I’ve been a curmudgeon for years about how, back in my day, I had to learn BASIC and DOS to do anything with a computer… which in turn is why I think I learned a hell of a lot about how they work. While I’m all in favor of iPads, it’s just not the same when new users can bypass all of that programming stuff.

Never actually occurred to me that you can just sit a kid in front of a UNIX prompt.

Two years ago, my son Jacob (then 3) and I built his first computer together. I installed Debian on it, but never put a GUI on the thing. It’s command-line, and has provided lots of enjoyment off and on over the last couple of years. The looks of shock I get from people when I explain, as if it’s perfectly natural, that my child has been able to log in by himself to a Linux shell since age 3, are amusing and astounding. Especially considering that it is really not that hard. Instead of learning how to run an Xbox, he’s learned how to run bash.