Driverless car concept gains traction at CES

LAS VEGAS: Automakers and technology firms are jumping on the bandwagon of the driverless car, which remains a concept as well as a platform for new technologies to improve safety on the road.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Toyota and Audi showed off their ideas for autonomous vehicles, in the wake of the push by Google on its driverless car. And others may follow suit.
Toyota drew considerable attention with its electronically gussied-up Lexus sedan, equipped with a host of sensors and cameras that can detect what is around the vehicle.
"It has the ability to drive itself, but we won't allow it," said Jim Pisz, corporate manager at Toyota North America. Pisz said the technology is similar to Google's with the use of electronics, but that "the Google focus is on software mapping, that's what they're really good at. Toyota focuses on safety programs and more integrated programs."
The Japanese automaker maintains that its 2013 Lexus LS, also being shown at the expo, already has "the world's most advanced pre-collision safety system" but its driverless cars are only being used in closed research centers, unlike Google's publicized road tours.
The growing use of advanced electronics for auto safety, communications and entertainment has prompted a record eight automakers to attend the Las Vegas show, along with dozens of firms working on related products and services.
"Electronics are vital to our cars. Today's cars are rolling computers," Audi executive Wolfgang Duerheimer told reporters at CES. The German automaker's Ulrich Hofmann told AFP that the new technology "helps the driver in situations where it's boring to drive, and leaves you to drive when it is fun."
At the Las Vegas tech confab, Audi showed its concept for a driverless vehicle in a simulator. Hofmann said an autonomous car could be developed within five to eight years but noted that "there are a lot of regulatory and legal issues."
Ford Motor Co. researcher Pim van der Jagt said the US auto giant halted its program on driverless cars several years ago. The concert "seemed so far out, it didn't make sense having big teams working on it," he said, but added that "now, with the interest in the Google car, politicians are starting to speak about it" and Ford has resumed its program.
Nevertheless, "a full autonomous car is far out, and may even never exist," van der Jagt said. Audi engineers say they can envision an on-off switch which could be used in traffic jams on highways, where vehicles could join a sort of motorcade traveling at identical speeds, freeing a driver for a few moments.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill clearing the way for self-driving cars to jockey with human-operated vehicles to test the technology on the state's roads. The state of Nevada in May issued a license plate giving Google's self-driving car the green light to travel along public roads there.
The growing talk of autonomous cars has sparked fresh interest in how the tech sector -- which has been under fire for fueling "distracted driving" -- can improve auto safety and the driving experience. "Everybody gets distracted at some point," said Steven Wenger of Mobileye, a company that makes equipment for crash avoidance for major automakers and as a consumer aftermarket device.
"Three seconds could save a person's life. We want people to be aware of these technologies which can help avoid accidents."

Microsoft Windows 8 is Leaked !?

Every now and then, a big software release is leaked during development to the broad audience mainly because the software manufacturer wants to check customers’ reactions to the path they are taking. When news came that Windows 8 leaked, many people frowned for two reasons. First, it has never before happened to Windows, on purpose or not. Second, so short after a very good release, which Windows 7 undoubtedly is, to bring out a new operating system is as close to suicide as you can get. Microsoft made the mistake already twice, fiddling with a good operating system for no real reason, and releasing a new version prematurely. The Windows Me, right after Windows 98 and before Windows 2000 was such a dud. Vista was somewhat less of a dud than Me, but a poor operating system that never really worked properly.

Windows 8, a true leak or not?

Torrent and P2P sites boasted a little while ago that an early version of Windows 8 is available for download. There were not all drivers available for Windows 7 for download, but already the new operating system is being developed beyond the basic functionality phase? It sounded incredible and it was. The leaked Windows 8 was nothing but a dressed up Windows 7, whereby some people figured it might have been the “Milestone 1” version of the program. Be it as may, it looked and worked like the Windows 7.

Did Microsoft not announce Windows 8 officially?

There was an announcement at the Las Vegas show commonly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, where Microsoft announced that they are indeed developing Windows 8, whereby the idea is to include support in this particular operating system for mobile ARM and system-on-a-chip processors. A tentative release date has been rumored to be somewhere in the late 2012, but estimates are that it will most definitely be later than that.

What else is there to be expected from Windows 8?

There are plenty of new technologies coming up, but mainly in hardware form; nothing that a driver download and software installation could not fix easily. Microsoft learned early that there is no profit in free upgrades. Microsoft has never learned from their prior mistakes, after Windows Me a disaster like Vista should have been avoidable. Windows 2000, which was a good operating system and lead into development of the most popular Windows to date, the XP; and the current Windows 8 that was developed out of Vista seem to give Microsoft right that improvement is possible.
Nevertheless, people are going away from stationary computers and turning towards laptops and handheld devices. Perhaps this is what the idea behind Windows 8 is; making an operating system that can run totally cross-platform. Since that Microsoft is a company primarily concerned with the bottom line, such an innovative and smart idea is highly unlikely. Why would a software giant produce something durable, something that will last and be compatible with every gadget there is, where one volume license would cover all machines and provide even greater control over the hardware market than Microsoft currently has over the PC sector? On the other hand, that just might be it.

