Boydo's Tech Talk

I have just gotten back from the Panasonic 2011 launch event which allowed selected members of the Panasonic Insider Crew in for the first time with the media and major retailers. We were seated and presented to separately from the commercial folks at the Hoyts cinema complex at Fox Studios in Moore Park, NSW. I had the chance to meet some fellow Insiders including Tia with whom I had several interesting conversations about technology, films and other topics throughout the course of the evening. Like myself, she has her own blog that covers technology as well as other stuff like crafts and vintage fashions. Also, check out Jared’s Thoughts on Stuff which also covers this event – it’s been good to read other perspectives on the event.

Upon arrival, the Insiders were shown up to the mezzanine level (whilst the commercial folks stayed downstairs) and we were treated to drinks and nibbles whilst we waited for the presentation.

Panasonic Insider Crew Hang Out

Media and Retailer Hang Out (and a Tesla Roadster Sport on the right)

After our chance to catch up, we were shown downstairs to one of the cinemas to view the presentation. I’ll share more of what was covered in tomorrow’s blog but there are some neat things on the way including stuff to do with Skype and sharing digital content in the home.

Panasonic Product Lineup

Afterwards, we were given the opportunity to check out the new product lineup up close and also bounce questions off the technical folk on the floor. As you can see, flat panels are very much a key product in the lineup with plasma remaining the flagship platform when it comes to large panel displays and the push into 3D whilst bringing 3D to the lineup of LCD LED IPS units.

Panasonic's Smart VIErA Platform (Content Sharing)

Digital content sharing and connectivity was also heavily pushed with DLNA becoming mainstream in devices and allowing devices to be both DLNA servers and clients on the network. For homes where access to content is limited by how far a cable can be connected this could be an interesting proposition for homes where there are numerous television but perhaps only one hard disk recorder. There has also been an expansion in playable formats across the product range to include MKV and DivX HD.

Panasonic's Smart VIErA Platform (Streaming Services)

Panasonic is also expanding its platform from to allow streaming content from services such as ABC iView, UStream and WOW TV over and beyond the existing YouTube and Yahoo!7 services. Social media connectivity also remains an integral part of Panasonic’s offering in its display panels.

Panasonic HDC-SD900 3D Ready Full High Definition Camcorder

There were other gadgets on show including:

• 3D capable still cameras (including a point-and-shoot camera that creates 3D photos by panning the camera slightly),
• 3D camcorders (a slightly revised model based upon the 2010 model – pictured above),
• 3D Blu-ray recorders with up to 1TB of capacity,
• Micro Hi-Fi units.

One of the Panasonic technical gurus showing off the HDC-SD900 camcorder

The technical gurus on hand were well informed (as you would hope and expect) and were very keen to talk about all of the products on display as well as previous generations of products. I asked a question about whether or not the latest functionality would be back-ported to the last immediate generation of products. I was fully expecting a response along the lines of “that is uncertain” or “I’ll get back to you” but I did get a tangible response to my question (even if the answer wasn’t what I was hoping for which was selected components that would run properly and without impact to user experience would be ported backwards).

All in all, it was a good night to get my geek on and mingle with some like-minded people. As I mentioned before, I’ll share some more of the details provided during the presentation and perhaps some more photos of the evening (as well as that nice looking Tesla in the lobby).

If you’re keen to look at my prior Panasonic coverage including unboxings, previews and reviews click here.

Most cars still utilise traditional turn key locks in rider to restrict access and usage but a growing number of vehicles employ the use of keyless entry mechanisms such as the Toyota Prius and certain Lexus and BMW vehicles amongst others. Such systems usually include push button locking and the ability to start the vehicle with a start button all without taking the fob our of your pocket.

Of course, any wireless system requires power to work and when you leave a car with such a feature unattended for long enough you may find that you come back to find that the car has run its 12V battery flat. Furthermore, your trip home from the airport will be a bit longer whilst you wait for the RACV, NRMA or equivalent to rock up and provide a jumpstart.

Thankfully, there is a simple solution to this problem in the form of disabling keyless entry.

In the Toyota Prius that my wife and I own, the keyless entry toggle is located under the steering wheel above the footwell. A single push of the button will turn off keyless entry whilst another push will re-enable it. Other vehicles may have this switch located elsewhere so it is best to check your car manual for the specifics.

