# Cool gadgets that went (almost) nowhere **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 28, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928 "2005-05-28T22:16:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/41 "2005-05-31T12:39:23Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > For the second time, I’ll ask the same question: have you never seen a [folding bike](http://www.foldingbikes.co.uk/index1.html)? I’ll respond to this. A folding bike is a cute eccentricity, but you wouldn’t WANT to fold and unfold it every day, twice a day, in a commute. A Razor scooter folds and is convenient to carry when folded, a bike still weights 35+ lbs and has lots of sticky outy greasy parts you wouldn’t want to get up against. Could you do it? Sure. Would you be 0.0001% of the population willing to do so? Yup. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/42 "2005-05-31T15:03:29Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > My quote was that bikes are **inherently** big. Theres nothing stopping us apart from technology from making a segway that’s not much broader across than your shoulders and weighs next to nothing. The narrower you make the Segway, the less stable it becomes during cornering. And you stay on a Segway while riding a train? Wouldn’t you have to get off and stand beside it? What if you are sitting down, is there room under the seat for a Segway? Segways are inherently heavier than bikes. Both have two wheels and a drivetrain, but in addition the Segway has a battery and motor. > [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > A folding bike is a cute eccentricity, but you wouldn’t WANT to fold and unfold it every day, twice a day, in a commute. Why not? I used to. My [Brompton](http://www.bromptonbicycle.co.uk/) takes 20 seconds to fold, and perhaps another 20 seconds to pack into a shoulder bag. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/43 "2005-05-31T15:15:40Z")
> [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > I’ll respond to this. A folding bike is a cute eccentricity, but you wouldn’t WANT to fold and unfold it every day, twice a day, in a commute. A Razor scooter folds and is convenient to carry when folded, a bike still weights 35+ lbs and has lots of sticky outy greasy parts you wouldn’t want to get up against. > > Could you do it? Sure. Would you be 0.0001% of the population willing to do so? Yup. I work with somebody who does a folding bike - train - folding bike commute. Assuming there’s another 60 like her, that’s 0.0001% of Britain covered 😛 In any case, this is off-track - this would only ever account for a tiny segment of commuters. Replacing bikes with Segways wouldn’t change anything (I don’t see any cities being ‘redesigned’ around bikes). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/44 "2005-05-31T18:09:22Z")
> [@Unintentionally Blank](#): > > I’ll respond to this. A folding bike is a cute eccentricity, but you wouldn’t WANT to fold and unfold it every day, twice a day, in a commute. A Razor scooter folds and is convenient to carry when folded, a bike still weights 35+ lbs and has lots of sticky outy greasy parts you wouldn’t want to get up against. I’ve seen bikes folded up and put into a protective bag. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/45 "2005-05-31T19:36:00Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I’ve seen bikes folded up and put into a protective bag. Would you want to have to do it twice a day – folding and unfolding – as part of your daily commute? ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/46 "2005-05-31T19:52:03Z")
RE: Segway Why it will never replace my automobile- 1. No airconditioning. Riding to work in a suit when its 93 degrees and 100% humidity can’t be pleasant. 2. No heat. Riding to work when it’s below 30 degrees and windy can be a real bummer. 3. No roof. Riding to work in the rain and snow is going to make you nice and soggy when you get there. 4. No storage. How do I get my briefcase, gymbag, lunch, and coffee to work with me. 5. No radio. I don’t feel like messing with a walkman everday. I like to just press a button for news and weather. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/47 "2005-05-31T20:31:11Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > but there are numerous examples of characters having discussions with a talking head on a console. Perhaps so, but such examples seem seem less common than the ones where the character simply speaks into a speaker grid in the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/48 "2005-05-31T21:26:57Z")
I have yet to meet a driver of an electric car who didn’t love it, myself included. As any auto manufacturer will happily point out, there are reasons why the EV program wouldn’t have worked. But there are just as many reasons why it would have. A great second car for a two-car family. There is something incredibly peaceful and joyful about driving a car that makes virtually no noise, doesn’t require gasoline and doesn’t emit exhaust (oh, and dramatically reduces fuel and maintenance costs). Those matters seemed to get lost from manufacturer to consumer. A real shame IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/49 "2005-05-31T22:21:53Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Wire Recorders > > As the name suggests, you could record sound onto wire. Quality wasn’t great. You needed a very long cable for more than a few minutes. Then, open reel tape machines debuted. I know an amusing anecdote about these. The Soviet air force opted to use wires as a recording medium for audio alerts to pilots(they are supposedly not susceptible to the EM charge and would not break if a nuclear weapon was detonated close, but not too close to the plane). This design decision implied an interesting feature - it had to be a woman’s voice that was recorded onto the wire as a male voice was too low key to be heard clearly enough. So during one of the routine test flights of some fighter plane the audio system kicked in and said something like: “Engine Failure in Engine 4; Automatic Fuel Shut Off Engaged” To which the pilot that was flying the plane responded by saying something along the lines of - “AHHHH!! HOLY SHIT!! WOMAN ON BOARD” and ejecting promptly, even though the malfunction was not a very serious one. So even such a great haven for useless technologies as the Soviet air force couldn’t prevent the demise of wire recording. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/50 "2005-05-31T22:39:25Z")
