# 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:** 4
**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:** [June 2, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/61 "2005-06-02T02:04:52Z")
Ok, I’ve seen photos of Segways, but what’s the amazing thing about them? They look like Jetson-esque scooters to me. How do they operate? Are they hand or foot powered, do they have a gyroscope in them or something, or do they run by a motor that will eventually cause the driver’s legs to become vestigial organs b/c they’d never have to use them again? I’m curious. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/62 "2005-06-02T02:19:02Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > Ok, I’ve seen photos of Segways, but what’s the amazing thing about them? They look like Jetson-esque scooters to me. How do they operate? Are they hand or foot powered, do they have a gyroscope in them or something, or do they run by a motor that will eventually cause the driver’s legs to become vestigial organs b/c they’d never have to use them again? I’m curious. You’ve pretty much got it nailed. A “Jetson-esque scooter” is precisely what the Segway is. It fills the same niche as mopeds and motor scooters. Notice how you don’t see too many of those, either. It uses a gyroscope so it doesn’t fall over, and I think it runs on a rechargable battery. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2005, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/63 "2005-06-02T02:40:58Z")
Heh. Was this the invention that was being kept secret a few years back, that was nicknamed “Ginger”, and the only thing revealed about it was that it would “change the world”? If so, double heh. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/64 "2005-06-02T03:38:36Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > Heh. > > Was this the invention that was being kept secret a few years back, that was nicknamed “Ginger”, and the only thing revealed about it was that it would “change the world”? > > If so, double heh. Indeed it was- heavily touted in advance on Coast to Coast AM, and after it’s unveiling, I think even Noory’s reaction was “That’s it?” ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/65 "2005-06-02T11:38:30Z")
He also referred to the Segway as “it.” Here on the SDMB, we spent quite some time speculating on what “it” might be, and how it would change the world. In the end, “it” was marketing hype. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/66 "2005-06-02T11:46:02Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > The [Ferguson Rifle.](http://americanhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/collection/object.asp?ID=635) Why did this not go anywhere? I know little about firearms, but this rifle seems like an advancement of several generations beyond others in use at the time. ---
**Author:** ![sewalk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@sewalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sewalk)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/67 "2005-06-02T12:47:22Z")
The Ferguson Rifle was a huge advance but it was never improved upon or otherwise developed. When breech-loaded firearms finally started to be widely developed, in the 1850’s, better and faster breech locking methods than the vertical screw were devised. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2005, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/68 "2005-06-02T12:59:13Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Why did this not go anywhere? I know little about firearms, but this rifle seems like an advancement of several generations beyond others in use at the time. My work computer has blocks on it to prevent viewing site dedicated to firearms or weapons. (Hooray for the Personnel Dept’s ineffective anti-violence program! :rolleyes: ) However, examining several sources suggests that Ferguson was injured at the Battle of King’s Mountain, & did not recover in time to continue promoting his experimental rifle design. The reactionary nature of the era’s military officers did all that was neccessary to kill a great idea. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/69 "2005-06-03T01:08:10Z")
> [@IAMBIC](#): > > Near the top of the list must be the Apple MessagePad (Newton). > > Also, I vaguely remember a Panasonic VCR that hooked up to your telephone line (the same way you hook up an answering machine), so that you could dial in and remotely program it to record a TV show. Anybody else remember this? > > Any other cool “flops”? Who says it flopped? It is still used in some of the older VTR’s, but has been superceded by the internet. ---
**Author:** ![IAMBIC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@IAMBIC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAMBIC)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/70 "2005-06-03T02:22:02Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > Who says it flopped? > It is still used in some of the older VTR’s, but has been superceded by the internet. So you’re saying you \*know \* about VTR’s (VCR’s) that can be remotely programmed by phone? What models? The only think I remember about this is one ad that I saw in a magazine about 15 years ago. Also, I don’t understand what you mean when you say that it “has been superceded by the internet.” Can you program your VTR through the internet? (I’m not talking about TiVo or a PVR - Personal Video Recorder.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/71 "2005-07-10T03:06:32Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Perhaps so, but such examples seem seem less common than the ones where the character simply speaks into a speaker grid in the wall. That’s because if their face appears, by union rules, the actor is paid quite a bit more than for just a ‘voice-over’ part. