Arjun Ram writes "MSNBC.com is reporting that renting a segway would cost as much as $20 for each 30-minute increment, for up to 90 minutes. Users can also pay $5 for a test drive, or 'pre-glide' as Lambeth calls it. Neat!"
...and go where?
by
Anonymous Coward
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
So, aside from pedestrian-friendly cities like Boston and New York, where the hell would you take it from one place to another and back in a half hour?
What portion of your tax-dollars are spent on highways, bi-ways, 4lane roads and other elements of urban-sprawl? Cities are being DESIGNED TO REQUIRE an automobile. Not only is the auto *personally* expensive, but sprawl costs your community big-BIG $$$. More roads to clear of snow, more roads to patrol, greater distances of electrical/water/sewage services all NEEDLESS spending because people are encouraged to WANT this mindless suburban-commuter lifestyle.
If you *aren't* forced (because of city-design) to spend $$$ on a 'truck', how much less would you be required to maintain the same standard of living? Could you turn in your auto, move downtown and vacation an additional 4 weeks per year? maybe.. maybe-not. The bottom line is that NorthAmerica needs a re-think on its personal transportation / city design ideas....
Im not saying the segway is the future of the world, I *am* saying it is welcome in a more reasonably-scaled urban environment.
Im tired of paying for sprawl and highways... not only is it irresponsible for the planet, it is expensive. I want a reasonable public transit system, and human-scale transportation (bikeways/walkways/segways(maybe))
Look like a pansy for free
by
jackalope
·
· Score: 4, Funny
I can't see paying $20 to look like a pansy for 30 minutes. Most people can find ways to do that for free.
renting is kinda needed for many...
by
ptorrone
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
renting is a good idea, the ht for many people is a big investment, trying one out first is often worth it. the challenge with the segway ht is most people can't imagine what's like to use a self-balancing device like the ht and if it would make sense for their travel needs. i have a segway ht, and at first, the my commute took a little longer that i calculated mostly because people would stop and ask me questions, most would ask to try it out and many would be so impressed with the technology and ease of use, they would purchase one, i didn't expect that either, in my city (seattle) there are quite a few people with segway hts, also the city uses them as opposed to cars for many tasks.
the city of seattle let me interview them, so good info (some of it pretty technical, but very detailed) can be found here.
cheers,
pt
Amusement parks
by
mgkimsal2
·
· Score: 4, Interesting
As someone else pointed out earlier, these would be great for amusement parks. I just wonder if they could keep enough around to rent so that it wouldn't piss people off who couldn't get time on one. $40/hour seems like a good way to keep the users down to a minimum to start with, but I could eventually see a park having a few hundred around to use for, let's say, $15/hour or so, or perhaps $80/day. Put a little credit card slider thingy on it so you can 'pay as you go' and you're all set. $40/hour is just too pricey at the moment for most people, but amusement parks *do* seem a somewhat logical place to do 'rentals'. It's an enclosed area where people already do a large amount of walking, and are looking for entertaining/fun experiences.
$20/30mins ? $5 for a test drive ???
by
Rosco+P.+Coltrane
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
In less than 2 segway hours, you can buy an okay used bicycle. For around 20 segway hours, you can get yourself a brand new bicycle with electric assistance that'll go just as well as the segway, for hundreds or thousands of miles, faster, and without letting you fall flat on your face when the batteries die.
I know it's cool technology, and the balancing act is impressive to watch, but from an economics standpoint, no segway for me, no siree...
-- "A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
... more fun to *accidentaly* hack the segway, install your rc car controllers and a servo for the steering, bungee cord* a blow up love doll on it, then drive it around to watch peoples expressions.
Really,to not be silly, I see segways as way more useful as a robot base to work from. Who needs a dedicated robot for each task? Like the roombah, a segway could have an adaptor for house vacuuming, then it could go outside and mow the lawn. This is just the normal "tractor" concept, one platform that has "modules" that attach that can do a myriad of tasks.
Inter-factory/warehouse/office deliverybot perhaps. Remote controlled security guards that roam the hallways at night,perhaps use one for transporting various things inside hospitals, things of that nature that a human might normally do but would be better to just have a drone do, freeing up the humans for the more demanding and specialised work. Geez, just floor washing and buffing at night in stores it would be neat. All done with the same base and just different attachments. Tons of different uses really. It has real decent range, is highly maneuverable, and will carry some decent weight. Seems a natural to me.
