H.I.T.S. 6-30-13
I read an interesting article about cars recently. As a former foreign car mechanic, I’m still very interested in them, of course. The article claimed that the next five years will be amazing in general for cars and, that by 2017, we will have self-driving vehicles.
We’ve written about this before in past columns and here’s how it breaks down.
In 2013, we already have “adaptive cruise control” systems. These use laser or radar to maintain a safe and set distance from other vehicles. Right now, these systems are only in cars like Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Audi.
Next year, General Motors will partner with AT&T to have embedded 4G Internet access in most vehicles sold by GM in the USA and Canada. Also starting in 2014, Apple will launch an operating system that integrates IOS7 with your in-dash system.
In 2015, Japanese companies like Toyota, Honda and Nissan will debut hydrogen-powered cars in Japan. Manufacturers will be required to ensure that at least 100 filling stations will be available in the areas of Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.
Coming in 2016 will be battery control technology with “smart” batteries, including nickel metal hydride and lithium-ion. By then, the US is forecasted to claim 90 percent of the hybrid market.
Finally, 2017 will bring self-driving vehicles. Ford is already projecting this capability by then. I’ll be 68 in 2017 and will probably need a car that drives itself.
By the way, they are also predicting that by 2018, there will be a big Internet radio surge. I chuckled at the remark that kids born after 2018 will never know what a knob on a car radio is.
So it looks like the Jetsons are just around the corner. The car companies are still worried, though, that the public will not embrace the concept of a car that can drive itself with open arms.
Some years back, I heard on the radio that GM planned to have electronic steering on a car, which made me cringe. I admit to be old-fashioned and thinking that obviously, a solid connection between the steering wheel and the wheels is the safest way to go.
They also talked about an engine with no starter. Instead, they would make the bell housing attached to the engine like a giant electrical motor that would react to windings in the flywheel and spin the engine over as opposed a regular starter.
This idea required something like a 24-volt electrical system. The thought of somebody with jumper cables trying to boost a 24-volt system and incorrectly connecting the jumper cables also made me cringe. Just because something CAN be invented, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
In other news, thanks to technology, I recently gave a guitar lesson to a student who is in West Virginia for the summer. At a pre-arranged time, I had Mark, the student, text me. I gave him the go-ahead to “Facetime” my iPad courtesy of his Mom’s iPhone.
At first, he texted me back saying that it said I was not available, so I thought he might be doing something wrong.
A couple of minutes later, however, it showed that somebody was requesting a video chat session via Facetime. I hit yes, and there he was as clear as day. I had him play a song that I’d emailed him earlier in the week and the whole experience was very cool.
I’ve also decided to implement a device called a Boss JS 10 (http://www.bossus.com/gear/productdetails.php?ProductId=1241) while I’m teaching guitar students at Micarelli’s. It looks like a small stereo unit and it will allow me and a student to both plug into it with either a regular or bass guitar and play along with over 300 songs that are stored internally.
Both guitar channels have separate volume controls plus all kinds of different cool guitar sounds. I can also record myself playing along with the student. I can also hook it up to a computer and it even has an input for a microphone.
I’ve also bought a device called an iKlip (http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iklip2/) that allows me to safely clip my iPad onto a microphone stand. Not only do I use many of the great guitar apps available for the iPad, but I may also be teaching more students via video lessons and I need a robust and safe stand for it. I’m determined to be as high tech as possible this year while still having fun teaching guitar.
Also this week, we FINALLY fitted the 8 gig of RAM into my wife Paulette’s Macbook Pro. Per Doren’s advice to me, I first took her huge assortment of desktop things and put them in one folder and named it “Desktop Items.” I then ran her disk utility software on the Mac to repair what are called disk permissions.
She says that it’s much faster, but I think the next step will be to replace her hard drive, which spins at just over 5,000 rpm to a larger capacity and faster-spinning 7,200 rpm hard drive. I even got her to back up her iPhone and iPad via iTunes. With that achievement, I’ll wish you a great week, so cheerio for now!