JD: How long did it take, total?
DK: Fudging the math here. About 3 months start to finish, working probably an average of an hour a day (more on the weekends, less during the week). 110-120 hours probably isn't too far off.

JD: Do you think, given enough time, you could use Mindstorms to recreate the arcade for real? I mean, controlling Mario travelling across the screen to the top. Too complicated?
DK: I've gotten this question a few times now.. It might be possible with some sort of magnet-behind-the-wall system, but it's not something I'll be able to attempt. I'd like to keep my wife.

JD: Any plans to do other games?
DK: I have some ideas for Ms Pacman, but it's still in the brainstorming stages. No promises..

[Vib via Brothers Brick]

Jon Lund took some time out from liveblogging the CustomerMade conference in Copenhagen to email in and tell us that according to Soren Lund of Lego, the software behind the upcoming highly anticipated Mindstorms NXT will be published as open source; Lego is currently in the last stage, figuring out which public domain license to use before releasing it. Power to the people!

Mindstorms NXT has been available to pre-order at various online retailers since April 1st. MSRP is $249.99 and it should start shipping in August.

Breaking news: Lego only days aways from launching Mindstorms as open source [New Media Trends]
LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Pre-Order Starts April 1 [Gizmodo]