Monthly Archives: November 2012


Even when Apple supports standards, they often don't do it right 3

Ford SYNC and MyFord Touch connectivity offer the ability to read incoming text messages from paired phones that support the function.

iOS 6 is supposed to support MAP, but it doesn't seem to work. I could see the functionality on the C-Max Hybrid's phone screen, but when I tried to send one of the canned text messages with my paired iPhone 5, it didn't go through. According to a Ford representative, Apple did not implement MAP according to the specification. Ford is currently looking at making its cars work with Apple's particular Bluetooth implementation for text messages.

My own experience trying this with an iPhone was also unsuccessful. Other than that, the C-Max is a very cool vehicle. 

Reshared post from +CNET

Ford's Prius-beater hybrid boasts better handling and power. We named it a CNET Editor's Choice:

2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid
With fuel economy in the high 40s and a roomy interior, the 2013 C-Max Hybrid looks equivalent to the Toyota Prius, until you get behind the wheel and tap the extra power.

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November 23rd is the International Day to End Impunity. Speak out against the authorities…

Reshared post from +Electronic Frontier Foundation

November 23rd is the International Day to End Impunity. Speak out against the authorities who kill, threaten, and imprison people for exercising their right to free expression.

Embedded Link

Ending the Culture of Impunity | Electronic Frontier Foundation
November 23rd marks the 3rd anniversary of the Amptaun massacre, the day on which 58 people, including 32 media workers, were murdered in the Philippines while traveling in a convoy with the family an…

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The +Electronic Frontier Foundation has some good ideas on patent reforms for s…

The +Electronic Frontier Foundation has some good ideas on patent reforms for software

At Defendinnovation.org, the EFF has posted some good proposals on software patent reform. These ideas are an excellent start, but frankly I don't think they go far enough. Unfortunately, it seems unlikely that we'll see any change anytime soon. 

Defend Innovation
The patent system is in crisis, and it endangers the future of software development in the United States. Let’s create a system that defends innovation, instead of hindering it.

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Thirty years ago this fall, The Who ventured out on what they said would be their… 4

Thirty years ago this fall, The Who ventured out on what they said would be their final tour

As so often happens, it was a case of famous last words.  Instead of retreating from the road and focusing on recording some albums in the studio, the band's 1982 album It's Hard proved to be the last new album for nearly a quarter century. 

On October 9, 1982, several friends and I ventured to Toronto in a decrepit VW Bug (is there any other kind?) to see the band live for what we thought would be the last time. It was a fantastic show, and the band continued on through the fall, finally wrapping up the tour with a show at Maple Leaf Gardens that broadcast live on TV and simulcast on one of the Toronto FM rock stations.

We all know how those famous last words about a farewell to touring turned out.  Three decades later, with John Entwistle having joined Keith Moon in succumbing to drugs, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are on the road again with a batch of backing musicians. While Pete and Roger have been the heart of the band for half a century, I find myself having a hard time seeing this as The Who anymore.  

I still love the band's music and consider much of it some of the greatest rock ever made, but I won't be in attendance as they roll into Joe Louis Arena in Detroit tonight. 

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Dennis Simanaitis on useful and not so good automotive tech

The great Dennis Simanaitis comments on some current automotive technology and whether it is good or bad. I largely agree with his assessments. However, in the case of lane departure warning and park assist, while neither is really needed, the tech at the heart of these capabilities are building blocks to future autonomous driving capability. 

While I love to drive, I see autonomous vehicles as an important development for safety and efficiency in the future. 

HIGH TECH, WHY TECH
AVOWED TECHIE though I am, some modern automotive offerings have me wondering. Here are my current citations in both categories, High Tech and Why Tech. Rear view camera. High Tech! … Contin…

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With child-rearing ideas like these, you have to wonder how the human species survived… 2

With child-rearing ideas like these, you have to wonder how the human species survived as long as it did

Over the years there has been some colossally bad advice about how to raise babies, mostly coming from men.  If breast milk is so deficient as Walter W. Sackett Jr believed, why didn't primates including humans go extinct millions of years ago? 

As much as I value science, it's only useful when backed up by actual evidence. Screwball ideas like most of these are no more scientific than creationism or the flying spaghetti monster. 

Baby “Experts” You Should Definitely Ignore
In the annals of bad baby advice, a dubious prize goes to Tennessee preacher Michael Pearl, who provoked outrage last year when it came to light that a book he’d written with his wife, To Train Up a C…

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Apparently I'm not the only one thinking of a diesel-flywheel-hybrid Audi su…

Apparently I'm not the only one thinking of a diesel-flywheel-hybrid Audi supercar

UK magazine Autocar is reporting today that +Audi International is working on a plans for a supercar powered by a diesel engine with a flywheel-hybrid-electric system much like the Le Mans-winning R18 e-tron quattro. About a month ago I speculated pretty much the same thing https://plus.google.com/114133424228405038490/posts/jD87pkgvvP6 following the rumors that Audi was scuttling it's plans to build a battery-electric version of the R8. 

The difference here is that Audi is guessing that this diesel hybrid would be a new model above the R8. It's entirely possible that such a model could be derived from the R8 platform while gaining a new name like R10.  I'd certainly love to try out a car like this regardless of what it's called. 

Audi R10 diesel hypercar plotted | Autocar
Audi is planning to build a diesel hypercar, using Le Mans-developed hybrid technology

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C&D tries out the new Ford C-Max Energi

Csaba Csere of +Car and Driver Magazine recently spent a day with the new +Ford Motor Company C-Max Energi around San Francisco and came away pretty impressed.  For those that really want to take advantage of more zero emission driving capability, the 118 hp electric motor and 7.2 kWh battery gives better capability and range than the Prius PHV and the tall wagon bodystyle is a lot more useful than the Chevy Volt. The C-Max is also cheaper than its competitors. 

There was one error in Csaba's review however. The C-Max is built on the platform of the Focus, not the smaller Fiesta. 

Reshared post from +Car and Driver Magazine

We take the 2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid to the streets to see how it stacks up to the plug-in competition. http://cardrive.co/6033pkpb

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