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Megway - New Competition For The Segway

Posted by timothy on from the oh-lighten-up-mr-serious dept.

mikep.maine writes "The personal mobility market is heating up. Witness this practical device featured by Megway. I already have one, but it isn't cheap." Check Yahoo! personals for availability.

44 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. First post? by Athas · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So what's the point? To make people look even more stupid that they do on a segway?

    --
    Gnusay -- for all your talking gnu needs.
    1. Re:First post? by JPriest · · Score: 2, Insightful
      This is down but Megway is a person, probably named Meagan giving a piggy back ride to some dude in a parody of Segway human transporter.

      Anyway, with the $4,500 price point for Segway and the fact that it only goes as fast as a decent bicycle, I am surprised there is not more of a market for motor assist bicycles.

      A bicycle adds the ability to coast with larger wheels, and removes the need to the machine use power balancing for you. People have a natural ability to balance, taxing the machine with doing this strikes me as inefficient.

      --
      Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
    2. Re:First post? by AmericanInKiev · · Score: 3, Interesting

      For $1,100 i just purchased an electric assisted Bicycle.

      It amounts to a $300 bike with a built in $700 electric motor assist.

      The motor gets me up hills, and up to speed quickly so that I spend most of my 40 minute commute at the top speed of 19 MPH.

      I look forward to the commute - and I look forward to pissing off the SUV commuters wanting to pass on a two lane xero shoulder road.

      Highly recommended - plus I'm losing weight!

      AIK

    3. Re:First post? by AmericanInKiev · · Score: 2, Informative

      I bought it here: Bikes

      however it is made by Giant which is a hugely available brand in independant shops. Your local shop can order it and provide friendly support and deliver an assembled machine.

      note this model tops at 250 watts - and the power backs down as you approach top speed.

      Its not a motorcycle - it is a very enjoyable Bike.

      AIK

    4. Re:First post? by AmericanInKiev · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Let's not pretend. Biking in the midst of the SUV arms race is definately a form of Darwinianism.

      Which is why I 1. do not ride on the side of the road. (If you do you will experience a great number of near misses)

      If the road doesn't have a clear safe shoulder - I ride on the left-hand side of middle

      This forces the SUV to go all the way in the other lane to pass.

      If you don't force the full - lane pass - they wil attempt the partial lane pass - this is where they squeeze through even if there is oncoming traffic.

      Generally - you WANT somebody stuck behind you - then you know nobody is going to hit you going 70.

      So they get pissed - So what. Its their lungs If saving too. - If they really cared they would vote for bike lanes - and if they don't care - i don't either.

      So you have to go out there with the attitude that says you own the whole damn road (unless there is a good shoulder).

      AIK

    5. Re:First post? by fucksl4shd0t · · Score: 2

      You know, as the driver of a large, 70ish truck toting a trailer, I have to say I like your post a lot. I absolutely *hate* passing bikes on the road, because I *know* that if even part of my truck touches them someone's going to get seriously hurt.

      What really irritates me about bicyclers (you know, cyclers that go both ways, heh heh) isn't the fact that I have to share the road with them. It's the fact that they have such a tendency to drift back and forth in their space without caring about other traffic. Yes, we want to get around, but many of us want to get around pretty safely, and some help from the rider is required.

      So, the reason I like your post is because you're providing the help. ;) In my truck, if I can't do a full-lane pass on a bike, I don't pass. My truck is just too big to properly share the road. Luckily, many of the roads in my area also have bike lanes! And that's where my complaint about cyclists wondering back and forth in their lanes comes into play. Bike lanes are sized for safe, non-intrusive sharing of the road by both bikes and cars.

      But goddammit, wondering back and forth in the lane isn't sharing. It's not sharing when other cars do it, and it's downright dangerous for all concerned.

      --
      Like what I said? You might like my music
  2. Hey by timothv · · Score: 4, Funny

    Someone call that guy that posts in every segway discussion so he can clarify how great the segway is.

    1. Re:Hey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      *ring ring*

      "Segway promotion agency how can I help you?"

      *click*

    2. Re:Hey by VanWEric · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey - don't diss the segway. It is sooo much easier to segway joust than it is to bicycle joust. Not to mention that it is easier to sue DEKA/Segway for liability when you manage to impale yourself.

      --
      www.olin.edu
    3. Re:Hey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Don't laugh, I work with the guy. His wife agreed to let him get the Segway he wanted in exchange for his letting her get the boobjob she wanted.

      Just my opinion, but I think wifey got pwned.

