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Kano Ships 18,000 Learn-To-Code Computer Kits
drkim writes Kano Computing is a startup that plays in the learn-to-code space by adding a step-by-step, hand-holding layer atop the Raspberry Pi to make learning about computational thinking child's play. Kano has now shipped all the hardware kits in its first batch of crowdfunded orders and pre-orders. That's around 18,000 kits in all, co-founder Alex Klein confirmed to TechCrunch. The lion's share of the first batch of Kano kits — almost 13,000 kits — were ordered via its Kickstarter campaign last year, with a further 5,000 pre-orders taken via its website. The kits cost $99 (plus shipping) to crowdfunder backers, or around $160 (plus shipping) if pre-ordered on the Kano website. The company plans to focus on selling mainly via its own web channel from here on in, according to Alex.
Come to think of it; it's good to hear about any crowdsourcing project that delivered.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
There was an HDMI cable that we were using in the kit and it was working fine but we cracked it open to see what was inside and we found that the number of cables inside the HDMI cable was like half what it should of been. So we switched that,” said Alex.
“The other one was to do with the Kano keyboard, which has an integrated touchpad and click and the Bluetooth connectivity and USB RS as well. Pretty complicated product. And we have one main supplier for it, who was relying on a couple of sub suppliers for a few components inside. And we did a full factory audit, just before shipping — to gauge social and environmental standards, working conditions. And everyone passed with flying colors But there was one component in the keyboard, the battery, when we went to the factory of the sub supplier it wasn’t up to our ethical standards of how we’d like to manufacture.
“This supplier was very much like China five years ago, so we ditched that supplier.”
Attention to detail - rejecting something that works because it isn't good enough, is impressive. Would I have thought to strip the cable to see if the wire count was up to standard provided it worked? Would I have forced the sub to change battery suppliers? I don't know.
They were two months late due to this, but this is a reasonable time/quality trade-off - especially on a launch product. This is the sort of thing that makes me want to see what they have up next, and the sort of thinking we need more of.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Computers Shmomputers, when I was a kid this is what we used to learn programming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D...
I actually received one of those as a Christmas present back in 1966! It actually was a good learning experience and fun for a nerdy kid.
While the price for the hardware is not awful, they have also built a whole structured environment to help kids learn to code. It's all well and good to simply sit a kid down in front of a Linux box, but unless the parents themselves know how to code, how is one supposed to know where to start the learning process? A tightly restricted H/W platform makes the S/W package tons easier to deploy.
And the intent is that you'll use a TV as the screen, not a monitor (although you certainly could.)