Word: segway
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Changing the world isn't easy. It's a lesson Dean Kamen, the guy who invented the Segway "personal transporter," has learned the hard way. When he unveiled his self-balancing, battery-powered technological marvel (it seems a sin to call it a scooter) in 2001, Kamen predicted that cities would in the future banish cars from their congested hearts, and wildly popular Segways would fill downtown pavements...
...maybe not. That scenario isn't even remotely likely today. And Kamen, who chairs Segway's board, has been forced to adjust his vision. "We didn't realize that although technology moves very quickly, people's mindset changes very slowly," he says. "People are very cautious, especially when it comes to the big issues...
...Transportation, it appears, is one of those biggies. Though ceo James Norrod will say only that Segway has sold tens of thousands of personal transporters (PTs), and that sales are growing 50% annually, it's obvious - just look around - that Kamen's machine hasn't found much traction in the consumer market. Segway has, however, cultivated a few commercial niches to keep Kamen's company and his dreams whole. It has introduced off-road, police and golf models of its transporter, and thanks largely to its lobbying, 44 states now allow the PTs on pavements. Segway just entered the Chinese...
...Segway this week will roll out a slickly upgraded $4,995 PT, which it hopes will revitalize consumer interest. The new model is, predictably, a feat of engineering. It comes with a souped-up wireless key, which doubles as an alarm and display module. But the real breakthrough is the ride. If the first Segway felt intuitive-lean forward to go forward, lean back to stop and reverse, twist your wrist to turn-the latest models (the i2 and off-road x2) respond like they're controlled by mere thought. The secret is in its new control shaft, which...
Those kinds of pleasant collisions happen a lot when Bono is around. Ashley Judd mixes in the greenroom at a U2 show with Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway scooter and an aborning machine that makes even the filthiest water drinkable. Bill Gates goes to a nightclub, gets called a "bad mother______" by Diddy and understands that it is intended as a compliment. Of course, if Bono were to rely solely on his ability to get powerful people in a room with famous people and then hit them with a speech about moral obligations, he would be little more than...