What company pays as much attention to details and design as Segway? Apple, of course, and when we wanted to get a spare power cord for our Segway, we figured there was something cool out there.
The first series of iMacs came with a translucent green / blue colored IEC power cable (10a / 125v) and now, it’s charging up our Segway HT. They’re really rare, really hard to find, and we’ve only been able to spot one and nab it on eBay.
Ed: Occasional contributor Phillip Torrone and his Segway diary get some great coverage in a Wired News story on Segway owners; congrats, Phil! And doesn’t that Segway logo look like the old Mac OS logo?
The ongoing transit strike threat here in NYC, just resolved by a tentative agreement last night, has made us all think about alternate modes of transit, strike or no. I was curious to see if a Segway popped up on the streets in the event of a strike! So was MSNBC’s Gary Krakow, so he asked the Segway folks for an ‘evaluation unit’ for a day — and was refused!
Apparently NYC hasn’t approved Segway use on sidewalks and the product isn’t designed for competing with street traffic. There’s even the threat of weather interfering with the battery! I think I’ll follow Mayor Bloomberg and stick to my bicycle. Krakow, for his part, did eventually get 20 blissful minutes on the Segway — and was instantly hooked. It’s compelling, at least, to imagine ways of reinventing transportation and personal movement. (This is a mobile site, after all.) The Segway may have the long-term popularity of the personal helicopter, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. Maybe that fun will motivate people to figure out a way to popularize the technology in the future. -PK
