10th Anniversary: Stan's enlightenment

[meridian]

10 years ago Meridian was in Hobart. I picked up a copy of Silicon Chip (as I usually did each month) and there was Stan's article about the Picaxe 08. And lo, the words reached the ears of many and they did cast aside the venerable 555 for this new smart gadget.

I still have all of those early articles and did a fair bit in those days, even worked out the button command! But of course travelling about the Pacific meant no SC, and no longer having my old radio shack, soldering and other pursuits got a bit hard.

I actually met Stan at a Picaxe Fair organised by SC, sometime around 2005. A lot of water has passed under the keel since those days.

I reckon RevEd owes Stan a percentage of revenues received from the Australasia market .

Thanks Stan.

paulr
(currently in Roxas City, Panay, Philippines)

 

[manuka]

Modest blush! Stan.

 

[Dippy]

Hey, well done Stan!
I bet that keyboard "$" sign must be well worn by now
Speech!

 

[premelec]

Excellent Stan! and I wonder if you were responsible for Peter Anderson picking up on the PICAXE? So many ripples out from one person's enthusiasm - and I've never seen SC but saw Peter's enthusiasm and it's been 9 years of fun for me!

 

[westaust55]

The Silicon Chip Feb 2003 PICAXE article intro : http://archive.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_30294/article.html

 

[manuka]

Peter Anderson ("phanderson" & now of course sadly deceased) & I were certainly in email contact about the time he penned this 2004 "Tinkerers' Delight" overview. This however predates my switch to Gmail following retirement, so without such searchable archives at hand I can't claim any more than a "possible",with "probable" at best. Yes - it's been 10 years but PICAXEs still triumph for both newbies & quick proof of concept needs.

As folks may expect me to come up with another winner, I've been pondering assorted Raspberry Pi approaches, but overall haven't yet become enthusiastic about this platform for high school level education. However RPi certainly cut the mustard for folks with electrons in their blood (myself included).Silicon Chip should be running a lengthy can-do article on them soon in fact.

The RPi rationale essentially related to pre university enthusing about programming/computer science I recall, which to my mind is maybe better covered with cheap used netbooks/laptops that are capable of running the likes of C Sharp. You can't beat the self contained nature & gorgeous screen of 2008-2011 era HP mini style netbooks! As these increasingly now have shot batteries, & with swish tablets replacing netbooks for portable needs,used netbooks sell here in NZ for just US$50-$100 (= ~the cost of a RPi "rat's nest" setup).

Many IT types simply loath open circuitry -give them data structures, algorithms & IP addresses any day! Wires,soldering,DMMs, board level tinkering,microscopic components and -gasp!- real world interfacing bring most out in a cold sweat...

FWIW my recent exposure to RPi CV output reminded of 1980s era ZX-81 video on an old TV. Why didn't they include VGA (in the style of the Australian Maximite) ? Small VGA screens (14"-15") abound for peanuts,and are ideal for 1:1 applications, while HDMI displays are typically elusive,costly and/or large. Yes- adapters are available,but allow yet more $$ and desk clutter ...