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It's funny. Laugh. Technology

Megway - New Competition For The Segway 220

Posted by timothy from the oh-lighten-up-mr-serious dept.
mikep.maine writes "The personal mobility market is heating up. Witness this practical device featured by Megway. I already have one, but it isn't cheap." Check Yahoo! personals for availability.
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Megway - New Competition For The Segway More

Megway - New Competition For The Segway

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  • First post? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Athas ( 763316 )
    So what's the point? To make people look even more stupid that they do on a segway?
    • Segway riders don't wear biker shorts.

    • Re:First post? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by JPriest ( 547211 )
      This is down but Megway is a person, probably named Meagan giving a piggy back ride to some dude in a parody of Segway human transporter.

      Anyway, with the $4,500 price point for Segway and the fact that it only goes as fast as a decent bicycle, I am surprised there is not more of a market for motor assist bicycles.

      A bicycle adds the ability to coast with larger wheels, and removes the need to the machine use power balancing for you. People have a natural ability to balance, taxing the machine with doing th

      • Re:First post? (Score:4, Interesting)

        by AmericanInKiev ( 453362 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @01:47PM (#9101230) Homepage
        For $1,100 i just purchased an electric assisted Bicycle.

        It amounts to a $300 bike with a built in $700 electric motor assist.

        The motor gets me up hills, and up to speed quickly so that I spend most of my 40 minute commute at the top speed of 19 MPH.

        I look forward to the commute - and I look forward to pissing off the SUV commuters wanting to pass on a two lane xero shoulder road.

        Highly recommended - plus I'm losing weight!

        AIK
        • Cool! I'm not sure I've heard of these before. Can you give any links to get us started? I searched for "electric assist bicycle" on Google, but some direction from a Slashdotter who bought and uses one would be nice.

          Thanks.

          • Re:First post? (Score:3, Informative)

            by AmericanInKiev ( 453362 )
            I bought it here: Bikes [electricvehiclesnw.com]

            however it is made by Giant which is a hugely available brand in independant shops. Your local shop can order it and provide friendly support and deliver an assembled machine.

            note this model tops at 250 watts - and the power backs down as you approach top speed.

            Its not a motorcycle - it is a very enjoyable Bike.

            AIK
          • Perhaps you should try googling for "moped".
        • What brand/model did you buy, and have you tested it in wet or winter weather?
          • Its Giant Lite - the first advertised bike on the site - and I think the current favorite.

            I think there's a bit of a legal defiition to electric bikes which capps the power and speed at a certain power and top assisted speed.

            It would be a step up in my opinion for an advanced mode with higher torque and speed - available only after licensing or what have you.

            But the point is that traffic can get pretty impatient, and a top speed of 19 mph limits available roads. I use some 45 MPH roads on the way to work
            • When you say you "use" a "45 MPH" road, I hope that means the shoulder, not just dilly-dallying in the middle of the lane. If this doesn't mean the shoulder, then these people have every right to be pissed off, and I for one would nudge your bike off the road with my bumper. However, a faster bike would definitely be nicer. Perhaps the user could pump it up to 15 mph or so (probably the hardest portion of speeding up) and then the motor takes it up to 25, 30, 35 mph.
              • Just so you know, in some places it's illegal for bikes to ride on the sidewalk, and many roads don't have shoulders. Here in Colorado the former is almost always the case, and the latter quite often holds. I generally ride on the sidewalk anyway, because it's safer and less of a nuisance, but it is illegal.

                Yes, a cyclist should stay as far right as he can.


        • bikes will ALWAYS be cheaper, faster, and more reliable than a segway.

          some day they're going to build whole village based around those things (bikes!)

          best regards,
          john [earthlink.net]
          toronto commuter - winter and summer - three years.

      • "This is down but Megway is a person, probably named Meagan giving a piggy back ride to some dude in a parody of Segway human transporter."

