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Hardware-Based Commute-Map Gadget
coreymetrics writes "Anyone have one of these things? While it's no substitute for an improved mass-transit solution in the Puget Sound area, TrafficGauge's new gadget sure looks like it beats any PDA or cell phone auto traffic map I've used. It uses the same data that powers the Washington State DOT's indispensable website. Now why can't auto makers put this kind of thing in a dash instead of mostly worthless GPS navigation and DVD units?"
Well, um, I suppose the reason most automakers (and consumers) prefer GPS is because it doesn't matter where the traffic is bad if you can't figure out how to get to your destination in the first place.
3000+ comments meta-modded. 0 mod points awarded.
Lesson for other meta-suckers: Don't believe the hype!
At only five Slashdot posts, it's already down. Can you really trust millions of car owners using it at the same time without causing it to piss itself?
Anytime you're moving and your eyes aren't on the road, you're putting yourself and everyone around you at much greater risk. When my regime rises to power, everyone will be required to ride a motorcycle for 1 year as their only motor vehicle before getting a license for a car. Weed out the bad drivers...
Several Mercedes-Benz GPS navigation systems actually do support the reception of traffic information embedded inside of radio signals.
Supposedly the Audi navigation systems were going to support this as well...as early as 1999 or 2000 in the US, but to my knowledge they're still not doing it; I have no idea about the euro units. I think it was mostly an infrastructure problem- either lack or incompatibility.
Honestly, I question the value of such information in the first place. Rarely are other routes unblocked, at least here in Boston. You're pretty much screwed no matter which way you go. If that wasn't enough, they randomly close/open exits due to the massive construction(the Big Dig), and in the last 6-12 months, lots of big changes have been going on as new tunnels and exchanges open(which is going to wreak havoc with people with old databases for their nav systems!)
Please help metamoderate.
Mostly worthless? Am I the only one whose hide has been saved by "worthless GPS navigation and DVD units"?
OK, OK, maybe the software is klunky sometimes ("continue to merge left for 1.5 miles") and the CG voice is annoying, but when you're lost and/or late I wouldn't describe the GPS/Nav system as worthless by a long shot.
True believers seek redemption from the sin of death.
It wouldn't work if this was mounted in the dash, unless you were never selling your car to anyone outside the Puget Sound area.
There are no maps beyond what you see in the display. The world on this device ends at Renton and at Lynwood.
I can see this kind of thing customized and used by regional transit authorities in order to reduce the amount of roads that need to be built.
This is a very vertical device at this point of time, but an excellent proof-of-concept. Convergence... we MUST have convergence - digital maps, DOT information standardized, information all transmitted over UWB in each region, all standards-driven so that there can be a variety of devices, always updated and up-to-date in a given region. That new road that was just built... just got downloaded to your DOT-device when the engineers checked in with city hall, marking the roadway extension as complete.
At least it settles the eternal question of whether you should have taken another route home, or if all "rush" hour traffic is at a standstill.
Did you know the Audi A8 has an all-aluminum body?
...ho hum....
You mean like the Ford/AC Cobra, back in 1965? Or the Land Rover?
The Ford/AC Cobra had a steel chassis- ONLY aluminum body panels. If you're referring to the brand new Range Rover, to quote RR themselves: "The hood, doors, and front fenders are all made from aluminum." Same thing. Steel chassis, aluminum panels. It's nothing new, and very commonly used up front when the beast is nose-heavy.
The entire chassis of an A8(including the new one) is made from aluminum, top to bottom. They worked with ALCOA(huge aluminum company) in the late 80's/very early 90's to make it happen; it's not exactly run of the mill stuff to make such a complex structure out of aluminum; it's very different from steel in countless ways. They invented dozens of manufacturing technologies, demonstrated first on the AVUS Quattro, a concept car- a couple of years later, they put it into use on the production line with the A8. Part of the achievement is that it has chassis dynamics that are superior to a similarly sized steel chassis car.
As pretty good proof of the technological advancement(keep in mind there were a few all-aluminum cars 50+ years ago, but chassis technology, requirements, and safety requirements aren't even close to what they are today), it's taken around 8 years for another company to do the same- mainly, Jaguar(the new XJ is aluminum).
Sorry bud. Don't pick an argument on technicalities with an Audi enthusiast :-)
Please help metamoderate.
No, Slashdot shouldn't do that (besides, they already do...its called "subscription").
As I have said before, what they should do is temporarily host the site, so that the "real" server does not get slashdotted, and the owner of the real site does not get either cut off or get a massive bandwidth bill. The current system is every bit as effective at shutting down a server as is a DoS attack. If I had something neat up on a website, the LAST thing I would want now is for it to get noticed by the Slashdot crowd.
At the very least, the Powers That Be at Slashdot should email the site owner with a short "your site has been submitted to us for a story...do you really want that to happen?" type note.
Instead, we show our appreciation to the site author by locking up his server, getting his account closed, or making him pay hundreds of dollars for bandwidth. I'd hate to see what we do to people we don't appreciate...
I want a new quote. One that won't spill. One that don't cost too much. Or come in a pill.