Lego Mindstorms NXT - A Great Gift!

Listen to Lego Mindstorms NXT - A Great Gift!

My wife and I think we did the coolest thing for Christmas this year...and we think our son agrees. In lieu of the Nintendo Wii hs "really, really, really, really, really wants", we gave my son Lego Mindstorms NXT for Christmas. This is a starter kit which contains tons of special Lego parts and, most importantly a computer "brick" and a variety of sensors (light/color, ultrasonic, touch, sound) which can be used to build programmable robots of all shapes and sizes. My son had attended the short Legoland course on Mindstorm and also did a week-long Summer Camp where he got to design his own fighting robot, so the minute he opened the box Christmas morning he was off and running.

On Christmas Day he built the first of 3 included robot plans and we quickly had them doing all sorts of things, You first assemble a basic robot and then run it through a series of demos to learn how all the sensors work. Then you build a more complicated robot, complete with grabber arm that can do a variety of tasks. We programmed it to sense when a ball was placed in front it it, advance to the ball, pick it up, turn around, return to its start location and release the ball on sound command. We were also able to program this same robot as a "line follower" (a common robot competition task where the bot follows an unbroken black line as fast as possible.) Finally, I was able to program it to the one thing I really wanted to try...robot that would wander around the room, sense when it got too close to something, back up and turn away from the obstacle and continue on its way. Using the included software and the the things we learned from building and programming the demo robots made this an easy task.

The last several days have been spent adding new features, testing them out and my son even dismantled the original robot and retrofit an existing (and much cooler looking) Lego model with all the robot parts.

I think the NXT is going to used a lot more than the Wii and I also think it provides much more fertile ground for imagination and learning. My son has been so engaged and so thoughtful for the last several days that I am sure we made the right choice.

If you have an avid Lego builder in your family around the age of 10 or above, I think Lego Mindstorms NXT would be a great gift. If they really like it, they can even join Lego robot competitions as part of the First Lego League.

Lego Mindstorms NXT at Amazon.com

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LAPL: Wi-Fi now in all branches

Yep, its true, at least according to this press release (PDF) from the LA Public Library web site. Great news and a big step toward getting wireless access to all who can take advantage of it.

Of course, remember, the LAPL also offers computers for Internet browsing and other tasks at all its branches, too!

LAPL: Wi-Fi now in all branches The L.A. Public Library just put out a release saying that free wireless is now available to laptop users in all 71 branches as well as the Central Library downtown....

(Via L.A. Observed.)

Technorati Tags: california, losangeles, technology, computers, high-tech, free, kids, children, wifi, network, networking, library

Scratch: Multimedia programming kit for kids

I came across this neat program, Scratch, created by the LIfelong Kindergarten Group at MIT. It allows kids (and silly adults, like me) to create multimedia presentations and games while also teaching them computer programming as they go.

Check out this neat video showing some of its features.

Shared calendar - a real-world example

As if to reinforce my recent posting on the usefulness of a shared calendar (See Shared calendars are one part of an organized family), today I received information on my son's Little League schedule today. This offers a perfect demonstration of type of information that should go directly into your shared calendar as soon as you receive it.

The effects of regularly scheduled events like this riffle through your entire life and it really pays to get them into your calendar and see where any conflicts might arise.

In my particular case, I created 2 repeating events, each ending on May 30. One is for a Thursday practice and the other for a Sunday practice. Instead of creating individual items for each practice day, I can use the repeat or recurring functions of my calendar to place them all automatically. While I don't yet have the actual game schedule, I did get information on what day the actual games will start. To give the entire family a "heads-up", I noted this date in the calendar as well. Once I receive the complete game schedule, I will add all the games, snack days, etc into the calendar so that there will be no surprises, at least in regards to the baseball season.

I hope you will follow my example when confronting your next big event, whether it is a sport activity, guitar lessons, dance or karate classes or any activity that needs a prominent reminder in your shared, family calendar.

Cool Tool: Geni.com - Online Family Tree Maker

If you are not already into heavy-duty family genealogy with dedicated programs GEDCOM files and an account on Ancestry.com, you might find Geni a quick way to start documenting your family tree.

It is simple and easy-to-use and includes an easy way to bring other family members into the discussion via email. I know from my own research that documenting everyone in the family usually falls to one interested party, so a little collaboration would be helpful.

Geni is a bit limited, as you can't yet import or export the GEDCOM files mentioned above. These are a standard data format used by almost all serious genealogy folks. Still, it is fun to play with and could become yet another great online service to replace the traditional PC-based applications we are all used to using today.



Technorati Tags: build, make, howto, how-to, technology, cool, free, kids, children, genealogy

Cool Tool: Create newsletters online with LetterPop!

Here is an interesting web site that allows you to design and email cool newsletters to friends an family. Who needs Quark Express when you can use this right from your web browser. As the article below mentions, it is beta and a bit limited, but a sign of cool tools to come this year.

Create newsletters online with LetterPop!

Need to whip up a newsletter in a matter of minutes? LetterPop! gives you the tools. If you can drag and drop, you can create a pretty dazzling newsletter with this web-based app.

(Continues)

(Via Lifehacker.)

Technorati Tags: technology, high-tech, crafts, free, kids, children, photo, cool