Pantelligent can do bacon, pancakes, eggs, and lots more... pretty close I'd say?

Hah, didn't even think of that when I posted it. Hope the editors realize it's a real (safe for work) technical term -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penetration_test

I too have been trying Duck Duck Go (link to encrypted version) for the last several weeks and have been impressed.

Furthermore, check out their privacy policy, as well as a recent blog post about search privacy that explains why it "might be the most private place to search the Internet". No IPs logged, no cookies, no contractors.

There are also a large set of convenient "bang commands" such as searching "!slashdot foo".

And finally, searching over (encrypted) HTTPS just works "out of the box".

Give it a try for a few weeks!

Check out some of the NerdKits Video Tutorials, which are 20+ free video tutorials that cover all sorts of electronics topics. For example, Motors and Microcontrollers 101 talks about how to model motors as circuit elements (I'm the guy in this video). The Halloween Capacitive Touch Sensor talks about using aluminum foil as a proximity sensor. All in all, we sell breadboard-based electronics kits, which help beginners like yourself get started with electronics and programming.

Then, our customers adapt it to do things we'd never dreamed of: measuring how far a hamster runs at night, or controlling an RC helicopter, or building an intervalometer, or even building a video game system.

The communications / RF type stuff is very cool, and I hope you're able to get there! The most relevant content we have available right now is a 20-minute video about building a single transistor amplifier for a sound meter.

Best of luck in your electronics journey!

(Actually, not 32-bit -- it's all still 8-bit, except for the AVR32 line which is another set of chips altogether.)

You're right, there was a lot lacking and people could be "scared away" from getting started with microcontrollers, but what we're trying to do with NerdKits is make it less scary without hiding the complexity or the conceptual learning. Our hypothesis is that people are actually smart enough to handle real tools, if you show them how, and will be far better off with that experience. Guide newbies through looking at the datasheet, setting registers, etc. Add some unique content that really makes you use your brain, and we've got a lot of very happy customers!

I too had one of those as a kid -- the ones where you follow the book to connect the various spring terminals! While I might be able to go back and learn some more from it now, I can't really say I learned much from it at the time. It was very much focused on just following the step-by-step directions, with little emphasis on creativity / customization / concepts. So after finishing my Masters in EECS from MIT, I decided to build my own electronics kits for the "digital generation", with a tremendous focus on creativity / customization / concepts. Check us out :-)

Whatever you do, find something where there's real teaching and interactivity and creative thinking going on -- not just polishing some rocks or a step-by-step Lego project. And furthermore, interacting with your child while they're using whatever science gift you pick is also extremely valuable.

Ages 7 and 9 may be a bit young... but we know that 11-year olds do well with getting introduced to electronics and programming, and the interaction that it offers with the physical world through various sensors and actuators. In our experience at NerdKits electronics kits, our youngest customers tend to learn the fastest, because they are the most fearless! They're able to try building something, get something wrong, but just keep working at it until they succeed. Our various free video tutorials help teach various electronics and programming concepts as well.

Here's an 11-year-old's NerdKits "Kid Review" in Make Magazine, or a reading by the author of the review.

Challenge them a bit -- with a bit of guidance, they're capable of taking on more than you might think!