Everyone’s talking about ‘IT’

Everyone’s talking about ‘IT’

Readers react to the scooter previously known as ‘IT’
Demonstrators ride the Segway Human Transporter, a one-person, battery-powered scooter invented by Dean Kamen.

OPINION By Jonathan Dube MSNBC


Dec. 4 — Well, we finally found out what the device previously known as “IT” is: a one-person, gyroscope-packed, electric-powered scooter called Segway. Some were disappointed, some tremendously impressed — but nearly everyone was captivated. But is IT all it was hyped up to be, or is IT headed for the junkyard — or perhaps The Sharper Image catalogue?

JUDGING BY THE reaction to Segway, many folks consider IT to be an overpriced toy for the rich. Some think it’ll catch on as a handy device for postal workers, warehouses and theme parks. And while a few hailed it as the beginning of a shift to smarter transportation technology, most say it’s cool but too expensive.
Wendy Carlson of Rocklin, Calif., wonders what all the fuss is about. “IT does not seem that exciting!!! We have motor scooters already. The kids use skateboards and constantly hear complaints from stores and neighborhoods. I just can’t see where the “normal” person will be able to use it in their typical day.”
And James Delery of Manassas, Va., was even less impressed by IT.
“IT won’t transform anything except a landfill or two. It’s sham. So disappointing given all the hype. These guys perception of what is life changing is warped. That’s what happens when you have too much money, your sense for the real world goes to the Land of Oz.”
IT really ticks off George Billington of Corona, Calif. “If I saw anyone riding one like the guy in the picture on the article I would push him over like Barney at K-Mart,” he says. “It’s unpractical, it’s ugly, and who wants to pay three grand for a hi-tech Razor? I’m sure bin Laden would like it for morning cave hoppings...try pitching it to the al-Qaida.”
There’s nothing like some razor-sharp sarcastic barbs to put an egomaniac inventor in his place.
“If people want to get to their destinations in a slower, cheaper, less efficient way while getting rained on there is already — the bicycle,” says Thomas of Elizabeth, N.J.
“If you can’t fall off it why is (inventor Dean) Kamen wearing a helmet for his demo?,” says Steve Thorpe of San Jose, Calif.

HOW SAFE IS IT?
Speaking of helmets, readers were quite concerned about how safe IT really is.
“My 11-year-old has to put on more protective gear than the Bruins goalie to ride her bike on the street legally,” Says Joe Fowler of Issaquah, Wash.

The key might be creating special lanes, like those for bikes, to separate IT out from other traffic and pedestrians.
“If we can restrict cars to certain areas or IT to the areas where cars can’t go, think how many people on scooters you could get between stop lights in New York or any other CBD (central business district) in any other metro in the country. IT could work!!!” Kevin Brooks of Vancouver, Wash.

What if ‘IT’ just isn’t all that?

LEVITATE IT

Then there’s the weather. A lot of angry people wrote in who live in rural America or places where the weather is rarely good enough to scoot around town on such a device.
“Frankly I don’t relish the idea of chaining up my 80 lbs. scooter to freeze my trenchcoat off on the way to school or work in sub-zero temperatures, ice and snow storms,” says Auston Terry of Bozeman, Mont.
“Believe me, you don’t want to be riding IT in Phoenix when it is 118 degrees by 9 a.m.!” says Stacy Maplesden, of Phoenix, Ariz.
The U.S. Postal Service is going to be one of the first to try IT out. The service, of course, office promises to deliver the mail in either rain or sleet or snow, but a postal worker named Nanette in Florida is concerned about whether that’ll keep her from delivering the mail in either rain or sleet or snow.
“I wonder about the elements. Rain, wind, how will you keep the mail dry?”
Perhaps covering it with a weather-proof bubble would do the trick. A few readers said they’d like to see it levitate. Meet George Jetson…..

NO SHOTGUN RACK
IT raises some other questions. “I would love to use such an environmentally friendly means of transportation, but where would I put my four year old?” Wonders Nancy Moser of Raleigh, N.C. ” How about the baby? And the groceries?”
Frank Foster of Russellville, Ark., says, “It will not transform anything in my hometown. There’s no shotgun rack or fishing rod holder. Seriously, it is a novelty in this part of the U.S.”
Others complained that, frankly, they wanted to sit while they rode around town. “How many people can stand for a few hours?” asks Annette Pessin of Brockton, Mass.
But Steven Miles of Los Angeles has a few words for them. “This is just what we need: another great invention that will contribute to an already fat, overweight and lazy society,” says Steven Miles of Los Angeles.
By the way, who came up with the name Segway? “IT” was a lot cooler. Matthew Marshak, of Stonybrook, N.Y., says it should be called the “Go-ped.” Peter from India suggests, “A burglar’s pet”

PRACTICAL USES
The general reaction is that IT will mostly catch on in big cities. Jan Jenderson of Clinton, Ark., doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about: “I live in Rural America — what’s a sidewalk?”
Here are some of the practical uses readers suggested:

Zoos, botanical gardens, craft fairs and flea markets, parks, special events - Dave Miller, Niles, Ill.

