Page 21 - The Unofficial Guide to Lego Mindstorms Robots

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What About MacOS and Linux?

Currently, the software that comes with RIS runs only on Windows. If you have MacOS or
Linux, however, you can still program your robots, just not with the official software. The
best option, at least to get started, is NQC, which is described in Chapter 4. Appendix A,
Finding Parts and Programming Environments, lists the different packages that are
available. If you really want visualstyle programming (like RCX Code), you can purchase
ROBOLAB, which provides a similar (but more powerful) environment on MacOS.
There's one final wrinkle if you want to program from MacOS: you'll need a suitable cable.
The following web page describes the issues of programming the RCX from MacOS,
including cables: http://www.enteract.com/~dbaum/lego/macmind/index.html .

You can purchase a Macintosh IR tower cable from Pitsco LEGO DACTA for $15US. See Appendix A for details.

Expansion Sets

Aside from the basic RIS set, the MINDSTORMS product line also includes expansion sets. These sets provide additional
parts and software to supplement the RIS set. Two such sets exist, each selling for about $50US :

Extreme Creatures
This set comes with about 150 LEGO pieces and is designed so you can add decorative jaws and claws to your robots. It
includes a light that can be attached to one of the output ports of the RCX.

Robosports
This expansion set includes about 90 LEGO pieces, two balls, two pucks, and an additional motor. It's oriented towards robots
that can play different sports.

A third expansion set, Exploration Mars, should be released sometime in 1999.

Among LEGO enthusiasts, the consensus is that the expansion sets are not as good a value as the RIS set itself. If you're
looking for extra pieces, it might be better to buy a LEGO TECHNIC set instead. If you're looking for additional sensors and
motors, by themselves, there are other ways to get these. See Appendix A, Finding Parts and Programming Environments, for
details.

Other Sets

RIS isn't the only game in town. In 1999, two new MINDSTORMS sets were released: the Droid Developer Kit and the
Robotics Discovery Set. Both sets are based on the same technology as RIS. They have more limited capabilities than RIS with
the intent of making them easier to use.