This is an old article, but in my opinion kids today have the same opportunity to learn programming, only now it's not tied to a particular hardware platform or operating system--it's the Web! They might start playing with simple HTML, text and graphics and maybe some JavaScript. Or customizing MySpace or whatever.
The Web is also more collaborative--instead of coding in isolation they can share their results with the world.
The Web is also more collaborative--instead of coding in isolation they can share their results with the world.