He likes electronics because they have games. Usually the older games are better for him anyway because they are simpler. Right now his favorites are Worms Armageddon (iPad/PC/N64) and San Francisco Rush 2049 (N64).
Since he doesn't have free access to any of these devices, he is perfectly happy to use whatever we allow at the time ("Daddy, can we play games on the TV from when you were a little boy", referring to a 12" junky CRT for the SNES). I have no doubt he would be thrilled to have some kind of retro computer to use QBasic on, just like I did when I was 8.
You wildly underestimate the power of a child's imagination. The problem is free access to overstimulating contemporary technology, not some intrinsic boringness of old software.
You and he should make "San Francisco Rush 2019" where you jump around from startups to FAANG all the while trying to make enough money to keep up with housing price increases.
> The problem is free access to overstimulating contemporary technology, not some intrinsic boringness of old software.
I feel like that's exactly what the parent comment said.
My kids have always loved retro games too, as well as current games, and they are also interested in programming. But for a decade they've been unable to motivate themselves to actually do the programming. My oldest has asked me to teach him multiple times, and when I help him, it doesn't stick. He doesn't have the patience for code. He chooses to spend his free time playing very high quality games and browsing addictive content on the internet, from an insane vast sea of choice that we never had when we were programming in BASIC.
> You wildly underestimate the power of a child's imagination.
In my experience, that imagination tends not to come out until kids are bored, and produced content keeps them from being bored.
Wait until your kid is actually programming to pass judgement. My son is finally starting to find some patience and just turned 15. It was easier for me when I was 12 because there was nothing else to do.
I also am getting the feeling that the trend is global because I'm involved in hiring, and the younger kids out of school all started programming in college, not in junior high like all my cohorts my age. My group asks specifically at what age candidates started programming. The theory was that early is good because it shows self-motivation, but we're seeing general trends that kids are starting later.
EDIT: BTW, the main motivation for my son's newfound patience for programming, unix, and shells is to escape parental controls and sandboxing.
He likes electronics because they have games. Usually the older games are better for him anyway because they are simpler. Right now his favorites are Worms Armageddon (iPad/PC/N64) and San Francisco Rush 2049 (N64).
Since he doesn't have free access to any of these devices, he is perfectly happy to use whatever we allow at the time ("Daddy, can we play games on the TV from when you were a little boy", referring to a 12" junky CRT for the SNES). I have no doubt he would be thrilled to have some kind of retro computer to use QBasic on, just like I did when I was 8.
You wildly underestimate the power of a child's imagination. The problem is free access to overstimulating contemporary technology, not some intrinsic boringness of old software.