Ok, this is pretty underwhelming, and not really that cool, but it was when it came out - Calculator watches. My dad had one of the first kinds that came out. he got it at Radio Schlock. Big and chunky and pretty unattractive, but as a kid it fascinated me because, hey, there was a _calculator_ in it!! And the buttons were so _tiny!!_ Unfortunately, there was something wrong with it and it was far from accurate. I remember one time playing with it and it claimed that 2 + 16 = 28. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/51 "2005-05-31T22:42:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It was bound to be. Now, sure, it can be a great personal vehicle, but it has one major and a couple minor design problems: > > 1. Where does it run? It’s a motor vehicle, but the “rider” is sort of a pedestrian. Many areas won’t let it ride on the sidewalk, as it goes too fast, and it could be a mild danger and a significant annoyance to real pedestrians. It’s too slow to go on the street. Every area doesn’t have bike paths, and even so, bikes go faster, and they won’t want you there. > > 2. No cargo space- when people go places, they want to take things with them- to wrok, your computer that case you’ve been working on, and shopping- what you;ve bought on the way back. > > 3. You stand, not sit- and dudes are lazy. > > But it’s #1 that killed it- no use buying something that can’t go anywhere! Hell, it costs like 3 grand, and if it rains, you still get wet. Talk about a deal killer. No, what killed it is that the damn thing costs $3,000 plus and won’t keep you dry when it rains. Stupid. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/52 "2005-05-31T23:04:07Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > Would you want to have to do it twice a day – folding and unfolding [a bicycle]-- as part of your daily commute? As I said, I used to do it and I’d gladly do it again given the right conditions (i.e. good train service that’s not too crowded, work and home both within a couple miles of a station). ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/53 "2005-06-01T00:43:00Z")
And how many other folks would share your enthusiasm/tolerance for the practice? _There’s_ the rub. ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/54 "2005-06-01T02:38:38Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > And how many other folks would share your enthusiasm/tolerance for the practice? _There’s_ the rub. It doesn’t seem like a big deal to fold & unfold the bike twice a day. After the first few times it would probably take no more than a minute to do. Plus you could pack it up and take it to your office with you instead of leaving it in a bike rack and hoping no one steals it. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/55 "2005-06-01T06:59:52Z")
Look: the Segway could **not** become a significant form of transport by replacing cycles for commuters. That would make it a very minor form of transport. For it to be the breakthrough it was supposed to be, it needs to have far more varied functions. Nobody’s suggested what these could be. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/56 "2005-06-01T08:21:37Z")
[Completely unrelated to the other conversation] [“Gyrojet”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyrojet) rocket guns. The [Ferguson Rifle.](http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=635) Rocket mail—literally, loading mail onto a unmanned rocket, and firing it off towards the destination. Actually tested a few times, over the years, with, ah…less than stellar results. (Hey, there’s no such thing as a failed experiment, right? Right?) And, apparently, Apple computer had a version of the Mac OS that could be [loaded onto any 486-based PC.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_project) [/Completely unrelated to the other conversation] ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/57 "2005-06-01T09:06:20Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > It’s interesting to note that even in Star Trek, in all its various incarnations, anything resembling a videophone is hardly ever seen. What do you mean? All the captains use video links to communicate with other ships when they hail them and put 'em onscreen. If that’s not a (big) videophone, I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/58 "2005-06-01T13:28:08Z")
Like the pioneering Newton, all PDAs have seemed to suffered from poor product design. I like the idea, I have even owned a few (I own one now), but they always seem just on the edge of being useful. I would second tablet computers. All I want is a good e-book reader. How hard can that be? ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/59 "2005-06-01T14:57:21Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > Like the pioneering Newton, all PDAs have seemed to suffered from poor product design. I like the idea, I have even owned a few (I own one now), but they always seem just on the edge of being useful. > > I would second tablet computers. > > All I want is a good e-book reader. How hard can that be? Nah, you want a good [cheap, easy] e-book reader. My ipaq worked okay, but now that it’s gone, I’ve got 70 odd ebooks, 12 of which I can’t read in anything else due to the DRM. If they made a thin, rechargeable, 6" screen, B/W, removeable SD ebook for $60, I’m sure they’d sell like wildfire. Instead you have a $350 unit that has some serious additional costs in purchasing content to READ on it. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/60 "2005-06-01T23:52:28Z")
They tried making a cheap, dedicated ebook reader, it didn’t pan out. Problem was, for $60, you could have just an ebbok reader, but for $70, you could get a PDA that could read ebooks and keep your contacts as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928.md?page=4)