5 ms·

The segway at least found a niche with cops and tourists.

by catalogia 7y ago

michaelbuckbee 7y ago
And in a slightly different form factor / price point presaged the mass usage of Lime, etc.
- wpietri 7y ago
  Presaged in the sense that there was also a lot of VC-driven hype that didn't work out, sure. I'll admit there's a slightly higher chance that scooter rental still might turn into a real business. But it's definitely not a given.
- rosywoozlechan 7y ago
  A little bit early to portray Lime and the like as anything other than VC throwing tons of money at an idea
adamc 7y ago
Right, but it was a niche, not a revolution.
- catalogia 7y ago
  As far as I've seen, Magic Leap doesn't even have a niche. I can think of plausible niches for some hypothetical future AR tech, but none for what Magic Leap has managed to create.
- jfim 7y ago
  The first airplanes were a niche, and so were the first cellphones. Facebook was this social network for ivies. Just because a technology is currently in a niche position doesn't mean that in the long term it won't be a revolution or won't become mainstream.
wpietri 7y ago
Oh, sure! But those who didn't live through the hype may not know that it was expected to revolutionize transportation. "Venture capitalist John Doerr predicted it would reach $1 billion in sales faster than any company in history, and that it could be bigger than the Internet." [1] [1] https://www.wired.com/2015/01/well-didnt-work-segway-technological-marvel-bad-doesnt-make-sense/ https://www.wired.com/2015/01/well-didnt-work-segway-technol...
- jiofih 7y ago
  I remember the hype being so strong that people were (seriously) theorizing some kind of gravity-defying device.
blululu 7y ago
Yes, and there are also plenty of solid niche applications of 3d displays. The point is that both the Segway and the MagicLeap were pitched as being the next mobile phone or automobile (something everyone has at all times). Of course personal electric vehicles seem to be having a renaissance at the moment (scooters) but the buzz:use ratio of modern scooters is much-much lower than the original segway era from 20 years back.

The segway at least found a niche with cops and tourists.

michaelbuckbee 7y ago

And in a slightly different form factor / price point presaged the mass usage of Lime, etc.

wpietri 7y ago
Presaged in the sense that there was also a lot of VC-driven hype that didn't work out, sure. I'll admit there's a slightly higher chance that scooter rental still might turn into a real business. But it's definitely not a given.
rosywoozlechan 7y ago
A little bit early to portray Lime and the like as anything other than VC throwing tons of money at an idea

adamc 7y ago

Right, but it was a niche, not a revolution.

catalogia 7y ago
As far as I've seen, Magic Leap doesn't even have a niche. I can think of plausible niches for some hypothetical future AR tech, but none for what Magic Leap has managed to create.
jfim 7y ago
The first airplanes were a niche, and so were the first cellphones. Facebook was this social network for ivies. Just because a technology is currently in a niche position doesn't mean that in the long term it won't be a revolution or won't become mainstream.

wpietri 7y ago

Oh, sure! But those who didn't live through the hype may not know that it was expected to revolutionize transportation. "Venture capitalist John Doerr predicted it would reach $1 billion in sales faster than any company in history, and that it could be bigger than the Internet." [1] [1] https://www.wired.com/2015/01/well-didnt-work-segway-technological-marvel-bad-doesnt-make-sense/ https://www.wired.com/2015/01/well-didnt-work-segway-technol...

jiofih 7y ago
I remember the hype being so strong that people were (seriously) theorizing some kind of gravity-defying device.

blululu 7y ago

Yes, and there are also plenty of solid niche applications of 3d displays. The point is that both the Segway and the MagicLeap were pitched as being the next mobile phone or automobile (something everyone has at all times). Of course personal electric vehicles seem to be having a renaissance at the moment (scooters) but the buzz:use ratio of modern scooters is much-much lower than the original segway era from 20 years back.