      (And yes, I said "wife". Don't you feel like a loser now? (That's looser for those of you who learned to write by spellcheck.))

    4. Re:Hey by fmaxwell · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't laugh, I work with the guy. His wife agreed to let him get the Segway he wanted in exchange for his letting her get the boobjob she wanted.

      And while he's out riding his Segway, the pool boy is riding his wife.

  3. Slashdotted Already?! by JMandingo · · Score: 5, Funny

    The MegWay can only carry one person at a time, and so can their website.

    --
    Vonnegut was right: Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been."
  4. Megway? Segway? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I have a Vegway - it looks like a giant piece of brocolli - but you don't hear me shouting about it...

  5. It's slashdotted already by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 4, Informative
    But this is quite a useful link.

    Isn't it a bit late for April 1st?

    --
    When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
  6. I wonder by azav · · Score: 5, Funny

    If Megway has a sister, does the brand name change?

    And can we order hotter models?

    --
    - Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
  7. Mirror of Quicktime video by timothv · · Score: 4, Informative

    Mirror of the quicktime video here

  8. But Segway is fighting back by tcd004 · · Score: 4, Funny

    With a series of ads.

    tcd004

  9. RTFA by bhima · · Score: 3, Informative
    You people are morons! I know it fashionable to not read the article,

    BUT It's a JOKE! and an old one at that!

    How can you laugh if you haven't bothered to even look at the pretty pictures?

    --
    Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
  10. How to render the Segway obsolete... by Radi-0-head · · Score: 4, Funny

    I think this site sums it up pretty well: Why the Segway is bloatware

  11. and there it is by boarder · · Score: 4, Insightful

    OK, so now that the site has finally loaded, I can see that this is a [not very funny] joke site. Seriously, I see that Timothy put on the headline that it is from the lighten-up joke dept, but if you are going to post a fake site on a supposed news site, at least make sure you bandwidth test it before posting. You could've had 200 of your closest friends load the site and see how fast it loads... scale that up by 3 orders of magnitude and you can determine that a joke that takes 20 minutes to load isn't all that funny.

    Also, as a long-time reader of /., I'd prefer to keep the joke stories confined to Apr 1st.

    --
    IANAL, but I play one on /.
    1. Re:and there it is by DrEldarion · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wow, loosen up a little. There are only so many SCO and RIAA stories that one can take before needing a little break.

    2. Re:and there it is by BW_Nuprin · · Score: 5, Funny

      Err, yeah, who here has 200 close friends?

    3. Re:and there it is by amembleton · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Hey, perhaps Slashdot should cache such sites. Or even cache every site that is posted except for the very large ones, such as media companies and Microsoft.

    4. Re:and there it is by bravehamster · · Score: 2, Informative

      So...the little monty python foot icon didn't tip you off?

      --
      ---- El diablo esta en mis pantalones! Mire, mire!
    5. Re:and there it is by Darkforge · · Score: 2, Informative

      Also, as a long-time reader of /., I'd prefer to keep the joke stories confined to Apr 1st.

      Wow, what a stick-in-the-mud.

      In that case, I'm sure you already know how to turn off joke stories, just by editing your preferences and checking the "It's funny. Laugh." checkbox.

      But since you know that, why would you bother posting and complaining about them? Could it be that your love for complaining is even greater than your distaste for joke stories...?

      --

      When I moderate, I only use "-1, Overrated". That way, I never get meta-moderated!

    6. Re:and there it is by Hiro+Antagonist · · Score: 2, Funny

      Err, yeah, who here has 200 close friends?

      Agent Smith, duh!

      --

      --
      I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy .sig.
  12. Megway. Bigger than Jesus. by rheimbuch · · Score: 5, Informative

    I realize that the sites already slashdotted, so here's the google cache http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:cBtUbkK6lukJ:we b.0sil8.com/episodes/megway/home.html+megway&hl=en of the front page. For the humor impaired: this is a parody of the segway.

    --
    -- I take full responsibility for the failure of the project do to my tendency to underestimate your incompetence.
  13. Yahoo! Personals? by banzai75 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I find it amusing that one has to check the personals nowadays to find something to ride ;)

  14. mirror of the movie by pario · · Score: 2, Informative

    here

  15. but here's a copy of the qt movie by fw3 · · Score: 2, Informative
    megway.mov

    wth, it's only bandwidth, and a worthy joke

    --
    Linux is Linux, if One need clarify their dist: <Dist>/GNU Linux
    bsds are of course just BSD
  16. obligatory by moviepig.com · · Score: 4, Funny
    While waiting for the Megway web site to materialize, I realized the undoubted imminence of these further Segway competitors:

    The one with a breathalyzer: Kegway
    The overpriced one: Begway
    The one that always craps out: Legway
    The official one: Regway
    The souped-up red one: Nutmegway

    --
    Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
  17. Re:Segway: cool engineering, lousy idea by Monkelectric · · Score: 3, Informative

    Actually, somebody agrees with you, a fellow came up with a better design which requires no complicated electronics.

