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Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Maximite FUZE
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Geoffg Guru  Joined: 06/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 3194 |
This is early days but a UK company is planning to release a version of the Colour Maximite for the education market. See http://www.fuze.co.uk/showprod/19 It is not cheap but it includes the case, keyboard, breadboard, etc - just what you need for teaching kids the fundamentals of programming and electronics. Geoff Geoff Graham - http://geoffg.net |
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djuqa Guru Joined: 23/11/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 447 |
Sounds great Looks like a modern BBC micro Congrats Geoff VK4MU MicroController Units |
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Grogster Admin Group  Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Starting to look like the old Home Computers!!!! That is the same basic shape that many of them looked like including Commodore 64, VIC20 and Atari. Good stuff.  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| paceman Guru Joined: 07/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1329 |
Breadboard, GPIO and Arduino connectors all sitting there up front and the CMM in the box - along with MMBasic it should make a very versatile educational unit. Good to see more recognition of your effort Geoff. As you say, the price is a bit steep though. Greg |
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MicroBlocks Guru Joined: 12/05/2012 Location: ThailandPosts: 2209 |
I was a bit upset, because that is one of the enclosures i am working on! Until i saw the price. Big sigh of relief! I was planning a price about half of that! My TZBlox idea is to have an enclosure very similar but in the top you can put 'Blox' with specific functionality. One of the reasons why i am trying to make everything as small as possible and with the 50mm maximum size in one direction. It seems that ideas always catch on with more people at the same time. I have a release date to be brought forward.  Microblocks. Build with logic. |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
Yeah..... Cute, but a bit on the pricey side. Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2350 |
what is the cheapest small PS2 keyboard anyone has happened across? seems that with a small enough keyboard and a box made out of laser-cut ply, one could come up with an equivalent. |
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| paceman Guru Joined: 07/10/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1329 |
Why put a new keyboard on it? It probably triples the size of the overall unit and doubles the price. Many families will have old PS2 keyboards at home and if not, a phonecall to a computer recycling facility would get a school hundreds (thousands ?) of full size PS2 keyboards for peanuts. |
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Gizmo Admin Group Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
I can see the merrit of including the keyboard, PS2 keyboards are becoming less common. By including the keyboard you make it easier for the student to get up and going. Also teachers would like all students working with the same hardware. And the FUSE is more compact than a Maximite + keyboard combination, teachers would like that too. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 3802 |
Wow, it is indeed expensive. Oddly, same price as RPi version. Not out till April and who knows if that date will be hit. TZA - I wouldn't worry or rush. John |
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boss Senior Member  Joined: 19/08/2011 Location: CanadaPosts: 268 |
Good morning, The price seems to be from a distant universe. Otherwise nice idea. boss |
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bigmik Guru Joined: 20/06/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2914 |
Gday Robert, A quick search found this unit... Purports to be a PS2 k/b but reading the specs say its USB interface, I assume it works via an adapter but its cheap enough. PS2 Keyboard Another nicer looking USB keyboard is this one but it may or may not work with PS2 adapter. USB Keyboard Regards, Mick Mick's uMite Stuff can be found >>> HERE (Kindly hosted by Dontronics) <<< |
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| djuqa Guru Joined: 23/11/2011 Location: AustraliaPosts: 447 |
What we really need is a Small adaptor based on a MCU that is an ACTIVE USB K/B (i.e. USB only) to PS2 Keyboard so any USB Keyboard (including wireless models) can be used with any Maximite. The little dongles only work with those older keyboards that are dual function. VK4MU MicroController Units |
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| MicroBlocks Guru Joined: 12/05/2012 Location: ThailandPosts: 2209 |
Until now with the exception of a no-name keyboard all the ones i have work with the passive converter. And i have 3-4 brand new ones (also the curved one from Microsoft) and they also work. Any specific brand that does not work? There are some small PICs with a USB host on it. Converting to PS/2 should be one of the options. Conversion to I2c or serial would be easy enough to add. The hard part is the USB Host. Maybe microchip has a library made for it in the meantime. I still curse the day USB took over from PS/2. It was way simpler AND better. Microblocks. Build with logic. |
