educational gift.
@BumbleBee IMO, 7 is perfect. The thing goes together like a Lego kit. When it comes to the games, a 7-year-old might need a little help reading some of the words on the screen it they’re not a strong reader yet, but it’s 185% worth the time to help them along. Then again, they could probably school us when they hit Minecraft…
I bought a pi @ target last summer, and the accessory pieces from Amazon just put of curiosity. I spent a few evenings here and there playing around with it, web surfing, but haven’t had free time to do much else. There are hundreds of youtube videos and tons of information out there with all sorts of cool projects you can use these for.
In for 2 - or maybe I should say “2 more”. I bought this exact kit for my 9 year old’s birthday this year. The Kano games are actually a means to teach the player specific computing skills. She was scooting around the OS in an afternoon without realizing that she learned anything useful.
So, I’m setting one of these Kanos aside for me so that I can better learn my way around Linux-based OSes. I’m get a little more fed-up with Microsoft’s nonsense with every passing Patch Tuesday. I’m tired of getting buggy “improvements”, useless new tools and apps, and practically untested patches crammed down my throat. I’m tired of holding my breath to see if a patch blows out software that I use regularly or deletes my user files or prevents my video drivers from working. Microsoft is convinced that they know more about what we want that WE do, and they’ll never listen to reason as long as corporate dollars speak louder.
So, I’m beyond ready to ditch Windows 10, but I’m not comfortable enough with Linux-based OSes yet, so tinkering with drivers, etc. is a tad beyond my current comfort level. I want to have enough skill to feel comfortable tinkering to make my craft machines run. I know there are good emulators out there (WINE, etc.), but again, I’d feel more comfortable with a little more basic knowledge under my belt. That’s worth every penny.
I can better learn my way around Linux-based OSes.
Just install Ubuntu from the Windows Store. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/ubuntu/9nblggh4msv6 Yes, it’s real Ubuntu with the official packages from the Ubuntu repo. (Caveat: well, to see the UI you need some X client, so it’s more console-oriented). It can be useful sometimes, since the shell and command line utils are better. You can also just enable Hyper-V, create a VM and install Linux there. It’s very straightforward, but I can help you on your way if you want.
if a patch blows out software that I use regularly
Pro tip: A ninja cannot blow out your software if it does not exist in the first place,
lol^2 Tell that to Linus Torvalds
How about your non-working video drivers deleting your user files? Automation!
I want to have enough skill to feel comfortable tinkering to make my craft machines run. I’d feel more comfortable with a little more basic knowledge under my belt. That’s worth every penny.
Go for it ASAP. Learning is great.
And the more you know, the less polarized you’ll become. You’ll learn that every system has its own quirks. It’s own ways to make you go “WTF?! Why would anyone do that?”. You’ll learn strengths and weaknesses of different systems and tools.
Very tempting. But I have two Pi 3 B’s, one of which I bought during a mehrathon and have still not used. I’ve got an 8-hour drive to start. We’ll see how I feel when it’s over.
Take a closer look at that keyboard, as it has some pretty crucial differences from your standard 104-key layout. The brackets, braces, pipe, colon, and semicolon are chorded keypresses on the number row. Trying to write JS, Java, or any C-like language on this thing would be an exquisite nightmare. Heck, you’re going to have a rough time writing a Bash script if it gives you terminal access.
I don’t know what kinds of programming languages this intends to teach children, but doing so on that keyboard just might qualify as child abuse.
@masterhibb An eager child won’t be bothered by bad keyboard layouts. For the first few years the Pi was available, it wasn’t uncommon to come across a child using an American layout keyboard with the OS configured for British layout. This misconfiguration puts a half dozen keys in the wrong place. The kids weren’t afraid to hit wrong keys, so they just tried them all and found where those symbols were. The OS defaulted to a British keyboard, and it wasn’t obvious that you could use raspiconfig to change it.
This keyboard layout is labeled, so there isn’t really a challenge.
