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It's funny. Laugh. Toys

Segway Revolutionizes Polo 242

Posted by simoniker from the horses-are-so-yesterday dept.
Mirkon writes "The Register is carrying a story on an example of how technology is making sports better: Segway Polo. The San Francisco Bay Area Segway Enthusiasts Group has instructions on how to build a mallet (PDF), and a video clip of Segway Polo in action (MOV). A revolutionary device, indeed."
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Segway Revolutionizes Polo More

Segway Revolutionizes Polo

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  • Until I see a Segway as a vehicle in UT2004 (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:40AM (#9829812)
    I'm not impressed.

  • Finally (Score:4, Funny)

    by DreadCthulhu ( 772304 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:41AM (#9829819)
    Finally, a decent use for those things.

  • Torrent of the movie (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:42AM (#9829823)
    For all you Segway lovers, here [utwente.nl]is a torrent of the SegwayPolo movie.

  • Well at least it's doing something! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Stevyn ( 691306 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:42AM (#9829824)
    This was really a good example of a toy with no practical future. I, like many others, were excited about the buildup and then it's debut. I'd say the cost definately prevented it's adoption.

    It's funny to see it revolutionize polo though, I don't remember that in the things Kamen promised it would revolutionize.
    • Segways cost about $5,000 USD [amazon.com] at that price a small car or motor bike is a much better bet for urban transport. I definitely agree that the price point for mass adoption hasn't been meet.
      • initial price is not an issue. My first mac (a Mac II with a 15inch color monitor) cost $5000 too. Without the printer or extra SCSI harddisk. One can't say that it was a barrier for mass adoption, eh ?

        The rich (or enterpreneurs) pay the initial batch. After that, profit is met and the price goes down. Segway offcourse has larger obstacles to handle than price.
        • I think that computers, however, have become cheaper from manufacturing innovations. Computer parts now are unbelieveably cheap compared to 5 years ago. Manufacturing has also become a lot more competitive in Asia. Asia's growth has also done a lot to reduce prices.

          • Re:Well at least it's doing something! (Score:5, Insightful)

            by selderrr ( 523988 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:28AM (#9829971) Journal
            segway contains practically only comodity hardware. Nothing fancy in it, no rare materials. The cost of a segway are due to research & the fact that they are manfactured in low quantities. About exactly the problems the computer industry had 20 years ago.

            There is no reason at all for the segway to remain this expensive for a long time, unless the company wants to keep its elite status. But unfortunately, there is no telling when the price will drop
            • If the price does come down to what a cheap scooter costs you, why would I buy the segway? With a scooter I get long range, it runs on gas, can carry two people, do non-highway speeds, street legal, etc.

              If the segway could do 40mpg then I'd be interested in it, but walking isn't that tough and I really don't need assistance in that area. Heck, walking is the most exercise more of us get.

              That said, it may have applications with the handicapped and the aging population, but as a popular device? I don't thi
              • I wouldn't be so hard to throw around 'naj' arguments. Many people argued they didn't need 1000 songs in their pocket, or a 3D card that can render at 1600x1200, or a 7.1 sound system, or HDTV, or a SMART car, or throw-away cameras, ...

                I'm probably forgetting a lot of useless stuff here that went out and became a huge success anyway, despite crushung critiques about it's uselessness.

                My point? When status symbols becomes affordable, people will find reasons to buy it. Look at me : I just bought a 1600Euro
            • I thought the most expensive parts of the Segway were its magnets for its motors, the batteries, and its gyros. Those are non-trivial parts which, under mass production, could become very cheap indeed.

            • If that's true, I imagine it will be like in-line skates. They seemed to explode in popularity 20 years after the patent was filed.

              I wonder if a Segway could get by on one wheel... ? run two gyros in opposite directions and straddle the wheel. Alter the position of the gyros relative to the wheel to turn and depend on internal friction in the gyro to induce some angular force.

              Hmmm... might be fun to build a model.

        • My first mac (a Mac II with a 15inch color monitor) cost $5000 too.

