Bay Area SEG on WIRED News

[Sleepy]

Our Zoo glide on Saturday was covered by Wired News.
Here's a link to today's article:

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64678,00.html

-Alex

[mattk]

Awesome

-MattK

[IndyFIRSTengineer]

VERY NICE article ... FINALLY a reporter who's not trying to be a "jerk". I sent Rachel a note (from the link in the article) thanking her for the excellent unbiased report.

Stuart Bloom - Rolls-Royce Corporation
FIRST Team 1018 - Pike High School "RoboDevils"

“Who goes out and says, ‘You have a better probability of winning the state lottery than making a nickel in professional sports. And by the way, last year two million exciting technical jobs went unfilled in this country because you weren't there to take that job. And it pays you 10 times as much as flipping burgers, and it's fun and it's exciting and you get to create things and build things and help make the world a better place and help make yourself a better living.’ Who tells them this?”
Dean Kamen, founder - FIRST Robotics

[np]

then again, the reporter reportedly took part in the Zoo
trip (see earlier report/thread here), so this could be anticipated ...

quote:Originally posted by Sleepy

Our Zoo glide on Saturday was covered by Wired News.
Here's a link to today's article:

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,64678,00.html

-Alex

[np]

unbiased??? - hallo??? I guess you and I live on two different planets.

besides, she is gushing about the price a bit too much and that's not very fortunate.

quote: "They know something's not kosher," Mann said, referring to the animals that would undoubtedly see the riders as either Jetsons rejects or people taking imperceptibly small steps past the cages.

This part may be funny, but it does not sound exactly flattering, if you know what I mean.

quote:Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, who's a member of the San Francisco group, attended the zoo event with several of his approximately 16 scooters to lend to participants who didn't have their own.

Wozniak, a friend of Kamen's who, "aside from about 30 people on Amazon" owns one of the first Segways, really likes the group.

"It's like a bowling enthusiast joining a league. I have more problems than most in meeting up for all the group glides, but I do make some of them. This group organized Segway polo matches that are one of the most fun things I have done at this stage in my life," Wozniak wrote in an e-mail.

"We have a common bond, but it's not a formal or ritualized one. We have all chosen to do something that is not cheap (we make a sacrifice), something a bit different than what most people do. It's rare to encounter people who do things like this, so the Segway group is very important to us, especially since we are not the most socially outgoing types," he added.


Here the reporter allegedly quotes Steve Wozniak - who (allegedly) owns _approximately_ 16 of such scooters (how unfortunate that the word _SCOOTER_ got stuck in the brain of journalists once and for all). _approximately_? Cannot one of the worlds greatest computer experts count up to twenty? And the price of _approximately_ 16 scooters, as well as their upkeep during use is something for which he _made a sacrifice_??? Mind you, those words are attributed to him, in an email note, they don't originate from me.

Owning _approximately_ 16 Segways is something for which Steve Wozniak really had to make a sacrifice? who are you kidding? even if he did not get them all for free, but bought them for the ORIGINAL AMAZON 100,000 AUCTION PRICE (which I am sure he did not), it's only 1.6 million dollars worth of investment for a new technology by a new company in which he also has shares, I would dare to assume ...

So something does not quite add up here. I happen to like and admire the technology, even though I would not want to own a Segway in NYC, and not because of the price, but partly because of other reasons ... Imagine what the detractors will think when they read this "nice" summary of an otherwise wonderful, fun outing.

quote:Originally posted by IndyFIRSTengineer

VERY NICE article ... FINALLY a reporter who's not trying to be a "jerk". I sent Rachel a note (from the link in the article) thanking her for the excellent unbiased report.

Stuart Bloom - Rolls-Royce Corporation
FIRST Team 1018 - Pike High School "RoboDevils"

“Who goes out and says, ‘You have a better probability of winning the state lottery than making a nickel in professional sports. And by the way, last year two million exciting technical jobs went unfilled in this country because you weren't there to take that job. And it pays you 10 times as much as flipping burgers, and it's fun and it's exciting and you get to create things and build things and help make the world a better place and help make yourself a better living.’ Who tells them this?”
Dean Kamen, founder - FIRST Robotics

[Mr_Laurenzano]

I think its pretty screwed that the city of San Fransico ban om segway was every even let to be with this law being in place

21949. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that it is the
policy of the State of California that safe and convenient
pedestrian travel and access, whether by foot, wheelchair, walker, or
stroller, be provided to the residents of the state.
(b) In accordance with the policy declared under subdivision (a),
it is the intent of the Legislature that all levels of government in
the state, particularly the Department of Transportation, work to
provide convenient and safe passage for pedestrians on and across all
streets and highways, increase levels of walking and pedestrian
travel, and reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.


Segway-
Half the speed of a car,
Twice as Smart.

[Mr_Laurenzano]

Total injuries on segways in california

****en Zero!!!!!!

Pintos are still on the road.

what a crock of ****.

Segway-
Half the speed of a car,
Twice as Smart.

[Neelix]

Np, come on.