Daily rentals at fairs and tourist parks like Disneyland - T. Lunden, Puyallup, Wash.

Manufacturing plants, warehouses - Holt Irby, Garland, Texas.

College students, except they can’t afford IT — Brian, Spring Arbor, Mich.

Bike messengers.

Teen playtime in parking lots - Vic in Kodak, Tenn.

Senior citizens — Margaret Anna Durkin, San Diego, Calif.

Golf courses — Amanda Ouellette, Rochester, N.H.

Warehouses, superstores, stock rooms and other large corporate environments - Kevin from Chicago
Let’s not forget the implications for sports. “I can’t wait to see the skateboarders get their hands on these,” Said Thomas E. Warwick of Langhorne, Penn. “Xtreme Sports will never be the same.”
“IT will sell in retirement communities,” says A. G. Gelbert of Colchester, Vt. “I anticipate a hot rental market at large theme parks, malls and parks. Police might get faster versions (police packages?) for high speed foot patrols (more presence with less patrolmen). Car garages far (1 or 2 miles) from facilities like airport terminals, hospitals, university campuses or downtown shopping areas could make them available as an incentive to park farther away. . .
“An aquatic version would beat hip boots and be cheaper than a bass boat. I think there will be a pack of specialty markets that spring up around it. As to the hype, if you compare IT’s hype with the hype for Harry Potter, I think IT’s hype at least has some substance behind it.”
Clearly the words of a bitter muggle. Harry, of course, doesn’t need a Segway, he has a Nimbus 2000.

A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
But the road to IT’s success is far from clear. “You can bet all auto makers and the petroleum industry will pump BILLIONS into marketing campaigns to stopping this from happening, or just make a really cheap electric version of their own... a hybrid ‘IT/CAR,’ hmmm!” Paul Baruzzo of Toronto writes.
Todd Rawlings of Issaquah, Wash. is a big fan of the alternative commuting idea, but thinks IT isn’t it.
“IT would not work for me because work is more than 15 miles from home (I’d have to run the last 4 miles and drag it behind me ). A much more realistic commuting vehicle is the Sparrow electric vehicle. This type of vehicle has much more potential in the harsh climates most Americans experience between November and May! The Sparrow will travel 100 miles per charge. I’m saving for and hope to purchase a Sparrow within a year.”
I’ve personally seen one parked on a street in Seattle. That is one funny-looking vehicle. Everyone who walked by and stared at it with bug eyes and a look of puzzled amazement on their face. It looked like a cute giant toe.

COULD IT GO INTERNATIONAL?
Interestingly, nearly all of the media attention on IT has focused on whether and how useful it might be in America. But such a device might actually have a better shot at catching on overseas, where cars are already tiny and bicycles far more common as commuter transportation.
“It may have no use in American lifestyle, but we’ve all seen the pictures of shoulder-to-shoulder rush hour on bicycles in some cities in Asian countries,” Sean Lowe of Manchester, N.H. says. “This would be perfect for a society already heavily congested where large cars, and in some cases large vehicles, at all are not practical.”
Faye of Birmingham, Ala., has little confidence: “One word: Moped.”

A PASSING FAD?
Still, perhaps IT needs to be given a chance. Eugene Davis of Los Angeles, Calif., can recall many things that were laughed at and called “passing fads.”
“They said it about the auto, the airplane, and talking pictures. My first ‘pocket’ calculator cost $350; and I was told it would never replace my sliderule. Today I can buy a pocket calculator that will do three times what that did for under $20; and two generations will furrow their brows with unknowing while asking “what’s a sliderule?” Problems with the IT? Sure! But then there are problems with all of those other gadgets also. It may not outsell sliced bread. But, can YOU remember when nobody in your neighborhood had a computer, or — for that matter — color TV. I’m sorry to report that I can!”

On the Frontier

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Indeed, maybe this is just the start of something great. After all, Ford didn’t invent the Porsche, just the Model T.
“This is the first generation one-person scooter,” says Andrew Alexander of Calistoga, Calif. “When it achieves 20 mph and a modicum of weather protection, it will be ready for a consumer niche-market.”
And Cathy Boyer of Olney, Ill., sees the glass half full, not empty, and envisions Segway as just the beginning of a long road to better transportation.
“I think IT is fascinating! Will it revolutionize transportation? Only time will answer that one. Look at the airplane, they said it would never fly, and we would never land on the moon. Fascinating and wonderful things can happen when the right people with know how go for IT!!!”
Well said. Still, Chris O. of San Jose, Calif., probably summed it up best. “It’s cool, but not $3,000 worth of cool.”

What do you think of 'IT'?

How will the one-person, gyroscope-packed, electric-powered scooter transform transportation? Or is it a sham? Do you think 'IT' lived up to all the hype?