          However, it didn't have about a billion cheaper, better alternatives for what it did, like the Segway does.

        • Segway offcourse has larger obstacles to handle than price.

          Yep. Like stairs.
      • "Segways cost about $5,000 USD at that price a small car or motor bike is a much better bet for urban transport."

        yes, but can you use them to play slacker lawn polo and get a cool video posted on slashdot?
        where are your priorities?

      • Re:Well at least it's doing something! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by blancolioni ( 147353 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @08:05AM (#9830095) Homepage
        Does it have a price point for mass adoption? It's heavier and slower than a bicycle, with less range and carrying capacity. I don't imagine that it will ever compete with a bicyle on price either.
        • I would buy one at around the $2k mark.

          The thing that makes it more appealing than a bike is that it is MUCH faster if you have many hills in the way as you can still maintain about 10-12MPH, and even if you don't have hills it's not much slower.

          Plus, you have the benfit that you do not exert yourself quite as much so you'll probably not need a shower when you get where you're going. It does take more effort than you'd think though.

          Basically, look for these thing to explode in popularity when they get u
          • A bike can certainly carry a heavier load than a Segway. It's all about where you place the load, my friend. Your back, one of the higher spots on the bike, is NOT a good place to put it. Saddle bags, luggage racks over the front and rear wheels and, perhaps, something over the handle bars would be a bit more effective that trying to balanace a fully loaded pack on your back whilst bicycling.
      • How is a small car or motor bike a much better bet for urban transport? The Segway can achieve a higher speed than the average speed of cars going through the centre of London. It takes up less space on the road, and can reasonably be used on sidewalks if they aren't too crowded. A small car or motor bike might be a better bet in some cities, but for London that would probably be primarily if you define "better" as "spends more time in queues".
      • i agree with you. this [electricmoto.com] looks much cooler, for the same price

    • Re:Well at least it's doing something! (Score:4, Informative)

      by Bohnanza ( 523456 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @08:05AM (#9830097)
      The price would have to be VERY low for the Segway to be widely adopted, since the device is basically useless.

      There is nothing it does that is not done better by a car, motor scooter or bicycle. It is a replacement for walking that is only usable by people who can stand and balance.

      I'd really like to hear some of the folks who helped with the hype, such as Bezos and Metcalf, come forth and justify their pre-release claims. IIRC Metcalf claimed "we will all want at least two". What a sham.

      • Agreed. The biggest problem I see with it is that it violates my favorite proverb: "Never stand when you can sit, and never sit when you can lie down." Why stand and go at slow speeds when some sort of bike or scooter (even an electric one) will go faster, be more comfortable, and not look as goofy?
      • I don't drive a car (never bothered getting a license even - a result of always having lived close enough to well working public transport alternatives to never having felt it was worth the effort), and have no intension of getting one.

        Neither do I drive a motor scooter - I'd be a lunatic to want to drive one in London traffic, same for a bike. But I'd love a Segway. Why? Because it would effectively extend the range I'd go without relying on public transport easily and conveniently, while taking up less

    • This was really a good example of a toy with no practical future.

      True, but the world and economy is so big now that there is almost always a niche or two for the obscure product.

      We recently took a guided tour [floridaever-glides.com] in Sarasota, Florida on a Segway. The Segway did a wonderful job of facilitating the tour... we were able to visit the bayfront, travel on downtown sidewalks, and visit other places we would have never found. And, riding the Segway was a blast.
      • We recently took a guided tour in Sarasota, Florida on a Segway. The Segway did a wonderful job of facilitating the tour... we were able to visit the bayfront, travel on downtown sidewalks, and visit other places we would have never found. And, riding the Segway was a blast.

        That's nice, but everything except the "Segway was a blast" part had nothing to do with the segway.

        Guided tours are nothing new... They have been showing people things they would have never found for years using bikes, cars, buses, a
        • The difference being that the Segway extends the range beyond what a lot of people would want to walk, while making for a more seamless experience than a bike, and with access to many place where a car or bus would require you to stop, herd the tour group out and back in again afterwards for what might be just a few minutes.

