For two decades, my go-to November events were the American Society for Nephrology conference and ComDex, the computer expo.   As Comdex began to wither, I occasionally visited my most hated city (Las Vegas) in January for the Consumer Electronics Show, which let me keep up with the changes in the technology industry.   But, to be honest, the CES focus was on different things than what attracted my (or my clients’) interests- and it was still in Las Vegas.

That didn’t mean that I never read all the news about the show, about the new products, about who was doing what.  And, I almost went to this year’s show.  Except that I made a commitment several months ago to go on an excursion almost the same time in January, for reasons that I will expound upon very soon in a post.  (Now that this is being published, I know that day is this Monday.) So, I passed on this year’s show.

But, I did want to see one or two of the introductions.  In particular, I wanted to see the Lego exhibit.   Now, Lego is a relatively old company (for a kids’ toy company), having started in 1932.  But, I never personally played with these items, since they entered the US market way too late for me.  By 1962, I was too far into my chemistry endeavors to want to play with blocks- plastic ones, to boot.

When I was two, I had a wonderful block set.  And, my mom’s best friend, Eileen Neff, presented me with a fantastic wooden train set.  By the time I was four, my ability to use a hammer and nails pretty made those “securely fashioned”.  And, I graduated to an Erector set.  But, never Legos.

Now, my son clearly loved Legos.   And, his extensive collection was provided (when I decamped from the family home and downsized) to the Alexandria Public Library collection, which shared them with a bunch of deserving tykes.

This new Lego set shown at CES  is aimed at parents who want their kids to learn programming.  (Notice I did not say the kids.  I’m not saying they won’t be interested, but it’s pretty obvious who this product is targeting.)  This new toy is called the Lego Boost.

Lego feels that kids like my grandson (age 7 or so) and older will love the Boost.  These sets aren’t aimed at the younger set, since the box comes with some 850 parts or so. Let’s not forget the price will also  deter many families- Boost runs around $ 150 per box. And, there are five different flavors.   And, they will hit the stores around Labor Day.

There’s Vernie the Robot (it moves and talks); the MTR4 (multi-tooled rover 4) that comes with tools including a shooter;  Frankie the Cat (plays, purrs, and is moody); AutoBuilder (this production line creates miniature Lego models); and the Guitar4000 (this musical instrument also has sound effects).

These sets no longer just have small plastic bricks.  These come with motors and sensors.  They can move, make noises, and connect with a small computer.  The small computer is called the Move Hub- which has a wireless chip (Bluetooth low energy connectivity), two encoded motors, an activation monitor, a light, and tilt sensors with which it can interact with the pieces.  It connects up to an Android or iOS tablet.  As of now, phones are out- just the tablets work with Boost.

Oh- there’s no typing.  Instead, it’s digital blocks of code that get aligned to perform routines, to respond to stimuli, to dance, to meow.   Just like you see on this “simulated” tablet view.

I know $ 150 bucks isn’t chicken feed.  But, I do recall getting a $ 40 weather station and a $ 30 planetarium before I was 10 years old.  That’s like 2 of these devices…  (OK.  I made that money selling Christmas Cards.  I’m not sure my folks would have sprung for them.)

Just saying.

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