We're playing a bit of catch-up here, so forgive any lack of freshness to our news. There's little lack of freshness to these new Eggo toaster waffles, thankfully, as one of the new varieties are (finally!) Lego-shaped. A commentor on the Strange New Products blog says, "They're interesting because they cook a little slower because there is less "waffle" to the texture, and they don't build all that well, but they are very cool."

We happen to have a soft spot for Eggo waffles anyway, so these are on our grocery list for sure. Finally, Lego elements that are supposed to have teeth marks!

LEGO Shaped Eggos [Strange New Products] (Thanks, Drew and Bridgitte!)

Posted by at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Although Nextbrick got off to a great start, I ran into a huge time-sink when I accepted a promotion at my new job. That's not much of an excuse, I know, so I apologize for the lack of attention.

The good news is that the initial ramp-up period is over and I have a few minutes here and there that I can begin to apply back to Nextbrick. It's caused me almost literal pain to see some great Lego news go by and not to blog it.

On a related note, if you or someone you know is interested in blogging about Lego and other construction toys, I'd be willing to bring in someone else in a (very) part-time role. I'll even pay in Lego.

If interested, send an email to Nextbrick@gmail with a short writing sample.

— Joel

Posted by at 8:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With just a few days left before the Lego Mindstorms NXT Developer Program Sign-Ups close forever, we present to you this Q&A with Karen Lynch of Flashpoint, the PR firm helping Lego manage the program. If you haven't signed up and want to know more about the program, read on.

Nextbrick: If you could, just a short explanation about Flashpoint's role in the Mindstorms NXT project.

Karen: Flashpoint PR is a boutique public relations agency; we support all product publicity for LEGO Systems, Inc. and have therefore been involved in the PR programs supporting this exciting new product. Members of our team, in previous lives, contributed to the launch of the original LEGO MINDSTORMS, so this is an exciting project for us.

Nextbrick: We noticed there are lots of questions in the Mindstorms NXT Users Panel (MUP) sign up, but not very many places to offer specific, personal information. What's the best way for an applicant to get noticed?

Karen: MUP members are selected based on their proposed contributions to NXT rollout – be it in software, hardware, community or inventions/models areas.  Some people want to write books, others are looking to help create curriculum or transition guides, others have suggested hacking protocols and amazing creations they’d like to achieve.  We’re less concerned with personal information and more looking for the big ideas.

Nextbrick: Will Lego be granting access to the private forum where the original MUP community helped to develop the NXT project. If so, will the past interactions between Lego and the MUP be retained? It would be interested to read through the threads that lead to NXT's development.

Karen's response and more questions after the jump.

Karen: It is unlikely that we will be continuing from the original MUP forum as we are putting a system into place that will work for over 100 contributors.   I’m sure there will be some channel of communication for the groups, but it likely will not be public.  You’ll just have to stay tuned to see what we reveal!

Nextbrick: How important is it have owned a previous version of Mindstorms in the selection process to enter the NXT MUP?

Karen: The most important factor is the commitment to creating something for the community and helping to further develop NXT. One of the main objectives of the new set is to recruit a new base of users to MINDSTORMS robotics, so it’s not impossible for someone with little to no experience with RIS to be selected to the NXT MUP.

Nextbrick: Will the beta NXT software be both Mac and Windows compatible?

Karen: Yes, it will be compatible for both.

Nextbrick: Your press release mentions that there will be four main groups of MUP developers: testing, hardware and software dev/hacking, creation of robots, and community program and activities. Will you be dividing MUP developers into four different groups or will each selectee be allowed to mix and match areas of expertise?

Karen: Most of the applications are indicating some sort of self-selection in terms of the activities proposed – obviously software development proposals will be grouped under the software group, books and the like are more community activities.  We’re looking for a great balance of interests, with a fairly even distribution among the four categories.

Nextbrick: How many people have signed up for the MUP program so far?

Karen: Response for the program has been overwhelming and we’ll be making announcements about total number of applicants when we wrap up the application process.   Our application window closes February 5.

Nextbrick: Will we be hearing about who was selected on the 15th of February or before?

Karen: We will be making an announcement in February.  Exactly how and when notifications are being sent is to be determined.

While we had Karen's attention, we thought we'd ask for a little more information about the NXT kit, too.

Nextbrick: Are there any new structural pieces that we haven't yet heard about?

Karen: There have been no changes to the product details announced in early January.

Nextbrick: We noticed that the wiring uses a six-pin plug. Is that a standard interconnect or a proprietary one?

Karen: While it is based on a standard six-pin plug we did have to make some adjustments to ensure that the product was safe for use by children, therefore, they are not the same cords you can buy at retail.

Thanks, Karen, for your time and effort in answering our questions. We're sure everyone anxiously awaits the results of your program!