          Bikes are nothing new either. That doesn't mean that can't do a better job facilitating some types of tours than the alternatives can.

          • I suppose it'd depend on how long of a walk you're talking about, but it seems to me that the Segway really doesn't do that. That is, I'm a 300 lb dude and not in great shape at all, but I have no problem walking 5 miles on a walk around town, or more when I'm on vacation. Sure, the elderly or little annoying kids (that's what a red flyer is for anyway) may not be able to do that, but anyone who is under 60 and older than 10 shouldn't have a problem walking a few miles.

            It looks like the Segway gets around
        • Guided tours are nothing new

          I've taken guided tours across the world... everything from open top bus tours in NYC to a minicoach tour of the Isle of Skye in Scotland to a boat tour in Kauai to a hike thru a rain forest in Antigua to a mountain bike tour through the mountains of St. Lucia. In all of those tours, the transportation mechanism was fitting to the place being toured.

          There is no other mechanism more appropriate for a tour of a beautiful place like Sarasota. A stuffy bus or coach would rui

  • Segways also revolutionizing off-roading apparenty (Score:5, Interesting)

    by psoriac ( 81188 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:42AM (#9829826)
    Found this image on [H]ardOCP: off-road segway [hardocp.com]

    For those of you using lynx: it's a segway with huge spiked tires on a sled hitched to the back of a Hummer H2. Go figure. ;)

  • This won’t last for long (Score:5, Funny)

    by poofyhairguy82 ( 635386 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:47AM (#9829845) Journal
    10:00 am Segway Polo game

    12:07 pm Mayor bans use of Segways on a Polo field.

    Drat, foiled again.

    Segway golf would be a more acceptable option.

  • Obligatory Simpsons Quote (Score:5, Funny)

    by rf0 ( 159958 ) <rghf@fsck.me.uk> on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:48AM (#9829848) Homepage
    Kent Brochman: "And that makes the 3rd Segway scooter accident to claim over 1000 lives"

    Rus

  • point of view... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by selderrr ( 523988 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:50AM (#9829861) Journal
    kinda funny : the tone of the register was rather mocking, considering the segway drivers a bunch of rich-asses with to much time on their hands, and the segway a silly, expensive toy that never could deliver what was promised.

    On /., it becomes a revolutionary device that makes sports better.

    Probably, the submitter intended irony, but failed to convince
    • Yeah, "That's funny. Laugh" section is really about the serious sports. Oh, they should've placed it to "IT.slashdot.org" I think!!! (Anyone remembers? ;)

    • Re:point of view... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by the_twisted_pair ( 741815 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:35AM (#9829994)
      It's a funny way to revolutionise polo - by making it happen at about 1/4 the speed. Sounds more like hockey-for-teletubbies. Now I've no great interest and haven't played the real thing, but it sure as hell looks fast, brutal and exciting.

      If this is 'revolutionising' a sport I think I'll start quarter-miling my old pedal-car.

    • There's an interesting (one month old) article [economist.com] in the Economist about how Segway isn't doing as well as the makers expect.

      I'm not one bit surprised. For me the thing is an amazing solution to a non-existent problem. Can someone explain to me how is this better from a bike?

      I mean for the price of Segway I can buy the same bike Lance Armstrong rides, or nearly any mountain bike. (actually I just checked the price and Trek 5.9 is slightly more pricey then the Segway). Anyway, I do easily average 20mph w

      • Re:point of view... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by selderrr ( 523988 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:50AM (#9830042) Journal
        Segway isn't oriented towards the same market segment as a bicycle. They deliberately keep the thing expensive to make it a status symbol. If you compare a $100.000 rolex to a $5 plastic watch, you'll find they both display time within an acceptable measure of accuracy. Why do dorks buy a rolex ? Status symbol.