I seriously think that there are people here who would complain about the Segway's price dropping to $10, that it now hovers and gets 6,000 miles to the charge.

-------------------------
Fear not, for even though I come from the Forbidden City, I surely do not agree with the rules.
Chris Knight

[Mr_Laurenzano]

Neelix, np is the devils advocate but I tell ya he has opened my eyes to a thing or two.

Segway-
Half the speed of a car,
Twice as Smart.

[Sleepy]

The reporter wanted to do an article on our group after hearing about all of the Seg Polo buzz. Our Zoo glide just happenned to be the next event that Bay Area SEG was planning. So she came along to see what we were about. Woz let her borrow one of his segs and she got a quick training session before the tour.

np, I think the "we" that Woz was referring to in his sacrifice statement isn't just him, but the group. Not all of us have as much cash as him.

About the "approximately 16"... he lends them out to his friends. So it's very possible that he doesn't have an exact count. Why get so worked up over the word "approximately"?

It could have done without the "Jetsons rejects" comment. But overall I thought it was a balanced article. You can't fault the reporter for printing Woz's comment about us being socially challenged... some of us may be :)

-Alex

[Brooster]

Considering that Wired was the source of Gary Rivlin's well-known "Segway's Breakdown" article (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html), I'm delighted to see anything even halfway positive out of Wired. I thought this was a pretty decent article, and generally good for the Seg.

Congrats to Neelix and his family for organizing the zoo visit (the pictures looked great), and to the whole Bay Area SEG for their positive, proactive involvement. I always enjoy seeing what you guys are up to.

Broo

[8][:P]

Brooster

[jbauer]

"Neelix, np is the devils advocate but I tell ya he has opened my eyes to a thing or two."

Mr_Laurenzano, can you please share the learnings you've had in brief? I have a bit of a MTV attention span, and I prefer to have my pearls of wisdom spoon fed... :D

- Jon

[np]

No, I actually don't work for the devil any more.
Or the devils as you so appropriately put it.

By the way, is there any brave soul, who plans to use Segway for commuting in down-town Manhattan during the Republican Parade? On one hand it would sound practical, with streets closed to cars, buses, taxi-drivers taking a couple of days off, subways diverted, converted, on whatever, on the other hand, who will be dedicated enough to weave in and out of that police crowd? It would be great to see some mobile phone picts, videos though!

quote:Originally posted by Mr_Laurenzano

Neelix, np is the devils advocate but I tell ya he has opened my eyes to a thing or two.

Segway-
Half the speed of a car,
Twice as Smart.

[np]

OK, I get it, I just need to watch Pirates of Silicon Valley once again.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0780627717/qid=1093372142/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/102-7783876-1064941?v=glance&s=video&n=507846

I hope all the Woz enthousiasts saw it too. You can rent it anywhere, although it's generally hidden in the video stores.

quote:Originally posted by Sleepy

The reporter wanted to do an article on our group after hearing about all of the Seg Polo buzz. Our Zoo glide just happenned to be the next event that Bay Area SEG was planning. So she came along to see what we were about. Woz let her borrow one of his segs and she got a quick training session before the tour.

np, I think the "we" that Woz was referring to in his sacrifice statement isn't just him, but the group. Not all of us have as much cash as him.

About the "approximately 16"... he lends them out to his friends. So it's very possible that he doesn't have an exact count. Why get so worked up over the word "approximately"?

It could have done without the "Jetsons rejects" comment. But overall I thought it was a balanced article. You can't fault the reporter for printing Woz's comment about us being socially challenged... some of us may be :)

-Alex

[np]

Oh, but it's still only Wired News, we are not sure whether it will really make it to Wired! If it does, let's hope, some of the suggestions made here will be taken into consideration. Even if they come from the devils advocate or the devil himself.

quote:Originally posted by Brooster

Considering that Wired was the source of Gary Rivlin's well-known "Segway's Breakdown" article (http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html), I'm delighted to see anything even halfway positive out of Wired. I thought this was a pretty decent article, and generally good for the Seg.

Congrats to Neelix and his family for organizing the zoo visit (the pictures looked great), and to the whole Bay Area SEG for their positive, proactive involvement. I always enjoy seeing what you guys are up to.

Broo

[8][:P]

Brooster

[IndyFIRSTengineer]

quote:Originally posted by np

unbiased??? - hallo??? I guess you and I live on two different planets.

...

So something does not quite add up here. I happen to like and admire the technology, even though I would not want to own a Segway in NYC, and not because of the price, but partly because of other reasons ... Imagine what the detractors will think when they read this "nice" summary of an otherwise wonderful, fun outing.
WOAH!! Hold on there big fella ...

How many articles have you seen that were more favorable towards the Segway than this one?
I honestly did not find it offensive at all ...

