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> like the Segway: really interesting tech that everybody is excited about, but with little practical use once we get past the gee-whiz phase. I've never heard

• wpietri 9y ago
  I definitely remember it differently. Dean Kamen is a very sharp inventor, and the origin of the Segway was in a radical wheelchair improvement that he designed. (It was a four-wheel design that would "stand up" on its two back wheels to give the user similar height to a standing person. It could even climb stairs! [1]) A lot of the hype came from luminaries who had seen or tried the Segway and were opining on it themselves. The technology was really neat, and is cool to use. At the time, it was plausible that it might change a lot. In practice, though, it turned out to be mainly a niche product, because we already had pretty good solutions for getting people from place to place. And that last bit is important. It didn't completely evaporate. I often still see a flock of Segways for guided tours when I'm in Golden Gate Park. Segway still exists, and is still producing a variety of models. But you're right that the hype got out of control, and the vast difference between expectation and reality harmed Segway's brand. That could definitely happen here. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yihwW4ywGqE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yihwW4ywGqE