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I hope they are taking a page from the Tesla playbook. The people who need this device are not the ones who are going to pre-order it today or buy it when it co

I hope they are taking a page from the Tesla playbook. The people who need this device are not the ones who are going to pre-order it today or buy it when it comes to retail. But to reach the broader consumer market they need to target high-end, trendy, and rich consumers, so they can eventually produce an affordable (or better yet, ubiquitous) technology. To complete the analogy, I hope this is the "Roadster" with a clear goal of an affordable sedan in the future. Who do I think needs this technology? People who drink soda and don't know how many calories they are consuming. Not only does it cause a huge percentage of obesity cases (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fact-sheet/ http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/sugary-drinks-fa...) but the large doses of caffeine and phosphoric acid in Colas can do serious damage to your bones! (http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/soda-osteoporosis http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/soda-osteoporosis). Unfortunately there is a strong correlation between poverty and soda consumption. (http://www.livescience.com/35127-poverty-soda-pop-consumption-101103.html http://www.livescience.com/35127-poverty-soda-pop-consumptio...) So if you want to make a real impact you're going to have to make this cheap and easy enough to be sold in bulk at Walmart. (Please excuse the stereotyping, it is, of course, not this simple.)

egypturnash 12y ago
I think really what the people who "need" this device need is better access to good food, and the money to buy it. I mean, really, I am pretty sure most poor people know they kinda eat like shit. If they had the money to spend on good food (prepared or raw materials), and the time to sit in a restaurant for a half hour, or to cook stuff, they probably would. A higher minimum wage, maybe even a basic income, would go a lot further than "here is a $5 cup that can make you feel guilty about not being able to afford to drink good things".
- iandanforth 12y ago
  IMO it's an education problem. I used to work in bone density testing and almost universally people were shocked to learn that cola might hurt their bones. Ironically being heavy means higher estrogen levels and a heavier load to carry (which is exercise for your bones) so the effect was sometimes canceled out. But if you don't know that there is a lot of sugar in some beverages, or you don't do the math to figure out how many servings of the "low cal" beverage you're getting when you drink multiple 2 liter bottles a day then you're screwed! Just like activity trackers can help improve health by improving awareness (and yes, maybe some guilt) I still think any food/calorie tracking technology could help. And remember here we're talking about nourishment for which there is a nearly free and readily available alternative; water.
fudged71 12y ago
I wonder if there is a more concise and general term for starting with the high end to develop technology and move to the mainstream when scale and technology becomes more affordable and usable. It's basically a specific subset of crossing the chasm, right?
- disillusioned 12y ago
  Something something "trickle down".

egypturnash 12y ago

I think really what the people who "need" this device need is better access to good food, and the money to buy it. I mean, really, I am pretty sure most poor people know they kinda eat like shit. If they had the money to spend on good food (prepared or raw materials), and the time to sit in a restaurant for a half hour, or to cook stuff, they probably would. A higher minimum wage, maybe even a basic income, would go a lot further than "here is a $5 cup that can make you feel guilty about not being able to afford to drink good things".

iandanforth 12y ago
IMO it's an education problem. I used to work in bone density testing and almost universally people were shocked to learn that cola might hurt their bones. Ironically being heavy means higher estrogen levels and a heavier load to carry (which is exercise for your bones) so the effect was sometimes canceled out. But if you don't know that there is a lot of sugar in some beverages, or you don't do the math to figure out how many servings of the "low cal" beverage you're getting when you drink multiple 2 liter bottles a day then you're screwed! Just like activity trackers can help improve health by improving awareness (and yes, maybe some guilt) I still think any food/calorie tracking technology could help. And remember here we're talking about nourishment for which there is a nearly free and readily available alternative; water.

fudged71 12y ago

I wonder if there is a more concise and general term for starting with the high end to develop technology and move to the mainstream when scale and technology becomes more affordable and usable. It's basically a specific subset of crossing the chasm, right?

disillusioned 12y ago
Something something "trickle down".