Is Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Mountain Lion Compatible?

I just got the NXT 2 after I had changed to ML 10.8.1.

- I first installed Mindstorms with the iso image I got from the Lego support page.

- It uninstalls Flash and installs its own one.

- I installed the latest Flash version, basically undid the Mindstorms Flash installation.

=> Mindstorms works great with the UBS cable.

=> With Bluetooth it crashes every time.

I also bought an external BT dongle, which only works with my Paralells 7 with the WinXP VM for Mindstorms, but not with the Mac host. I had to activate the BT adapter with the Bluetooth Explorer.

I emailed Mindstorms tech support last night, and got this response this morning:

Thank you for contacting the LEGO Mindstorms Technical Support line.

Yes, LEGO NXT 2.0 is compatible with Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion but we have found one issue with the BT stacks on Mountain Lion whcih is not compatible with LEGO NXT software. Our developers are currently working on a solution to solve this problem.

They also suggest downloading and installing the latest NXT 2.0 ISO from here.

Hopefully, it won't take their developers too long to come up with a fix.

I spoke at length with someone at Lego Mindstorms support. Unfortunately I didn't think to get his name.

He indicated that its a known crash with the NXT software and Mountain Lion bluetooth. However, he was unable to give me any encouragement regarding when it would get fixed. In particular, he indicated there is also a known issue communicating using broadcom bluetooth chipset which is used in Macs for the last several years. He said the NXT software has been broken talking to broadcom devices since 2007. Five years and no fix.

He indicated the software is a version of Labview written by National Instruments.

I've checked my systems. My 2012 Macbook Air and 2011 Mini use broadcom chips, while my 2007 white macbook has "cambridge silicon radio". I am able to communicate using my 2007 white macbook running snow leopard.

Overall I can't say I'm happy with Lego's response. It essentially sounds like their software has been broken for years and they haven't bothered to fix it. I'm personally in a bind since the system we had envisioned using for first lego league isn't practical to use without bluetooth. I realize bluetooth can't be used in competition.

It doesn't seem the Lego supports their NXT software well nor the Mac platform.

I emailed Mindstorms Tech Support yesterday, to see if they had an ETA for the Bluetooth fix, just got this reply:

Unfortunately we have been given no time frame for the release of the Bluetooth update for Mac OS X 10.8.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Looks like we will have a bit of a wait on our hands.

I have also upgraded to Mountain Lion and am having problems with the Mindstorms NXT version 2 software crashing.

All the following actions cause a crash.

1 Editing a existing program.

2 Dropping a object into a new program.

3 Trying to connect to the NXT.

I expect there are more but i will be digging out my old windows laptop and using that.

I was able to get the NXT brick drivers 1.1.3 working following instructions here: http://huestones.co.uk/node/166

Brick is detected via USB, no luck with Bluetooth though.

Note: Once Brick is detected on OSX it can also be enabled on a virtual machine running Windows (I used VirtualBox for the virtual machine)

I found a fix to the problem that worked for me.

1. Open the location of the disk and click the file "LEGOMindstormsEngRet.mpkg"

The installation should take place and will install the software.

Once it is installed it should work like normal.

2. If you do not have the disk, you can download the file from here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4mh82a0a8uz36j2/Lego_Install.zip

Unzip the file and run the .mpkg file.

Hi,

I have a similar set-up in order to get the Bluetooth running. I use Mountain Lion with Parallels and Win7. That works with Mindstorms AND an off-the-shelf inexpensive USB-Bluetooth device. I basically gave up on VirtualBox because of various hardware issues. Parallels works great, but needs some resources ... and some $. I upgraded to 8GB RAM. Now it runs rather smoothly. Maybe meanwhile VirtualBox has removed the issues I had, but now it is too late and too troublesome to change back. Parallels works with all kind of USB devices and hardware security keys that I had to use for work. Never a problem. It is an investment that pays back quickly.

I have looked at deggie's link and the workaround described is the method i used to get Mindstorms NXT to work with Snow Leopard. I skipped the Lion upgrade so i cannot say that it will or won't work with Lion. Even with a complete reinstall it will start in Mountain Lion and then crash as soon as you try to program or connect with the NXT.

Did you use the installer from:

http://en-us.kb.lego.com/ics/support/KBAnswer.asp?questionID=2655

This installer does not seem to have an issue with the latest version of flash installed. However, I am unable to get it to work with blue-tooth under Mountain Lion.

It worked fine with Lion and the latest version of flash.

When you download the .iso file, it will have an .exe extension. Removing the .exe allows you to open the .iso and continue the install.

Woohoo! I got it to work. I needed to install the VirtualBox extension (additional download from the same site) that enables the USB 2.0. Then, it also needs to be enabled in the USB device filter.

Getting the firmware to download from robotC was a pain. I bricked my nxt a few times before I was able to figure out that when robotC initiates the boot sequence the windows guest loses the device. You need to rechoose and and make the nxt available to the windows guest again.

http://roaringapps.com/app:2802

Supposedly works with Mountain Lion, has some issues in Lion.

I have also left one of my Macs on Snow Leopard just for Mindstorms. You would think Lego would do a better job of supporting Macs because their demographics probably overlap quite a bit (high income households and/or education). I suspect it is their dependence on NI's LabView that limits Mac support.

My hope now is that they do a better job with EV3's software.

There is now a 2.0f6 that can be downloaded from here

http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-US/News/ReadMore/Default.aspx?id=351333

as easy to find as always...

but it still has the issues with Flash player. Here's hopeing for EV3...

Gordon.