APPENDIX A
Online Reference and Support

You should have received an Instruction Guide and a Quick Start Guide with your Lego Mindstorms NXT kit. Thankfully, that's not the end of the reference material available for your robotics kit. The great news is that the amount of information available online is already substantial and growing fast.

There is no way for me to include everything available for your NXT reading pleasure—there are new Web sites, blogs, and training materials popping up every day. From videos to pictures to new operating systems and software, the Mindstorms NXT world has enough to keep you busy for quite a while.

Web Sites

When it comes to Web sites, there are plenty. The Web sites I'm including here have proven to be kid-friendly:

• http://www.mindstorms.com: The official Web site of the Lego Mindstorms NXT. This site offers videos, building instructions, plenty of cool downloads, interviews with NXT designers and demos of their designs, links to blogs and other Web sites, and access to online forums. The site is always changing, so check in frequently to see what's new.
• http://www.legoeducation.com: The companion Web site for Lego Education. This Web site has interesting articles to read (a good source for future bot ideas) and offers up challenges that will improve your robot design skills.
• http://mynxt.matthiaspaulscholz.eu: Matthias Paul Scholz lives in Germany and has worked with me on many NXT projects, including The NXT Step blog (see "Blogs" below). His Web site includes videos, pictures, and instructions for many strange and unusual bots that he's designed. He also provides links to other Web sites and blogs.
• http://www.firstlegoleague.org/: FIRST LEGO League is a series of robotic competitions for students ages 9 to 14. There are local competitions that culminate in an annual international competition, with teams from around the world coming together to display some excellent robotic design and programming skills.
• http://www.philohome.com/nxt.htm: Phillipe Hurbain's Web site covers some fairly advanced robotic subjects, but it's always fun to visit. Philo (his nickname) likes to take his Bricks apart, so don't try and copy anything he does—it could damage your NXT.

There are plenty more Web sites that focus on the NXT, and new ones are popping up all the time. You might want to even consider starting your own Web site on the NXT!

Blogs

Blogs have been growing in popularity for a few years now—and the number of blogs related to the NXT continues to increase. The following are some frequently updated and popular blogs that are focused on the Lego Mindstorms NXT robotics kit and related products and news:

• http://thenxtstep.blogspot.com: I contribute to this blog with a handful of NXT colleagues. We cover news and products related to the NXT and more. It's a good place to check for updates on new products as well as information on new Web sites, forums, and blogs.
• http://www.legoeducation.info/nxt: This blog focuses on the Mindstorms Education NXT kit and includes news and updates pertaining to Mindstorms NXT and the classroom.

As with Web sites, there are many more blogs out there dedicated to the Mindstorms NXT kit. You might want to consider even starting your own; visit http://www.blogger.com or http://wordpress.com to learn how to create your own blog, absolutely free. Post news of your NXT bot designs with pictures and video and you may find yourself developing a growing base of fans who visit your blog often.

Forums and Message Boards

Forums and message boards are popular places for you to share your comments, questions, and robot designs with other NXT fans. Be aware that most forums require you to register with a username and a password to use the site. Be sure to read the rules for what you can post and what you cannot post—violating the rules can get you banned from using the forum in the future.

Three of the most popular forums right now are the following:

• http://club.lego.com/messageboards/home/: After registering at this site, you can post comments and questions on the official Lego forum. The forum is divided into categories, so look for the Mindstorms NXT category to view discussions on the NXT robotics kit.
• http://news.lugnet.com/robotics/nxt/: Lugnet has been around for a long time, allowing Lego fans to communicate and share news and everything else imaginable. This new forum has been created just for the NXT. It's also a great place to post questions! The questions do tend to be from more experienced users, but you can learn a lot from reading and participating in the discussions. You will have to register with this site, too, in order to post on the forum.
• http://www.nxtasy.org: This blog includes a forum and is building a collection of NXT-related articles (submitted by NXT fans). It maintains some excellent discussions on beginner and advanced topics.