I had no expectations, and still they didn’t meet them.
Somehow, though, this makes me wonder what they were trying to achieve with this hubbub… Is the publicity really worth the shame of such a failure?
I mean, I can kinda see the ‘but they were acting like they thought it’d work’-angle, or even the ‘no scammer would be so dumb as to openly fail like that, so they must be real’-line of reasoning, but are they really thinking this’ll be enough to blind people? (Or, he asked timidly, will it?)
It might not carry enough weight to sway anyone’s opinion on the matter, but it’s certainly usable argument for the believers to use to bash the skeptics.
This whole thing is starting to annoy me now - partly the suspense and partly the utter stupidity that this thing seems to draw out. So many people are arguing things like “Yeah, but a year ago, nobody would have imagined the iPhone was possible, so this could be the same!”
Yes, because as we all know, Steve Jobs had to tear down and rebuild our entire understanding of the fundamental nature and properties of the universe just in order to create the iPhone.
I’m still going with Performance Art.
The stupidest thing to me is referenced upthread–they supposedly built this demo device the day prior. Now that’s beyond idiotic with as much notice as they had about the demo date. And if there were some problem, surely they would pull out all the stops and work on it 24/7–not have a morning meeting the next day to figure out what to do next. I also saw a reference somewhere that they have a working prototype generating 500+ HP. If they have a working model anywhere they could just take the press there and let them see something.
I suspect the whole thing is an elaborate scam, but not for financial reasons. I agree that nothing makes sense there. It’s a scam as Performance Art and part of the schtick is the reaction of the public.
If you listen to Sean the CEO on the Steorn website he does not seem to be the brightest candle on the altar. I do not smell demented genius, that’s for sure.
And to steal a good line from another Steorn forum: Maybe they did break the Laws of Thermodynamics, but it’s just that Murphy’s law trumps the laws of physics…
more likely these are just folks with the IQs of Turnips.
Wow, those are some hot lights!
-Joe
As with all these things, the act of sceptical observation seems to have interfered with the process - I suppose “hot lights” are just a variation on “bad vibes”. There’s a metaphor here about being exposed to the searing light of scrutiny, but it’s a bit tenuous.
I’m leaning more towards it being a financial scam. Performance art is an intriguing theory but it doesn’t really fit the history of the people involved. The corporate tale of Steorn - a company in serious financial trouble - is just too indicative of a desperate money grab.
I would be amazed that people STILL think Orbo might be the real thing (and there are a lot of them out there) but, actually, I’m not amazed. You would think this fiasco is pretty much the equivalent of the hand of God writing “It’s a Con Job, You Numpties” in the sky, and yet folks are making excuses. As transparently stupid a scam as this is, I had some relatives who used to get roped into every pyramid scam that came down the pipe, some of which weren’t NEARLY as reputable as Amway. One, PRSI, turned out to be a gigantic con job that involved a member of the Gambino crime family and all the directors went to prison. And yet they (my relatives) just kept going after these scams. No amount of experience deterred them.
I don’t know what it is but some folks seem to want to believe the unbelievable, and doubt the mundane and the obvious.
I can’t say I was a believer, but I was definitely open minded about it, until now. From now on, “hot lights” will be my default reaction whenever something breaks.
The software crashed? Must be hot lights.
Candy bar didn’t dispense? Must be hot lights.
Power outage? Must have been the hot lights.
One possibility just occurred to me, that I don’t think we’ve discussed. Maybe McCarthy is deliberately trying to engineer the financial ruin of the company, for some reason (although I can’t think what that reason might be, unless he’s insured against bankruptcy or something).
I nominate Sean McCarthy to succeed John Edward as the next BDIU (Biggest Douche in the Universe).
–FCOD
I think the whole thing is a piece of performance art designed to draw awareness to the energy crisis.
Or non-performance art in this case.
ETA: didn’t see Chief Pedant’s post. Sorry for the repetition.
Brilliant! Now I want it to be performance art…
But I really doubt it is. Too much effort for too little effect. And I can’t see any motivation besides, possibly, realizing that their company is doomed anyway and wanting to go out with a bang (though it seems to be more of a small ‘fop’ at this point).
I’m actually toying with the ‘they genuinely thought they were on to something’-idea again, since I just can’t see how they’re gonna come out of this with any kind of result (be it financial gain or whatever) that’d justify what they’ve already put into it - the Economist advertisement alone must have cost something like USD 160,000, according to wikipedia. Plus they’ve apparently already filed at least one patent application.
But then again, I suppose being hard to figure out is one of the main characteristics of a good scam…
Hey! There’s something happening on the cams… a couple of people in the room, the PCs are running, and they’re apparently fussing over that plastic wheel thing (which I actually think is only a placeholder…). I wished there was any audio…
Yeah, that’s the press conference that McCarthy said would happen at three.
Looks like they’re giving away free shirts.
Right. I forgot about that…
Maybe they’re selling them. Maybe that was their plan all along… :dubious:
Heat? Heat?
So… their magical mysterious civilization-changing Free Energy technology won’t work outside in the summer, then?
There’ll be a new renaissance in Iceland and the Yukon, but Morocco is out of luck?
And people are still buying this?
Man, am I in the wrong line of work…
Well frankly, if there’s one guy that could announce that he had a free energy device and I’d be inclined to believe him, it’d be Steve Jobs.
It’s iGenerator! Now in cool colors.
Well no - nobody has “bought” anything, nobody has paid Steorn any money. The only losers are Steorn themselves.
I thought they had some investors or something.
-FrL-