Mindstorms Product List

Name	Computer Required	Robotics Invention System Required	Special Parts	Comments
Robotics Invention System	Yes	No	RCX, Two Motors, two touch sensors, Light sensor	This set is an excellent set to start off with as it includes, the RCX.
Robotic Discovery Kit	No	No	Scout, Two touch sensors, two motors	This set does not need a computer to work, as all the programing is done on the face of the Scout
Droid Developer Kit	Yes	No	Micro Scout	The Micro Scout is a small computer with a built in motor as well as a light sensor
Dark Side Developer Kit	No	No	Micro Scout	This set is similar to the Droid developer just with a more expensive price new pieces, and new instructions
Robo Sports	Yes	Yes	Motor	This set includes one motor and 89 other pieces
Extreme Creatures	Yes	Yes	Fiber Optics	This set includes Fiber optics as well as 148 other pieces
Exploration Mars	Yes	Yes	Wheels	This set does not include any "special" pieces but it does include 156 "normal" Lego pieces
Ultimate Accessory Kit	Yes	Yes (it also works with The Robotic Discovery Kit)	Touch sensor, LEGO lamp, Rotation Sensor, Remote control	This set is quite a good buy if you are looking for an expansion on to the Robotics Invention System.
Vision Command	Yes	No	Lego Camera	This is a stand-alone set that can be turned into the most powerful sensor for Mindstorms. It can sense motion, color, as well as take pictures. One of the downsides of this set is that it must always be connected by a 15 foot cable too the computer so it is greatly decreased in range.

Name	Comments
RCX	This is the main Mindstorms microcomputer And the base of all my Robots. Highly suggested.
Touch Sensor	This is a great sensor which can be triggered by something pushing into the small yellow button on the front.
Light Sensor	This sensor is very powerful as it can detect amounts of light increasing and decreasing.
Rotation Sensor	This sensor keeps track off how many times the bar that is put in it rotates.
Temperature Sensor	This sensor can be used to detect the temperature of the area it is placed in.

Recently there were some new books put out on the subject but I do not own them so I cannot review them yet

Title	Author	Comments
The Unofficial Guide to Lego Mindstorms	Jonathen B. Knudsen	Has a good view of Lego Mindstorms lots of interesting tidbits and information about the Lego pieces.
David Baum's Definitive Guide to Lego Mindstorms	Dave Baum	This is a great book, lots of building instructions and their programs in both RCX code and his own programming language Not Quite C (NQC). Highly suggested.