So, found myself with an accidental(ly on purpose) annual leave day.
I have always wanted to learn computer programming, but apart from writing some very basic code on a ZX Spectrum emulator running on an Amiga in the mid 90s when i was a child, having found a ZX Spectrum programming book belonging to my Dad in the loft and literally copying what was listed in the book onto the computer, I have never been able to achieve this goal.
I was on the waiting list for the Raspberry Pi last year and it truly is a wonderful machine but I'm the kind of person who needs to be shown what to do a couple of times and I don't have the hours to sit an experiment with code, I keep promising myself that one day I will, that day is yet to come.
I have an 11 year old step son who is computer game obsessed; Xbox 360, iPad, Ps3 and my MacBook Pro. He's a smart kid, I think programming would be good for him! I have tried many times to sit with him and show him the little basics I know in the hope that one day, like me as a kid, he will just pick something up, maybe my MacBook or the raspberry pi and start fiddling with code and the system finding out how it works and what it can do however he seems wholly unimpressed. He just wants to pop a game into the machine or click an icon and away he goes. In fact my 10 year old step daughter seems more interested, she didn't get up half way through making a simple game using Scratch to go and watch Coronation Street at least!
I decided to take the kids, including my 4 year old to the Geek 2013 show in Margate I didn't know what to expect, so went with an open mind. Plus the Website said there was a chance to win Minecraft goodies! Minecraft is flavour of the month in my house, I downloaded it on the MacBook and played it for all of 6 minutes before getting hopelessly bemused and confused, however the 11 year old loves it and actually spent an entire productive half term day watching videos on YouTube of some guy playing it?!
I guess my proudest moment at the show was in the lower hall where they have loads of various retro computers set up, I'd say there were in excess of 100 there ranging from the BBC micro, where you had to input the code in for yourself in order to run program's, up to the Xbox 360 with many consoles in between including some Dreamcast's and Ataris. As I began, my proudest moment (at the show) was the 4 year old walking straight up to an Amiga 600 and getting stuck straight into a game! The Amiga 600 was my first computer! (I think my Dad had Spectrums when I was very young)
The older two made their way straight to the Minecraft area and waited patiently, they waited, waited some more and then some more. I spoke to one of the guys running it and he explained that it was really busy (I had kind of gathered that) he went on to tell me that if I had a laptop with me then I could plug into his server and play. There were only 6 machines set up to play Minecraft, I am new to this whole computer game club thing but I didn't know I had to bring a laptop with me? He was a pleasant guy and I asked him about the competitions, as advertised on their website, also the main reason the kids wanted to go. He went on to explain that today there would be two competitions one at 1pm to win a t-shirt and another at 3pm. The kids and I agreed to go back at about 12:45 in order to get a go. The competition was to build something Geek related, the 11year old seemed excited about this.
We arrived back at 12:40 to a packed Minecraft area, all 6 computers were in use and a few even had pushy kids with even pushier parents hassling the kids who had queued to get a go to hurry up and let them have their turn. This was a shame as I feel staff should have set the kids an amount of time to make their Minecraft creation then let the others have a go. The 11 year old even pointed out to me that some people were not even creating things. In the end both of the older kids got fed up of waiting , I was having to keep the 4 year old occupied during this, with the help of a spectrum 128k and Sensible Soccer on the CD32. Both of the older kids ended up playing Table Football, a real life not computer generated, wooden football table.
During this time I noticed and ended up buying something a little special, a real blast from the past!
More on that later!!!
Whilst the kids were occupied with table football I had a wonder around I spoke to a guy exhibiting a Fignition https://sites.google.com/site/libby8dev/fignition which os a DIY 8 bit computer!! This looks like a very interesting bit of kit and I can't wait to have a play with it! It is designed to be completely assembled by the end user and programmed! It is pretty small and includes a keyboard and video and audio out (and in) ill write up a post with a review shortly.
Can anyone suggest a decent starter soldering iron??
There were a couple of indie game developers there unfortunately I didn't get the chance to talk to them (probably cause so much of my time was taken up queueing for Minecraft) but I really wish them the best and have nothing but admiration for what they are doing!
To sum it up, there were some cool stalls, I was very impressed by the Fignition and by the various retro computers, wether this is everyone's cup of tea I don't know. The kids were very disappointed by the whole Minecraft situation, they were really looking forward to having the chance to talk to someone about the game and have the chance to win some prizes! It was the sole reason they wanted to go! If I had of sold it to them as a load of old computers and a computer you have to build yourself with a soldering iron then I doubt they would have come!
I'm still not sure it was worth £30 entrance for an adult and two kids but I'm glad they came cause if I had of wandered around the show by myself I would have felt like a right Geek!!!
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