
BBC Micro Bit computer's final design revealed - jgrahamc
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33409311
======
andrewstuart
I'm uncomfortable with being negative about it, but am I right in
understanding the only display is led lights?

A long time ago I was a kid with an interest in computers and I remember what
it was like and it's hard to imagine this actually being interesting to kids.

It sort of feels like it's trying so hard not to compete with other technology
that it's become kind of pointless. It really should have been able to plug
into a display.

I'd love to be enthused because the initiative is an awesome one but a box
with lights feel like it might be missing the inspiration factor.

It would have been good if they had some sort of Lego-like ability to connect
them to each other or something to encourage kids to hook them up in series
and make them communicate. Heck maybe with Legos permission it should have
been Lego connector compatible so it could be clipped into Lego structures.

Feels like this little device is a bit of a missed opportunity.

~~~
afandian
I just heard an interview on BBC news about this with a teenager. He said:

"You can interact with the code that you've written as opposed to just seeing
it on the screen, just seeing lines of code. You actually know what it does in
real life ... as opposed to something like this, just seeing it running on the
screen or on TV or something"

I can sort of follow that logic. Devices like screens are so normalised now
that they're considered part of the fabric of reality. Of course you could do
something on a computer but it's a thing only on a computer.

I remember making things happen for the first time on a BBC Micro as a child
and being incredibly excited about that. Not least because seeing things on a
screen was still at least a little bit novel.

Ironically, I think that VDUs (that's what they were called at the time!) have
come so far that the contemporary manifestation of novel is technologically*
regressive. But so much more engaging.

EDIT: Also it's small and cheap and everyone can have one without having to
contend for / carry around keyboards and screens.

EDIT 2: I thought I'd transcribe what was actually said:

[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b060zq92](http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b060zq92)
from 40:10

Lauren:

"You can create animations but you can also set it up with your phone so you
can press a button on the microbit it can take a picture or change to the next
song and the fact that everybody else is getting it, it's not just one person,
everyone's going to be learning at the same time so more people will be
interested in it"

Ross:

"It's got a compass, an accelerometer. You can interact with the code that
you've written as opposed to just seeing it on the screen, just seeing lines
of code. You actually know what it does in real life you and you can take it
round with you and wear it like this. So it's a lot more interesting a lot
easier to play around with and you can see the effects of the code pretty
quickly with something like this. As opposed to something like this, just
seeing it running on the screen or on TV or something"

* in terms of IO, not in terms of it having an ARM chip

------
ksymin11
We've been working with the BBC to design the micro:bit and have begun to
create loads of resources for families and teachers here;
[http://twsu.co/microbit](http://twsu.co/microbit).

We'll have much more in the coming months. Hope it's useful!

~~~
david-given
What are the actual technical specifications? I haven't seen a mention yet of
what the processor is, for example.

~~~
sbierwagen
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/microbit/specs](http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/microbit/specs)

~~~
david-given
Thanks --- but _which_ M0 is it? e.g. how much RAM and flash has it got?

~~~
sparkslabs
256K Flash, 16K RAM (8 times more than the prototype) (You can derive this
from photos BTW :) )

------
garethadams
The media pack with finalised technical specifications is at
[http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/microbit](http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/microbit)

------
saw-lau
I can't be the only person why misread the title and got excited thinking
they'd see a schematic or design notes for the original BBC Micro...

~~~
jgrahamc
That came with the BBC Micro when you bought it. Here you go:

[http://goffart.co.uk/museum/schematics/bbc_b.pdf](http://goffart.co.uk/museum/schematics/bbc_b.pdf)

[http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Manual...](http://chrisacorns.computinghistory.org.uk/docs/Acorn/Manuals/Acorn_BBCSMOct85_Sec1.pdf)

~~~
saw-lau
Nice! I was a ZX Spectrum teen myself, which I also remember had lovely
manuals.

~~~
david-given
Curses! Someone mentioned the ZX Spectrum manuals. Now I am morally obliged to
link to the amazing paintings used on the cover.

[http://www.alisoneldred.com/imageJohnHarris-
Prints-2-2064.ht...](http://www.alisoneldred.com/imageJohnHarris-
Prints-2-2064.html)

------
kremlin
What are the benefits of developing a new thing like this rather than using
something existing, like a raspberry pi? Cost?

~~~
makomk
You can use crocodile clips or banana plugs to connect it into experiments
without worrying so much about frying it. I wouldn't suggest trying that with
the Pi - it has 5V pins right next to I/Os that are killed by connecting 5V.
Last I heard, the general consensus amongst users seemed to be that the best
way to get I/O on a Pi for educational purposes was to hook up an Arduino or
compatible and use that.

~~~
aaronem
I should think it'd be safe enough just to use a 40-pin breadboard breakout
and a ribbon cable with a few of the pins (i.e. all the 5V out ones) not
populated. That seems like it should provide all the necessary safety (because
the 5V pins aren't broken out onto the breadboard, and the J8 pins are covered
by the IDC connector), and be a lot cheaper and more transparent than an
Arduino besides.

~~~
makomk
It's less trivial than you might think, because the Pi GPIO connector is
unkeyed and someone will inevitably plug it in backwards (or worse, one row of
pins over in some direction).

~~~
aaronem
It's trivial enough in my usage, which involves a breadboard and a Pi that are
dedicated to one another and never disconnected. I'm not sure why that isn't a
feasible option for educational use; instead of issuing a naked Pi, or a Pi
and an Arduino, just issue a Pi+breadboard pair, already connected together.

