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To: If only I'd held who wrote (34809)	12/2/2001 12:26:57 AM
From: DebtBomb	Respond to of 208838

Ha ha ha, we'll see if it's just more talking head BS. Amazon.com What is "Ginger," the mysterious "IT" that's causing such a stir in the U.S. Patent Office, every major news outlet, and the offices of CEOs of high-tech companies? Here's the latest speculation from Inside magazine: it's a personal mobility device with a power source based on a 19th-century device called the Stirling engine--essentially a near-perpetual motion motor that runs on hydrogen. In fact, Inside reports that inventor Dean Kamen recently created a company called ACROS specifically to build "wheeled personal mobility aides ... such as wheelchairs, scooters, and carts." Kamen has also registered several new domain names, including stirlingscooter.com and mystirlingscooter.com. Credit Suisse First Boston apparently expects Kamen's device (alternately called IT or Ginger) to be more successful in its first year than any technology start-up in history. They predict Kamen will be worth more in five years than Bill Gates. And tech guru Steve Jobs remarked that, "if enough people see the machine, you won't have to convince them to architect cities around it. It'll just happen." Further, the Inside.com Web site reported that Amazon.com's Jeff Bezos characteristically burst out laughing when he saw the device, and later said to Kamen that Ginger is "a product so revolutionary, you'll have no problem selling it." Inventor Kamen isn't interested in spreading the hype on IT quite yet, though. While journalist-author Steve Kemper says the invention (slated for a 2002 release) will "sweep over the world and change lives, cities, and ways of thinking," Kamen's own recent statement noted that "spirited speculation about the unknown has led to expectations [for IT] that are beyond whimsical." But he does say that IT will provide an alternative to devices that "are dirty, expensive, sometimes dangerous, and often frustrating, especially for people in the cities." Meaning what, exactly? Will a hydrogen-powered go-cart change the world, or simply become an amusement park oddity? Stay tuned for further details. Dean Kamen is the president of the DEKA research and development corporation, and is known in the scientific community as the visionary inventor of the first portable insulin pump, a phone book-sized dialysis machine, and the Ibot Transporter: a wheelchair that can climb stairs. He's also behind FIRST, a national science-development program for school-age children. Pros: New invention from Dean Kamen, who brought us the wheelchair that can climb stairs and the portable insulin pump Can be assembled in 10 minutes, fits into 2 duffel bags Based on 19th-century technology with 21st-century makeover Will "sweep over the world and change lives, cities, and ways of thinking" Cons: You don't really know what IT is (neither do we)