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/72 "2005-07-12T21:12:46Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Perhaps so, but such examples seem seem less common than the ones where the character simply speaks into a speaker grid in the wall. I have no idea what Star Trek you are watching. View screens for ship to ship communication are insanely common devices on the all the shows. I submit Fisher Price Pixel-Vision. It was a video camera for kids that recorded heavily pixelated video onto audio cassettes. I assume it died out because home video cameras became so cheap and accessible that a kiddie version was unneccessary. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/73 "2012-05-03T00:23:22Z")
> [@SuperNelson](#): > > Here’s what really ended up happening to the Newton and that VCR: They were cutting edge products that created a new market, but didn’t evolve enough to keep up with their imitators. Newton might have evolved, but according to Steve Jobs’ biography, Steve promptly killed it when he returned to Apple, largely because Newton was the pet project of John Sculley, the CEO who ran Jobs out of his own company some years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/74 "2012-05-03T00:50:10Z")
I see I mentioned two waves of tablet computers. Since then, the third wave has been highly successful. A few people mentioned videophones. At a flea market last month, I bought a Mitsubishi Luma. (I collect obsolete technology) It could send one black and white still picture every six seconds. It did not work as a phone unless it was plugged into an outlet. So, the thing was useless during outages. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/75 "2012-05-03T12:41:56Z")
Stopwatch, egg timer, day/date, alarm, etc. Usually, the instructions on how to set them were in reverse Chinese-which lead to people giving them away. Oddly, I have seen a few new LED watches-I guess they don’t eat batteries the way they did. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/76 "2012-05-03T15:54:49Z")
I got a Nimslo 3-D camera in 1986 - it took 3D pictures on 35mm film that were printed with a lenticular grid so you could see the 3D effect without special glasses. [Nimslo camera](http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Nimslo) The downfall was the time to print and the cost. Plus the 3D effect wasn’t all that great. You can still find them on eBay and there’s a place in Canada that will still develop 3D prints. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/77 "2012-05-03T16:09:35Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I see I mentioned two waves of tablet computers. Since then, the third wave has been highly successful. > > A few people mentioned videophones. At a flea market last month, I bought a Mitsubishi Luma. (I collect obsolete technology) > > It could send one black and white still picture every six seconds. > > It did not work as a phone unless it was plugged into an outlet. So, the thing was useless during outages. Any discussion about videophones needs a copy of DuMaurier’s 1878 drawing that predated anyone’s proposed videophone or television system, AFAIK. There were real suggestions on building such a device a couple of years after this picture, but to my knowledge none of them predates the cartoon: > **[File:Telephonoscope.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Telephonoscope.jpg)** > > Punch Magazine cartoon print: Edison's Telephonoscope (transmits light as well as sound). (Every evening, before going to bed, Pater- and Materfamilias set up an electric camera-obscura over their bedroom mantel-piece, and gladden their eyes with the sight of their children at the Antipodes, and converse gaily with them through the wire.). > George du Maurier's cartoon of 'an electric camera-obscura' is often cited as an early prediction of television and also anticipated the videophone, in wide ... ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/78 "2012-05-03T16:21:13Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Newton might have evolved, but according to Steve Jobs’ biography, Steve promptly killed it when he returned to Apple, largely because Newton was the pet project of John Sculley, the CEO who ran Jobs out of his own company some years earlier. That, and they sucked. I had one at a job, we wanted to use it for a product we were developing for gas field workers. Problem was the thing was nigh-on useless; it didn’t do even the basic functionality you’d expect. It was a bad product. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/79 "2012-05-03T16:33:31Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I got a Nimslo 3-D camera in 1986 - it took 3D pictures on 35mm film that were printed with a lenticular grid so you could see the 3D effect without special glasses. > [Nimslo camera](http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Nimslo) > > The downfall was the time to print and the cost. Plus the 3D effect wasn’t all that great. > > You can still find them on eBay and there’s a place in Canada that will still develop 3D prints. They tried to market this as a disposable camera, too – I bought and used a couple of them. The 3D really isn’t bad. If you’re into this, there are places you can buy software that will take a stereo pair of photos and interleave them so that you can place them behind a lenticular plastic sheet 9there are places thsat sell these, too – some as photo holders) and thus make your own 3D lenticular picture. The upshot is that, even if Nimslo and its disposable counterpart had survived, they’d be dead now because you can do it all on a home computer. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928/80 "2012-05-03T21:44:17Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Stopwatch, egg timer, day/date, alarm, etc. > Usually, the instructions on how to set them were in reverse Chinese-which lead to people giving them away. > Oddly, I have seen a few new LED watches-I guess they don’t eat batteries the way they did. Now, cellphone got the jillion functions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-gadgets-that-went-almost-nowhere/305928.md?page=5)