*all good projects need a bungee cord and duct tape someplace, it's da roolz n stuff
Stu, allow me to tell you something. This is probably the biggest misconception amongst people in the community.
I'm 15, and probably the youngest Early Adopter out there. An Early Adopter is an owner who purchased their Segway HT through Amazon, and was one of the first units shipped. I ordered mine, for example, an hour and a half after the launch back in November. A Segway i-Series is by no means cheap, about $5000 retail. I chose mine in lieu of a car for now, and hoped that it would make my life a bit easier and productive.
Now, over two months in use, my i-Series has in no way disappointed. My commute to school leaves a smile on my face as I follow the scenic route I plan in the morning, a beautiful alternative to driving on US-1. I no longer contribute to the thermal and chemical pollution of cars or even buses, and my method of transportation is just as unique as the people whose smiles reach from ear to ear as they see me. I've made new friends and acquaintances with the HT as my conversation piece, even. It has actually made Miami a safer place for me.
Now, to address your "fat" comment. Most of us have come to a definite conclusion about the Segway in regards to concerns like yours. I'm a geek, like so many others out there in/. are. I used a car to get everywhere before my HT, and I never walked much farther than from my computer chair to the fridge, or from class to class. Now not only do I get out and see the environment (as shoddily preserved as it may be!), but I have a new form of exercise. It may not seem like much here, but you would be quite surprised to learn that using an HT is a good bit of work for your legs. You don't notice it at first, but the ache is there for about two weeks. The fine muscle control over muscles you didn't really know existed is a definite exercise. Okay, I understand how someone -could- get fatter if they were a fitness nut, walked or jogged everywhere, and suddenly replaced that with a Segway HT. But that's not the point of the Seg, folks. The company itself states, and those of us in the community agree, that the Segway HT isn't intended to replace walking, it's designed to replace short car trips that have disastrous effects on our environment, and our pockets too.
If anybody has any further questions or comments regarding the Segway, my experiences, or just about anything, feel free to drop me an email (opti6600@bellsouth.net).
Best regards, Jordan Prevé
My Segway rental report
by
AdamBa
·
· Score: 5, Interesting
I was on a Disney cruise ship in February and they were letting you ride a Segway around the basketball cout for 10 minutes for some "nominal" fee ($10 or $15 as I recall). So I wandered up there with my 1-year-old son and tried it out, and filed this report in email:
"On Friday I rode on a Segway, that newfangled two-wheeled
transporter. Disney has some promotional deal with them and
was offering 10-minute rides. I was watching Noah for a while so
I strolled him up and parked him on the edge of the basketball
court. The Segway is technologically cool but I am baffled by
people who think it is going to revolutionize anything. There may
be a small niche for people who need to go twelve miles an hour
with both hands occupied, but it's pretty small. The thing was
pretty easy to ride. I only fell off twice, once when I was trying
to determine how fast you could go around a corner (and found
out the answer), and once when I got off at the end and it
decided to back up and attack my shins, then lurch forward
ten feet before slowly keeling over in a rough approximation of
the climactic scene of 'Bonnie and Clyde'. The cast member [Disney-speak for employee] who
was helping me assured me everything was fine and the machine
just had to be reset. He whipped up out his little reset key and
applied it to the reset dealie, which seemed to have no effect. I
quickly grabbed the stroller and left, glancing over my shoulder
once to see him ministering to the thing with a worried look on
his face. Still a few bugs in the system I guess. When we get
our final bill, I will check if there is an item for $4,995 marked
'destroyed Segway'".
I've been surprised at how little (if any, really) I've seen about the possible uses of the HT as a very useful medical device, particularly when considering Kamen's history in medical technology.
