[jansan]

No, it's not. This is specifically targeted at kids to learn simple programming. It does not play in the same league as the Raspberry PI.

Programming this thing is amazingly simple. You use a browser based visual editor (at https://makecode.microbit.org/ ), and when finished you download the file and store it on the micro:bit just like storing a file on an USB drive. It will start automatically. Really simple so children see results as fast as possible.

[nottorp]

Gods, how complicated has "simple" become :)

Back in my day, you plugged in your 8 bit computer and it started on a BASIC prompt. It was all self contained.

Also, I had to walk uphill to school in the snow, both ways.

[dboreham]

Lived in a shoe too.

[jansan]

You should compare it to programming an EPROM with your 8-Bit computer, because the micros-bit obviously does not have a screen, keyboard or connection for external storage.

[nottorp]

That makes it easier for the kids, I'm sure.

Btw the 8 bit computers I'm talking about connected to the TV. No need to buy a separate screen.

Now if only modern tvs would accept a digital connection to a computer... oh wait...

[jansan]

I know what you mean, I still have my Commodore 64 and it still works, even the Competition pro does. And I still have S.E.U.C.K., which can be seen as the ancestor of Scratch, on floppy disk.

[MarcScott]

There's also a great addon for Scratch, which means you can make visual games where the micro:bit is used as a controller, for example.

[quinkInk]

But that's software not hardware. That could run on a pi. A PI has a 'usb drive' and you could code the OS to 'start the file' as soon as it is downloaded. Were PIs not conceived to be targeted at kids to learn programming ?

[mmoskal]

You can't run Pi on batteries (at least not for long). If you want any input or output device, you'll have to buy it, which makes it difficult/expensive to embed in projects (eg https://makecode.microbit.org/projects/toys).

Also you can program a micro:bit from a Pi :)