    --

    Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

  18. Uh, this joke is AT LEAST TWO YEARS OLD? by g8orade · · Score: 4, Informative

    See this link...

  19. If there's one thing that I can't stand... by mojotooth · · Score: 4, Funny

    more than a joke that I don't get, it's a joke that gets slashdotted before I can get it.

    --
    -- Mojo Tooth : exploring our world as only an idiot can.
  20. READ THE THING by neoshroom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Some of your replies:

    So what's the point? To make people look even more stupid that they do on a segway?

    to the tremendous hype that was built around it. There was one good fallout from all the hype though. People started to think of alternatives. That I believe is the true value of the Segway and now the "MegWay"

    If Lindows lost to MS, then Megway is certainly going to be sued by (and lose to) the Segway guys.

    It's very similar to the Segway, certainly in the same market, and it's name only differs by one letter. Surely Segway's lawyers won't be happy.

    Did anyone even read the article? Newsflash (with annoying scolling subtitle): Its a spoof.

    --
    Big apple, new Yorik, undig it, something's unrotting in Edenmark.
  21. another tired dupe by lophophore · · Score: 4, Insightful

    News? Hardly. Google shows this foolishness was on the web in December 2001. It wasn't very funny then, and it is even less funny today.

    Can we have a subject category for irrelevant, boring dupes?

    --
    there are 3 kinds of people:
    * those who can count
    * those who can't
  22. What the... by Viceice · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I thought SlashDot was supposed to turn useless ONLY on April 1st?

    --
    Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
    1. Re:What the... by athakur999 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, but the other 364 days a year it's supposed to make other sites useless.

      --
      "People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
  23. old news by P0lyh34) · · Score: 3, Informative

    This was on memepool over 3 years ago.

    --
    -Polyhead-
  24. You need to be succesful to have competition... by Shivetya · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Let alone worry about it.

    Seems their goal (Segway) of having the taxpayers buy up their production via Government purchases didn't materialize. They knew they had no real commercial viability, hence all the attempts to get large government organizations to test it out in hopes of getting a buyer.

    My favorite were the lard ass Atlanta cops that tried it, trouble was they were too clutzy to operate it.

    Segway, a product that looked neat but had no market yet was hyped to all heck and back. Just another feature of the dot-com craze.

    As for Megway/Smegway... its a joke... rta

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
  25. WOAH HO! Competition is getting FIERCE! by xeeno · · Score: 2, Funny

    With this new alternate out, I see the number of riders of these things doubling to maybe 6 people!

  26. I think... by The+Fanta+Menace · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...that I'll stick with LegWay, thanks.

    --
    -- Even if a god did exist, why the fsck should I worship it?
  27. Re:*checks date* by Zugok · · Score: 2, Informative

    well actually, this made Cruel site of the day on December 12, 2001.

    --
    "I just can't sit while people are saying nonsense in a meeting without saying it's nonsense" J Watson, Sci Am 288:(4)51
  28. Winter/Summer Bike Commute Times are Equal by shking · · Score: 2

    I bike commute year round and the trip time is roughly the same, winter or summer (about 1/2 hour in my case). Winter is only slower when there is heavy snow

    Some things to consider if you ride in winter:

    1. Ride a cheap bike and keep it clean. Salt and sand are very hard on the drive train
    2. Dress for wind, not for warmth. You will be generating plenty of heat after 5 minutes of riding, but frostbite is not pretty, nor is it pleasant. A rule of thumb is that you should feel slightly chilled when you start out.
    3. Index shifters often stop working when the temperature drops below -10C to -15C (14F to 5F) This is due to the close tolerances needed to fit all those gears in a small space. Ride a cheap bike that has 7 or fewer gears on the rear deraileur and you'll be able to shift gears when it gets really cold
    4. Riding in VERY cold weather is usually safer and much more comfortable than riding when it's near freezing (0C/32F). This is because you won't get wet and the streets are covered with hard packed snow (not hidden patches of ice)

    BTW - What do you mean by "hash winter weather"? -20C (-4F) is quite comfortable if you are properly dressed

    --
    -- "At Microsoft, quality is job 1.1" -- PC Magazine, Nov. 1994