Adults like me are not so flexible. I have a collection of keyboards. If I don’t like the keyboard on a student’s Pi, I plug in one I like. Actually I often plug in a second keyboard so we can both type without swapping the keyboard back and forth. Good for commands like sudo apt-get install vim
@hamjudo Not only that, but checking out some of the coding challenges on their site, a lot of it is drag-n-drop graphical programming, which this would be perfectly adequate for. It would also be a great starting point for anyone wanting to stream videos off of a NAS or another computer, or emulate retro games (might want to grab a couple heat sinks if you’re into that, though).
For the target market, it looks fine. That said, any adult (or young adult) looking to learn programming beyond the basic fundamentals or learn Linux will find a key component of this kit exceedingly frustrating, and at that point, I would recommend purchasing a RasPi by itself, especially if you already have some of the components of this kit (like a keyboard and HDMI cable, which is really all the rest of this kit contains–get a bigger SD card, too, as you will open yourself up to more Linux options). Just remember to get a RasPi-specific power supply, as they are higher-powered than even a generic fast-charging USB adapter.
I can now demonstrate real 'puters to my students in a proper manner. Now I only need permission to veer from my usual teaching position to go with it. Please, please stamp out state mandated testing so I can!!! Thank you.
@ML The first step in serious education reform is electing legislators that realize that public education is important and a good thing. Here in Michigan, legislators wrote laws with the assumption that teachers and students were the enemy. Or at least it sure seemed that way.
I must be missing something. A pi3 is only $35. OS is free. An SD card is $5 a case is $5. And who doesn’t have spare SD cards and HDMI cables. A case isn’t required. Everyone must already have a non crappy keyboard to plug in. It doesn’t need to be wireless for this use case Or just ssh in. $69 sounds nuts for what this is. Never mind $130.
@unksol Agreed. I’ve been wondering why this type of kit is so expensive ever since I first saw one at a tech conference. Pi-Ceed, Pi-Top, et al are far too overpriced for what they are. The most expensive piece of equipment in these kits by far is the display, and as a manufacturer, you’d think these companies would be able to get them for less than retail. Don’t get me wrong, I fully support what these kits are aimed at doing. It’s just that I think the price point excludes the vast majority of kids/students that could truly benefit from these kits.
Mine (finally) says “Shipped”!!
Poor the MEH, (avalanche of orders and emails recently) too much success
Delivery date is Just in time for my grandson’s birthday
Thanks, Mr. Meh, my grandson should be delighted.
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Raspberry Pi PCB
1x Case
1x Light board
1x Power supply
1x Power cable
1x HDMI cable
1x Set of books and stickers
1x 8GB microSD card
1x Power button
1x Wireless keyboard
Price Comparison
$99 at Amazon
Warranty
1 Year Kano
Estimated Delivery
Monday, July 20th - Friday, July 24th
@lichme who wants a body massage?
@travo Pork Chop Sandwiches!
@lichme I watched the shit out of all the PSAs in like 2007, it’s so great to see it referenced recently
All the Fensler Film PSAs are gathered here.
https://www.youtube.com/user/FenslerfilmPreserve/videos
I was actually looking into this for my niece for Christmas, but you are too late meh. TOO LATE!
@ELUNO perfect way to teach her how Christmas doesn’t matter and that it’s a commercial perversion.
Cool
KANO WINS
@SadEthnicChild Flawless Victory.
Hm…
/giphy experienced-auburn-wombat
@dj_m I want a wombat now! Do they grow up to become big and ugly and mean or do they stay small and cute and friendly like that one?
@dj_m never mind
pet-wombats
It’s the perfect post-Christmas toy?
Oh, in that it’s educational?
Ugh that’s a sad state of affairs
Kudos you you, Meh-buyers. This is a cool item and I’m glad I don’t know any rug-rats that I could give this to, but if I did I would.
I prefer Apple Pi. Thanks anyway.
Priced perfect for a small cheap htpc system. Runs Kodi perfectly.
In for two.
If it had the RPi B+ instead of the B I’d have bought one. Already have a B.
These are neat little computers!
