Subject:
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RE: Service pack 5111 - Wires - no longer available
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Mon, 2 Sep 2002 16:53:54 GMT
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Reply-To:
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<rhempel@bmts.comSTOPSPAM>
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Viewed:
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551 times
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John,
I'll have a peek at the Specturm educational warehouse and see what
they have in stock. I'll keep you posted.
> I will investigate the Pitsco source, but I have a feeling that it may be
> limited too. I think TLC are quietly pulling the plug on their whole 9v
> system. You can't buy 9v train connectors anymore, you now can't buy these
> regular motor/sensor kinds of wires, they sold off their RCX supplies at
> half price, they currently have light sensors going out on discount on the
> S@H website and they are promoting Spybotics as a viable alternative to
> Mindstorms.
I agree that it looks like 9V is undergoing some changes. The Spybots run
on 4.5V and seem to be pretty strong. I agree that the integration of
controllers, sensors, and motors isn't great for hobbyists, but we really have
to keep in mind that we are a VERY small part of LEGOs sales.
That being said, I think the folks at FIRST would have some problems with LEGO
pulling out of the Mindstorms market. There are many other educators that are
just now ramping up their Mindstorms cirriculaums, and it would be a shame to
see Mindstorms go away.
I think (personal opinion only) that LEGO will continue to support Mindstorms
as an educational item - and eventually only through the Pitsco-like
distributors.
As far as them promoting Spybots as a viable alternative to Mindstorms, that
is NOT the case. They are targeting Spybots at families that are intimidated by
the complexity of programming Mindstorms. At the same time, the Spybots are
remarkably powerful as a teaching aid for explaining rudimentary programming
and problem solving skills to kids in a fun way. More on this in some later posts.
> I think it would be foolish to try and ignore the writing on the wall. I
> hope they continue to find a way to support all the educational
> organizations from schools to colleges to universities who bought into the
> whole Mindstorms things as a teaching resource, otherwise those institutions
> are going to have a job replacing worn and damaged parts.
>
> And yes, I totally agree with your final conclusion - its time to take
> seriously the whole issue of what has to be provided to take the place of
> what TLC started - and somewhat sooner than I had anticipated the need to.
>
> And now, it appears there's less reason to keep the interconnect system Lego
> compatible, since there obviously won't be anything to be compatible with.
I think this is jumping to conclusions, on the other hand, maybe I'm being
naive and just blocking out an outcome that is too terible to consider.
Cheers, Ralph
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: Service pack 5111 - Wires - no longer available
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| Yeah, serious business huh! I will investigate the Pitsco source, but I have a feeling that it may be limited too. I think TLC are quietly pulling the plug on their whole 9v system. You can't buy 9v train connectors anymore, you now can't buy these (...) (22 years ago, 2-Sep-02, to lugnet.robotics)
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