what software to buy for christmas

[minigmh]

Hi all, I want my high school age son to gain an appreciation for electronics. He spends a lot of time on his computer. What software would make a good gift for him? Maybe something that would allow him to create his own programs. Programs that run outside the developer environment so that he can share them with friends. Writing an application that can interact with a breadboard via the USB would be cool.

 

[Megamox]

It's great to see you encouraging your son! Arduino might be a good investment, it's a good mix of software and hardware interfacing. You can buy different kits and you'll end up with a PCB board that plugs into the computer via the USB which you can program with the software that comes with it. It's really remarkable stuff and relatively cheap these days (lots of demonstrations and applications on the internet and youtube). I've never used it myself, but i believe the software is almost like C++, but wrapped within something a little more user friendly and so it's good for people with no programming experience all the way up to advanced. I'm sure Arduino users here will be able to give advice on which kits are good etc.

Megamox

 

[Reloadron]

I agree with Megamox without knowing much about your son. Working with any of the PIC chip type kits can be both educational and rewarding as you get the chip to do things for you. There are also other venues such as writing software for a variety of DIO devices out there.

Ron