        The same holds for ferrari and other luxury cars. Apart from race circuits and some highways in Germany, there are few places in the world where you can do 250mph. Yet they buy these fuel-suckers and pay $20.000 a year in taxes and insurance. Why ? Status symbol.

        From this point of view, seqway is doing amazingly well.

        • Re:point of view... (Score:4, Insightful)

          by misterpies ( 632880 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @10:12AM (#9831147)


          Come on guys, anyone who uses "Segway" and "status symbol" in the same sentence deserves to be modded funny. I can just imagine it now... hordes of Armani-clad, rolex-wearing film stars segwaying down the red carpet at the premier of the next big blockbuster. Or - no, even better - a girl dumping her ferrari-driving boyfriend for that stylish guy with two-wheels and a skating helmet.

          Man, what planet are you on? Ferraris and rolexes are status symbols because they ooze style and exclusivity. A Segway is just proof of laziness.
          • status symbols exist in all layers of society. African tribesmen have multiple wives as status symbols. Or a cupholder in their underlip. More western, GSMs became status symbol among lowerclass and gradschool students after the elite noticed that it was affordable by everyone.

            Overtuning your car with bathtub-sized spoilers & exhausts can cost far more than 5000 and is considered status by some brainfarts where other consider it a sign of underdevelopment. Similarly, the segway is status among some so

        • Re:point of view... (Score:3, Interesting)

          by Merk ( 25521 )

          The difference is, those other status symbols are fancier versions of things that have a purpose. A Ferrari is a car, you can use it the same way you'd use any other car. A Rolex is a watch, you can use it the way you'd use any other watch, (including the Italian Rolexes that the spammers keep trying to sell me (hint Rolex is Swiss)).

          A Segway, on the other hand, is not a fancier version of a useful thing. It's a status symbol with no real point. It's kinda neat to look at, and sorta fun to play with

        • Actually, I drive a Ferrari for the absolutely amazing and intoxicating exhaust note it makes at around 8000rpm.

          That, and because I always wanted one... so why not...

          --D
  • I had a hard time getting my own segway [amazon.com]. (the p version, the I version costs almost twice as much). Apparently amazon doesn't ship these things outside of the USA. Fortunately, a friend in the US helped out by buying the thing for me (and one for himself I might add) and have it shipped.

    You don't want to know what it cost me to have it shipped. (Twice, once from amazon to my friend, and then from my friend to Europe)

    I actually thought about setting up a business as a reseller of these things. Fortunately

  • Unicycle hockey (Score:5, Interesting)

    by oojah ( 113006 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:55AM (#9829873) Homepage
    Call me fussy, but I'd prefer unicycle hockey over that any day.

    Unicycle hockey is much faster and more agile than that. There is an advantage in that you have both hands free for holding the stick which serves to make it less awkward looking.

    Cheers,

    Roger

    • Bicycle hockey (Score:3, Interesting)

      by RPI Geek ( 640282 )
      I used to play what we termed "bike polo" with a bunch of guys who, for the most part, worked at a local bike shop. The rules were: you had to have a girls' bike frame (very low top tube) that was 18" or smaller, a banana seat, & the biggest handlebars you could find. You used a hockey stick to hit a lacrosse ball around a parking lot into the other team's net. Fair play to jam your hockey stick into an opponenet's spokes, fair play to check the ball carrier, no time outs. You couldn't score from th
    • ...and hand-eye coordination.
  • Is the segway battery strong enough for a entire game of polo ?
    • > Is the segway battery strong enough for a entire game of polo ?

      In Aussie Rules Segway Polo, the upright portion of the Segway constitutes the handle of the mallet, and the cylinder whose base is formed by the wheels of the Segway constitutes the head of the mallet.

      And then you just drink a lot of beer, grab your Segways, and start clubbing the hell out of whatever poor bastard's closest to the ball. WTF else are you gonna do with a Segway?

  • Life imitates art... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Drasil ( 580067 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @06:57AM (#9829876)

    Sound familiar? [online-literature.com]

    Reading the whole book is recommended, but for those that don't...