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| shoebuckle Senior Member Joined: 21/01/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 189 |
The Fuze is a great idea. In my view, the MM, and others like it, are exactly what is needed to teach youngsters the fundamentals of programming and interfacing a computer with the real world. TZAdvantage, I would certainly be interested in seeing what you come up with. Around half the price of the Fuze would be very acceptable. Are you planning a kit or a fully assembled and tested unit? If it runs standard MMBasic, that would be perfect. Cheers, Hugh |
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| Grogster Admin Group Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 9308 |
I kinda have to agree, but I can see WHY they made the move to USB - get as many peripherals as possible, all on the one common interface - USB, then you can do away wth the PS/2 interface on the motherboard, as it is not needed - another cost saving. Still, I agree with you. I have had more issues getting USB keyboards and mice working, then I EVER had with the PS/2 ones - which just worked. This is PROBABLY because it was a well-established standard when USB came along, so any PS/2 keyboard or mouse, was easily detected and used by any OS you installed. Linux does not seem to have any issues at all with USB KB and Mouse(surprise surprise!), but Windoze often had issues and special KB and Mouse drivers were often needed. Let me repeat that Windoze HAD issues - Win7 and Win8 both seem to pick up USB KB and Mice without any issues, but XP and earlier - it could be a battle. I even had a couple of motherboards that would not support USB KB at BIOS level(pretty sure they ALL support USB KB nowadays), even though they supported BOTH in the OS, meaning that if you needed into the BIOS, and the client was using a USB KB, you had to leave the job, find a PS/2 one, bring that back, plug it in - just to get into the BIOS.  Smoke makes things work. When the smoke gets out, it stops! |
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| MicroBlocks Guru Joined: 12/05/2012 Location: ThailandPosts: 2209 |
Hi Hugh, The board with the microcontroller on it will be fully assembled. It will then be fully functional and tested. I am not so sure kits with smd parts are popular, but if someone wants one i can always make a kit. It would be a learning experience by itself to build a computer. The experience level however should be a bit higher. I am sending the board designs to the pcb factory end of this week for some prototypes. Once those are received, build and checked, i probably need to make some small tweaks and then it should be ready as a product. The enclosure with the keyboard runs parallel with that, actually i will receive the first keyboard samples any day now. I will update when progress is made. Jean Microblocks. Build with logic. |
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| isochronic Guru Joined: 21/01/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 689 |
Reality check ... a small mobile phone or tablet costs less, and does more, than MM etc. And writing apps is catching on.. Retro computers might be fun but it is unfair to flog them as equivalent to standard present day requirements. It is bizarre, that quantitative skills and exactitude are fundamental to education in science and engineering, but even the difference between integers and floating point is increasingly ignored or glossed over. |
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| MicroBlocks Guru Joined: 12/05/2012 Location: ThailandPosts: 2209 |
All the more reason to study it. I still have a big advantage over other programmers that started in school with Pascal and Java only because i had my start with a TRS-80 that was very quickly dismantled to see what is inside. :) The fresh ones out of university know very little what is happening on a lower level, but many times that is where the advantage can be got. Programmers are starting to learn how to be a user, by only using predefined objects that can be used out of the box. The ones making those objects however need a much better understanding of hardware and low level programming, and not many people who can do that are existing. That gap in knowledge can be perfectly covered by a maximite. Small anecdote,a few years ago, i was hiring a programmer. Requirements: 35+ years old, no formal education only self educated, preferable knowledge about the subject that needed to be automated (transport logistics) and absolutely no experience in Java as that is the main problem. Best practice in that language is terrible, ate least a few years ago, they are starting to see the problem. Found one and he outperformed any Java whizkid that was on a university level. Instead of manipulating a 'black box', be able to make a black box. Microblocks. Build with logic. |
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| isochronic Guru Joined: 21/01/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 689 |
(I was thinking more of the FUZE being promoted for UK use in schools.) It is great to see those PCB(s) being designed and created, but unless people take up SMT, C and so on it will still mainly be a black box approach because it is supplied prebuilt. At a recent meeting someone showed a loop in MM Basic, that used a fractional increment as a loop counter...Are kids really going to be taught that, in schools, as standard practice ? |
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