New take on IT
January 15, 2001 10:40 AM   Subscribe

New take on IT News.com has a different skew on what IT might be.
posted by Brilliantcrank (10 comments total)
 
Inventor himself says speculation is overblown.
posted by swank6 at 10:56 AM on January 15, 2001


What do you do when you have more free advertising and publicity than you know what to do with, but when the mundane truth of the invention finally comes to light, people will be pissed and disappointed, through no fault of your own? Rough situation to be in.

What could g.i.n.g.e.r. be?
posted by crunchland at 11:05 AM on January 15, 2001


bEGINNING TO SOUND LIKE SOMETHING WE CAN SOON BUY AT TOYS R US
posted by Postroad at 11:20 AM on January 15, 2001


I wonder if 'it' will be a cure for typo-caplocks?

'it' is getting kinda old.
posted by tiaka at 11:27 AM on January 15, 2001


How predictable is the "it's so booooooooooorrrrrrrrrinnggggg" comment? If it bores you, move along.

I think the comments over at cnet are a great reason why MeFi kicks ass (or as Wesley Willis would say, "whoops a llama's ass with a belt").
posted by norm at 11:44 AM on January 15, 2001


I'm sure it's just a ripoff of those hoverboards from Back to the Future II...
posted by DiplomaticImmunity at 12:03 PM on January 15, 2001


Someone wake me when we have either teleporters, antigrav belts, a reproduction of the Philadelphia Experiment or a pill that treats Dumbya's linguistic affliction.

I'm not really seeing how a powered scooter, which we've had for ages, is going to have any socioeconomic impact.
posted by ritualdevice at 12:07 PM on January 15, 2001


What amazes me is how absolutely crappy the media has been in bringing forward simple, publicly available facts. A quick look at the US Patent and Trademark Office brought up the fact that Dean Kamen's spin-off company, Acros LLC holds the trademark on the phrase "dynamic stabilization". Among the trademarked uses of the phrase are the following:

IC 016. US 002 005 022 023 029 037 038 050. G & S: PAPER GOODS AND PRINTED MATTER, NAMELY NEWSLETTERS AND MAGAZINES RELATING TO THE OWNERSHIP, USE AND REPAIR OF HUMAN TRANSPORTERS WHICH INCORPORATE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS CONSISTING OF SEMICONDUCTER CHIPS, RELAY SWITCHES AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FOR THE BALANCE, CONTROL AND OPERATION OF SUCH HUMAN TRANSPORTER

IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: HUMAN TRANSPORTERS WHICH INCORPORATE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS CONSISTING FOR SEMICONDUCTER CHIPS, RELAY SWITCHES AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FOR THE BALANCE, CONTROL AND OPERATION OF SUCH HUMAN TRANSPORTERS AND ACCESSORIES

IC 041. US 100 101 107. G & S: EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES, NAMELY PROMOTING AND CONDUCTING CLINICS, EXHIBITIONS AND COMPETITION IN CONNECTION WITH THE OPERATION OF HUMAN TRANSPORTERS WHICH INCORPORATE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS CONSISTING OF SEMICONDUCTER CHIPS, RELAY SWITCHES AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FOR THE BALANCE, CONTROL AND OPERATION OF SUCH HUMAN TRANSPORTERS

IC 042. US 100 101. G & S: ASSOCIATION SERVICES FOR OWNERS, ENTHUSIASTS AND RACERS OF HUMAN TRANSPORTERS WHICH INCORPORATE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS CONSISTING OF SEMICONDUCTER CHIPS, RELAY SWITCHES AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE FOR THE BALANCE, CONTROL AND OPERATION OF SUCH HUMAN TRANSPORTERS


It's all there and Acros LLC shares the same corporate address as Deka Research (340 Commercial St, Manchester, NH).


posted by xiffix at 12:35 PM on January 15, 2001


Check out Wired
According to them the real invention is the engine - "an energy saving, environmentally friendly Stirling engine." I don't think it's exactly what "3Com's Bob Metcalfe, who described IT as "almost as big as cold fusion would have been.", but, hey, that's just me.

posted by J. R. Hughto at 1:35 PM on January 15, 2001


Another IT
posted by Poop(*)Head at 10:30 PM on January 20, 2001


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