Embracing creativity and open source values
I am sick now...so of course naturally, i am feeling dead bored. Not waiting to do nothing, all i did is read and surf and read.
Stumbled across on Wired's Article on Lego's Mindstorm, Geeks in Toyland. For some reason, this geek toy did not catch my attention for a long time. At least now it had caught me for sure. Interestingly, it was'nt the technical content that interest me, but the way how Lego's Mindstorm management team embrace creativity in a wide scope without compromising their business values.
To cut the story short, the intial Mindstorm's firmware or OS that interfaces between the user and the logic controller of the Mindstorm's brain were pretty un-intutives and cumbersome to learn and built.
Insteads of needing less than an hour to built a robot, many are finding it's hard and had it work exactly what they wanted. Many kids shuned away while the adult happily friggles away, so Lego's Executives need to re-think and how to "buy" the concept back into the kids, so they outsourced the software development to National Instrument, as Lego build plastic blocks of bricks, not software!
However to their awe, a Standford student named Kekoa Proudfoot reversed engineered the new code and posted his finding online. Soon various engineers concerted their effort to create an Open source Mindstorm's firmware called LegOS. It's caught the attention of Lego's executives and it's legal department was very eager eagle to a pull a full stop to all these unathorised intrusion of IP.
However, ingeniously Lego embraced their effort and believed that people buying the values of Mindstorm's product does not stop at their own imagination and creativity. Thus creating an open community committed to the improvement of Lego's Mindstorm product lines.
Stumbled across on Wired's Article on Lego's Mindstorm, Geeks in Toyland. For some reason, this geek toy did not catch my attention for a long time. At least now it had caught me for sure. Interestingly, it was'nt the technical content that interest me, but the way how Lego's Mindstorm management team embrace creativity in a wide scope without compromising their business values.
To cut the story short, the intial Mindstorm's firmware or OS that interfaces between the user and the logic controller of the Mindstorm's brain were pretty un-intutives and cumbersome to learn and built.
Insteads of needing less than an hour to built a robot, many are finding it's hard and had it work exactly what they wanted. Many kids shuned away while the adult happily friggles away, so Lego's Executives need to re-think and how to "buy" the concept back into the kids, so they outsourced the software development to National Instrument, as Lego build plastic blocks of bricks, not software!
However to their awe, a Standford student named Kekoa Proudfoot reversed engineered the new code and posted his finding online. Soon various engineers concerted their effort to create an Open source Mindstorm's firmware called LegOS. It's caught the attention of Lego's executives and it's legal department was very eager eagle to a pull a full stop to all these unathorised intrusion of IP.
However, ingeniously Lego embraced their effort and believed that people buying the values of Mindstorm's product does not stop at their own imagination and creativity. Thus creating an open community committed to the improvement of Lego's Mindstorm product lines.
So brickhead's manufacturers are'nt too blocky either. :D
In the supersecret research lab at Lego headquarters in Billund, Denmark, a sign hangs on the wall: “We will do for robotics what iPod did for music.”
:D
Post sighted at YesButNoButYes on their article on Sony vs Lego.
posted by Radikaz @ 1/31/2006 11:54:00 AM
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