    "Strange," mused the Director, as they turned away, "strange to think that even in Our Ford's day most games were played without more apparatus than a ball or two and a few sticks and perhaps a bit of netting. imagine the folly of allowing people to play elaborate games which do nothing whatever to increase consumption. It's madness. Nowadays the Controllers won't approve of any new game unless it can be shown that it requires at least as much apparatus as the most complicated of existing games." He interrupted himself.

  • Segway Lawnmower (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Datagod ( 613152 )
    I am waiting for the lawnmower version, like those old push mowers. Now that would be cool!
  • Seeing as how Segways are Banned from San Francisco's sidewalks and bike paths [theregister.co.uk] (and, presumably, aren't allowed on the open road), I guess they won't be playing any 'street' polo. I wonder how these things perform on grass.

    I also wonder if this will or won't reinforce the stereotype of polo as a sport for the rich elite. Segways are a lot cheaper than a horse, but even some poorer folks have horses, while a $5,000 electronic gizmo seems a lot more like an expensive toy. Hmm.
  • How many times do those guys fall from their segways? What is the maximum speed of this vehicle? I think it could be very painful and injure-prone to drive one of those on a street as it is intended.
    • The only reason they're falling is because of the funny manouvres they're trying to pull.
    • Try getting a group together to do the same maneuvers on a bike, a scooter or on rollerblades and see how many of them manage to avoid falling a few times. I think it could be very painful and injure-prone to use one of those on a street as it is intended.

      That doesn't mean that they have to be particularly dangerous if you ride normally instead of racing around swinging a large mallet in various directions.

      So what was your point again>

  • This parody still cracks me up... (Score:5, Funny)

    by bje2 ( 533276 ) * on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:08AM (#9829919)
    ...years later, this [0sil8.com] is still funny...the best part is the movie [0sil8.com]...

    • or Diary of the first segway owner. (Score:5, Funny)

      by gad_zuki! ( 70830 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:51AM (#9830044)
      Here. [everythingisnt.com]

      Full text for the lazy:

      8:30am

      I checked the voltmeter and it looks like it charged up nicely overnight. I haven't worn kneepads or a helmet in ages, they make me feel kind of awkward. After waving goodbye to my wife I'm off to work which is about six miles from here. I can't wait, this thing is so cool. I feel ten years younger.

      8:45am

      Holy shit, where did all these kids come from? I thought the district bussed them to school. I can't ride on the street because everyone keeps yelling for me to go faster and I can barely maneuver the sidewalk with all these kids. Someone just called me "Spaceman." I thought kids loved technology. Sorry to the girl I knocked over, but in all fairness I did yell, "heads up!"

      9:08am

      Okay I'm officially late for work now, but I did find a bike lane. What's with this town? I thought all the granola-loving bikers forced the city to put bike lanes on every street. There's maybe a mile's worth from my place to downtown. The bikers were pretty nice. One man said to the rest, "Let the dude on the rascal get through." I don't know what a rascal is, but they did let me get through.

      9:19am

      Holy fuck is downtown packed and no one is letting me through. The way I tip cabs around here you'd think they would let ride on the side of the lane. The doorman at my building yelled at the crowd to let the "handicapped guy" through. I was going to correct him, but they were already letting me past. I did get to ride up the handicap ramp and park in the building. Now I need an AC outlet. This trip nearly drained the battery.

      9:22am

      I'm not the fittest guy in the world but they need to make these things a little lighter. You drag a 70lbs Segway up the stairs and tell me how your back feels.

      12:04pm

      I'm taking my Ginger, I mean my Segway, to lunch. I tried to get a co-worker to ride with me, but we fell and nearly broke our necks. I hope no one tells my wife that my hand got caught up in Jane's skirt as we were trying to get up. She didn't say anything and I think she really didn't notice. A guy on one of those old time italian scooters yelled, "yuppie" at me and disappeared into traffic. Real mature.

