Kano Review

I wanted to post about Kano computers today.  I don't get any revenue from anyone for discussing products.  It's an excellent investment for my kids to learn about programming and technology.  I just like this one enough that I want to share it in case someone else is interested in their kids learning about programming and technology.  This one is relatively inexpensive for what it is.

I want my children to be familiar with technology because that's where we are now, and where we're headed in the future.  It doesn't matter what field people go into now.  Everyone should at least have basic experience with computers.

My spouse sent me a link to the Kano computer website.  We'd been discussing teaching the kids python programming and Linux. I was a little skeptical, looking at the website.  A Kano is a computer that kids can make themselves.  It's not as difficult as one would think.  It comes with directions.  The computer is a Raspberry Pi II.

https://www.raspberrypi.org

Basically, the kids can see the inside of the computer.  They just put together the case, the speaker, and they plug it into a monitor, and the wall.

http://us.kano.me/products/kano-kit

I'd seen Raspberry Pis before, so I decided to go ahead and order a few.  I've been meaning to order a Pi for myself anyway, to get familiar with it.

I'm now glad that I did.  I love how easy they are to put together.  We ordered screen kits as well.  The screens are nice because you can sit them on your lap instead of having them on the table, and the Raspberry Pi snaps into place on the bottom of the screen.  They are High Definition Screens as well.  The keyboard is just the right size for little hands, as well as small adult hands.  The keyboards have a trackpad and a button to click, so no separate mouse is needed unless your child is more comfortable with a mouse.  The mouse would have to be a USB mouse though.

I would suggest getting a USB hub if you want to have more USB ports.  It only has four to begin with, and two are used, one for the keyboard, and the other for the WiFi dongle.

The little cardboard insert that they include to label the buttons keeps falling off.  It's a minor inconvenience as long as you remember what the buttons do.

The speakers were a little annoying to put into place.  It takes a little finesse to get them properly aligned.  I had to help each of my children with this part.  Also, they are not USB speakers.  My eldest son's speaker has stopped working already.  (I think that it's because he keeps unplugging it from the wall instead of shutting it down properly.)  We are thinking about purchasing separate USB speakers instead of using the ones that came with it.

The games on the Kano seem to be keeping my children interested in playing with it.  They mostly like the Minecraft game that came with it, but the Terminal game is fun as well, and it teaches the Linux Terminal.  They haven't tried the other games that were included.  I guess that the app-like logos haven't been enticing enough for them to want to try those.

I played with the music game a little bit.  I didn't really find it to be entertaining because of the quality of the speakers.  I think that if the speakers were better that it might be fun.

The Kano forums are good.  You can visit them to download updates to the current games, get new game/projects, and share your current work.

I had a little glitch with the shipping, ordering around the holidays, but we got them in time for Christmas, and the customer support was superb.

I purchased a Kano for myself as well.  I plan on trying to install either Raspbian or Windows 10 IoT on it.  It should work, given that it's a Raspberry Pi II.  The Kano software that it comes with is great for kids, and if you're unfamiliar with Linux, the Terminal game will help you learn the command line, but you might get bored.  It isn't advanced, yet.  Too many people often forget the importance of basics, though, and I think that this is a fun way to learn them.  It just depends on what kind of person you are.  The Terminal game reminds me of Zork, and I loved that game.  I admittedly spent an hour or two playing that game, myself.

Overall, I would give this an 8/10.  There are a couple of things that could be better, but for the most part, it's excellent.