For example, I'm working with a patient right now who had a little complication after having some titanium implanted in his back. They had to remove the brace, but the screws they had to leave are now causing incredible pain. Just yesterday, he was so relieved that he could finally actually sit down in a seat and watch TV thanks to some new medication. His day consists entirely of standing and lying down, and switching between the two is almost unbearable. He is able to walk but only with a cane, slowly, and with much pain. Needless to say, a wheelchair is out of the question, if for no other reason than that it would be even more painful. I told him he might look into the Segway as a possible way to get around. At any given time (such as now), I have 2-4 patients (on a 24 patient max unit) that have some problem, be it with their back, knees, feet, or whatever, that makes walking either extremely painful or extremely difficult and hazardous, and my unit has nothing to do with treatment of those types of problems. Taking your dog for a walk, carrying groceries, walking without pain... Simple things most of us take for granted, but which unfortunately many people aren't able to do or enjoy.
Lots of people seem to think these things are useless, or that they're only good for lazy people. It seems to me that such an opinion stems from a reaction to their cost vs. usage value for the average person. Personally, I'd like to see insurance companies catch on to this and start providing these things to patients with cases that warrant it. I could see them greatly reducing costs in a variety of treatment areas while also allowing many disabled people to return to regain some of the lost joy of life, not to mention return to work.
Slashdot Mirror
So, aside from pedestrian-friendly cities like Boston and New York, where the hell would you take it from one place to another and back in a half hour?
These things are supposed to replace cars in some sort of "brave new world" and they cost more for 20 min. than a pickup truck costs for all day?
Sorry, you lost me on the segway.
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
I can't see paying $20 to look like a pansy for 30 minutes. Most people can find ways to do that for free.
renting is a good idea, the ht for many people is a big investment, trying one out first is often worth it. the challenge with the segway ht is most people can't imagine what's like to use a self-balancing device like the ht and if it would make sense for their travel needs. i have a segway ht, and at first, the my commute took a little longer that i calculated mostly because people would stop and ask me questions, most would ask to try it out and many would be so impressed with the technology and ease of use, they would purchase one, i didn't expect that either, in my city (seattle) there are quite a few people with segway hts, also the city uses them as opposed to cars for many tasks.
i'm up to 800 miles on mine, click here to read the trip log.
the city of seattle let me interview them, so good info (some of it pretty technical, but very detailed) can be found here.
cheers,
pt
As someone else pointed out earlier, these would be great for amusement parks. I just wonder if they could keep enough around to rent so that it wouldn't piss people off who couldn't get time on one. $40/hour seems like a good way to keep the users down to a minimum to start with, but I could eventually see a park having a few hundred around to use for, let's say, $15/hour or so, or perhaps $80/day. Put a little credit card slider thingy on it so you can 'pay as you go' and you're all set. $40/hour is just too pricey at the moment for most people, but amusement parks *do* seem a somewhat logical place to do 'rentals'. It's an enclosed area where people already do a large amount of walking, and are looking for entertaining/fun experiences.
creation science book
In less than 2 segway hours, you can buy an okay used bicycle. For around 20 segway hours, you can get yourself a brand new bicycle with electric assistance that'll go just as well as the segway, for hundreds or thousands of miles, faster, and without letting you fall flat on your face when the batteries die.
...
I know it's cool technology, and the balancing act is impressive to watch, but from an economics standpoint, no segway for me, no siree
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
... more fun to *accidentaly* hack the segway, install your rc car controllers and a servo for the steering, bungee cord* a blow up love doll on it, then drive it around to watch peoples expressions.
Really,to not be silly, I see segways as way more useful as a robot base to work from. Who needs a dedicated robot for each task? Like the roombah, a segway could have an adaptor for house vacuuming, then it could go outside and mow the lawn. This is just the normal "tractor" concept, one platform that has "modules" that attach that can do a myriad of tasks.
Inter-factory/warehouse/office deliverybot perhaps. Remote controlled security guards that roam the hallways at night,perhaps use one for transporting various things inside hospitals, things of that nature that a human might normally do but would be better to just have a drone do, freeing up the humans for the more demanding and specialised work. Geez, just floor washing and buffing at night in stores it would be neat. All done with the same base and just different attachments. Tons of different uses really. It has real decent range, is highly maneuverable, and will carry some decent weight. Seems a natural to me.
*all good projects need a bungee cord and duct tape someplace, it's da roolz n stuff
Stu, allow me to tell you something. This is probably the biggest misconception amongst people in the community.
