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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: K is the Symbol <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 15:23:13 EDT
Hiya folks, I got bored for a few and started flipping through Mike B's
Popular Science magazine. Wouldn't ya know it, I found somethings of interest


(reproduced without permission, not intended as a challenge to anyone)

High-Tech Toy Building
Robots contructed from Leg's Mindstorms can move and react to their
surroundings. You can assemble blocks to form anything from a mechanical
tail-chasing dog to a light-sensitive intruder alarm. Instructions are
programmed on a PC and downloaded via infrared transmitter to the
microcomputer brain inside the robot. Available this fall. Prince $200 (US)

Solar UFO
The unidentified floating object in this picture (sorry, can't replicate that
here ;) is the Phoenix UFO, a solar-powered water purifier. Solar panels on
the 33-foot diameter disk generate as many as 5 kilowatts of power to aerate
and pump water through filters and absorbers. On a sunny day, the purifier
cna remove as much as 36 tons of phosphates and other pollutants. Developed
by researchers at Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, the Phoenix UFO is being
tested on a river in Tokyo.

-=-=-=-

Sorry folks, but these two along told me we are definitely getting into the
SR-age of things. Quick programmed Legos????

-K
Message no. 2
From: Brett Borger <bxb121@***.EDU>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 15:36:21 EST
> High-Tech Toy Building
> Robots contructed from Leg's Mindstorms can move and react to their
> surroundings. You can assemble blocks to form anything from a mechanical
> tail-chasing dog to a light-sensitive intruder alarm. Instructions are
> programmed on a PC and downloaded via infrared transmitter to the
> microcomputer brain inside the robot. Available this fall. Prince $200 (US)
> -=-=-=-
>
> Sorry folks, but these two along told me we are definitely getting into the
> SR-age of things. Quick programmed Legos????

Hardly Quick-programmed. You can see more at:
http://www.legomindstorms.com

I signed up for their beta testing, but they didn't take me...just
yet another playtesting rejection for me to choke down...sniff.

Anyway, It looks to be a better implementation on the LEGO Basic they
had a few years ago....but I don't know how well it will work...$200
for a toy? (carefully not looking at my RPG shelves while typing
that)

In SR terms, you are thinking more of a toy for younger children.
Perhaps a small walking dog (other pets available), about the size of
a loaf of bread. Maybe 6 large buttons that program a series of
maneuvers, using built-in sensors....

Hmm, easily believable. At very young ages, kids would just learn to
hit the "WALK" button or the "BARK" button. AS they grew older,
they'd learn to chain the commands into small programs...eventually,
teenagers would hack their code and hardware to try and make them do
things they were never intended to. And the whole time, the kids
are being prepared to deal with a computerized world, and those
future-deckers among them are being identified and trained, while
Mama and Papa Corp watch over them....

I like it... If I have a chance, I may type something up about
this...

-=SwiftOne=-
"BABY, BABY, I'm takin with the notion..." --Amy Grant
Message no. 3
From: Spike <u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 22:07:05 +0100
And verily, did Brett Borger hastily scribble thusly...
|In SR terms, you are thinking more of a toy for younger children.
|Perhaps a small walking dog (other pets available), about the size of
|a loaf of bread. Maybe 6 large buttons that program a series of
|maneuvers, using built-in sensors....

Perfectly believable.
Remember "BIg Track" from the '80's....
Toy dumper truck with keybad and beeper. Program it with logo type commands
(forward 40, left 30, tip, etc).

I never had one, but they were fun to play with.
(I can't remember how much they used to cost, or how many program steps you
could fit in, but.....well... That WAS the 1980s. Think what'd be possible
today for 1/2 the price)

|I like it... If I have a chance, I may type something up about
|this...

Why not build it instead? It's easily technologically possible these days.

:)
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|u5a77@*****.cs.keele.ac.uk| Windows95 (noun): 32 bit extensions and a |
| | graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit |
| Andrew Halliwell | operating system originally coded for a 4 bit |
| Finalist in:- |microprocessor, written by a 2 bit company, that|
| Computer Science | can't stand 1 bit of competition. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|GCv3.1 GCS/EL>$ d---(dpu) s+/- a- C++ U N++ o+ K- w-- M+/++ PS+++ PE- Y t+ |
|5++ X+/++ R+ tv+ b+ D G e>PhD h/h+ !r! !y-|I can't say F**K either now! :( |
Message no. 4
From: Nexx Many-Scars <Nexx3@***.COM>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1998 20:13:35 EDT
In a message dated 98-08-13 16:00:33 EDT, you write:

> Anyway, It looks to be a better implementation on the LEGO Basic they
> had a few years ago....but I don't know how well it will work...$200
> for a toy? (carefully not looking at my RPG shelves while typing
> that)

$200? That's it? What are you, some kind of dilletante? I've got more than
that _per_box_, and I've got about 6 of those. Now get off RN until you're a
real gamer, poseur!

