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LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Hacker's Guide
 
 
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LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Hacker's Guide [Paperback]

Dave Prochnow (Author)
1.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews) |
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Book Description

Publication Date: November 21, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0071481478 | ISBN-13: 978-0071481472 | Edition: 1

Build and Program Over 20 Challenging Design Projects in Just 30 Minutes Each with the New Generation of LEGO® MINDSTORMS®

More powerful and intuitive than ever, LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT is a new robotics toolset that enables robot enthusiasts and hobbyists to build and program all kinds of projects. The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Hacker's Guide explores this new generation of LEGO MINDSTORMS, providing a collection of projects, how-to expertise, insider tips, and over 500 illustrations to help readers become expert NXT hackers.

This cutting-edge guide describes new advances that make LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT such a great robotics resource. The book explains the all-new NXT intelligent brick…the interactive servo motors with rotation sensors that align speed for precise control…the ultrasonic sensor that allows robots to “see” by responding to movement…the improved light and touch sensors that let robots detect color and feel…and much more. The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Hacker's Guide features:

  • Expert, insightful commentary by a member of the LEGO MINDSTORMS Developer Program
  • A hands-on account of the new technologies and expanded sensor capabilities of LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT
  • A collection of 10 hacking projects with step-by-step instructions for creating things ranging from solar power to ZigBee® technology to tank tread feet [“projects” appears twice.]
  • A portfolio of 12 exciting design projects featuring R. Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome, Rem Koolhaas' Seattle Central Library, and the world's first NXT wristwatch
  • Complete disclosure about a “secret” game that is hidden inside every LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT kit
  • An in-depth guide to the NXT programming language
  • A special LEGO factory kit offer available only for readers of this book

Inside This Groundbreaking NXT Reference

• Your First Robot • Stupid RCX Tricks • Save Your RIS • As Smart as a Brick • MOVE IT! With Servo Motors • Hmm, I Sense Something • Yes, But I Don't Know How to Program • Testing, Testing; Oh, Trouble Shoot • Katherine's Best Hacking Projects • Katherine's Design Fun House • NXT Programming Language Guide • NXT Elements • NXT Resources

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Customers buy this book with The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide by David J. Perdue Paperback $19.36

LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Hacker's Guide + The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide
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  • This item: LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Hacker's Guide by Dave Prochnow Paperback

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  • The Unofficial LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0 Inventor's Guide by David J. Perdue Paperback

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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Build and Program Over 20 Challenging Design Projects with the New Generation of LEGO® MINDSTORMS®

More powerful and intuitive than ever, LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT is a new robotics toolset that enables you to build and program all kinds of projects. The LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT Hacker's Guide explores this new generation of LEGO® MINDSTORMS®, providing a collection of projects, how-to expertise, insider tips, and over 500 illustrations to help you become an expert NXT hacker.

YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT:

  • The all-new NXT intelligent brick
  • The interactive servo motors with rotation sensors that align speed for precise control
  • The ultrasonic sensor that allows robots to "see" by responding to movement
  • The improved light and touch sensors that let robots detect color and feel
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT HACKER'S GUIDE FEATURES:
  • 20+ projects that can each be completed in just 30 minutes
  • Expert, insightful commentary by a member of the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Developer Program
  • A hands-on account of the new technologies and expanded sensor capabilities of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT
  • A collection of 10 hacking projects with step-by-step instructions
  • A portfolio of 12 exciting design projects featuring R. Buckminster Fuller's Geodesic Dome, Rem Koolhaas' Seattle Central Library, and the world's first NXT wristwatch
  • Complete disclosure about a "secret" game that is hidden inside every LEGO® MINDSTORMS® kit
  • An in-depth guide to the NXT programming language
  • A special LEGO factory kit offer available only to readers of this book

Inside This Groundbreaking NXT Reference:
* Your First Robot * Stupid RCX Tricks * Save Your RIS * As Smart as a Brick * MOVE IT! With Servo Motors * Hmm, I Sense Something * Yes, But I Don't Know How to Program * Testing, Testing: On, Trouble Shoot * Katherine's Best Hacking Projects * Katherine's Design Fun House * NXT Programming Language Guide * NXT Elements * NXT Resources

About the Author

Dave Prochnow is an award-winning professional writer, editor, and contributor to numerous technical publications including MAKE, Nuts and Volts, and SERVO. He is the author of 26 nonfiction book titles for Addison-Wesley, F&W Publications, McGraw-Hill, and TAB Books; including the bestselling PSP Hacks, Mods, and Expansions (McGraw-Hill, 2006) and The Official Robosapien Hacker’s Guide (McGraw-Hill, 2006). In 2001, Dave won the Maggie Award for writing the best how-to article in a consumer magazine.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 459 pages
  • Publisher: McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics; 1 edition (November 21, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0071481478
  • ISBN-13: 978-0071481472
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 1.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #962,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Dave Prochnow Page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
54 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Not As Advertised! December 15, 2006
By Railrho
Format:Paperback
I was GREATLY disappointed, for the following reasons:

1) Most of the hacks in this book are lame. (Sorry, a board game using Lego pieces does NOT count as a hack).

