legos

Lego for girls, this time hardware-hacker style

For Limor Fried, a hardware hacker and leader in the booming maker and do-it-yourself movements, there was never a question of waiting for someone else to jump in and do a better job of inspiring girls than Lego has done with its widely-panned Lego Friends set.

The product was featured on the cover of Bloomberg Business Week last year and drew worldwide attention as the global toy company's first major attempt at showcasing girls in a new set. Still, many Lego fans were upset that the company had focused on well-worn stereotypes and had ignored the modern reality that girls can do pretty much anything they want, whether or not there's pink or purple involved.

For Fried, who runs open-source hardware developer Adafruit Industries, it sounded like it was time for a little culture hacking.

SAP exec accused of faking bar codes to steal Legos

If there are spelling mistakes in this post, it's because I am continually shaking my head as I write.

For I would like to relay the tale told by authorities on the subject of Thomas Langenbach.

They allege that Langenbach, a multi-millionaire VP at SAP Labs Integration and Certification Center attempted to certify certain bar codes without integrity.

He stands accused of creating his own bar codes, wafting along to Target, switching the bar codes on Lego items, and then buying them at drastically reduced prices.

I am indebted beyond price to NBC Bay Area for bringing me this … Read more

God seems fine with Babel-like Lego tower

It's the tallest Lego tower ever, soaring to the heavens at more than 104 feet and setting a geek world record last week.

The Lego World Tower brought joy to the hearts of Koreans last week when it went up in Seoul's Olympic Stadium.

At 104 feet and 7 inches, it edged out a similar tower erected in France last year at 103 feet. It took some 4,000 Korean kids five days and half a million bricks to put it together. … Read more

Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7 debuts for iOS

I'm a full-grown adult, and I must confess that some of my favorite Xbox games have "Lego" in the title.

Lego Star Wars, Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones -- these games may be aimed at kids, but they're funny, clever, and thoroughly entertaining for all ages.

Alas, although they're available for nearly every platform known to man, only one has made its way to iOS: Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4. It was great -- but it was also 18 months ago.

Finally, finally, there's more Lego goodness for iOS, even if it's just … Read more

Google goes for a Drive

Stories from Tuesday's CNET Update:

Google Drive launches today Shortage of blue and white versions of Nokia Lumia 900 Startup wants to start mining asteroids Netflix earnings report Windows 8 preview in June Today's App to Watch: Lego Super Hero Movie Maker

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Look! App in the sky! It's Lego's superhero movie maker

As a parent, there's nothing quite so satisfying as watching your kids express their creativity. Doesn't matter if it's with a set of blocks, a box of crayons, or an app that turns long sequences of still photos into superhero-themed movies -- it's just thrilling.

On Saturday, I gave my 9-year-old son a five-minute tutorial on using Lego Super Hero Movie Maker, a new app that lets Lego fans create nifty stop-motion animations using their own minifigs (i.e. little Lego people).

By Sunday, he'd already created several hilarious movies, the best of which involved a giant praying mantis catching and devouring several minifigs (hey, who says the good guys always get to win?). And he was just getting started -- Super Hero Movie Maker was an instant hit.… Read more

Rock out on this Star Wars Lego barrel organ

Some people send Lego men spaceward on rockets, while others can only dream. Or build giant Lego barrel organs dedicated to Star Wars.

To promote the 3D version of "The Phantom Menace," German ad agency Serviceplan Campaign turned heads and arms with this mammoth instrument created from more than 20,000 Lego bricks.

When it's rotated with a hand crank, the barrel's many trees, buildings, and other Lego structures trigger levers that strike keys on a keyboard. That, in turn, plays the series' main theme. … Read more

Rolling, rolling, rolling: Lego, the world's biggest tire maker

When you think of the giant tire manufacturers, names like Goodyear, Firestone, and BFGoodrich probably come to mind. So it might surprise you to learn that the largest maker of tires on the planet is none other than the most famous toy company in the world: Lego.

To be sure, Lego's tires are not all-weather, nor can they go off-road. They also fit in the palm of your hand. But for 50 years, Lego has been churning out its little wheels, millions per year, topping out at an unbelievable 381 million in 2011, the company said.

This tire empire … Read more

The Dark Knight Rises goes Lego

Fans of the modern Batman series are eagerly awaiting the next installment of the Dark Knight franchise, due in theaters this summer. To help them pass the time until the movie's release, Lego aficionado ParanickFilmz created a reimagined trailer, along with help from a few associates who handled the mouth animation and CGI effects. … Read more

Gender-bending Lego ad remixer mashes up ninjas, puppies

I don't mean to sound all crotchety and old, but back when I was a kid, our Legos didn't have genders. All Legos were for everybody.

My brother and I shared the same pile of bricks and Lego figures. I didn't feel slighted that our little yellow people were missing pink skirts and sassy ponytails.

Lego recently debuted a new line of toys for girls. The Lego Friends wear skirts, have puppies, play dress-up, and hang out in a candy-colored cafe. Meanwhile, the boys' Lego characters are fighting space battles, capturing dinosaurs, and sailing pirate ships.

The HTML5 Gendered Lego Advertising Remixer shines a light on the gender divide in toy advertising. There's one world for girls and an entirely different world for boys.… Read more