Technology Update 22 May 2015

Sometimes I have to wonder about different things. One of the things I am wondering about is recalls. I have to wonder how a product cannot be tested sufficiently so as to cause a recall the size of the Takata airbag recall which is already said to have reached 34 million and counting. Was there corruption involved here? How come the auto companies didn’t test the airbags sufficiently before buying them? Wouldn’t you think they would have been tested under all area conditions including the high humidity Takata, the maker of the air bags said was the problem. Wouldn’t you think cars would have their components tested in all conditions which exist around the world? Here is the worst part of all this, I read replacing the airbag may not be a permanent solution. One expert said, change them now, it is better than leaving the old ones in. Does this mean the bags are being replaced with the same type of airbag, but newer? The next problem is there is probably not going to be enough parts available right away. Remember the last big recall from General Motors where they knew about a problem for years? What kind of inspections are going on here?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA licenses vehicle manufacturers and importers and also allows or blocks the import of vehicles and safety-regulated vehicle parts and developers the test protocols for vehicle testing. Why is it they did not look into this years ago and why did they not look into the problems with General Motors years ago? I personally don’t like the way recalls are handled, I don’t know how others feel about this, but I am sure the relatives of the dead and injured think better inspections are in order. This is not only a case of failure to properly inspect, it is also a failure in technology and as far as the airbags go we haven’t heard the last of this yet.

It is being said that internet traffic will probably pass one zettabyte by the end of 2016. If you wanted to print the entire internet it is estimated this figure would represent 122 million tons of paper. Suffice it to say it is an enormous figure.

There are some leaks coming out which refer to Windows 10. One of them is indicating Backup and Restore may return in Windows 10, it was last seen in Windows 7.Β  The Edge browser which is replacing Internet Explorer is said to have a private mode in the last preview build of Windows 10. Cortana is Microsoft’s digital assistant and it is almost like having another person present as you ask it questions and it comes up with search results. Settings panes are being displayed in the apps window. It looks like the PC Settings and Control Panel could be a thing of the past and replaced by something called Settings. A “remind me” app is available in the preview build which can run in the background. All, part or none of the items mentioned may make it to the final version of Windows 10. I have my computer set up so it opens on a desktop screen and looks like Windows 7. This is due to the installation of the fine start menu program Classic Shell.

Italy, France and Germany have signed the European drone project. It is said they did this to reduce reliance on US and Israeli technology. Spain and Poland have also shown interest. The project could be fully implemented by 2025. That seems like a long time to me. I wonder if the three countries are really ready to share all their drone building and control secrets with each other.

A man named Roberts has told FBI agents he has been hacking into aircraft entertainment systems for years and recently hacked into an aircraft’s controls. Roberts is a computer security expert. He said he was able to hack into a plane’s controls while he was onboard and force the plane to bank sideways. An aviation expert stated this was a lie and he would not be able to get into the controls to make the plane bank. The expert said while the entertainment system is internet based and therefore possible to hack the planes controls are a closed system and impossible to penetrate.

Apple has purchased yet another mapping company named Coherent Navigation. The company is small, but it has supplied mapping technology to the defense department and airline industries. The company was founded in 2008. There may be more than mapping involved here since Coherent has concentrated its efforts on agriculture, mining, oil, gas, surveying and construction.

Fujifilm has decided to take it best camera and make a cheaper version of it. Their best camera is the Fujifilm X-T1 and is said to be one of the best APS-C sensored cameras. The new camera is the X-T10. It has a similar sensor, focuses quickly and has manual controls. The X-T10 is not weather resistant as is the X-T1, some of the knobs and buttons are missing and there is no ISO dial or focus assist button. The hand grip is missing from the side and the X-T1 has a focal-plane shutter and not a fully electronic shutter as does the X-T10. There are a few new things such as a prominent auto button. All in all the camera is said to be a bargain. The camera will hit the market this June.

A website called Flipkart was said to have a photo of the next Moto G smartphone by Motorola. It was taken down after only a few minutes. This is the 3rd generation of the Moto G and not much is known about it. The Moto G is a bargain priced smart phone, but it may not be suitable for everyone as it does not have a lot of ram, but it is more than enough for someone who just wants a nice phone and doesn’t need a lot of apps. It has a 1080p display or so they say.
Researchers have figured out how to get rid of the accidental reflection you get when taking photos through a glass window. This is especially nice for those who take photos through car windows. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created an algorithm to not only detect these reflections, but also to remove them.

Google’s self-driving car gets permission to travel on public roads in California this summer.