What We Do
What is Python?
We make learning this
more fun!
A new open source programming language

It is easy for beginners to learn, but powerful enough to make rich, complex programs
Why Python?
It's Free!
Python is:
Compare "Hello World" Programs
Hello World in Java:

class HelloWorld {
  static public void main( String args[] ) {
    System.out.println( "Hello World!" );
  }
}
Hello World in C++ (pre-ISO)

#include <iostream.h>

main()
{
    cout << "Hello World!" << endl;
    return 0;
}
Hello World in Python

print "Hello World"
Python is also
Championed by 
the Industry
PIE
Python Interactive Education
We are going to change 
the way Python is taught
to beginners, be they K-12
students or first-year
university students.
The Old Way
Command Line
"Graphics"
As an open source project, Python is free to download and use.

Python runs on any computer and any operating system.

This price and flexibility will be appreciated by any educational organization
Intuitive

Easier to learn

Powerful
More intuitive, 
easier to learn
Who uses it?
But they were expecting to make
something like this ...
Introducing
PyBotWar!
My Point:
Python is big
and it's here 
to stay
So here's what we
 need to get off the ground ...
How are we going 
to make money?
$30 / License
Total:
$15,000
$900 per school
Break Even Point:
17 schools
This is just the beginning...
To further increase PyBotWar's value, we are going to be facilitating international tournaments that allow schools to send forth their best robots to compete against other schools.
MIT, the center of Computer
Science Education, now uses
Python as it's introductory
programming language. 
Wherever MIT goes, the rest
of the Computer Science
world tends to follow
Python is powerful enough to handle the huge data sets that NASA needs to crunch.  Even more importantly, it's simplicity ensures fewer errors.
Ever wonder what makes all those
wonderful and annoying facebook
apps work? You guessed it - Python!
Google is one of Python's biggest champions.
Their search engine and youtube.com both
use python heavily throughout.
The special effects  of ILM 
have been using python for 
years to stitch together their
various special effects 
technologies into a seamless 
whole.
So what does PIE
have to do with 
Python?
What's wrong with
the way it's taught
now?
In the early stages of programming, Students spend hours producing
programs that reproduce formulas
in their math textbooks, or at best
recreate games like tic-tac-toe or
hangman.  Hardly exciting.
This is what the next generation
thinks of when they think of
computer programs!  No wonder
they're disappointed with text-
based projects
PyBotWar turns learning to code into a game.  In PyBotWar, you program an autonomous robot tank.  Each tank can fire bullets or explosive shells, and have a wide range of sensors from which to detect it's opponents.  Up to 8 students can battle with each other!
Students still get to program in math formulas, but now it has context.  Rather than just calculating the length of some random hypotenuse, students use the Pythagorean Theorem to figure out how far away their opponent is so they can blast them to smithereens!
Students can compete against each other
or against an army of pre-programmed 
robots that ship with the program.  Students
from around the world can easily share
their robot designs and compete for world
dominance!
All of a sudden, programming is fun again!
1.  A professionally designed Web Site that can show off
     PyBotWar and handle the online purchasing and 
     downloading of the software.  Cost: $5000
2. Pycon
Pycon is the world's premiere convention for everything Python.  The latest Python enabled technologies and pedagogical advances are seen here first.  All the big names in Python Education are here.  We want to be there in 2010 and knock more than a few socks off.  This is the beginning - and the cornerstone - of an intensive internet marketing campaign that will leverage our web site and our established position in the online python community. Cost - $5000
3. Contract graphic designer to enhance
     the graphics of PyBotWar.  We're awesome
     Python programmers, but we suck at
     drawing.  Cost - $5000
That's how much each copy of Pybotwar will cost
considering Python itself is free, that's a pretty good
deal.  Compare that to purchasing Flash to teach
Actionscript 3.0 at $400 / License
Since the average computer 
class has 30 computers
When the choice is between 
learning to program this way:
VS
Learning to program
our way:
Hello World is traditionally the first program
that you learn to write when you begin programming.  So it should be easy to do.  But compare Java and C++ Hello World programs to Python...
We think that 17 schools is a pretty modest target!
Although we're sure there are lots
of girls who would like to blow up
robot tanks, we realize that our
product is a little gender-bias.
We're working on a whole new product that will combine Python with Social Networking sites like Facebook.  We think the combination will be highly appealing to young women.
So if anything we've said here sounds
interesting to you, we'd love to hear
from you.

Send us an email at invest@pie.ca
or call us directly at 1-800-MMMMPIE