Also the name of a multitasked operating system for the Lego Mindstorms RCX brick to replace the firmware that comes with the brick from the factory. legOS and programs to run on it can be compiled with gcc (Hitachi H8300 cross compiler), so there's no other limit than the 64k barrier to what you can do.

This plural usage is alien to me - what you describe as legos, we used to call "bits of lego" or "lego blocks". Lego is all-conquering, an example of a truly great idea that cannot be kept down. I have started to amass a new lego collection - at age 14 I foolishly believed I had grown out of it and donated my big box of lego to a school. Children and adults can benefit massively from building with lego.

ryano has it right. You crazy Americans have twisted the use of the word LEGO, assuming that it works in a plural form. Not so.

See LEGO's fair use page, http://www.lego.com/info/fair.asp, which describes how the LEGO trademark may be used...

If the LEGO trademark is used at all, it should always be used as an adjective, not as a noun. For example, say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGO BRICKS". Never say "MODELS BUILT OF LEGOs".
Ahha! Further evidence is to be found in the rec.toys.lego FAQ
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-hierarchy/rec/toys/lego/LEGO_frequently_asked_questions_%28FAQ%29
One catalogue, dated 1980, has the following on its back page: Dear Parents and Children
The word LEGO(R) is a brand name and is very special to all of us in the LEGO Group Companies. We would sincerely like your help in keeping it special. Please always refer to our bricks as 'LEGO Bricks or Toys' and not 'LEGOS.' By doing so, you will be helping to protect and preserve a brand of which we are very proud and that stands for quality the world over. Thank you!

Susan Williams
Consumer Services

So, there you go. The definitive answer to the LEGO / Legos debate.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.