If you're especially worried about mishaps, and don't mind modifying hardware
in ways that aren't easily reversible, you could even use adhesive to
permanently fix the IDC connectors in place.

If, conversely, you don't want to permanently connect all the parts to one
another, you could also clip J8 pins 2 and 4 (5VDC) and 39 (one of several
ground pins), and key the Pi-side IDC connector by stuffing the matching holes
with a dab of quick-set epoxy. That by itself will suffice to protect against
inadvertent 5V -> GPIO shorts; if you further use a breakout cable with keyed
IDC connectors (e.g. [1]), and a breadboard breakout with a shrouded, keyed
header (like an old-style IDE connector), then you end up with an entirely
safe system.

And, taking that last idea further, you can get the same safety benefits at
minimum hardware modifications (and no irreversible mods to the Pi) if you
use:

\- a ribbon with keyed connectors;

\- a breakout with a keyed, shrouded header, and pins 2 and 4 removed;

\- and a keyed shroud, such as [2] with the shipped pins removed, press-fitted
to the Pi's J8 header.

On the one hand, the keyed shrouds prevent fumble fingers from inadvertently
misplugging the IDC connectors on either side; on the other, the absence of
pins 2 and 4 on the breakout prevents inadvertent overvolting of GPIO pins.

(And all you need is a bit of protoboard and some solder to make the breakout,
using the pins removed from [2] as the breadboard-side pins of the breakout.
In fact, if you have students old enough to be trusted with soldering irons,
this is not only parsimonious of materials but an excellent teaching
opportunity in its own right!)

Granted, none of these solutions is entirely ideal. The point isn't to provide
a one-size-fits-all; instead, I'm trying to demonstrate that there are plenty
of ways to solve this problem, many of which are less expensive and more user-
transparent than pairing an Arduino with each Pi.

[1] [http://amzn.to/1foCXLy](http://amzn.to/1foCXLy) [2]
[http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity-
AMP/5103...](http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/TE-Connectivity-
AMP/5103311-8/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMs%252bGHln7q6pm%252bE9wskmeR%2fS%2f%252bBwo6Fvzjw%3d)

------
Already__Taken
I know they've asked for intake numbers to issue the correct amount to
students.

What provisions are there for staff to keep some to plan lessons with and
administrators to make sure the network is ready?

When can I buy a backup class set for when kids forget to bring them to a
lesson the teacher required its use?

------
tehbeard
> "its Bluetooth chip to control a DVD player" Are there actually Bluetooth
> DVD players?

~~~
Malcx
The PS3 at least functions as a DVD player and its remote control is
bluetooth. I don't know how feasible that would be to reverse engineer, but
theoretically possible...

------
AstroJetson
I have to say that I like the form factor in this Wired article.
[http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-03/12/bbc-micro-
bit...](http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-03/12/bbc-micro-bit-hands-on)

Looks like the prior iteration would be lots easier to connect outside
sensors/devices to it. The released board has some funky edge connector on it.
I'm guessing there will be a huge secondary market of people selling addon's
that use the connector.

------
talideon
With ARM involved, there's some continuity there with Acorn's original BBC
Micro, which gives me the warm fuzzies.

------
Gonzih
What is default programming language for this device? What language kids will
be learning while tinkeing with this device?

~~~
ntoll
I'm a Python Software Foundation (PSF) fellow working with the BBC on this.
MicroPython ([http://micropython.org](http://micropython.org)) works on the
device. Microsoft also have a TouchDevelop based offering.

------
reidrac
Previously:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9189937](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9189937)

The final design uses 32-bit ARM Cortex-M0, which makes sense but I kind of
liked the old prototype that was AVR based.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Using ARM is nice as a nod to the Micro's Acorn heritage. Although of course
the original Micros used the 6502.

------
userbinator
The exact MCU on it is not mentioned, but I really hope it's something more
open with full documentation available (i.e. not Broadcom.) AVRs are certainly
quite open, but with ARM SoCs there's both; probably more closed than open.

~~~
makomk
Nordic Semi nRF51822, you can see it on the promotional materials. If I
remember correctly the Bluetooth Low Energy stack is a binary blob and
associated registers aren't documented but everything else is and you can in
theory program it with an open source toolchain.

Edit: actually, it looks like even the radio registers may be (somewhat)
documented, with enough detail that someone's written a half-completed open
source BLE stack for it. This is the most open BLE chip I think I've seen.

------
Angostura
The BBC is laying off 1,000 staff and was handed a further £650milion in
budget cuts yesterday. Much as I love this project, I think it should be
halted.

~~~
Brakenshire
They say in this article that it's being funded (at least partly) by
commercial partners:

[http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-03/12/bbc-micro-
bit...](http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-03/12/bbc-micro-bit-hands-on)

------
djhworld
How much license fee payers money was spent on this?

~~~
dan1234
Probably not too much - FTA:

    
    
      While the BBC instigated the project, other organisations - including the chip designer ARM, Barclays Bank, Samsung, Microsoft and Lancaster University - are also providing expertise and funds to bring the scheme to fruition.
    

From a Wired article[0]:

    
    
      We wanted this to be cheap enough to give away," Baker adds. "It's our partners that are funding this, but the funding level is because this is a very low-cost venture. We've gone for that sweet spot of 'what's the minimum we can put on there that gave the maximum benefit for the kids?'"
    

[0][http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-03/12/bbc-micro-
bit...](http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-03/12/bbc-micro-bit-hands-on)

