Totaly agree and a computer is after all two parts the hardware and the software and the ability to change both and add on both with such a cheap setup is utterly perfect for break and play style education and that is how alot of people learn.
Another way to look at it is the the Author thinks everybody should learn to drive in a Porche. We all know 99%+ of us don't and start of with a cheap almost end user car and that is what the Pi is in many ways, cheap, effective at what it does and for those who want to go further then they will at least have the foundations to move on with solid grounding.
Sure some parts operate on closed source low-level hardware but who's to say that might not change later on down the line and to lambast it on that one area is missing out on so much.
Another way to look at it is the the Author thinks everybody should learn to drive in a Porche. We all know 99%+ of us don't and start of with a cheap almost end user car and that is what the Pi is in many ways, cheap, effective at what it does and for those who want to go further then they will at least have the foundations to move on with solid grounding.
Sure some parts operate on closed source low-level hardware but who's to say that might not change later on down the line and to lambast it on that one area is missing out on so much.