Parallax Inc

I first found out about Parallax because my 5 year old son is really into robots and he wanted to build one. I did some research and found that Parallax has some great products for building robots (kits that contain everything you need to build «sumo» fighting robots, helicopters, and basic robots) and for learning basic programming.
I took my son to the Parallax robotics expo a couple months ago and he loved it. He learned to solder, got to make a light up necklace that looks like a miniature robot, got to see very cool robots, got to tour the manufacturing facility, and got to play with many of the robots that can built from the kits.
He got one of the kits for his birthday, and while he is still too young to build it by himself and to really understand it, he loves building the robot with me and if he even picks up a fraction of the information, he’ll be way ahead of his peers in electronics and robotics. The beauty of the kits, too, is that we can build the basic robot (the BOE-​bot) and then add to it with different sensors, different modes of movement (spider legs, treads, wheels, etc.), different ways of moving it (voice control, line following, remote control, etc.). It really can be a multi-​year learning and fun project.
On the more personal side, I wasn’t sure what kit to get my son, so I stopped in the facility one day as I was driving back into town from a work assignment (we only live about 10 miles away so it was handy). I spoke with one of the gentlemen who works there and he was very helpful in recommending products that my son may enjoy and be able to grow into. I can’t recommend Parallax enough.

Parallax has been a purveyor of fine microcontroller-​based products for decades, starting with their PIC programmers and legendary BASIC Stamp line. I can think of two main reasons for their continued awesomeness: incredible products, and great support.
Their support is legendary — phone, Internet, whatever. President and Vice President Chip and Ken Gracey (respectively) are active on the support forum, with Ken handling many customer problems personally. They’re very open and frank about a lot of issues — when recently forced to discontinue a product line, they not only made sure they bought as many parts as they could to keep in stock, but were up front with customers as to what was happening, why, what they were doing, and what the customers could do.
They’ve also got insanely cool products. The BASIC Stamps are a great way to get involved with programming and electronics, and they’ve built up a strong portfolio of those modules and associated sensors, etc. Lots of cool stuff there, like colour sensors, RFID gear, and motors and such. Also incredibly cool is the new stuff, like their fully custom-​designed processor, the Propeller, which can generate video and run video games all on one chip. Some of the stuff that this chip makes possible — like their all-​terrain gasoline-​powered robot that comes in at a hefty 90 pounds, and $ 5000 — is absolutely insane.
Honestly, the only problem I have with Parallax is that their prices tend towards the high side. Not too expensive — they just make it way too hard to buy everything, like I want to :)