How Are The Mighty Fallen? - Toyota recurring recalls

When in college I had a professor who vouched for the fine and lasting qualities of the Toyota brand. His Toyota at the time was at 1 million kilometers and was still going without rust or engine damage. This of course was in the late nineties, before the era of exotic computer chips under the hood.

Today, the news is different. First it was a slew of recalls that has now ballooned into what seems like an auto-Armageddon for Toyota. Toyota itself has attributed the fault in its most recent recalls to a faulty accelerator pedal that can be quickly and easily fixed. The easy fix does not seem to be working as the recent news about a self accelerating Toyota Prius which may indicate a more deep rooted problem.

So, what could be the root of Toyota's problem? Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple Computers has tried to point out the possibility that the problem might be electronic in nature. One other expert has testified that it was possible to tweak the electronics in Toyota Cars to make them self accelerate.

Without sounding like an apostle of doom or trying to scare all car drivers out there, the computer chips under the hood of many modern cars are probably vulnerable to cracker or hacker attacks just like the computer chips inside desktops, huge road signs or even your washer at home. So. perhaps the issue is security rather than electronics. If some people have found a way to use their wireless devices to tap into computer chips that modern cars rely upon for virtually all their functionality, then no car on the road is eventually going to be safe.

Toyota ought to take very seriously the issue of the security from external influence of the computer chips that operate their vehicles. If security is an issue that has been overlooked, then it is probably better to inform their customers of the real issue and to start immediately to find a permanent solution.


Bookmark & Share

"Apple takes a bruising over iPad name"

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - As Apple takes a bruising over the moniker of its latest creation some technology analysts are shrugging off the fuss over the name to focus on what's inside the iPad: a speedy new chip.

Critics and fans have been filling the 60-day void between this week's unveiling of what Apple chief executive Steve Jobs hailed as a "revolutionary" device and the time the first models will begin shipping globally.

By Friday, talk of the iPad's technical strengths and weaknesses was drowned out by comic awe rooted in Apple picking a name seemingly fit for a feminine hygiene gadget.

"It's always those kinds of words that are suggestive of feminine menstruation," said Michael Cronan, whose eponymous branding specialty firm in California named Amazon's Kindle electronic reader and the TiVo television digital recorder...... The remainder of this story can be read here

Apple has become attached to the "i" brand that seems to sell its products effectively. The iPad is definitely something very different. My first reaction upon hearing about this product was that it must have been designed with idle housewives in mind. Apple perhaps may want to drop the "pad" in this particular product and use something like slate or abacus for example. Slate is a piece of erasable portable blackened wooden board we used to carry to school as kids and abacus of course is the chinese bead calculator. Slate sounds ultimately universal, gender neutral and appealing. iSlate will obviously attract many.