Sony announced their Android tablet S1 and S2 launching this fall

Almost all the technology giants have launched their tablet or they have announced that their tablet would launch soon and today Sony also joined that list. Today Sony announced that they would launch their two Android tablets which would reach the market till coming fall. These tablets are named as S1 and S2 and both of these tablets would have Honeycomb in it.

The first tablet S1 will have a 9.4inch screen which has a curved wrapped design and it has a Tegra 2 SoC with a quick and smooth touch panel UI.S1 will have both front and rear camera in it.While the other tablet S2 looks interesting as it would be a dual-screen tablet of 5.5inch screens. It supports resolution of 1,024 x 480 pixel just like S1 it would also have Tegra SoC and camera.

Wi-Fi cars hitting the information superhighway

WASHINGTON: More cars are hitting the information superhighway thanks to new automotive Wi-Fi technology that allows vehicles to become rolling “hot spots.” Analysts say consumers are warming to the notion of more connectivity in their cars, with “apps” for information and entertainment just as they have with their smartphones or tablet computers.

“Initially, putting Internet access in the car sounds like a distraction and frivolous but as time passes it will become a part of our lives and we will feel uncomfortable not having access,” said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecoms analyst.

“I think this is going to grow into a vibrant sector.” Market research firm iSuppli said it expects a surge in worldwide shipments of car Wi-Fi systems to 7.2 million units by 2017, from just 174,000 in 2010.

Wi-Fi has been around for several years as an aftermarket accessory but many major manufacturers now offer some form of Wi-Fi or are developing it.

Ford has been offering Wi-Fi in selected models since 2010 and some form of Internet access is also offered by many other major automakers including General Motors, BMW, Audi, Saab and Chrysler.

In mid-March, Finnish telecom giant Nokia announced the launch of a Car Connectivity Consortium of 11 companies with common technical standards, including vehicle manufacturers Daimler, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

Autonet Mobile, a California-based firm that touts itself as the “first Internet-based telematics and applications service platform” for the auto market, has over 10,000 US customers using its CarFi service at $29 a month, said chief executive Sterling Pratz.

The group recently signed agreements with General Motors and Subaru.

Pratz told AFP that consumers are looking for better entertainment options for passengers in their vehicles and use Wi-Fi for videos, gaming and social networking.

“They feel there is a better way to stay entertained in the car compared with the DVD player. They lead a connected lifestyle and when they get in the car they feel disconnected,” he said.

A next step, Pratz said, is other types of applications that can allow parents to monitor speeds of their teen drivers and to find their car if it is stolen.

Autonet, which started in 2005 and has funding from venture capital firms, only operates in the US market but Pratz says he plans talks with European carmakers and is considering Asia as well.

In Europe, Audi is using a system from Marvell Technology and Harman Automotive to create a factory-installed mobile hotspot, allowing up to eight devices to be connected.

“I believe today’s consumers want the convenience of seamless connectivity and live content whenever and wherever they choose – whether in the home, office, classroom or automobile,” said Weili Dai, Marvell’s co-founder and vice president in announcing the system.

“Finally, the car is connected to the rest of our lives.” Saab meanwhile has announced its own system based on Google’s Android operating system, dubbed IQon, touted as “a completely new car infotainment user experience.” The Swedish automaker will allow third-party developers to develop “apps” by accessing 500 signals from different sensors in the vehicle.

“With Saab IQon, there are no limits to the potential for innovation,” said Saab’s Johan Formgren. “We will be inviting the global Android developer community to use their imagination and ingenuity.”Analysts say the market is likely to grow as more applications become available — for entertainment, navigation or even for diagnostics of the automobile.

Yet a key question for developers of the technology is whether to offer Wi-Fi as a separate data system or allow consumers to bring their own.

Ford’s Wi-Fi system called MyFord Touch, which is added to its SYNC connectivity for mobile phones and music players, offers no separate data plan but instead allows consumers to plug in their own devices – smartphones, tablet computers or wireless cards.

This not only allows consumers to avoid a new data fee but enables easier adaption of a rapidly changing market for wireless devices, said Ford spokesman Alan Hall.

“We created the ability for a customer to bring in their 3G and 4G devices, and the car can take that signal and turn it into a Wi-Fi signal for four or five passengers in the car,” Hall told AFP.

Ford expects to have this Wi-Fi system on 80 per cent of its cars sold in North America within four years, Hall said, and is also launching the system globally next year.

Doug Newcomb of the auto research firm Edmunds.com said the Ford strategy appears to make more sense rather than asking customers to pay an additional monthly data subscription.

“Several years ago before smartphones and the iPad, (a separate Wi-Fi system) might have made more sense,” Newcomb said.