Penguin Robot Magazine?

Humanoido

To All:

Is there an interest in a new magazine all about Parallax Penguin Robots?

Actually, it could cover Parallax robots, Basic Stamp microcontrollers,
sensors, hobby projects, PBASIC programming, circuits & hardware,
news, tips & techniques, and fun experiments!

Let me know what you think.

humanoido

Larry Sutherland

I think it is a good idea. I down loaded a copy from Yahoo groups.
How does the people from Parallax feel about it?

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·Right_Uderstanding, Attitude, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort, Concentration, and Awareness

sailman58

How about extending the scope to all Parallax products? We had more than 60 folks at the unofficial Propeller Expo last weekend.

Ron

SRLM

A well written and edited robotics magazine would be nice. Magazines like Servo and Robot are poor examples of what the hobby can do. If anything, the magazine should aim for the kind of quality that MAKE magazine provides. The magazine should have well written articles that give complete information, with diagrams, parts lists and sample code.

xavi

Yes.
I can contribute if necessary, humanoido.

erco

FWIW, Tom Atwood, the editor of Robot magazine, is quite receptive to input for the magazine. I did a Scribbler article for him in the current issue, which included diagrams, parts lists and sample code. There were a few rough spots in the editing process since my article was more technical than their average piece, but the final product turned out pretty good. Future technical articles should go smoother. Until you guys get your "Parallax Penguin Magazine", you might consider writing to Tom to either suggest or submit material. His email is toma@botmag.com

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·"If you build it, they will come."

SRLM

My comment was dirrected at the magazine as a whole averaged out over several issues of observation. I did not mean that all articles were poor. Rather, most of the information in there is of a short term nature (Notes from Convention 2008!, When Will the New Product Arrive?, Interview with JL Kinsley!). I guess that was my main point: their articles were not technical enough. My belief is that robotics is an engineering hobby, and should have documentation focused on engineering principles and topics, so that readers can learn.

erco

There's a lot of eye candy in that magazine, for sure. That's how you sell mags at a newsstand. I'm actually surprised there aren't cover shots of bikini-clad women holding Roombas (yet). I just decided to submit a tech article to (hopefully) help the magazine evolve into a more technically interesting publication. Tom keeps me in the loop, he has gotten some good feedback about my article (which is VERY different from the bulk of their stuff) and I hope this may encourage others like yourself to submit more tech stuff to "plus up" the mag.

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·"If you build it, they will come."

Humanoido

SRLM, maybe you’re a “too advanced genius” to appreciate the magazines? Erco, are you sure about bikini girls in magazines about robots? – there’s already provocative robots to fill that position...

All three can be enjoyed – Robot Magazine, Nuts & Volts, and Servo. Seeing bipeds and humanoids in Robot Magazine with the large spread color layouts is spectacular - Tom Atwood has done a great job. Nuts & Volts covers a different aspect very effectively with tutorials, projects, and electronics. Servo is concentrated on great projects too with a different flair.

My vision is for a small, no cost magazine, that does not compete with the “big ones,” fills a tiny gap, and can be put together in a reasonable time span by one person. Enthusiasts can contribute letters and photos about their interesting projects.

The idea is to document projects that everyone wants to build, and those projects that everyone continues to build over and over again. Why reinvent the wheel? Just refer to Penguin Tech Magazine and we’ll show how it’s designed.

When you see some projects for Penguin Robot, they can be ported over to other platforms, and visa versa. BoeBot/Scribbler/Toddler/SumoBot/QuadRover fans, are you listening?

PDF format is the same format used by Parallax Stamps In Class books. Downloading will save time, labor, and cost of ink publishing, yet issues can be presented in full color layout with photos, charts, schematics, drawings, graphs, and designs. Plus, with finite pages, an entire issue prints quickly on a color printer.

PT can cover any Parallax product. Given the space premium, many products will focus on Penguin Robot. After all, it’s all about Penguin.

humanoido

sailman58

My only complaint is the the three magazines mentioned seem to be pic centric, and any material featuring a Parallax processor is a rare treat. If I had the knowledge, I might try to write something myself, but I am too much of a nubie. The latest issue of Servo has a Propellor article, but now I have to wait for the next three installments.

Ron

Humanoido

Ron, I think you'll be in for a real treat because
Penguin Tech Magazine will focus on projects using
the Parallax Basic Stamp series of microprocessors.

As you know, Penguin Robot uses the Basic Stamp 2px,
which is pure raw power in a tiny board with built
in sensors, though it's likely that many projects
will be spun on the BS2 as well. We have others
slated for projects such as the BS1, BS2sx, and
BS2p40. When PBASIC gets up to PAR on the
Propeller, well, that could open up new worlds
from here to Infinity...

I know what you're saying about waiting for three
installments of the Propeller article. Maybe someday
you'll be waiting for the next issue of Penguin Tech.

humanoido