__/ [ Mark Kent ] on Monday 11 September 2006 17:29 \__
> begin oe_protect.scr
> Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
>> Invasion of the DIY Robots
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>>| Mindstorm and the Playful Invention Company hope to hook kids on the joys
>>| of creative play with robot-assembly kits
>>|
>>| In August, Lego, the Danish toy company, launched a second generation of
>>| its best-selling Mindstorms Robotics Invention Kit.
>> `----
>>
>>
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/sep2006/id20060907_525435.htm?campaign_id=bier_inns.g3a.rssd5
>>
>> Lego is keen on Open Source and Linux. These are perceived as preferable
>> approaches to education. There were many article about this earlier this
>> year. Their recent project reflect on this strategy. DIY contradicts the
>> 'out of the box' approach. From "can't look" or "look, but don't touch",
>> it's gearing up towards "look and touch". (Young) Engineers can only be
>> trained by tinkering.
>>
>> Also see:
>>
>> Lego Mindstorm with Linux Mini-HOWTO
>>
>> http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Lego/index.html
>
> I do wonder if the present shrinkage and closure of science departments,
> the reduction of Biology, Chemistry & Physics into one "Science" GCSE,
> are related to the moves over the last 20-30 years to close everthing
> down and rein-in "intellectual property".
>
> Our upcoming engineers used to be upcoming because they'd been doing it
> "at home" when they were kids. Nowadays, who can?
I grew up on Lego. Lego was my thing. The Open Source approach, in hindsight.
Ironically Lego is sometimes used as an analogy to ridicule OSS, but the
thoughts are altogether flawed. Allow me to explain as my thoughts flow
along. When it comes to Lego, I wouldn't just buy the pricey new complete
set and follow the instructions. I'd have like 3 large boxes full of pieces
(must have cost a fortune in retrospect, but I shared it with my brother),
from which I built some fairly large things. Mom and dad were very proud.
*smile* Then there was Playmobil (I think they are now dead, or at least in
financial problems that I recently read about... is it spelled PlayMobile? I
can't be bothered to look that up ATM). The latter took a closed-source-like
approach. You get what you pay for and it stays as is. But it never truly
caught my attention or had any real 'retention' (to alliterate better). With
Playmobil, you just buy, buy, buy. Waste culture. And what you buy will
constantly remain in the same form. The mix-and-match, not at all on the
contrary to Lego, involves black boxes, which are repellent. That why I
always took apart a Lego vehicle, or house, or spacecraft once it was
assembled in line with the boxed instructions.
I miss Lego. But I must have given up on it when I was about 6 or 7. The
memories remain and many years later I realise the parallels in the context
of software. It's nerve-tickling. Linux and OSS: it's all fun and games.
Best wishes,
Roy
OTPS - I am only guessing that Nessunu has departed temporarily or moved into
read mode. Someone had exposed his real identity before he stepped out.
Maybe he's just on vacation. Or so I hope...
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Did anyone see my lost carrier?"
http://Schestowitz.com | Open Prospects ¦ PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Tasks: 131 total, 1 running, 129 sleeping, 0 stopped, 1 zombie
http://iuron.com - knowledge engine, not a search engine
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