Subject:
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New Product Suggestions, Concepts & Themes
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.dear-lego
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Date:
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Sat, 22 Jan 2000 13:09:22 GMT
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Viewed:
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1069 times
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ATTN Mr B.Justus
TLG,Billund,Denamrk
Lego(R) UK Ltd, Wrexham.
Lego Futra.
LUGNET Readers.
Dear Sirs,
(With apologies to any Female Readers.)
In a followup to my existing post( which has caused contetion over
what ideas WERE original.)
NB Note to Lugnet Readers. Let me know if ANY of these ideas are under
devlopment.
A proportion of the ideas in my orignal posting are based on suggestions on
LUGNET and by AFOL's in general and the credit is given for those should be
given to the AFOL community as a whole, I made an unfortunate mistake in
caliming some of them :( .
However I do feel that there are some ideas in the original post that are novel
and would welcome the oppurtunity to disscus these further.
The ideas in this letter should therfore be considered as under disscusion.
I can be reached via e-mail : ba124@city.ac.uk
or through the Dept of Computing at City University,
Norhtampton Sq
London, UK
The Ideas:
> 1. Aquatics for Mindstorms-
> A nice individual in Hamleys told me that TLG had a patent for minature
> aquatics. I would love to see this in a model.
> 2. Town.
>
> Please introduce a beachfront range, but do not rerun Paradisa.
> I did'nt not like the colors!- However the BasePlate could be reused.
> Please also bear in mind that I do not want Juniorization!
> (I am sure other lego fans agree with me.)
> 3. Technic Bucket
> A black breifcase/bucket with over 300? technic elements.
> Contaning a selection of elements from technic range.
This appears to be already available?
> or
> 4 Re-Introduce the expert builder packs ethier as supplementaries
> or through the new Lego Direct (Hopefully in UK as well!)
Defeintly. Also I am hearing concerns that the Recent Technic sets don't use
Lego(R) System(TM) Plates or beams anymore. I don't know anything futher on
this but would hate to see this happen.
> 5 For Legomedia.
> The Advanced Technic designers handbook: Includes
> - Model Ideas
> - Technical descriptions on how mechanisms work.-(models?)
> - An Element catalouge for refernce purposes(copuld serve as catalouge • for LegoDirect -Technic)
> (NB I had in mind soemthing simmilar to that at Technica-) • Technica is a fan based website and VERY well designed.
> (Of course It would have to be released, such that your IPR was not • open to
> abuse)
> 6 A simmilar book to the above for Mindstorms?
I am aware that one book is currently on sale and that others are in
preperation?
> 7 Offshore
> I Can think of at least 3 Models for Town/City that could be offshore
> - Oil Rig
> - Lighthouse
> - Exploration Platfrom
Perhaps this could be themed for Ocatn?
> 8 Lego - Phantoma (Concept suggestion)
> Something that has been lacking from the Lego range for a while is a • decent Haunted House.
> ("Decent"- could be applied in many contexts here.)
> Obviosuly it would need to keep within 'family' boundaries.
> My justification for this is that many children tell ghost stories
Look at the success of GooseBumps.
> By allowing them to build haunted houses you merley allowing to them to
> extend their ideas.
> However I feel that there needs to be a return to more tradiational
> mysterious nature in ghost stories-
> I do not however want little children to be scared by anything.
> (Concept Work in the area of Haunted houses has already been done by a
> few AFOL's, Most of these however has been concentrated on minifigs.)
Notably Cragio Legos Transy-lego-vania and others.
(It would appear that this sugestion caused a lot of concern over originality
claims.). I do have some idea drawings that I did but will not relase these
until the air clears a little.
> I also see a CD-Tie in.(The 7th Geust when it was released was very • popular for adults but in palces a little to graphic for children).
> A childrens version of this would be avery nice idea indeed!)
This concept suggestion stands. However they are potential problems in the 7th
Guest angle.
Further to this. The 'Haunted House' I had in mind was closer to Charles Addams
and New England Architecural styles than European Statley Homes, I also belive
that this is also the association many people make when describing a gneric
'Haunted House',(I could be wrong though, and would welcome disscusion on this
matter in a more appropraite forum.).
Additonally on this I decided early on that the Ghosts should not be evil.
Spooky and mysterious but not scary or frightning to younger children.
> 9 Trains (Concept Suggestion)
(The ideas here seemed to have caused the most contention...)
> I would like it if those of us with 4.5V/12V trains could be supported.
> Perhaps by releasing Track-Packs?-
> Additonaly it might be worthwhile considering releasing a 9V set of
> conductor rails, and rail motors.
