The invention that is said to revolutionize the world and all in it... much bigger than PCs or the World Wide Web. <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/news/513749.asp">Book proposal adds to ‘IT’ mystery</a> IT is under tight wraps but won't come out until 2002. Few things from the article about IT. <UL> [*] IT is not a medical invention. [*] In a private meeting with Bezos, Jobs and Doerr, Kamen assembled two Gingers — or ITs — in 10 minutes, using a screwdriver and hex wrenches from components that fit into a couple of large duffel bags and some cardboard boxes. [*] The invention has a fun element to it, because once a Ginger was turned on, Bezos started laughing his “loud, honking laugh”. [*] There are possibly two Ginger models, named Metro and Pro — and the Metro may possibly cost less than $2,000. [*] Bezos is quoted as saying that IT “...is a product so revolutionary, you’ll have no problem selling it. The question is, are people going to be allowed to use it?” [*] Jobs is quoted as saying: “...If enough people see the machine you won’t have to convince them to architect cities around it. It’ll just happen.” [*] Kemper says the invention will “sweep over the world and change lives, cities, and ways of thinking.” [*] The “core technology and its implementations” will, according to Kamen, “have a big, broad impact not only on social institutions but some billion-dollar old-line companies.” And the invention will “profoundly affect our environment and the way people live worldwide. It will be an alternative to products that are dirty, expensive, sometimes dangerous and often frustrating, especially for people in the cities.” [*] IT will be a mass-market consumer product “likely to run afoul of existing regulations and or inspire new ones,” according to Kemper. The invention will also likely require “meeting with city planners, regulators, legislators, large commercial companies and university presidents about how cities, companies and campuses can be retro-fitted for Ginger.” [/list] ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
IT sounds like a publicity stunt. ------------------ Maybe all the rulers are wrong. Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
Can you eat it? ------------------ [This message has been edited by ROCKETBOOSTER (edited January 10, 2001).]
I lean towards "it" being some sort of transportation device. Metro for inner city use and the Pro for highway use. ------------------
Or perhaps something to attach to your mode of transportation to provide an endless supply of power. ------------------ "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." - Gandhi
Well with Bezos and Jobs onboard, I'd say its an existing device, only modified to look "cool" (like the IMacs or Cube), that won't turn a profit (a la Amazon.com). But it'll be fun! ------------------ "Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks www.clutchtown.com
*The invention has a fun element to it, because once a ginger was turned on, Bezos started laughing his "loud, honking laugh" I think that pretty much rules out any transportational device. Im baffled. ------------------
Cassell, I don't think it could be an existing device because it is described as "revolutionary". Booster, Maybe he laughed because he was giddy with thoughts about how much freakin money he would be swimming in once he saw it work ? ------------------
We were talking about this at work and the one thing we noticed was that it said something about cities, companies, etc. could retrofit existing facilities to accomodate it. This led us to believe that it's a portable hovercraft of some sort like the Razor scooter, but propelled. It's small enough to carry in a couple of duffle bags and easy enough to assemble in 10 mins? Hmm... This would definitely cause a change in infrastructure -- ie parking spaces? Even if it's true, what would you do when it rains? ------------------ "Don't slap the glass Mobley, slap my ass...yeeeoooow!" -- HeyPartner decides to out himself. Makes you wonder if he's calling ISO's and 2 Shakes for himself... hehe
Damm,I don't wanna be flying through the air on some little ass scooter.Surround me with some good ole fashion Detroit steel. ------------------
come on guys its a teleporter dont you know anything we were first able to teleport atoms years ago peace ------------------ Hanta-Force Paintball http://www.hanta-force.com
Dangerous is a key word. How many products out there are really dangerous and frustrating... ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Maybe its a cold fusion generator. Or maybe its a true superconducter that, making use of magnetic forces, can provide frictionless coupling for train tracks etc. ------------------ Maybe all the rulers are wrong. Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
EVERY product out there is potentially dangerous and frustrating. Kind of like every product Jobs creates is "revolutionary". ------------------ "Thirty-seven?" -Randall, Clerks www.clutchtown.com
VOR may be on to something because it did say they "assembled two Gingers" possibly one to send and one to receive but the under $2000 price tag makes this type of device seem a little implausible. ------------------
When I first read it, I thought IT could be a portable personal John (aka toilet). Yup, just read it again... IT is a toilet. ------------------ My Rocket Page [This message has been edited by DREAMer (edited January 10, 2001).]
I did a little digging on Kamen (the inventor of IT) and came up with some interesting info, for what it's worth: - He's quite eccentric. He lives on a private island in a very large home with numerous cars and his own helicoptor which he uses extensively for travel. - When he ran afoul of local authorities because he wanted to build an electricity generating windmill, he seceded his island from the U.S. He subsequently signed a non-agression pact with then president George Bush and appointed Ben & Jerry as Joint Chiefs of Ice Cream. - As a teenager, he built elaborate sound and light displays in his basement. They were so impressive he was asked to coordinate the Times Square New Year's Ball Drop (while still in high school). By the time he graduated from high school, he was earning more that 60,000 per year (this is 30+ years ago, mind you). - He's won NUMEROUS national science awards for his groundbreaking inventions. His most recent medical work has been on the iBot-- a wheelchair that allow the user to climb stairs and balance on two wheels. He seems to be an extremely creative and inventive person with a definite streak of eccentricity. He also seems to be quite interested in transportation and ease of mobility issues. Interesting, to say the least. ------------------
From wirednews.com, September 2000:- Lately, Kamen has broadened his work beyond health care. He believes technology and ingenuity can solve all kinds of social ills - like pollution, limited access to electricity, and contaminated water in many third-world countries, where bacteria from human feces in drinking water is a leading cause of cholera. To help ameliorate the water problem, Deka's team of 170 engineers is working on a nonpolluting engine - funded by several million dollars of Kamen's own money - based on a concept first floated in the early 1800s but never realized. The device is called the Stirling engine; Kamen hopes it can be developed into an affordable, portable machine that will run a water purifier/power generator that could zap contaminated H20 with a UV laser to make it safe for drinking. "It can burn any fuel, and you can do all kinds of things with it," he says. "It might be very valuable in emerging economies, giving them access to electricity, even the Net." Another project, to be unveiled in the next year, will necessitate building "the largest company in New Hampshire," Kamen says with characteristic bravura. He's shy about details, except to say it involves a consumer device unrelated to health care and will require $100 million in financing. Among the investors: Kleiner Perkins. http://www.wirednews.com/wired/archive/8.09/kamen.html Interesting reading ------------------ Maybe all the rulers are wrong. Current Rocket's Salary & Contract Info
Dreamer, A toilet is going to change lives, cities, and ways of thinking? Geez...that must be some crapper. ------------------
ROCKETBOOSTER, Have you ever been to a reststop bathroom? Or a gas station bathroom? Safety - reduce transmission of disease Change ways of thinking - taking a dump in a portable John is definitly "different". "The question is, are people going to be allowed to use it?" - Fits the toilet theory "...If enough people see the machine you won’t have to convince them to architect cities around it. It’ll just happen." - Changing where and how bathrooms are designed?? "It will be an alternative to products that are dirty, expensive, sometimes dangerous and often frustrating, especially for people in the cities." - If that's not talking about toilets, then what? I'm sticking with the portable toilet theory. ------------------ My Rocket Page
