LEGO Mindstorms For Dummies [Paperback]

Michael Meadhra (Author), Peter J. Stouffer (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764507672 | ISBN-13: 978-0764507670 | Publication Date: October 15, 2000

The LEGO MINDSTORMS products are great fun for children and adults alike, and can be used in millions of different combinations to build interactive creatures. But the power of Dr. Frankenstein can be very confusing, and figuring out which of those 700 pieces goes where is a big challenge. LEGO MINDSTORMS For Dummies is the perfect answer, with insightful help that goes beyond the Constructopedia. Simple examples are used to convey complicated ideas, opening the door wide for readers to unleash their creativity and build magnificent monsters, cool creatures, or riveting robots!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Step-by-step photos and robot-ready programs on CD-ROM

Get complete instructions for 12 robot projects!

The fun and easy way(r) to build a bodacious bot from those hundreds of pieces LEGO(r) MINDSTORMS(TM) kits let you build all sorts of robots - if you can figure out how to put all those little pieces together and program the microprocessor. That's where this friendly guide comes in. Packed with special projects and programs, it's just what you need to become a robot master, no matter which MindStorms kit or add-ons you own! all this on the bonus CD-ROM Full-color step-by-step photos for projects in the book Ready-to-run RCX programs for projects in the book PaintShop Pro evaluation version Pentium PC, 32MBRAM, 4X CD-ROM. See the CD Appendix for details and complete system requirements. Leading Internet tools

Discover how to: Select a MINDSTORMS kit Construct an explorer robot Build a basketball-playing hoop-o-bot Assemble a Star Wars Droid(TM) Design and program your own bots

Get smart! www.dummies.com

About the Author

Michael Meadhra has written or contributed to more than 30 computer books. Peter J. Stouffer is an electrical engineer who has been programming for more than two decades.

Product Details

• Paperback: 371 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies (October 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764507672
• ISBN-13: 978-0764507670
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #240,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't bother, February 6, 2001

By 

Dean (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: LEGO Mindstorms For Dummies (Paperback)

I'm usually a fan of dummies books and have several on my bookshelf. I'm also a huge fan of LEGO's. I have to say that this book is dissapointing on so many levels. There is nothing new in here that hasn't been covered in one of the many unofficial guides that dummies is shamefully trying to compete with. In fact the robots described come straight from the Constructopedia that LEGO gives away free in every Mindstorms box. Other than having a CD of some useful utilities don't bother. Everything on the CD you can get for free on the net. You should have no problem finding them. In fact if you don't know how to find LEGO related websites on your own you shouldn't be fooling around with robots in the first place. But I drift away from the intent of this review. Don't bother with this book. If you have a Mindstorms kit you have a computer. If you're reading this you're on the net. Spend the $20 on some more LEGO's or one of the unofficial books. You'll get more out of it.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars LEGO Mindstorms for Dummies, January 9, 2003

By 

Monte Engel (Devils Lake, ND USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: LEGO Mindstorms For Dummies (Paperback)

This book (2001 edition) is of no use if you are trying to learn how to program your RIS 2.0 The programing is for RIS 1.5 and earlier.

If you are reading it for information on LEGO basic construction techniques, my question would be "Why did you buy a Robotics Invention System set?" Save your money. I don't know what to recommend, but this is not it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new, February 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: LEGO Mindstorms For Dummies (Paperback)

This book was very disappointing. There is nothing new here. The RCX bots all come from the Constructopedia.