      12:12pm

      I had to ride all the way to that bike store in the Village to pick up an extra-long Kryptonite lock. Looks like the "no bikes" sign applies to the Segway as well in restaurants. I barely have enough time to stop and get a sandwich before getting back to work. I have to call my lunchmates and tell them I didn't get into an accident. If I keep yelling, "Beep, beep coming through" every block I can actually make some time. This thing really needs a horn.

      5:15pm

      A cop called me over from the bike lane and told me unless I have a handicap permit I'm going to have to get motorcycle plates and a city sticker for this. He let me go this time, but he said if he sees me again mucking up traffic on my "razor scooter" I'm going to get arrested. I ran over a really big guy's toes pulling into the bike lane. He was really pissed. Four more people called me "Spaceman" on the way home. At least the doorman didn't call me handicapped again.

      5:55pm

      I'm home and I came this close to hosing off the dog crap on the wheels before I saw the electric shock warning sticker. The first thing my wife told me as I pulled into the garage is that I look and smell like shit.

      6:15pm

      I just called and the Shaper Image won't take returns. Great. I gotta get some good pictures of this thing for ebay. My 14-year old is gonna use it to get to her Lacrosse practices until I can sell it. I overheard her call it an "electric ass-mover." Her friend responded by saying, "Oh, that geekmobile thingy your dad dropped three grand on?"
  • I was under the impression that you can't fall off from a Segway.

    At least 2 guys fell off in the movie clip!

    I also note the helmet, although I can't decide whether it was to protect them from being RAN OVER by a Segway (be it their own, or their friend's), or from the evil looking mallets they were swinging with menace.
    • I was under the impression that you can't fall off from a Segway.

      1. Get up to full speed
      2. Without slowing, hit something too tall to bump over and too solid to give.
      3. Pick the bits of gravel out of your face.

      As magical as the Seg is, it still adheres to the laws of physics. The motors and gyros aren't strong or fast enough to stop a 6' long, 200lb lever arm at full speed.
    • Bush fails the Segway test [bbc.co.uk] was the BBC headline.
      • The best part of that article is how they say Den Kamen wants to see soldiers riding them into battle. That is hilarious. I think Dean is just trying to dip into the huge well-o-defense-funds, regardless of wether his product actually provides a benefit.

        Personally, I think it's a very geeky, cool, and useless toy that is vastly overpriced, and while the prices WILL come down, I still don't see it replacing a bike. I'd rather spend $1000 for an awesome bike than $5000 for a mediocre segway that maxes at 12-

  • Mirror (Score:2, Informative)

    by PhilHibbs ( 4537 )
    Mirror [217.199.175.14]

  • I've been doing this on bikes for years (Score:3, Interesting)

    by thaddjuice ( 235568 ) * on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:43AM (#9830016) Journal
    In high school my friends and I got bored and decided to start playing bike polo.

    Materials required: Croquet mallet, Broomstick, Softball, Bike, Field.

    Slap the broomstick onto the mallet head, grab some friends and find a field. Set up goals and start playing. The only rules are that you can't put your feet down unless you fall and you can't use your mallet to balance. Hours of fun for far less than the cost of a segway.

  • Expensive... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Isldeur ( 125133 )
    O.k., so a segway is very expensive.

    But in fairness (because this looks silly), it's a whole lot less expensive than 4 polo ponies....

  • A polo horse costs about the same... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by CustomDesigned ( 250089 ) <stuart@gathman.org> on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:51AM (#9830046) Homepage Journal
    as a Segway. The Segway is cheaper to maintain. The polo field is easier to clean up with the Segway, but requires additional fertilization.

  • Revolution in polo... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by chattycathy ( 801106 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @07:54AM (#9830059)
    Doesn't the fact that 'revolutionizes polo' is in the topic let us know that it's useless? I mean if that's the best you have...

    At least horses can do other tricks. They're darn pretty, too.
  • The good old US of A is one of the Fattest countries in the world [amazon.com]. This is about the last thing it needs.
  • Once it's obvious that someone has hyped the hell out of a worthless product, why can't everyone just let die the horrible death it should?