2) There's very little in this book about the Mindstorms NXT. The first 79 pages of the book don't address the NXT at all, and the rest of the book only addresses the NXT tangentially, in most cases using only five or six NXT parts to build the hack. (Some hacks don't use NXT parts at all).

3) The book seems to have had a "first-to-market" strategy, in order to make a quick buck and to take advantage of the interest surrounding the NXT.

Rock-bottom message: it's a slapdash, hodgepodge assortment of stuff that will not advance your knowledge of the NXT one iota.

Save your cash and get another book.
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Piece of junk January 5, 2007
By muon
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was too lazy to write any review. The one good thing about this book is that it motivates me to type something here.

The title is completely misleading. What NXT? More than 80% of the book talked about something else. The the few NXT examples were so simple that you don't need to be a "hacker" to do it. The book mostly contained only pictures with short captions (no text). There are often jumps between one picture to the next. So, it is hardly a "guide" at all.

What left to the title is "Lego Mindstorm", but the book is not 100% about that either. (Like, how shipping containers were used to build a building.)

Too bad Amazon doesn't offer reivew of zero stars.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Waste of Money December 25, 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
If one goes by the title alone, the book might have some of what one expects: stuff you can do with a soldering iron to hack stuff with one's NXT. However, the editorial review is very deceptive; it gives the impression that this book is something a more average (non soldering-iron) type of user would find useful.

The book starts with what appears to be a history, but it's too rambling (who wants to know about "One Computer for every Child"). The part about the RIS (older sibling of NXT) goes on and on, and much of it is not relevant. The "Design" chapter has nothing to do with NXT: perhaps someone would like to build a tiny model of a container-house or the Seattle library, but what does this have to do with NXT.

The mentions of NXT Elements and NXT resources is deceptive too, there's nothing there that is both useful and not already available in the NXT package from Lego.

I'm going to list this book for re-sale immediately, and only wrote this review so that buyers know what they're getting beforehand.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Do not buy it , not worth it
I bought this book (imported it from Amazon USA to South Africa)

I expected a technical informative book explaining ways to interface your own hardware to a NXT Brick... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rikus
review about this book
this book gives detailed background of all the sensors and techniques used in the NXT 2.0, that's very good. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Charlie
Don't waste your time
If you are looking for a book that will explain how how to attach non-LEGO motors and sensors to your NXT and how to interface with your household gadgets etc, look elsewhere. Read more
Published 24 months ago by cadweller
JUNK!
What can be said that hasn't already been said but what the heck does building a library of leg bricks have to do with NXT? Read more
Published on September 10, 2008 by Cinophile
total waste of time
I got this book along with NXT set as a gift, so I was very excited to learn about mindstorms a bit out of manual. Read more
Published on June 17, 2008 by OZ
What a turkey!
I bought this book (in person) not having heard about the infamous "all 1's" ratings on Amazon. A highly gifted Mindstorms building friend told me I'd managed to pick up the worst... Read more
Published on September 24, 2007 by Joshua Delahunty
DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK
This book is the worst NXT book you could buy. It does not tell a thinkabout the NXT, inserts stupid jokes,completely off subject(what time is it when an elephant sits on your... Read more
Published on August 22, 2007 by D.Q.
Disappointing
Unfortunately, I purchased this book before the reviews came out. Very disappointing and actually suprising that somebody would publish a book like this. Read more
Published on May 14, 2007 by Micheal Lanham
Not as expected
I wanted a book that would help me to build better machines with my set and this was not it. I sent mine back the next day. Read more
Published on February 14, 2007 by D. RAINES
Best in its class and a good buy
We are very pleased with this book.

We have seen and or read almost every other Lego book we have been able to get our hands/eyes on and this is by far our best pick and... Read more
Published on January 14, 2007 by Bob's Mom's Son
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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ric files, hacking projects, programmable brick, sensor port, wireless video camera, design kit, programming blocks, touch sensor
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Medium Stone Grey, Pepper Pad, New York, Flat Tile, United States, Dymaxion Car, Handy Cricket, Brick Yellow, Single Bend, Bright Blue, Apple Store Fifth Avenue, Roof Tile, Ice Falls, London Eye, National Instruments, Nomadic Museum, Sam Loyd, Eric Sophie, George Ferris, Round Plate, Atmel Corporation, Direct Command Telegram, Louis Sullivan, Metru Nui, Mobile Crane
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