By the time you read this, I will have celebrated the 65th anniversary of my birth. I started programming in 1969, so this year makes 46 years of writing code. Many people ask me if I still write code, and I do, but mostly for my own use rather than the use of others. Of course, I also administer the computers that I use in my office and home – partly to keep up to date with things happening in the FOSS world, and partly because I enjoy it.

When I started programming, many computers were still using vacuum tubes to do the calculations, and I remember both programming a "computer" using a plug board and wires as well as building a controller for a wire-making machine out of relays. Later, core memory replaced vacuum tubes and relays for memory, and still later integrated circuits replaced core memory for power, space, cost, and heat considerations.

Recently, the BBC announced their newest design for the micro:bit – a computer that is only 4cm x 5cm and runs off batteries. The computer is so inexpensive to make that the plan is simply to give one to every seventh grader. They can then program the device through a website and download the program to the micro:bit. The intent of this initiative is not to generate millions of "professional" programmers but to help students learn how to program and (perhaps) organize their thoughts and problems so that a programmer can more easily solve the problem later. Or, perhaps the students will learn enough about simple problem-solving techniques to solve problems themselves, just as they learn to use electronic calculators and spreadsheets.

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