4 ms·

I mean, that isn't really new either. I had the first generation Lego Mindstorms set (pre-NXT, with the old yellow control brick), which required a USB device a

I mean, that isn't really new either. I had the first generation Lego Mindstorms set (pre-NXT, with the old yellow control brick), which required a USB device and special software to edit programs on the control brick. After ditching Windows XP for Windows 7, I could never get the USB device, or the required software, to function properly. The software and drivers just weren't maintained and updated, and I could never figure out how to fix that.

xenomachina 5y ago
I have a few RCX Mindstorms sets, and the software was always a problem. Thankfully, there were some open source alternatives, like http://brickos.sourceforge.net/ http://brickos.sourceforge.net/ As an aside I'm pretty sure my RCX IR towers use serial, not USB.
- rhaps0dy 5y ago
  > As an aside I'm pretty sure my RCX IR towers use serial, not USB. Both versions exist. Mindstorms 1.0/1.5 had serial IR towers, 2.0 had USB.
- slavik81 5y ago
  What a blast from the past. I remember the finicky IR tower for uploading programs. I failed abysmally at programming my Mindstorms robot. I could never figure out how to make two things happen at the same time, so I couldn't make both motors run at once. As a result, my treaded robot could only spin in circles. Sadly, that was pretty much the end of my experience with Mindstorms. Eventually, I gave up and put it away, because it was such a frustrating experience. I assume it would be easier for kids these days. It was a lot more difficult to find help on the internet in 1999.
  - xenomachina 5y ago
    Yeah, the bundled software for the RCX was pretty awful, and was Windows-only. That's why I used brickOS, which let me write C (or was it C++?) code to run on the RCX, and it also worked on Linux. The next generation, "NXT", was somewhat better (I believe it's based on LabView), but I remember it being ridiculously slow and unstable on Macs. One of my kids uses Lego's "SPIKE Prime" at their robotics club, and while I haven't used the software myself, it seems much better.
  - rightbyte 5y ago
    > Eventually, I gave up and put it away, because it was such a frustrating experience. Wasn't there a cheat sheet in the manual for the puzzles? I think I only solved one without copying everything. Way too hard for 11-12yo me.
kbouck 5y ago
i always felt that it should be possible to use a raspberry pi or arduino as the controller. with some tinkering i was able to generate IR signals that were accepted by the power functions receivers. and the power functions extension cable seems like a great way to propagate an i2c bus. there are some pi cases with lego pin-sized holes to help interface the two.

xenomachina 5y ago

I have a few RCX Mindstorms sets, and the software was always a problem. Thankfully, there were some open source alternatives, like http://brickos.sourceforge.net/ http://brickos.sourceforge.net/ As an aside I'm pretty sure my RCX IR towers use serial, not USB.

rhaps0dy 5y ago
> As an aside I'm pretty sure my RCX IR towers use serial, not USB. Both versions exist. Mindstorms 1.0/1.5 had serial IR towers, 2.0 had USB.
slavik81 5y ago
What a blast from the past. I remember the finicky IR tower for uploading programs. I failed abysmally at programming my Mindstorms robot. I could never figure out how to make two things happen at the same time, so I couldn't make both motors run at once. As a result, my treaded robot could only spin in circles. Sadly, that was pretty much the end of my experience with Mindstorms. Eventually, I gave up and put it away, because it was such a frustrating experience. I assume it would be easier for kids these days. It was a lot more difficult to find help on the internet in 1999.
- xenomachina 5y ago
  Yeah, the bundled software for the RCX was pretty awful, and was Windows-only. That's why I used brickOS, which let me write C (or was it C++?) code to run on the RCX, and it also worked on Linux. The next generation, "NXT", was somewhat better (I believe it's based on LabView), but I remember it being ridiculously slow and unstable on Macs. One of my kids uses Lego's "SPIKE Prime" at their robotics club, and while I haven't used the software myself, it seems much better.
- rightbyte 5y ago
  > Eventually, I gave up and put it away, because it was such a frustrating experience. Wasn't there a cheat sheet in the manual for the puzzles? I think I only solved one without copying everything. Way too hard for 11-12yo me.

kbouck 5y ago

i always felt that it should be possible to use a raspberry pi or arduino as the controller. with some tinkering i was able to generate IR signals that were accepted by the power functions receivers. and the power functions extension cable seems like a great way to propagate an i2c bus. there are some pi cases with lego pin-sized holes to help interface the two.