Installing
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A robot is designed to be programmed. The development application is called Mindstorms for Lego and RoboPro for fischertechnik.
fischertechnik RoboPro only supports Windows, while Lego Mindstorms runs on Windows and Mac OS X. The Mindstorms application is powered by National Instruments LabView. |
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Left, the printed manual for one model.
Right, the printed manual for all models, the CD-ROM for installation and the warranty. |
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On Windows
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On Windows 10, the first step consists on downloading the 700 MB application. The built-in anti-virus warned against the application and prevented it from being be installed. A manual selection forced the installation, which completed successfully and included the drivers, but required a reboot.
The first launch of the application succeeded. |
On Windows 10, the installation from the included CD-ROM completed successfully and included the drivers.
The first launch of the application succeeded. |
On Mac OS X
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On Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, the first step consists on downloading the 700 MB application. The installation completed successfully but the application was impossible to launch. A window displayed a cryptic message with a button for help. Clicking on the button went to a 404 error page on the Lego website.
The solution consists on downloading and installing SilverLight manually after having installed Mindstorms. |
RoboPro is not available on Mac OS X.
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On Linux
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Mindstorms isn't available on Linux.
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RoboPro isn't available on Linux.
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Available Languages
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The application is available in different languages, including Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish. However, using another language requires downloading the 700 MB installation package again from the foreign website and installing SilverLight after again.
There is a distinct version for Education. The LabView logo appears everywhere. |
The application is translated into different languages, including Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian.
The language can be changed from a menu. |
Conclusion
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I've found the installation easier and faster for fischertechnik RoboPro, with one single application featuring all the languages, albeit only available for Windows.
Lego clearly mentions "internet access required" on the box but a 700 MB package isn't a small download. |