        Ah good. Cos when I read this story, my first thought was "uh Megway's going to be sued for the same reason Lindows was sued."
      • It's not even a piggyback ride. It's some alternachick in a black shirt with Megway printed on the front walking around with some knucklehead in a bicycle helmet following her. There's a completely stupid movie here [dashes.com] just in case you really want to see what I'm talking about.

        There are some ideas that just need to be killed in the crib. This is one of them.
      • I don't understand why people are so critical of the Segway.

        Look at the name. Segway. As in segue: "to move smoothly and unhesitatingly from one state, condition, situation, or element to another"

        As in, the Segway HT exists only to get people comfortabe with the self-balancing technology so that Kamen's wheelchair desigh won't seem as shocking.

        The Segway itself seems much less useful than say, a skateboard or a pair of rollerblades, except perhaps for the crippled or elderly (who would probably do wel
    • With this new alternate out, I see the number of riders of these things doubling to maybe 6 people!

    • I propose that the companies merge rather than compete against each other. Imagine how many people would line up to purchase a brand new Smegway.

  • Hey (Score:4, Funny)

    by timothv ( 730957 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:35PM (#9100850)
    Someone call that guy that posts in every segway discussion so he can clarify how great the segway is.

    • Re:Hey (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      *ring ring*

      "Segway promotion agency how can I help you?"

      *click*
    • You mean this guy [slashdot.org] ? :)

    • Re:Hey (Score:2, Funny)

      by VanWEric ( 700062 )
      Hey - don't diss the segway. It is sooo much easier to segway joust than it is to bicycle joust. Not to mention that it is easier to sue DEKA/Segway for liability when you manage to impale yourself.

    • Re:Hey (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Don't laugh, I work with the guy. His wife agreed to let him get the Segway he wanted in exchange for his letting her get the boobjob she wanted.

      Just my opinion, but I think wifey got pwned.

      (And yes, I said "wife". Don't you feel like a loser now? (That's looser for those of you who learned to write by spellcheck.))

  • Slashdotted Already?! (Score:5, Funny)

    by JMandingo ( 325160 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:36PM (#9100862)
    The MegWay can only carry one person at a time, and so can their website.
  • You guys needed to see the movie, its the best =D I was just downloading it again to cache it here for a link and all of a sudden everything on the site stopped. I was right, the story had gone from a future post to a current post and that was it for the site. Maybe tomorrow some of you get to see it...

  • Megway? Segway? (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I have a Vegway - it looks like a giant piece of brocolli - but you don't hear me shouting about it...
  • Seriously, it's too bad this site is gonna be hosed, but what I got to read before the floodgates opened is highly amusing.

    nice go Megway!

  • It's slashdotted already (Score:5, Informative)

    by Zog The Undeniable ( 632031 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:38PM (#9100876)
    But this is quite a useful link. [extraenergy.org]

    Isn't it a bit late for April 1st?

  • I wonder (Score:5, Funny)

    by azav ( 469988 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:38PM (#9100884) Homepage Journal
    If Megway has a sister, does the brand name change?

    And can we order hotter models?

  • Mirror of Quicktime video (Score:4, Informative)

    by timothv ( 730957 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:40PM (#9100893)
    Mirror of the quicktime video here [ludios.org]
  • Blogger thinks so [oreillynet.com]

    Text:

    A wonderful spoof of the Segway (nee "ginger") well worth the bits its printed on. The Megway runs on water , folds for easy transport and storage, and sports a "20 petaflop bioelectrical computer," "Opposable Digits Technology," and "HOT RACING ACTION (action, action, action...)!!!" Also be sure to catch the groovy Megway movie.

  • But Segway is fighting back (Score:5, Funny)

    by tcd004 ( 134130 ) * on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:41PM (#9100901) Homepage
    With a series of ads. [lostbrain.com]

    tcd004

  • RTFA (Score:3, Informative)

    by bhima ( 46039 ) <Bhima@Pandava.gmail@com> on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:41PM (#9100904) Journal
    You people are morons! I know it fashionable to not read the article,

    BUT It's a JOKE! and an old one at that!

