I just can't see myself ever trusting a car in which a computer failure could kill the emergency brake entirely, and in which there's no way to apply more force on the emergency brake in the event of an actual emergency.
They are not Emergency Brakes. I'm not sure they ever were, officially. You could plow through (heh) every domestic and imported car owners' manual going back to the sixties and likely never find that phrase.
What you will find is the phrase Parking Brake, as that is their sole design and function: to hold a parked vehicle in place as relying on a rather tiny pin or prawl inside an automatic transmission to hold tons of weight in place is a bit silly.
Even attempting to use a Parking Brake during an Emergency will rarely result in anything but an unintended 'Rockford' manuever.
Designing a system where code can completely disable the big red STOP panic button (in the case of a brake pedal) is reckless to the point of being worthy of multimillion settlements and charges of manslaughter placed upon the heads of the designers.
Maybe they'll start making... (gasp)... actual plots to accompany those stars/explosions/special effects?
Nope. Actual plots don't always translate overseas; 'splosions do. I think we're seeing them make 'blockbusters' for the international market, letting the local market fend for itself.
Silver Lining (perhaps): less lucre in Hollywood pockets means their filthy purchasing power of politicians will be diminished, perhaps resulting in fewer illegal paramilitary style raids on houses half the world away.
Some wag yesterday stated there are a bunch of used Tesla's for sale on eBay and no one is biting - mainly because the pricey battery packs are worn out. Not sure if it's BS or not as I'm at work and that whole site is blocked (rightly so).
Once upon a time, asbestos was considered a miracle too.
Material that can effortlessly pass thru the blood / brain barrier are being used in more and more products with no foresight whatsoever (commerce!). This will not end well.
I have a weather radio and the only alerts you cannot shut off are warnings for hurricane, tornado, fire, and some BS National Emergency. Seems a rational approach for mobile as well.
And yes, Amber Alerts are now also broadcast on 'weather' radios (thankfully they can be shut off too).
I'm sure the PHBs and overpriced lawyers on retainer believe Microsoft haven't done all the things Snowden has exposed.
Because _they_ didn't get the NSLs to STFU and just do the dirty work; their sharpest senior techies did, and they still can't say squat, lest they suffer pain of arrest or worse.
Of course, NSLs to the underlings would also give the perfect cover to allow the execs and shysters to protest too much.
Slashdot Mirror
"We're not admitting our obvious, willful, and blatant guilt, we're just settling to save our precious shareholders from all those nasty legal fees!"
BULLSHIT
They are not Emergency Brakes. I'm not sure they ever were, officially. You could plow through (heh) every domestic and imported car owners' manual going back to the sixties and likely never find that phrase.
What you will find is the phrase Parking Brake, as that is their sole design and function: to hold a parked vehicle in place as relying on a rather tiny pin or prawl inside an automatic transmission to hold tons of weight in place is a bit silly.
Even attempting to use a Parking Brake during an Emergency will rarely result in anything but an unintended 'Rockford' manuever.
Designing a system where code can completely disable the big red STOP panic button (in the case of a brake pedal) is reckless to the point of being worthy of multimillion settlements and charges of manslaughter placed upon the heads of the designers.
With very little training, they can go on to lead successful lives as car salesmen, patent lawyers, and politicians.
The US government has had this tech for a while: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hastings_(journalist)#Death
USgov mandates more broken hips for elderly shut-ins, with increased Medicare costs vastly eclipsing USPS savings.
The Verge indicates Chromecast will only work with computers running a Windows or Mac OS. Yet again Linux is treated like a red-headed stepchild.
The working phrase here is: "Plausible Deniability", kinda like: "Above The Law".
Ah, here it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_MacNamara
Nope. Actual plots don't always translate overseas; 'splosions do. I think we're seeing them make 'blockbusters' for the international market, letting the local market fend for itself.
Silver Lining (perhaps): less lucre in Hollywood pockets means their filthy purchasing power of politicians will be diminished, perhaps resulting in fewer illegal paramilitary style raids on houses half the world away.
We saw this coming a mile away - so did the Makerbot guy who sold out to Stratasys.
Not sure of the time of death for 3D printing, but the locale will be the Rocket Docket of East Texas.
A new use for magnet links, perhaps?
Hey Ballmer; knock it down to $89 and I'll buy a couple to go along with my TouchPads.
You can keep the chair, Monkey Boy.
They will politely remind you the coverup always ends up worse than the crime.
Iacuzza rhymes with Yakuza. That's too obvious a connection for the TSA to ignore.
"Please stop us doing what were told to do!" *
* and, occasionaly, making sick fucking bank on our bills for 'services rendered'.
What we know now about Si Valley's (sometimes lucrative) strange bedfellows, they need to prove it wasn't a 'feature' for their buddies.
I thought in the not-too-distant future, the most precious commodity would be potable water.
Nope.
The most precious thing the Rich and Powerful will brag about possesing in the years to come is real, actual, tangible privacy.
Some wag yesterday stated there are a bunch of used Tesla's for sale on eBay and no one is biting - mainly because the pricey battery packs are worn out. Not sure if it's BS or not as I'm at work and that whole site is blocked (rightly so).
Once upon a time, asbestos was considered a miracle too.
Material that can effortlessly pass thru the blood / brain barrier are being used in more and more products with no foresight whatsoever (commerce!). This will not end well.
Yeah, like this guy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_of_Genius_(film)
I have a weather radio and the only alerts you cannot shut off are warnings for hurricane, tornado, fire, and some BS National Emergency. Seems a rational approach for mobile as well.
And yes, Amber Alerts are now also broadcast on 'weather' radios (thankfully they can be shut off too).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_(game)
I'm sure the PHBs and overpriced lawyers on retainer believe Microsoft haven't done all the things Snowden has exposed.
Because _they_ didn't get the NSLs to STFU and just do the dirty work; their sharpest senior techies did, and they still can't say squat, lest they suffer pain of arrest or worse.
Of course, NSLs to the underlings would also give the perfect cover to allow the execs and shysters to protest too much.
Ignorant, Fearful, White.