Wow! A sneak peak into the top-secret I.R.K. processing center:
Please don’t mistake my being broke for disinterest. This is cool and you should definitely keep selling stuff like this.
@Oneroundrobb Agreed! The best item you’ve had in a while, Meh.
@Oneroundrobb- Yea, that’s my state of affairs. I get low on cash this time of the month. My gift giving was low, but my Liquor & Beer bill was a bit higher than normal! Meh should offer the higher priced @ the beginning of the month. Come on meh, help us retired oldies & disabled vets out. I guess i shoulda posted this as my comment! My Bad, Oneroundrobbin!!
In for one for my daughters birthday. thanks Irk!
Load it with RetroPie OS and play video games from pre Atari 2600 to PS1. Good times.
@bluebeatpete
@bluebeatpete @JT954 My kid got a retropie this year because he is older than the intended audience.
This would be like a $45 instabuy
@nolrak agree or even $40… I see these at target on clearance for this ($70) price every year.
My only minor quibble is with the SD card. 8GB is not unusable, but it doesn’t leave a ton of room for your data.
$35 for the Pi and roughly $34 of accessories. The bluetooth keyboard is the most expensive part at around $15. Plus a couple of bucks for the case, a couple of bucks for the SD card, a few more for the cable, and that light board is probably $10 or so in bulk. Overall not a bad deal.
@jandrese You left out the power supply.
LED rings are cheap, but many people would probably appreciate having the wires already soldered to it with connectors on the other end.
@jandrese
Yeah. 128GB !microSD! from Sandisk (Good) was ~$20 this winter.
You don’t need a child to have fun with this. If I didn’t already have a surplus of Raspberry Pi and other SBCs I’d get one.
@craigthom completely agree. I have too much of this stuff already but for anyone considering it, it’s a good set and not just for kids.
@craigthom @evbarnstormer I hope you guys are right because I have a high school senior that is terrified of computers. I hope this gets her on better terms with technology.
/giphy secretive-filthy-brandy
@craigthom @sammydog01 save all the links from the writeup! This is all linux based so hopefully won’t be too overwhelming to someone shy about computers, but the best tech skill one can learn is how to find the right answer.
@evbarnstormer @sammydog01 I don’t know if this will create interest. It will be a lot of fun for people already interested.
I would totally buy this if it were $50. It is worth $69, but I already have raspberry pis. It does not appear to be a raspberry pi 3 B+ .
I have the original Kickstarter version of this kit. They are well built and packaged kits. I think I am in for at least 1.
Christmas killed my wallet. Bring this back in May…meh…and I’ll buy for sure
Flabbergasted. My wife and I paid $130 + tax for this exact set as my (7 y.o.) daughter’s primary Christmas gift. She absolutely loved putting it together and getting it working. She is less thrilled that our dog ate the power button. I’m considering buying another kit as a hot spare in the inevitable event the dog decides to snack on something else from the kit.
If you have a kid, you really ought to buy one of these if you can spare the money. It’s really a fun and subversively educational gift.
@mrallen1 Interesting–is 7 y.o. consider within recommended age for this?
@BumbleBee spec list says 6 and over… If they can build Lego kits they can handle this
@BumbleBee IMO, 7 is perfect. The thing goes together like a Lego kit. When it comes to the games, a 7-year-old might need a little help reading some of the words on the screen it they’re not a strong reader yet, but it’s 185% worth the time to help them along. Then again, they could probably school us when they hit Minecraft…
@BumbleBee yes and my daughter is an excellent reader and already does Minecraft things because of her older brother lol
I bought a pi @ target last summer, and the accessory pieces from Amazon just put of curiosity. I spent a few evenings here and there playing around with it, web surfing, but haven’t had free time to do much else. There are hundreds of youtube videos and tons of information out there with all sorts of cool projects you can use these for.
I hope these sell well, to encourage Meh to offer more of this kind of thing instead of headphones and T-shirts over and over.
@Steve7654 Blank t-shirts for that matter.
@Steve7654 We’ll be back to the days of Speaker Dock Fridays and candy corn bundles.
