Learning Python: Child’s Play with RUR-PLE!

http://rur-ple.sourceforge.net/en/rur.htm

Learning to program computers should be fun, for adults and children alike. RUR-PLE is an environment designed to help you learn computer programming using the language Python. Within an artificial world in which a robot can be programmed to perform various tasks, you will learn what it means to write a computer program, using Python’s syntax. You will also be able to apply your programming skills in a more traditional environment using the built-in interpreter

There are also some videos explaining how to use RUR-PLE:

http://showmedo.com/videos/video?name=rurple1_andreR&fromSeriesID=15

Podcasting with Audacity: Creating a Podcast With Free Audio Software

http://www.webreference.com/multimedia/editing_podcasts/

A walk through some of the most common podcast editing tasks that you will want to perform with Audacity.

Mike Dawson’s Game Programming Site

http://www.programgames.com/

Over 145 million Americans play computer and video games because it’s an absolute blast. So what could be more rewarding than playing games? Taking your gaming passion to the next level by creating your own, of course.

Mike Dawson, author of multiple books on games and programming, teaches game programming classes for students of all ages.

Check out the gallery to see what you might accomplish, even if you’ve never written a single line of code before.

TED Conference videos

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/list/page/1

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Some especially good ones:

1. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/9 – Dean Kamen: Rolling along, helping students and the third world

2. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/14 Golan Levin: The truly soft side of software

The Skills That Pay the Bills

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&tax
onomyName=Careers&articleId=299652&taxonomyId=10&intsrc=kc_li_story

Though we hear frequent accounts of technical professionals enduring long
job searches, a Computer World article says it’s a job hunter’s market if
you come equipped with the right skills. The article lists several areas of
expertise that, according to Kevin Scott, senior engineering manager at
Google, “companies are snapping up as fast as they can grab them.” No matter
the specialty, the most highly prized candidates seem to be the ones who
understand how their wireless designs, software applications, or other
technical contributions will operate in the context of a network.

Pleo robot

http://wingware.com/wingide-101http://www.amazon.com/Pleo-Dinosaur-Ugobe-Life-Form/dp/B000RWEGCO/

and

http://www.pleoworld.com/

Soon to be release robot that is very life-like and not very expensive, considering what it can do.

Free Wing IDE for Python beginners

http://wingware.com/wingide-101

Wing IDE 101 is a free basic edition of Wing IDE that was designed with the University of Toronto Computer Science Department for teaching entry level computer science courses with Python. It omits much of the feature set of Wing IDE Professional and introduces some simplifications appropriate for beginners.