... and I can be a bit sensitive sometimes ... just check out this ongoing debate with a college kid on a FIRST Robotics forum regarding the Segway http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30019

Stuart Bloom - Rolls-Royce Corporation
FIRST Team 1018 - Pike High School "RoboDevils"

“Who goes out and says, ‘You have a better probability of winning the state lottery than making a nickel in professional sports. And by the way, last year two million exciting technical jobs went unfilled in this country because you weren't there to take that job. And it pays you 10 times as much as flipping burgers, and it's fun and it's exciting and you get to create things and build things and help make the world a better place and help make yourself a better living.’ Who tells them this?”
Dean Kamen, founder - FIRST Robotics

[Neelix]

I love how that one guy references that report that uses "science" to prove that Segways should be considered vehicles because of stopping time. They failed to factor:

A) Reaction time is FAR less when on a Segway, because it uses your instincts
B) Most of the time you're not even going 12.5 on the sidewalk anyway (why people assume that I have no idea)
C) If you were to run into someone you'd stop MUCH faster.

Someone should conduct a test where people run into a rigid dummies bolted into the ground. Have some sensors to detect force.

Again, I reiterate because the point is so important, how often do we go 12.5 on the sidewalk?

An aside; this picture:

http://www.humantransport.org/bicycledriving/library/segway/stoptest.jpg

Doesn't look right at all. I KNOW I can stop faster than that. Atalanta will groan and growl at me, but it is certainly possible.

-------------------------
Fear not, for even though I come from the Forbidden City, I surely do not agree with the rules.
Chris Knight

[mrleisure]

Bah- I'm bored with SegWars.

Hey, that Wired article is still driving a bunch of extra traffic to the SEG-NH site today. The vids and pictures are hot items. It's amazing to see how much a link back from a popular site helps bring 'em in.




The Un-official Segway Battery FAQ
http://www.seg-nh.com/SegwayBatteryFAQ.htm

[np]

Somewhat favorable, yes, better than quite a few others, yes, unbiased - I am not so sure about - which is not such a big problem, in itself but Wired Magazine wrote several really good articles about Dean Kamen and his inventions in the past - long before that_other_site internet craze. OK, one of them was written by John Hockenberry, but in Wired ... then they wrote not so good notes about Segway. This one is so-so, but again: it's not yet Wired, it's Wired News. Good News at least that they send visitors to the sites they mention. I have no idea how many visitors they get themselves, I just know that Wired is much slimmer than it used to be and not only because they have fewer ad pages.

OK, I will check out the discussion board you suggested, thanks, but maybe not this evening.

ps. Hey, I did not literally mean only that_other_site this time, but the software automatically modified the original nonsense complex word to "that_other_site" ... now if you could please tweak it to eat up the spelling errors and typos too, the world would almost be perfect.

quote:Originally posted by IndyFIRSTengineer

quote:Originally posted by np

unbiased??? - hallo??? I guess you and I live on two different planets.

...

So something does not quite add up here. I happen to like and admire the technology, even though I would not want to own a Segway in NYC, and not because of the price, but partly because of other reasons ... Imagine what the detractors will think when they read this "nice" summary of an otherwise wonderful, fun outing.
WOAH!! Hold on there big fella ...

How many articles have you seen that were more favorable towards the Segway than this one?
I honestly did not find it offensive at all ...

... and I can be a bit sensitive sometimes ... just check out this ongoing debate with a college kid on a FIRST Robotics forum regarding the Segway http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30019

Stuart Bloom - Rolls-Royce Corporation
FIRST Team 1018 - Pike High School "RoboDevils"

“Who goes out and says, ‘You have a better probability of winning the state lottery than making a nickel in professional sports. And by the way, last year two million exciting technical jobs went unfilled in this country because you weren't there to take that job. And it pays you 10 times as much as flipping burgers, and it's fun and it's exciting and you get to create things and build things and help make the world a better place and help make yourself a better living.’ Who tells them this?”
Dean Kamen, founder - FIRST Robotics

[KSagal]

np,

you might want to add less starch to your knickers...

Relatively speaking, the article was far more positive than we have been getting lately. It is fair to acknowledge it.

I also did not take any offense to the article. I allow lattitude to authors, and the few barbs were mild and harmless.

It is time that we accepted that this form of transportation is not normal yet, and therefore due to be unappreciated by some in the masses, especially those with limited imagination.

I may not be goofy or socially inhibited, but some of my friends are!



Karl Ian Sagal

Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.

[np]

don't forget to add that it's also good if you keep your head bobbing up and down when you communicate on a bulletin board ... then again, last time I checked this was a free country, but I did not watch the evening news today.

quote:Originally posted by KSagal

np,

you might want to add less starch to your knickers...

Relatively speaking, the article was far more positive than we have been getting lately. It is fair to acknowledge it.

I also did not take any offense to the article. I allow lattitude to authors, and the few barbs were mild and harmless.

It is time that we accepted that this form of transportation is not normal yet, and therefore due to be unappreciated by some in the masses, especially those with limited imagination.

I may not be goofy or socially inhibited, but some of my friends are!



Karl Ian Sagal

Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.

[KSagal]

I don't understand the head bobbing thing.

Have I just been Dissed?

Someone please educate me!

Karl Ian Sagal

Each road you travel should be just a bit better for having had you pass.