    This thing is a scam that is dragging on waaay too long.

  • interesting (Score:2, Funny)

    by jdkane ( 588293 )
    from a link [theregister.co.uk] in the story we get to this little gem:

    The Segwaychat.com [segwaychat.com] outpost has collected some of the world's finest, spoiled children. To their credit, one member of the group did work in conjunction with the NYPD to return the stolen Segway to its owner. Sadly, this achievement has given rise to a nonsensical glob-fest full of talk about shafts, the Segway's finer points and even capital punishment for scooter thieves.

    Is it just me, or does this remind anybody of another popular forum [slashdot.org]? ;)

    Had to

  • Seems like the batteries would run out pretty fast.

    I had an idea to mount paintball guns on bicycles and make up a kind of bike dogfight game. That would be fun.

  • I mean, honestly...what's the big deal with Segways? They're nothing more than mopeds with an odd wheel-alignment. And their name seems to be a misspelling of Sewgay.

    And it's funny how desperate their owners are for attention. I was standing on a corner in Minneapolis and there was this guy next to me (on the sidewalk!), and he says to me, "Hey, man cool iPod."

    "Thanks man. Geigh Segway you've got there."
  • Wonderful. Polo used to be snooty sport that only the wealthy could play (or even watch), but hey, now this "elite" sport has been opened to the masses! Anyone with a personal transport machine thing can now be part of this exclusive world!

    Sarcasm aside, I swore off polo forever when I was working at a college, for very low pay, and paying high tuition, and I realized how much my college was spending on fundraising events (including a polo match featured in the school's high-gloss alumni magazine), and t

  • My take on the Segway (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mabu ( 178417 ) * on Thursday July 29, 2004 @09:25AM (#9830683)
    It's just my opinion, but I think the Segway is a great metaphor for the 21st century American. Its introduction was preceeded by a plethora of sensationalism about how it was going to "change the world", and then it turned out to be only mildly interesting, yet profoundly impractical, expensive, buggy and high maintenance. This of course, didn't stop some people from plunking down five grand for this vanity-driven embarassement of a vehicle, who now desperately seek to find realistic use or justification for their decision.

    The Segway epitomizes the concept of the consumer economy, not unlike the Hummer. A piece of vanity equipment whose ultimate underlying purpose is to project the owner's own sense of insecurity upon others.

    This is the legacy of the baby boomers in America. In their quest to prove to others (as well as themselves) that money and materialism = happiness, they've perfected this growing trend of high-end vanity-oriented accessories. I hope it works out for 'em.

  • It's Polo... but not on horses... ON SEGWAYS

    For crying out loud...

  • Soccer too (Score:2, Informative)

    by l00sr ( 266426 )
    Segway soccer [cmu.edu] is looking to become the newest Robocup league. Though it sounds a little silly, it is significant in that it will be the first Robocup league to feature competition between humans and robots, which brings Robocup a little closer to its goal of having a humanoid team that can beat the World Cup team [robocup.org] by 2050.

  • Segway is useful... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Lodragandraoidh ( 639696 ) on Thursday July 29, 2004 @11:00AM (#9831680) Journal
    I was recently in Washington DC on vacation, and noticed segways running around the capital on several occaisions.

    After three days of walking to all the museums and monuments, I would have given my first born for a Segway...
  • At least they got the music right, Shirley Basey [basseyonline.com] rocks. Check out the Radio Head remix of History Repeating.

    Mods, this is Insightristing, not funny
  • Wow, I must have missed a few heavy memes this year. I thought the Segway was mainly for industrial use since still expensive, heavier duty for e.g. postmen, and biggest problem being ordinances. Dean Kamen invented a wheelchair that goes up and down stairs didn't he? He isn't a panderer to burgeoisie, I think polo is just one of the things people will try to use these things for when they are cheap enough. The quotes here make it sound like an idiocy but the only dumb thing sounds to me using it in an urb

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