OT: Language for the ages

[Tony Duell]

> 
> Tony Duell wrote:
> >>Real real nerds have grey and red colored Fischer-Technik.
> > 
> > What other coulour is there? I've seen black gears (but most of mine are 
> > the old red ones), and they even have aluminium alloy beams I think now.
> 
> Actually, the beams used for the BBC Buggy (which is of course F-T) are 
> metal of some flavour rather than plastic, so they've been around that 

Those are the ones I am refering to.

Point is, much of my F-T is well over 30 years old now, so the BBC Buggy 
is what I'd call 'modern' :-)

> way for a good 20 years now. (I assume you mean that the beams were 
> originally plastic? I've never seen that much of the stuff around)

Oriignally there were just the blocks (30mm long * 15mm * 15mm) and the 
half-size blocks (15mm cube). They were all grey nylon.

> 
> Your comments make me wonder what the history of the buggy was though - 
> did it start out as a F-T kit in its own right, or was it a joint effort 

AFAIK it was never an F-T product. F-T never used stepper motors, and if 
they had they would not have fitted them with screws through the grouves 
of the blocks. 

Of course it uses F-T components (wheels, chain deive, the LDR, the 
microswitches for the bumpers and all the structural bits are stock F-T, 
The motors, electronics, barcode sensor and 3rd wheel are not). I think 
it was a totally 3rd party design by somebody who recognised that F-T 
parts would be ideal to make a small, hackable, robot.

> between F-T / Acorn / the BBC and designed specifically with the BBC 
> Micro in mind?
> 
> (from memory options to use them with RML hardware existed too, though)

That does not suprise me.

-tony