It's been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon

[Robert Myers]

And I'm waiting for my super-duper PC (my other PC), which has gotten
bogged down, to reboot, so I thought I'd post something for laughs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/06/automobiles/06AUTO.html

The article is about the increasing reliance of cars on
microprocessors and about the problems that arise as a result.

It's hard to pick anything short of the whole article to quote, so
I'll pick this particular howler:

"Mr. Koslowski said the auto industry was not yet very good at
integrating software, so buyers inherit systems that can interfere
with one another - just as installing incompatible programs can make a
personal computer malfunction. He said a niche might soon emerge for
companies that integrate various software systems before they go into
a vehicle, in the way that companies like Dell sell PC's with the
operating system and programs already working in harmony."

Gack. Gasp. Giggle. A PC that actually *works*? All the time? No
bugs? No calls to tech support?

The difference, of course, is that a car is a *car*--hundreds of kilos
of metal hurtling along at 100km/hr. No problem, just reboot.

Now, Boeing and Airbus do manage to build airplanes with lots of
microprocessors, and they do seem to work, but different world from
Dell's (or GM's) software department.

And this is only the beginning. Houses are next. I can hardly wait.

RM

 

[The little lost angel]

The difference, of course, is that a car is a *car*--hundreds of kilos
of metal hurtling along at 100km/hr. No problem, just reboot.

<quote>
She recounts episodes of her car shaking uncontrollably and sounding
as if it's stalling. In October, on a freeway, it simply shut down. "I
take it down the street and it just shakes," Ms. Pavisic said. "People
are looking at me, wondering what I'm doing."
</quote>

But hey, according to that same article, we'll all come to accept this
as a natural thing to be

<quote>
Complex systems that are hard to learn can frustrate early users, but
are *ultimately accepted*. Other systems, though, tend to crash, just
like computers. When that happens, drivers can be maddened by failures
that force them to stop the car, then restart it; that illuminate the
"check engine" light; or that send the car into limp-home mode.
</quote>

--
L.Angel: I'm looking for web design work.
If you need basic to med complexity webpages at affordable rates, email me
Standard HTML, SHTML, MySQL + PHP or ASP, Javascript.
If you really want, FrontPage & DreamWeaver too.
But keep in mind you pay extra bandwidth for their bloated code

 

[z]

Now, Boeing and Airbus do manage to build airplanes with lots of
microprocessors, and they do seem to work, but different world from
Dell's (or GM's) software department.

And this is only the beginning. Houses are next. I can hardly wait.

Heh.. And people wonder why I drive a 74 bmw tii and a 70 ford f150 4x4.
Got enough headaches with computers at work and home -- last thing I need
on the road

 

[keith]

Heh.. And people wonder why I drive a 74 bmw tii and a 70 ford f150 4x4.

I'm sure it's because they know you can't afford anything better.

Got enough headaches with computers at work and home -- last thing I
need on the road

Bullshit! I wouldn't have that old shit in my driveway if you came and
started it for me every morning. When it's -30C my cars start at the
first crank. You can take that old carburated crap and tow it into your
front yard where it'll leave long.

 

[z]

I'm sure it's because they know you can't afford anything better.

Well there is that. The 74 is a classic though -- the one thing I own
thats actually increasing in value. The ford is a junker true.

Bullshit! I wouldn't have that old shit in my driveway if you came
and started it for me every morning. When it's -30C my cars start at
the first crank. You can take that old carburated crap and tow it
into your front yard where it'll leave long.

Heh. The 74 tii has Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection -- starts
right up & gets around 30 MPG. No flashing bios, no viruses, no firmware
upgrades needed

The 70 ford is a wood hauler so ya, mostly only use that in the summer.

 

[keith]

Well there is that. The 74 is a classic though -- the one thing I own
thats actually increasing in value. The ford is a junker true.

<shrug> I cannot afford vehicles that don't start on demand. They're too
much of a PITA. I've considered buying a hangar queen (regulars here know
all abou tit), but cannot justify the $$. If it don't start it's junked.

Heh. The 74 tii has Kugelfischer mechanical fuel injection

I'll take the computer controlled stuff, thanks. I *hate* anything
mechanical. ...breaks when one most needs it.

starts
right up & gets around 30 MPG. No flashing bios, no viruses, no
firmware upgrades needed

Hell, even my two Fords dont have a problem with Virii. No firmware
upgrades, yet anyway. They're not powered by M$, after all.

The 70 ford is a wood hauler so ya, mostly only use that in the summer.

;-). I bought a cord of wood five yeers ago. It's stored under the steps
in my garage and perhaps I've used a fifth of it. Do you think it's dry
yet? ;-) I really don't need a "wood truck". Truck yes, but I don't
specialize that far!

 

[z]

I'll take the computer controlled stuff, thanks. I *hate* anything
mechanical. ...breaks when one most needs it.



Hell, even my two Fords dont have a problem with Virii. No firmware
upgrades, yet anyway. They're not powered by M$, after all.

Just a matter of time man.

Heh, I remember seeing stories about EMP generators designed kill
electronics in cars: Your fancy dancy 21st century car immune to this?


-----------
London Times
August 10 1996
Police prepare stunning end for high-speed
car chases
BY GILES WHITTELL
AND NIGEL HAWKES
IT COULD be the end of the car chase as we know it. With the
automotive equivalent of a stun gun, science fiction is coming to the aid
of law enforcement.

A high-powered electrical device under development at the Pentagon's Army
Research Laboratory in Adelphi, Maryland, is to be tested by police and
border patrol agents and could be in use by next year.

The car stopper works by focusing an intense electromagnetic charge on
the electronic systems that manage most modern engines, disabling them
and paralysing the car. In the jargon of its inventors, the 150 kilovolt
charge is a nemp, or non-nuclear electromagnetic pulse. Contractors are
bidding to produce a police version.

Very precisely directed beams are required, but even then there will be
problems. A pulse powerful enough to disable an engine at any reasonable
range would also be likely to disrupt communications, damage television
and radio sets, disable computers and even stop heart pacemakers. There
is also the danger of loss of control when a car is being driven at high
speed.

Counter-measures would include using old-fashioned engines with no
electronics, or perhaps surrounding the most delicate components with
shielding. The best might be to get hold of one of the stun guns and
use it to disable pursuing police vehicles.

------

who's laughing now copper??? MUHAHAHAHHAAA

;-). I bought a cord of wood five yeers ago. It's stored under the
steps in my garage and perhaps I've used a fifth of it. Do you think
it's dry yet? ;-) I really don't need a "wood truck". Truck yes,
but I don't specialize that far!

I live in the boonies. With no wood truck you're freezing your ass off
all winter. To each their own. I just like not having computers in my
car -- freaking deal with them all day and night. Not when I'm driving


-z

 

[chrisv]

Heh, I remember seeing stories about EMP generators designed kill
electronics in cars: Your fancy dancy 21st century car immune to this?

People in crap houses shouldn't flush toilets.

 

[keith]

People in crap houses shouldn't flush toilets.

LOLPIMP! Thanks Chris!

 

[z]

LOLPIMP! Thanks Chris!

i'm wayyy to dense to get that one