> so that we can use the old sets/track with the new 9v electrical
> system.
> I am also hoping that the old chasis will be made available as I
> managed to break one of mine :(
>
> Personally I can see Lego Trains as a major competitor to graden
> railway systems such as LGB. Therefore I propose the following.
I stand by this viewpoint.
> - Individual vehicels for the 9V system would be a good idea. • This is one idea I mistakenly claimed as original.
> - Fix the gemotry on the points to allow for the double tracked layouts
> - 2nd radius curves?
Both suggested before by others.
> - More Model stations.( Platform Baseplates?)
> - Signals?
Again this has probably been suggested before. My idea in this was to use the
lighting bricks to have color aspects and then link it to a more specialised
verison of the RCX brick. An adapted version of Loco could then be used to
control trains on the layout as well.
Incidentally, A virtual Lego Railroad on the Internet might be another
side-line that would come of this?
> - A link to a special Mindstorms/Loco program to control the trains?
> - Isolating Track
> - Point Motor!-(This is LONG overdue!)
Not new ideas. Suggested at regular intervals in lugnet.trains.
> 10 Computers (Concept Suggestion)
> I feel personally that the level of complication in many computer
> programs is apppaling!
This includes supposed KID's Programs.
> I feel that an interface to a computer system- relying on a lego like
look and feel would be marketable to a large numer of people.
Amend to parents and educators.
> NO doubt your computing friends at MIT could help you with this?
> Provisonal Concept Name: (KiDeE)
> An Operating system based on a Plug and Play architecture designed for
> children.
> It would need the usual apps
> - Wordprocessor.
> - Painter- With Lego Bricks perhaps?
> - Internet- Simple Internet facilites, Minifig ID's for mail?
> - Photos for login rather than User Name?
These last two have already been used in research systems. ( For symbolic based
communications systems)
> I am sugesting this to Lego as there is a desperate need to encourage
kids to be creative and not led into the Bang-Bang your dead world
that sadly exists in many computer games.
(NB Grammer ammended in above)
Also I feel annoyed that some kid's programs have dumbed down. Compare a
current edutainbment package on the PC to older education programs on a
platform such as venerable Beeb (BBC Microcomputer) which were despite the
limitations often better designed and taught more.
> Also with such on OS developed, you would have a platform for devloping
> further applications.(Like the Phantoma concept sugessted Earlier
Rather than a full blown OS- Perhaps an API for devleopment based on top of an
existing platform?
(I wouldn't recomend using Windows(TM) though. I would rather see something
based on KDE (hence the name),Be('A media os..') or the single click MacOS)
> 11- Optrix-Concept suggestion.
> From some web searching I note that one of your sister comapanise ISBEN
> make optical elements.
> Perhaps an experimental (Lego Science?) set of simple optical elements
> Could be rleased within lego blocks.- You already have the fiber optics
> and lighting bricks!)
As stated a proportion of these ideas are already being looked into by others
and I apologise to them if I mistakenly claimed something I shouldn't. (I also
ask again if anoyne is working on them let me know. Partly so that I can
incoprate your opnions, also so I don't rip you off!)
As stated I would welcome further discussion and suggestions on the
issues/concepts raised. Preferably on LUGNET, but I can be reached
via e-mail : ba124@city.ac.uk
via mail (Until June) : Mr A. Farlie
BEng Computing Part(III) Student
Dept of Computing
Northampton Sq
London
EC1V 0HB
UNITED KINGDOM
Alex Farlie,
BEng Computing (Part III) Student
Dept of Computing, City University
22nd January 2000
This posting is (C)2000 Alex Farlie
May be used freely for academic and non commerical puposes with appropriate
citation. It may not be used for commerical purposes without prior approval by
myself.
LUGNET and it's owners a granted a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-
free, unrestricted, non-exclusive, worldwide license to use of the material
compliant with LUGNET's Terms of Use.
(I read your post Todd and belive the above is fairly clear.)
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: New Product Suggestions, Concepts & Themes
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| Please read the orignal postings as well! In followup (...) Something is happening inside TLG..... I went to Hamleys on Saturday and spoke to thier Lego rep and floated the haunted house idea. He said that he would able to pass on any drawings/Ideas (...) (24 years ago, 24-Jan-00, to lugnet.dear-lego)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Farlie A
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| ATTN Mr B.Justus TLG,Billund,Denamrk Lego(R) UK Ltd, Wrexham. Lego Futra. Dear Sirs, (Apologies to any female persons reading this letter) Please note that some of these ideas may be devloped further. So regard these a work in progress. If I do have (...) (24 years ago, 18-Jan-00, to lugnet.dear-lego)
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