I've talked before about the importance of getting children into computers early, not just using them, but programming them too Most kids today can use computers pretty instantly. Even those of us in the IT trade can be outclassed by some kids who seem to grasp the fundamentals of computing (and perhaps more importantly the importance of playing and stretching computing in ways us adults don't normally think about), but even with this supposed advantage, most kids have little interest in programming them to do what they want.