/. are. I used a car to get everywhere before my HT, and I never walked much farther than from my computer chair to the fridge, or from class to class. Now not only do I get out and see the environment (as shoddily preserved as it may be!), but I have a new form of exercise. It may not seem like much here, but you would be quite surprised to learn that using an HT is a good bit of work for your legs. You don't notice it at first, but the ache is there for about two weeks. The fine muscle control over muscles you didn't really know existed is a definite exercise. Okay, I understand how someone -could- get fatter if they were a fitness nut, walked or jogged everywhere, and suddenly replaced that with a Segway HT. But that's not the point of the Seg, folks. The company itself states, and those of us in the community agree, that the Segway HT isn't intended to replace walking, it's designed to replace short car trips that have disastrous effects on our environment, and our pockets too.
I'm 15, and probably the youngest Early Adopter out there. An Early Adopter is an owner who purchased their Segway HT through Amazon, and was one of the first units shipped. I ordered mine, for example, an hour and a half after the launch back in November. A Segway i-Series is by no means cheap, about $5000 retail. I chose mine in lieu of a car for now, and hoped that it would make my life a bit easier and productive.
Now, over two months in use, my i-Series has in no way disappointed. My commute to school leaves a smile on my face as I follow the scenic route I plan in the morning, a beautiful alternative to driving on US-1. I no longer contribute to the thermal and chemical pollution of cars or even buses, and my method of transportation is just as unique as the people whose smiles reach from ear to ear as they see me. I've made new friends and acquaintances with the HT as my conversation piece, even. It has actually made Miami a safer place for me.
Now, to address your "fat" comment. Most of us have come to a definite conclusion about the Segway in regards to concerns like yours. I'm a geek, like so many others out there in
If anybody has any further questions or comments regarding the Segway, my experiences, or just about anything, feel free to drop me an email (opti6600@bellsouth.net).
Best regards,
Jordan Prevé
"On Friday I rode on a Segway, that newfangled two-wheeled transporter. Disney has some promotional deal with them and was offering 10-minute rides. I was watching Noah for a while so I strolled him up and parked him on the edge of the basketball court. The Segway is technologically cool but I am baffled by people who think it is going to revolutionize anything. There may be a small niche for people who need to go twelve miles an hour with both hands occupied, but it's pretty small. The thing was pretty easy to ride. I only fell off twice, once when I was trying to determine how fast you could go around a corner (and found out the answer), and once when I got off at the end and it decided to back up and attack my shins, then lurch forward ten feet before slowly keeling over in a rough approximation of the climactic scene of 'Bonnie and Clyde'. The cast member [Disney-speak for employee] who was helping me assured me everything was fine and the machine just had to be reset. He whipped up out his little reset key and applied it to the reset dealie, which seemed to have no effect. I quickly grabbed the stroller and left, glancing over my shoulder once to see him ministering to the thing with a worried look on his face. Still a few bugs in the system I guess. When we get our final bill, I will check if there is an item for $4,995 marked 'destroyed Segway'".
- adam
I've been surprised at how little (if any, really) I've seen about the possible uses of the HT as a very useful medical device, particularly when considering Kamen's history in medical technology.
For example, I'm working with a patient right now who had a little complication after having some titanium implanted in his back. They had to remove the brace, but the screws they had to leave are now causing incredible pain. Just yesterday, he was so relieved that he could finally actually sit down in a seat and watch TV thanks to some new medication. His day consists entirely of standing and lying down, and switching between the two is almost unbearable. He is able to walk but only with a cane, slowly, and with much pain. Needless to say, a wheelchair is out of the question, if for no other reason than that it would be even more painful. I told him he might look into the Segway as a possible way to get around. At any given time (such as now), I have 2-4 patients (on a 24 patient max unit) that have some problem, be it with their back, knees, feet, or whatever, that makes walking either extremely painful or extremely difficult and hazardous, and my unit has nothing to do with treatment of those types of problems. Taking your dog for a walk, carrying groceries, walking without pain... Simple things most of us take for granted, but which unfortunately many people aren't able to do or enjoy.
Lots of people seem to think these things are useless, or that they're only good for lazy people. It seems to me that such an opinion stems from a reaction to their cost vs. usage value for the average person. Personally, I'd like to see insurance companies catch on to this and start providing these things to patients with cases that warrant it. I could see them greatly reducing costs in a variety of treatment areas while also allowing many disabled people to return to regain some of the lost joy of life, not to mention return to work.