LEGO Mindstorms NXT
by LEGO
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Our Price: $698.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $139.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of LEGO Mindstorms NXT
Customer Review: My kid's finally programming!
Summary: 5 Stars
My son is just turning ten in a few weeks. He has a week between camp ending and school beginning so I bought him an NXT in the hopes that he's learn to like programming. His mom and I are both software engineers but, until now, he's said he doesn't have any interest in programming and wants to be a physicist (nice intention but do you wanna starve kid, we asked?).
So... I ordered this "toy" and after assembling our first robot my son -- who wouldn't get near any of our compilers -- was HOOKED. He's writing programs to control the robot, all the sudden interested in learning logic and workflow, and giggling when his compiled programs make his robot do funny things. He especially likes programming it to torture the dog which we all (except the dog) find funny.
The gist is ... I've hoped my child would someday gain some interest in programming and thanks to this toy that's finally happened. Thanks Lego...
Customer Review: Mac users, be careful !!!
Summary: 1 Stars
The LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 software works very badly on Mac OS X (if you're able to install it, which is quite hard on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard for a non-specialist). The cursor hardly follows the mouse movements (very, very annoying), and it's even impossible to change settings like the color range of the colour sensor !!
I did everything I found on the web to improve the situation, as updating Flash player. Nothing works ! I even tried to install the software on 3 different Macs (with G4 or Intel processors, with systems from 10.4 to 10.6). And I don't think I did sometihng wrong, I'm a Macintosh specialist for 20 years.
The fact is this software is a shame. I bought a very expensive game and go mad while trying to use it !!!
The LEGO helpdesk answers to my complaints were as bad as the software.
So, Mac users, be very careful and ask to test the software before buying this product.
Customer Review: child must enjoy building and programming
Summary: 4 Stars
I did research and read all the reviews and most reviews said it is very advanced and needs older minds. I purchased this for my 12 year old hoping it would be advanced. My son was able to build it and program it within an hour. He likes it but he really wanted more legos to build. The Lego Mindstroms NXT is more about the programming then the building. It is a great learning tool if your child has the interest and focus. The reason I think most think it is too advanced is becasue the interest is problaby not there. My son sits for hours building and designing- it's his passion- my other son doesn't sit and build and design and has no interest in the Mindstorms NXT. Before buying it make sure your child thinks this way or it won't be fun and you will spend a lot of money on something that just seems too hard. P.S. I got a tackle box so he could put all his pieces in it and not loose them.Customer Review: Best Educational - Toy.
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Lego Mindstorms NXT for my twelve year old's birthday. Within fifteen minutes he had the first robot assembled, programmed and working. The programming interface is excellent. Thank you National Instruments for providing a Lego version of Labview to program the Robot. My son has already learned some basic computer programming structures and design patterns without even knowing. Loops, branching and object oriented programming. He even made a quick change to a program to get it working better than the kits suggested program. We have built all the robots that the kit teaches and a few other robots from a book we purchased. I highly recommend this toy/robot to anyone interested in learning about robots and computer programming. (I am a computer scientist and have wanted to teach my son about programming, but have not found the right platform until now. Thanks Lego)Customer Review: Serious Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
In my opinion, if you're fascinated by robots and wonder what it would be like to have one of your own, this set is not only a good introduction to robotics, but an excellent companion to have with you all through your journey through the subject. It touches on mechanics and programming while allowing your creative juices to flow easily. Plus its comparatively affordable and supported by an ever-widening circle of community sites. I'm enjoying my kit immensely, especially in how it allows me construct things quickly without soldering.
Sorry if this sounds like an ad. It's not meant to be, just my style of writing in action. ;) When I was a kid, I used to draw lots of robot pictures; I guess this is just a fufillment of a childhood fantasy. So don't be scared if your not mechanically inclined; you can't get much more user-friendly than Lego.