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nacho_weekend

46 karma · joined July 14, 2014

Software Engineer, big data tech
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nacho_weekend··on How we turn $199 Chromebooks into Ubuntu-based code learning machines for kids
To the contrary of your third point, having minecraft on the machine is brilliant.

Kids are playing minecraft whether you want them to or not. They'll find a way to play it on a tablet, on an Xbox, playstation, iPod, what have you. Having it on this particular machine gives them an incentive to be in close proximity to relatively fun coding tools. In other words - come for the minecraft, stay for the coding.

It also opens kids minds up to "how was this game made"? If you juxtapose the game next to the tools teaching you how to make it, kids will be exponentially more likely to invest time and interest in those tools. Plain and simple. Not to mention that minecraft is inherently beneficial for that creative, engineering mindset - seems like an obvious, fun pairing.

nacho_weekend··on StreetScore scores a street view based on how safe it looks to a human
Interesting program. This info needs to be taken with a grain of salt, or somehow correlate to existing statistical information on certain neighborhoods - I doubt ~400 W 63rd Street in Chicago is a 9.1. The theory of it is great for visualization, and I'd love to see more incorporated data in the future.
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