Verizon and the future

Ok, so Verizon fixed my phone this morning, apparently I had a bad jack in my apartment that was shorting the line in one way or another…. The guy showed up as I was watching the super-electro-future-scooter on the TiVo… Seeing it in action, it looks pretty freaking amazing…. Whatever deep gyroscope physics magic they invoke to get that thing to balance perfectly, even when the rider is shoved is amazing… Fortunately for me, they aren’t for sale to the general public yet… :)

4 thoughts on “Verizon and the future

  1. I just don’t get it

    I mean ?It? is neat and all but in 1979 Lockheed designed a fly-by-wire flight control system which allowed for stable flight control in three axis of fight (roll, pitch, and yaw). This seems far more complicated and it was done 22 years ago. Also the stakes were much higher, if thier is a bug your plane will most likley rip itself apart. What am I missy here?

    1. Re: I just don’t get it

      There is no way anyone should/could downplay the significance of Lockheed’s fly-by-wire system, but I also think that the Segway is solving a somewhat different picture. Where the fly-by-wire system translates movements by the pilot into minute changes in the control surface (emulating “standard” control to the pilot when the actual control surfaces behave very differently), the Segway is instead taking the user’s minute body movements and translating that information and using it to closely emulate the user’s system of balance. Upping the ante of the party, the Segway does this with an amazingly small amount of electricity… To have a 15 mile range at a speed of 8-12 mph, and considering that the two motors are working full time to maintain that balance, that’s pretty cool.

      And the Balance part alone has been done before by Kamen himself… His 6-wheeled wheelchair walks up stairs, which is cool, but it can also stand up on two wheels, elevating the person in the chair to a close approximation of eye-level when they are talking with someone… The difference with the Segway is bringing that work in simulated balance up a notch, and not only allowing balance while standing, but balance while moving forwards, backwards, and turning…

      Also the stakes were much higher,

      This part is irrelevant to the complexity of the technology…

      In my eyes, both are complicated technologies which are only related on the surface (mostly because they both involve many Gyroscopes)… Of course, I am not physicist, nor are you, so our opinions are tantamount to people watching football and bitching about the shitty players.. :)

    1. Re: hmm

      but for all of the hype, i was expecting a lot

      That’s what you deserve for giving that hype any attention….

      Lots of people I know are excited about it… And have you seen it in action? That made a difference in my excitement level for sure…

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