ie8 fix

segway

Yahoo, Microsoft, and drowning puppies

On a radio program this morning about the possible Microsoft/Yahoo merger, CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos argued that one of Yahoo's problems has been its inability to kill off unsuccessful properties.

Citing Google as a counter-example, he discussed how Google has been able to pull out of less-than-successful businesses, such as its own social-networking tool and Google Video. (I would throw Froogle onto the list as well.)

To be fair to Yahoo, it recently yanked Yahoo photos in favor of Flickr, and just announced it is dropping its music service and transferring subscribers to Rhapsody.

But it'… Read more

Giuliani: I'm not riding that Segway. No way

BEDFORD, N.H.--President George W. Bush fell off a Segway the first time he tried to ride one. Would-be president Rudy Giuliani wasn't about to risk the same possible embarrassment at a campaign stop here at the Segway plant on Thursday.

Giuliani, who is here in advance of the New Hampshire primary on January 8, showed up at the birthplace of the inimitable personal transporters for a morning speech and photo opportunity. He spent about an hour touring the cavernous warehouse and its assembly lines, shaking hands with employees, and signing a few autographs.

But there was absolutely … Read more

Segway's Ferrari edition (that's right)

Despite a recent push by human chickens, the Segway still hasn't become the ubiquitous mode of personal transportation that some once envisioned. And somehow it seems that acquiring Ferrari's nameplate won't bring it that much closer to reality.

Yet the racing legend has done just that, which makes us wonder if there's anything it won't put its name on. But hey, more power to them if they can get people to pay $12,000 for a "Segway PT i2 Ferrari Limited Edition," especially because there's apparently no performance advantage over the original (… Read more

GM goes electric in Frankfurt

We're not convinced about the wisdom of this one. GM is using this week's Frankfurt auto show to reiterate its commitment to alternative fuel cars with the unveiling of the Opel Flextreme, a concept plug-in car that builds on the buzz of the E-Flex drive train from the Chevy Volt. The car itself relies on a series hybrid drive train, which combines a lithium-ion powered-electric motor with a biodiesel combustion engine that is used solely for running the electric motor when the battery's charge runs out.

However, as blue-sky as the vehicle's power train may be (… Read more

Photos: Tech's 10 most-hyped product launches

With the release of the iPhone, Apple completed what some are calling the most hyped product launch in technology history. Whether or not that's true, there's no doubt that the frenzy has reached epic proportions, with constant articles, photo galleries and commentary in this and countless other publications. But the iPhone is hardly the only tech product to launch with a high hype factor and heavy expectations. Here's a look back at some of the other high-profile launches that got the tech industry talking.

Here, Steve Wozniak, a man who knows something about changing the world, rides … Read more

Stylin' municipal vehicles

We've shown you the taxis of the future. Could some of the following complete the city fleet?

DeputyDog, a blog about "stuff," has put together a list of the nine most interesting municipal-vehicle ideas.

It includes a German police car made from a Mercedes, New York cops on Segways, a Porsche Cayenne ambulance, a Ferrari 250 GTE that was used by the Italian police in the 1960s, a Lamborghini Murcielago and a Peugeot H2O fire engine concept car.

Can you imagine giving some poor guy in a Honda a speeding ticket when you're driving a Ferrari? … Read more

Bot takes a spin on its own Segway

A few months back we cited a Segway designed for robots but didn't really think we'd see it in use, at least not so soon. That was before researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science introduced "Hubo," which, so far as we know, is the first robot to have mastered the art of the twin-wheeled scooter at more than 12 miles per hour. That's nearly 20 times faster than its walking speed, just enough to get it in trouble.

At present the bot's driving must be directed by humans via remote control, according … Read more

N.Y. cops hop on Segways

My co-worker Jim likes to say that it's impossible to look tough on a Segway. In fact, he does a hilarious little impression of a Segway rider wherein he assumes impossibly proper posture, slightly leans right and left, and makes mousy little beeping noises to imitate a horn.

If Jim is right about the Segway's lack of menace, it's probably a good thing the NYPD's deploying the two-wheeled scooters to cops in city parks and on boardwalks rather than on the streets of the South Bronx.

About 25 members of the NYPD have been trained to … Read more

Remember when the Segway was the biggest innovation since the Internet?

In The Know: Do You Remember Life Before The Segway?

The Onion's Onion News Network has put together a tribute to everybody's favorite disappointment: the Segway. Remember what it was like before those iconic scooters? Yeah, I didn't think so. They've changed our lives in so many profound ways!

Take a trip down memory lane with this thought-provoking, in-depth video feature courtesy of the top-notch journalists at The Onion.