Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003) | Hacker News Reader

Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos meet "Ginger" (2003)

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87 pointshboon25 comments

I get the same feeling about Google Glass that I got from Segway: cool technology, but who the heck is going to actually use it?

I never understood what problem the Segway was supposed to solve. Same with Glass.

Maybe it's confirmation bias but most "big bang" inventions or services seem like this to me. It's the relative slow burners that build up over time that seem to get huge in their fields (e.g. the iPod, Skype, Facebook, Pinterest, even HN.) A big launch almost seems to be a curse. The iPad is probably the main counter example I can think of in recent years.

Interesting you mentioned it. I posted this article after reading http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Science+and+Tech/Sto... and recalled this lesson about going big. I wonder with the iPhone and iPad, if a smaller and quieter launch would have caused more problems. Would they have been able to survive Antennagate [1], for example?

[1] http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57406331-17/iphone-4-anten...

PS: Singapore is nothing like what they mentioned in the article, even 10 years ago.

Can't you see it -- these two technologies are complimentary! Glass will be used to dispatch Mall Security on their Segways, along with giving them real-time updates on how long a group of teenagers were occupying a table at the food court.

The thing that was really ballsy and bizarre about Segway is that they sort of expected society to reorganize around their cool new invention.

I'm a perfect candidate for a Segway -- I live in a small city, with most of my key destinations 30-60 minutes by foot from my house. The problem is, Segways were like $6k each, so I'm going to have to drop $12k for my wife and I to go to work, still need a car, and not be able to legally operate on the sidewalk.

...Or, I could drop $800 on bikes.

Not to mention the bikes will help you live longer.

Segway was based on cutting edge technology and it worked really well. Indeed, it was impressive in its capabilities. But mostly out of novelty. In terms of basic capabilities it was a stinker.

Compare it to a moped: much slower, much shorter range, can't carry a passenger, can't carry cargo, can't travel on roadways, much more expensive.

Compare it to a bicycle: slower, much shorter range, can't carry cargo, can't travel on roadways, very much more expensive, can't be used for exercise, going up hills is easier.

Compare it to a car: enormously slower, vastly shorter range, can't carry cargo, can't travel on roadways, exposed to the elements, potentially comparable cost.

Compare it to walking: saves some time and effort especially on hills, less convenient, borderline rude to use near other pedestrians, avoids extremely low impact exercise, still exposed to the elements, very high cost.

And there you have it. For the vast majority of situations using a Segway is actually a huge downgrade from an equivalent expenditure. For the cost of a Segway you could buy a used car, or a moped, or an extremely nice bicycle. Meanwhile, if you have a commute that you would be willing to use a Segway for it would generally be absolutely superior to simply walk or bike and get some exercise in the process.

Though there are a few uses where it's the best tool for the job. For instance, taking a "Segway Tour" of an unfamiliar city such as Austin. It's like a walking tour in that you can experience the local geography of the place and see everything close up but everyone can cover more ground more quickly and nobody has to fall behind or slow up the group because they're a slow walker. Plus, it's just fun to ride.

More than once I saw them being used in video productions, with a steadicam guy riding one.

You forgot the fact that riding one makes you look like a total geek, and not in a good way. Al Yankovic's song "White and Nerdy" captures the image perfectly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw

Yes. The thing was quickly adapted as a set-piece to communicate a certain flavor of nerdery and laziness in comedies. In addition to the music video you mention, there is also "Paul Blart Mall Cop" and GOB from "Arrested Development"

Don't leave out that you look like a complete dweeb riding one.

Are you suggesting I don't need a helmet to travel slightly above walking speed?

Perhaps the segment the Segway aspires to is that of the skateboard. Alas, an order or two of magnitude heavier and more expensive. Great for relatively short distances you're not really keen on walking, but too heavy to carry and too expensive to leave outside.

They're really good for delivering pizza in an urban area.

And also, the observation made in the OP: you only get one chance at a big-bang introduction, so it has to be right. (Obviously Segway failed on this point.)

With Glass, they have decided to do it incrementally, rather than Big Bang style.

The article's from 2003, but the hype began sometime around 2000 and it was revealed in 2001.

This and Transmeta were these two ultra-secret projects at the time, with big names, a lot of speculation, and no accurate leaks until they were officially unveiled. Neither really panned out.

I always thought Transmeta's code morphing technology was really cool but it never really had a chance to mature and the patents kept other folks from looking at the idea.

Jobs' harsh criticism reminded me instantly of the 2003 email from Bill Gates trashing Windows Movie Maker, the Microsoft.com website, etc. [1]

It also reminded me of presentations I've given that have "gotten out of hand". I've found it's nearly impossible to direct a meeting like that--smart, intense people will not be led along the carefully crafted golden path you lay out for their time.

In Tim Adams' shoes, you may find yourself frustrated answering interruptive questions that are answered clearly in your deck, spec document, etc. After much experience with this, I've found that if you can give a sensible answer to the question, and after the answer is accepted, just say "... and that's in the document on page X", people are generally pleased with that. If they point out a loophole, gap, etc. in your design, "we will call that out" or "we'll add that immediately" can get you moving along again.

The "did you read the entire deck" question was funny. (Could that possibly work?? :-P)

[1] http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/2008/06/24/full-text-an-...

I find smart people like to work that way, read the deck first then talk about the 2 or three key things that everything else hinges on. Saves time.

An interesting thought experiment to do.. get really smart friends to read this piece after stripping Harvard , Bezos, Jobs and almost all the names .. replace them with variables X_1,X_2 etc.. perhaps a good thing to do for almost all such pieces.

I've always thought a political news web site that stripped out names/parties would be interesting too. When you don't have a bias for/against the speaker you may find you are more open to ideas.

You don't necessarily have to have "smart" friends but it is a good idea to always include people outside your domain that might bring their own ideas. It avoids the issue of you drinking your own kool-aid. Similar to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink

Just goes to show the kings new clothes can fool the 1%.

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