Oh, and, :-)

Nexx of the technicalities
Message no. 5
From: Danyel N Woods <9604801@********.AC.NZ>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 12:35:18 +1200
Quoth Nexx Many-Scars (1214 14-8-98 NZT):

>In a message dated 98-08-13 16:00:33 EDT, you write:
>
>> Anyway, It looks to be a better implementation on the LEGO Basic they
>> had a few years ago....but I don't know how well it will work...$200
>> for a toy? (carefully not looking at my RPG shelves while typing
>> that)
>
>$200? That's it? What are you, some kind of dilletante? I've got
more than
>that _per_box_, and I've got about 6 of those. Now get off RN until
you're a
>real gamer, poseur!
>
>Oh, and, :-)

Hey, Nexx, be fair. My SR shelf amounts to about US$90 - half of it
given to me by my GM - and I like to think I'm a Real Gamer... :-)

Danyel Woods - 9604801@********.ac.nz
Does US$250 of **&* books count?
Message no. 6
From: MC23 <mc23@**********.COM>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 03:25:30 -0400
Once upon a time, Danyel N Woods wrote;

>Hey, Nexx, be fair. My SR shelf amounts to about US$90 - half of it
>given to me by my GM - and I like to think I'm a Real Gamer... :-)
>
> Danyel Woods - 9604801@********.ac.nz
> Does US$250 of **&* books count?

<hangs head low, thinks about his two bookcases of games>
Maybe it is time I got a life.

-MC23, who has yet to find one worth it-
"Can I get that in hardback?"
Message no. 7
From: Nexx Many-Scars <Nexx3@***.COM>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 03:27:20 EDT
In a message dated 14/08/98 02:26:02 Central Daylight Time,
mc23@**********.COM writes:

> >Hey, Nexx, be fair. My SR shelf amounts to about US$90 - half of it
> >given to me by my GM - and I like to think I'm a Real Gamer... :-)
> >
> > Danyel Woods - 9604801@********.ac.nz
> > Does US$250 of **&* books count?
>
> <hangs head low, thinks about his two bookcases of games>
> Maybe it is time I got a life.

TRAITOR! Even contemplating a life when there are games to play! <g>
Message no. 8
From: K is the Symbol <Ereskanti@***.COM>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 03:29:32 EDT
In a message dated 8/13/1998 7:42:05 PM US Eastern Standard Time,
9604801@********.AC.NZ writes:

> >$200? That's it? What are you, some kind of dilletante? I've got
> more than
> >that _per_box_, and I've got about 6 of those. Now get off RN until
> you're a
> >real gamer, poseur!
> >
> >Oh, and, :-)
>
> Hey, Nexx, be fair. My SR shelf amounts to about US$90 - half of it
> given to me by my GM - and I like to think I'm a Real Gamer... :-)

(smell of smoke, as K thinks something really quickly...)

I think we've got almost $300 in SR3 books currently in this house, no wait,
we sent one today, the rest go next week (or earlier).

And let's see, IIRC, and I've done the right math, we are standing at over
$1,000 in SR books stretching from First Ed, through to 3rd. Hmmmmm...wonder
if Insurance is a good thing to think about now????

-K
Message no. 9
From: Brett Borger <bxb121@***.EDU>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 10:08:53 +0000
> > Anyway, It looks to be a better implementation on the LEGO Basic they
> > had a few years ago....but I don't know how well it will work...$200
> > for a toy? (carefully not looking at my RPG shelves while typing
> > that)
>
> $200? That's it? What are you, some kind of dilletante? I've got more than
> that _per_box_, and I've got about 6 of those. Now get off RN until you're a
> real gamer, poseur!

Oh, I've got about $1000 worth of Lego....but I had an easier time
convincing people to buy it for me when it was $20 a box and not
$200.

-=SwiftOne=-
:P
Brett Borger
SwiftOne@***.edu
AAP Techie
Message no. 10
From: Iridios <iridios@*********.COM>
Subject: Re: New Toys (OT-sort of)
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1998 10:56:24 -0400
Brett Borger wrote:
>
> > > Anyway, It looks to be a better implementation on the LEGO Basic they
> > > had a few years ago....but I don't know how well it will work...$200
> > > for a toy? (carefully not looking at my RPG shelves while typing
> > > that)
> >
> > $200? That's it? What are you, some kind of dilletante? I've got more than
> > that _per_box_, and I've got about 6 of those. Now get off RN until you're a
> > real gamer, poseur!
>
> Oh, I've got about $1000 worth of Lego....but I had an easier time
> convincing people to buy it for me when it was $20 a box and not
> $200.

IMO, the $200 lego set is intended more for adults kids, those who
never really grew up and now build more sophisticated things with
their legos. Personally, if I had $200 to spare, I would probably buy
a set myself.


<snip sig>

--"Any science, sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from
magic."
--Arthur C. Clarke

Iridios
iridios@*********.com
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/9489
http://members.theglobe.com/Iridios

-------Begin Geek Code Block------
GS d-(++) s+: a- C++ U?@>++ P L E?
W++ N o-- K- w(---) O? M-- V? PS+@
PE Y+ !PGP>++ t++@ 5+ X++@ R++@ tv
b+ DI++ !D G e+@>++++ h--- r+++ y+++
-------End Geek Code Block--------

Further Reading

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Thwap!