Damn, was hoping this was the pi 3 b+. Oh well buy anyway.
For all those who already have a Pi, the Kano OS and books are available to download free: http://developers.kano.me/downloads/
That said, the accessories that come with this seem to be worth the price of admission.
@djslack
Interesting these pop up now…next years christmas light display might be running off these things.
This is a way better use of my money than those tumblers I almost bought yesterday.
/image overwhelming-rural-cable
Had to click twice
Great place to advertise Quip
This is a good item. Very versatile little computer for adults, let alone kids.
In for 2 - or maybe I should say “2 more”. I bought this exact kit for my 9 year old’s birthday this year. The Kano games are actually a means to teach the player specific computing skills. She was scooting around the OS in an afternoon without realizing that she learned anything useful.
So, I’m setting one of these Kanos aside for me so that I can better learn my way around Linux-based OSes. I’m get a little more fed-up with Microsoft’s nonsense with every passing Patch Tuesday. I’m tired of getting buggy “improvements”, useless new tools and apps, and practically untested patches crammed down my throat. I’m tired of holding my breath to see if a patch blows out software that I use regularly or deletes my user files or prevents my video drivers from working. Microsoft is convinced that they know more about what we want that WE do, and they’ll never listen to reason as long as corporate dollars speak louder.
So, I’m beyond ready to ditch Windows 10, but I’m not comfortable enough with Linux-based OSes yet, so tinkering with drivers, etc. is a tad beyond my current comfort level. I want to have enough skill to feel comfortable tinkering to make my craft machines run. I know there are good emulators out there (WINE, etc.), but again, I’d feel more comfortable with a little more basic knowledge under my belt. That’s worth every penny.
/giphy gratifying-futile-beginner
@fait
Just install Ubuntu from the Windows Store. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/ubuntu/9nblggh4msv6 Yes, it’s real Ubuntu with the official packages from the Ubuntu repo. (Caveat: well, to see the UI you need some X client, so it’s more console-oriented). It can be useful sometimes, since the shell and command line utils are better. You can also just enable Hyper-V, create a VM and install Linux there. It’s very straightforward, but I can help you on your way if you want.
Pro tip: A ninja cannot blow out your software if it does not exist in the first place,
https://github.com/MrMEEE/bumblebee-Old-and-abbandoned/commit/a047be85247755cdbe0acce6f1dafc8beb84f2ac#diff-3fbb47e318cd8802bd325e7da9aaabe8L351
lol^2 Tell that to Linus Torvalds
How about your non-working video drivers deleting your user files? Automation!
Go for it ASAP. Learning is great.
And the more you know, the less polarized you’ll become. You’ll learn that every system has its own quirks. It’s own ways to make you go “WTF?! Why would anyone do that?”. You’ll learn strengths and weaknesses of different systems and tools.
First time trying this
/giphy flowery-pure-shandy
In for one… I’m a sucker for Raspberry Pis, and for trying to get my kids interested in this stuff.
/giphy untalented-gawky-thread
Very tempting. But I have two Pi 3 B’s, one of which I bought during a mehrathon and have still not used. I’ve got an 8-hour drive to start. We’ll see how I feel when it’s over.
Well, I have an original PI I’ve never used… but this comes with stuff, and maybe the kids will have fun with it…
/buy
@D_a_v_e
/giphy frankly-obese-lamp
@D_a_v_e wow. That lava lamp isn’t even plugged in!
Meh, even if my kid doesn’t like it, it’s a good upgrade to my original Pi.
/giphy answer-stiff-dirt
Take a closer look at that keyboard, as it has some pretty crucial differences from your standard 104-key layout. The brackets, braces, pipe, colon, and semicolon are chorded keypresses on the number row. Trying to write JS, Java, or any C-like language on this thing would be an exquisite nightmare. Heck, you’re going to have a rough time writing a Bash script if it gives you terminal access.
I don’t know what kinds of programming languages this intends to teach children, but doing so on that keyboard just might qualify as child abuse.
