at least one of the best ways to learn computing was Re: Raspberry Pi

This follows Tony's reply. I have little knowledge of DEC stuff and no knowledge of Beebs. I was sort of surprised that a PDP-8e's boot sequence is very similar to a peecee's, but this is fundamental to computers really, and this I had to learn. Apples and IBMs are somewhat plentiful. The Commie 64 has a bit too much custom logic, even a Mac has less in reality. Not a huge Apple II fan, but it seems to have little or none. A 5150 mainboard has zero custom logic, not even a pal unless I'm mistaken (and there's validity in the argument that a smidgeon of custom logic enhances learning - in that it would be a comprehensive example). There are undoubtedly many examples that would nicely fit the bill (and if you wanted to FORCE yourself to learn and delve into assembler and whatnot, get a Tandy 2000! It don't run squat, besides a handful of items that were modified for it, bizarro scientific and accounting packages. Zork. Hooray. Conspicuous by it's absence on the list is Starflight! Why - why WHY!!!). I haven't looked at the pi much, besides reading an article some time ago somewhere. At first glance I can't see how it can help a person learn hardware. No clue on that one.