"IT" Revealed - (Ginger)

TIME.Com ^ | 12/2/2001 | JOHN HEILEMANN

[Enlightiator]

The Time article:

"Reinventing the Wheel"

The "flash" view.

[Freedom of Speech Wins]

Sounds possibly very useful for city people. They wouldn't have to deal with the problems of parking and storage.

[cayman99]

Does it "IT" come in 4-wheel drive?? What about a SUV or Pick-up versions??

[RonDog]

I heard about 17 mph on Drudge radio.

[Bogey78O]

Well if the price ever drops to around 500 I'm sure we'll see them pop up on college campuses around America. Or other places where you see a bike rack next to every building with 50 bikes attached.

[BansheeBill]

Hehe nothing looks lamer then someone wearing a bike helmet.


President Clinton demonstrates bicycle helmet safety to school children at the Asian Injury Prevention Foundation Event / White House Photo Gallery

[Petronski]

No engine. Just like walking is a "controlled fall", this thing is actually powered by the force of gravity produced by leaning the way you want to go.

Wow, would I love to believe that! But then, like CCR said, 'we can ponder perpetual motion,' that doesn't mean we get anything done.

[SierraWasp]

Hey, Dr. Scott!!! I've wanted to tell you this for YEARS!

GET ON THE TELEPHONE AND SEND ME SOME CASH!!!

Am I boring you? Well I wanna know!

[the bottle let me down]

Sounds possibly very useful for city people. They wouldn't have to deal with the problems of parking and storage.

But they will have to deal with parking and storage issues. IT is, in many respects, a $3000 bicycle. When it's not being ridden it's going to have to be locked up to stop people from taking it and throwing it into the back of a truck. Even if the lock and key system is foolproof (doubtful), there's always the parts/scrap market.

Besides I'm sure that IT can't be stored outside in all types of weather. And IT needs to be stored near an outlet so that the batteries can be recharged. Therefore, IT will need indoor storage, which will be an issue.

[tracer]

No protection from biting dogs, snowbalers, etc. it seems......

[OldFashionedAmerican]

Very exciting...too bad many here on FR can't see the potential and possibilities.

We are already the fattest culture on Earth. Can you say 'Nadlers Unlimited'??

[Tex-Con-Man]

Stick a “VOLVO” tag on it and all the campus pseudo intellectuals will buy one.

[OldFashionedAmerican]

No engine. Just like walking is a "controlled fall",

What a minute. When you lean forward, you have to move your legs if you're going to move forward without falling. On this thing, IT has to move the wheels. The TIME pictorial of it shows two motors for each wheel. I don't believe this is a perpetual motion machine, which somehow uses Earth's gravity to power it....

[SamAdams76]

Good analogy with the computer. I can imagine what kind of comments would be around here on August 1, 1981 had Free Republic been around...

A personal computer in somebody's house? Yeah right...YAWN!!!...Who the heck needs a computer in the house when we already have television and VCRs?...YAWN!!!...I bet you IBM and Microsoft go belly up in a year after this disaster...Who needs a PC when you can buy an Apple?...What the hell would somebody do with a personal computer?...Ha, ha, ha, a $3,000 paperweight...My scientific calculator is all the computing I need, thank you very much, and it only costed me $30...YAWN!!!...This "PC" thread has been posted seven times already, doesn't anybody know how to do a SEARCH!!...YAWN!!...I'm underwhelmed...Bill Gates, doesn't he look like a total geek? I bet he wears a bicycle helmet too...Does it come with a cup holder?...Unless it brings me a beer from the refrigerator, I ain't buying it...YAWN!...

Actually, now that I think of it, if the PC flopped, there could never be a FREE REPUBLIC in the first place.

[RandallFlagg]

Well, Ginger would be a good idea if these issues you raised were addressed. I would be intrigued if this machine could get up to 40-50 MPH (I'll bet I could do some "Tweaking" to make THAT happen...) and had some way of NOT sliding into a wall if the ground was slippery. As for security, I'll bet that the "Joystick" is removable and uses an electronic key that disables the lower pedistal unless the EXACT joystick is firmly installed.
Power might be from a removable battery pack (Yet another possible security measure) that the owner keeps until he/she gets to an outlet where it can be plugged in for the duration of "It's" non-usage.
"It" simply MUST be waterproof. Kamen's not blind. I'm sure he'd insulate all parts that might become damaged from moisture.
Just my thoughts...

[x]

It looks cool.

Sometimes you have to leave the house and it's too far to walk, but you don't want to take your car, plane, flying platform, rocketpack, hovercraft or autogiro. This would be perfect for those kinds of little errands. At least until they work those last few kinks out of teleportation.

I'm getting one for myself, ... and one for my dog.

[Bogey78O]

Well no one's gonna wake up one day and find out we've discovered cold-fusion and faster than light travel. All technological progression is in baby-steps. Eventually this application can be modified and worked into large vehicles. With light composites, flywheel technology, and improved engineering we can have zero-emission vehicle just as good as any compact car.

[Phil V.]

Scottie owes you sum?

[bayourod]

Remember that SLINKY toy that looked like a big flimsy spring and would "walk" down stairs? Think of adding gyros to one of them and replacing the gravity created by going down stairs by the gravity force created when you are falling over.

A person falling over creates a lot of force. Have you ever tried to catch a person falling over?

The gyros won't permit the person to fall, therefore that force has to be directed somewhere and apparently it is directed toward forward(or backward) motion revolution of the wheels.

Fat people moght be able to go faster than thin people.

It could become a new Olympic event.