@masterhibb An eager child won’t be bothered by bad keyboard layouts. For the first few years the Pi was available, it wasn’t uncommon to come across a child using an American layout keyboard with the OS configured for British layout. This misconfiguration puts a half dozen keys in the wrong place. The kids weren’t afraid to hit wrong keys, so they just tried them all and found where those symbols were. The OS defaulted to a British keyboard, and it wasn’t obvious that you could use raspiconfig to change it.
This keyboard layout is labeled, so there isn’t really a challenge.
Adults like me are not so flexible. I have a collection of keyboards. If I don’t like the keyboard on a student’s Pi, I plug in one I like. Actually I often plug in a second keyboard so we can both type without swapping the keyboard back and forth. Good for commands like sudo apt-get install vim
@hamjudo Not only that, but checking out some of the coding challenges on their site, a lot of it is drag-n-drop graphical programming, which this would be perfectly adequate for. It would also be a great starting point for anyone wanting to stream videos off of a NAS or another computer, or emulate retro games (might want to grab a couple heat sinks if you’re into that, though).
For the target market, it looks fine. That said, any adult (or young adult) looking to learn programming beyond the basic fundamentals or learn Linux will find a key component of this kit exceedingly frustrating, and at that point, I would recommend purchasing a RasPi by itself, especially if you already have some of the components of this kit (like a keyboard and HDMI cable, which is really all the rest of this kit contains–get a bigger SD card, too, as you will open yourself up to more Linux options). Just remember to get a RasPi-specific power supply, as they are higher-powered than even a generic fast-charging USB adapter.
In for one, I can never have too many pis…expecially with blinkies and a case.
/buy
I will give it a try.
@hamjudo It worked! Your order number is: repulsive-lapping-feast
/image repulsive lapping feast
I can now demonstrate real 'puters to my students in a proper manner. Now I only need permission to veer from my usual teaching position to go with it. Please, please stamp out state mandated testing so I can!!! Thank you.
@ML The first step in serious education reform is electing legislators that realize that public education is important and a good thing. Here in Michigan, legislators wrote laws with the assumption that teachers and students were the enemy. Or at least it sure seemed that way.
Linus’s kid and Linus checking out today’s deal.
I must be missing something. A pi3 is only $35. OS is free. An SD card is $5 a case is $5. And who doesn’t have spare SD cards and HDMI cables. A case isn’t required. Everyone must already have a non crappy keyboard to plug in. It doesn’t need to be wireless for this use case Or just ssh in. $69 sounds nuts for what this is. Never mind $130.
@unksol Agreed. I’ve been wondering why this type of kit is so expensive ever since I first saw one at a tech conference. Pi-Ceed, Pi-Top, et al are far too overpriced for what they are. The most expensive piece of equipment in these kits by far is the display, and as a manufacturer, you’d think these companies would be able to get them for less than retail. Don’t get me wrong, I fully support what these kits are aimed at doing. It’s just that I think the price point excludes the vast majority of kids/students that could truly benefit from these kits.
@unksol This isn’t for you. It’s for kids who are getting into hobbies like this and need a kit. It’s educational and simple.
@TBoneZeOriginal @unksol Hopefully low tech adults too.
/giphy lightning-terrific-jar
I see that Newark is offering a discount on an RPI 3B+ till the 31st:
https://www.newark.com/pi-10percent-discount
So has anyone received theirs yet?
@tijuanajack
Estimated Delivery
Monday, January 14th - Friday, January 18th
Hmmm…my order still says “Processing”. I’m hoping that I don’t get Quip’ed.
Mine (finally) says “Shipped”!!
Poor the MEH, (avalanche of orders and emails recently) too much success
Delivery date is Just in time for my grandson’s birthday
Thanks, Mr. Meh, my grandson should be delighted.
@carlosps
@carlosps YES! I’m pretty excited about mine shipping too. I’m making a computer!
/giphy making a computer
@carlosps That gif does not bode well for my success.
Mine just arrived today, will have to get the kids into it!
@dcNate You must have very small children…