K Street <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
>Well, if you can assemble IT from premade components with a screwdriver
>and some wrenches, IT probably doesn't have a lot of electronics inside.
Not necessarily. Components could merely clip together requiring no tools at
all.
>IT's fun (maybe), fairly cheap, people might not be allowed to use IT, and
>they may build cities around IT. That suggests some form of
>transportation. If IT was a new kind of computer or a tabletop factory,
>they wouldn't need to build new infrastructure.
Building on Kevin's speculation, this reminds me of the personal
helicopter/flying suit whatsit that was discussed earlier on the list (can't
find it right now), but powered by a lightweight rechargeable hydrogen fuel
cell instead of gasoline or kerosene.
Could that be marketed for around $2000 and fit (disassembled) in a few
duffle bags and cardboard boxes? Perhaps just barely - it's much smaller
than a car and has far fewer moving parts.
Would it get everybody's shorts in a knot? Yes - there is no infrastructure
in place to handle millions of people flying around simultaneously in urban
areas and it instantly renders things like fences obsolete. Car companies
would hate it.
It's also easy to understand such a thing being described with hyperbole by
people like Jobs and Bezos who would drool over such a cool toy.
On the other hand, I really have a hard time imagining it catching on unless
it is pushed as so cheap (and $2000 is very cheap) that governments have no
choice but to develop the infrastructure fast.
Joshua
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