Segway
Ever since I heard about the
Segway for the first time, I've wanted one. They're gemstones of
UI design, with a remarkably intuitive control method: Lean forward to go forward and turn the handle to turn. Simply brilliant.
And it's getting better.
In the most recent issue of TIME Magazine (August 21, 2006), they have a one-page article about the history and, possible, future of Segway.
Segway recently launched a couple of new models, i2 and x2, replacing the older HT and XT. The x2 is available in a Golf version replacing the older GT, both of them sold as fun and green-friendly alternatives to traditional Golf Carts.
-and the City
The TIME article report on how the inventor was visioning about how city councils would abolish cars from city centers and how everybody would instead use Segways. A very interesting idea, that I have come up with myself, just without the Segways.
A city center without cars would make it a gazillion times easier to get around. Humans are, generally, less spacey, more flexible and use less energy on foot than in a car.
During my recent visit in the U.S., I visited Boston and I didn't notice any "Pedestrian Only"-streets, like we have in Roskilde and many other european cities. In Denmark, the main street is Pedestrian Only in bigger-than-medium-sized towns and a large part of downtown Copenhagen is Pedestrian Only.
In Roskilde there's often complaints about lack of parking space, and the best way to get rid of that problem is, in my opinion, to discourage taking the car. If there was an easy way to get your goods home, I think it would solve a lot of problems. That way people could just use public transportation.
