Subject:
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Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Wed, 29 Jan 2003 14:02:41 GMT
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Viewed:
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1369 times
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The only bona fide piece of information I have is the recollection of an
off-hand comment made by one of the TLC staff who was at BrickFest last
summer who said that if the Spybotics line did not make money, then the
future for the Mindstorms line was in jeopardy.
My concern that the Spybotics line was not very "playable" seems in part to
be true based on the number of opened and then returned sets I've managed to
pick up from my local TRU. Quite a few had completed models in them. I
imagine a youngster dutifully putting it together and expecting it'd run
around the floor doing something interesting. My initial experience with the
first one I bought and built was that it didn't do much at all. And if the
product has about 15 minutes from the time the proud new owner installs the
batteries to the time they become enthralled watching it motivate around,
then there will be a lot of un-enthralled kids out there.
So I am not holding my breath for RIS 3.0. I see less and less evidence that
the necessary support structure is there to support reconfigurable robotics
from TLC. Sensors on closeout sale aren't a good sign. The demise of all
motorized sets using component motors (as opposed to big motor/battery
combination boxes). The loss of connecting wires etc etc. None of this looks
overly positive to me.
I'd say that whatever Technic and Mindstorms parts you currenty have stashed
away are what you are going to be using for a while. Thank goodness they had
all those Znap sets as a lifetime's supply's worth of motors and RCX's on
big discount a few months back. I knew there was a reason to stock up.
JB
oh, those Spybotics sets I bought heavily marked down from TRU after Xmas -
destined to be part of a project too ghastly for most AFOLs to contemplate ;)
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Message has 4 Replies:
 | | Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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| I guess we'll just have to wait on you to get that project you mentioned some time back finished. I recall you were going to design the "perfect" RCX clone. Is that project still in progress? -Rob "John Barnes" <barnes@sensors.com> wrote in message (...) (22 years ago, 29-Jan-03, to lugnet.robotics)
| | | Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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| (...) That's pretty depressing - if Spybotics don't make money, Mindstorms is doomed - and if Spybotics does make money Mindstorms *is* Spybotics...so we're still doomed. (...) What I wanted to see happen would have solved that problem quite neatly. (...) (22 years ago, 29-Jan-03, to lugnet.robotics)
| | | Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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| (...) *BUT*... If we could build our own RCX, what's stopping us from building our own motors? "doom"...what a depressing application of the word... ~Mike (22 years ago, 29-Jan-03, to lugnet.robotics)
| | | Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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| (...) I was thinking that if TLC links these two devices closely....well let's say I think that while they share simular characteristics they are really very different. I would hope that the fate of Mindstorms and Sybotics lay on different roads. (...) (22 years ago, 30-Jan-03, to lugnet.robotics)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: RCX & RIS, a fading glory?
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| (...) Not a whole lot. (...) No - I think you pretty much nailed it. They needed a new USB tower because increasing number of PC's don't have serial ports. I'm beginning to believe that they only did that in order to sell off their inventory of (...) (22 years ago, 28-Jan-03, to lugnet.robotics)
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