    How can you laugh if you haven't bothered to even look at the pretty pictures?

  • How to render the Segway obsolete... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Radi-0-head ( 261712 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:43PM (#9100910)
    I think this site sums it up pretty well: Why the Segway is bloatware [xmission.com]
    • One of two pages he links to says this:

      Despite being able to build my own, I'm still impressed with the Segway(TM) and with the courage it takes to bring such a product to market. Like with cars, it's pretty easy to put together a motor and wheels and make it go. But building a safe, comfortable vehicle requires a huge amount of R&D, and it's very hard to be certain that such a thing is as safe as it can possibly be.

      So even though this guy built a similar device he still thinks the Segway is a great
    • But...

      That is never going to work: Nobody wants to be the third wheel.

  • Megway. Bigger than Jesus. (Score:5, Informative)

    by rheimbuch ( 674723 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:45PM (#9100926)
    I realize that the sites already slashdotted, so here's the google cache http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:cBtUbkK6lukJ:we b.0sil8.com/episodes/megway/home.html+megway&hl=en [66.102.7.104] of the front page. For the humor impaired: this is a parody of the segway.

  • Yahoo! Personals? (Score:3, Funny)

    by banzai75 ( 310300 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:48PM (#9100946)
    I find it amusing that one has to check the personals nowadays to find something to ride ;)
  • Now I've actually managed to watch the movie from a mirror it makes sense.

    Very funny.

    'say you can walk somewhere in 20 mins, well with the megway you'll get there in 18 and a half, 19 mins tops'. :-)

  • mirror of the movie (Score:2, Informative)

    by pario ( 675744 )
    here [gazo-box.com]

  • obligatory (Score:5, Funny)

    by moviepig.com ( 745183 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @12:55PM (#9100984)
    While waiting for the Megway web site to materialize, I realized the undoubted imminence of these further Segway competitors:

    The one with a breathalyzer: Kegway
    The overpriced one: Begway
    The one that always craps out: Legway
    The official one: Regway
    The souped-up red one: Nutmegway

  • The segway is a neat device, but I just thought I share a thought that another slashdotter brought up a while ago.

    While the segway is a really neat idea, an electric bicycle would be much more senisble.
    See, even when you're standing still, the segway has to burn energy just to keep you upright. Same thing when you're "coasting" down a hill.

    This means that the design of a device like the segway is going to be fundamentally energy inefficient compared to a electric bicycle/motorcycle.

    Just something i
  • While I don't want to be "that guy", this is an amazingly old link. It was made by Jason Kottke [kottke.org], and the girl in the ads is Megan Hourihan [megnut.com]. It came out a year or two ago, along with the Segwa.y.

  • Uh, this joke is AT LEAST TWO YEARS OLD? (Score:5, Informative)

    by g8orade ( 22512 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @01:03PM (#9101026)
    See this link... [oreillynet.com]
  • more than a joke that I don't get, it's a joke that gets slashdotted before I can get it.
  • How are these things better than electric scooters like these: http://www.zapworld.com/

    Yes, they have lots of, well, as far as I can see unnecessary technology in them, have their wheels side by side which means they require all that extra technology just to function and are therefore ridiculously expensive.

    The scooters are lighter, faster, have longer range and only cost a couple of hundred quid rather than thousands.
  • I mean, gee, in the country that has a major problem with obesity, try walking! Save the motorized mobility for the disabled. What a waste of money, and a safety hazard. I just got ran into 20 times in the supermarket during Mother's Day today.. Picture if they all had Segways n' Megways? Ow. Feet hurt? Try this [slashdot.org].

  • READ THE THING (Score:4, Insightful)

    by neoshroom ( 324937 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @01:13PM (#9101062)
    Some of your replies:

    So what's the point? To make people look even more stupid that they do on a segway?

    to the tremendous hype that was built around it. There was one good fallout from all the hype though. People started to think of alternatives. That I believe is the true value of the Segway and now the "MegWay"

    If Lindows lost to MS, then Megway is certainly going to be sued by (and lose to) the Segway guys.

    It's very similar to the Segway, certainly in the same market, and it's name only differs by one letter. Surely Segway's lawyers won't be happy.

    Did anyone even read the article? Newsflash (with annoying scolling subtitle): Its a spoof.

  • another tired dupe (Score:4, Insightful)

    by lophophore ( 4087 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @01:18PM (#9101084) Homepage
    News? Hardly. Google shows this foolishness was on the web in December 2001. It wasn't very funny then, and it is even less funny today.

    Can we have a subject category for irrelevant, boring dupes?

  • What the... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Viceice ( 462967 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @01:25PM (#9101121)
    I thought SlashDot was supposed to turn useless ONLY on April 1st?

  • old news (Score:3, Informative)

    by P0lyh34) ( 602065 ) <polyhead&polyhead,net> on Sunday May 09, 2004 @01:36PM (#9101171) Homepage
    This was on memepool over 3 years ago.
  • I'm a bit disappointed they didn't display the Megway's XXX ride feature....

  • You need to be succesful to have competition... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Shivetya ( 243324 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @02:19PM (#9101361) Homepage Journal
    Let alone worry about it.

    Seems their goal (Segway) of having the taxpayers buy up their production via Government purchases didn't materialize. They knew they had no real commercial viability, hence all the attempts to get large government organizations to test it out in hopes of getting a buyer.

    My favorite were the lard ass Atlanta cops that tried it, trouble was they were too clutzy to operate it.

    Segway, a product that looked neat but had no market yet was hyped to all heck and back. Just another feature of the dot-com craze.

    As for Megway/Smegway... its a joke... rta
  • I hope it works better under load than their server!
  • This is offtopic, but I just wanted to share an thought of mine: tonight I watched some documentary about the Dogon tribe. Then I logged on and read Slashdot, only to find out about new transportation device. What a great gap exists between the 1st and 3rd world!!! and this gap is widening each and every that passes...

  • I think... (Score:3, Funny)

    by The Fanta Menace ( 607612 ) on Sunday May 09, 2004 @04:40PM (#9101944) Homepage

    ...that I'll stick with LegWay, thanks.

  • They're called legs. Work real well. For long distances an upgrade to car is needed. Before using legs(invented by Al Gore) please pay SCO as they created the foot, which was stolen from them and released as part of another package as legs. The justice department is currently investigating if legs are a monopoly for moving small distances, so use them while you can.

  • as Lindows is to Windows.

    And didn't Microsoft make Lindows change their name? Couldn't Segway make Megway change its name?

  • We live in a world of dwindlig fossil fuels, energy wars and an imminent health care crisis in the first world due to obesity as well as its complications.

    The existence of these personal mobility devices is assinine.

    Stop eating. Take a walk. Burn a few calories.

    Steve
  • there seems to be a lot of concern that this site went down so quick, and that the submitter should have tested it first. For those that do want to 'test' the load of a site, I suggest jmeter from apache...http://jakarta.apache.org/jmeter/...maybe submitters could give the site a quick hit and see how it handles increasing load. If you see the serve times increasing exponentially as you up the load...maybe a good time to set up a mirror in anticipation

    OT I know
  • Around about when this old joke came out I had a more realistic version. I would carry my daughter piggy-back style with her standing on my hands with her hands on my shoulder. The manouvers we could do were much closer to what you see in the segway ads. (spinning around on the spot, turn around, go backwards, turn around and go forward again.) Unfortunately a video was never made as my wife found the whole thing ridiculous.

    Naturally the name for this mode of transporation came from my name as well; the

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