One thing to remember is that disabling keyless entry will probably disable the push button lock next to the door. In such cases, just lock the car using the fob and you’re good to go. When you come back just unlock the car with the fob, reactivate the keyless entry switch and you’re back to normal.

One final tip, if you want to at least sit in your car whilst you wait for your jumpstart to arrive then you might find a traditional key embedded in the fob (as is the case with the Toyota Prius). Sliding the little latch on the fob will allow you to extract the key which you can use to unlock your car the old fashioned way.

Perhaps hard to believe but the blog has been up and running for a full year and many things have happened over the course of the last twelve months. At times, it has been a bit of a challenge to do a daily entry particularly with the demands of full time work as well as completing my university degree via correspondence in addition to logistical challenges associated with being on the other side of the world on holiday and keeping to schedule.

Anyway, some of the notable events of the last year include:

• ongoing pressure on state and federal governments to agree upon and ratify the R18+ classification for video games,
• the failure of the legal challenge launched by AFACT against iiNet for the copyright infringements incurred by customers of iiNet,
• the Prius brake recall saga,
• the freak storm down in Melbourne in March 2010 that turned the CBD into a swimming pool,
• the toxic subject of the net filter that seems to have fallen off the radar,
• Google caught capturing Wi-Fi network information whilst capturing data for its Street View service,
• the release of the Apple iPad and iPhone 4,
• the Microsoft KIN being withdrawn seven weeks after launch (and then relaunched and recancelled),
• the public release of the Firefox 4.0 Beta (now in its tenth beta since then),
• introduction of 1TB and unlimited internet plans (AAPT didn’t last long after its customers were acquired by iiNet),
• the cliff hanger of the Australian Federal Election and the unprecedented level of online coverage,
• Xmarks declaring their forthcoming closure (but later saved by LastPass who bought them out),
• the iPhone 4 antenna saga,
• ongoing scams involving people posing as Microsoft and other companies under the guise of helping to fix non-existent computer problems,
• FireSheep and its security implications on open Wi-Fi networks,
• Google changing its policy on automatic refunds for applications bought through the Android Market.

I’ve also had opportunities to get hands on with a stack of gadgets including the Panasonic Viera Plasma 3DTV, Blu-ray player and home theatre system over the year and hope that I will be able to continue doing so for the year ahead. For those of you patiently waiting for the review I am releasing my review of the 3DTV tomorrow.

At any rate, things have been going really well with the launch of the dedicated Facebook page and YouTube channel which has clocked up 3,500 video views since December 2010.

As always, thanks for your support of the blog!

It seems these days that almost everything is going digital. Posters are being replaced with flat screens with animated advertising and even tables in food courts have screens built in with advertising. The last place you might expect to see advertising would be on the number plates of your car.

Apparently, California is considering the introduction of digital number plates which would show advertisements when the vehicle is stationary for four seconds. The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) would lease advertising time out and create revenue from the scheme. Aside from commercial value, the digital number plates could also be used for public service announcements or other warning messages.

I guess the real question here is whether or not this is practical. I know cars come with batteries but the last thing that the average person would want to be doing is trying to work out how to reboot their number plate. Also, this would be a potential vector for car identity theft (and someone will eventually work out how to” jailbreak” a digital number plate and put whatever they wanted on it).

Whilst these “smart plates” may seem like a good idea, I do not like the idea of having any sort of commercial advertising on my car aside from the default badges (I even removed the stickers that the tint guys put on the car). Some people might also want in on some of the action by means of reduced car registration but I would also see that being gobbled up by bureaucrats and red tape.

So, I reckon it theory it’s a good idea but I think I would pass on it if it ever became available in Australia.

On the weekend, the missus and I were on the Gold Coast briefly and required a rental car to get us around. We ended up with a Toyota Camry (sadly not the hybrid model) which isn’t a bad car. Whilst not difficult to drive, I did find myself falling into the regular habits of driving a Prius, specifically:

• going for the power button to turn the car on and off (when I needed to put the key in the ignition),
• attempting to engage the handbrake in the foot well (when there was an actual handbrake),
• looking for the lock button on the outside door handle (when you need to use the beeper to lock the car).

For those who don’t know, the Prius has a couple of things called “Smart Entry” and “Smart Start”. Smart Entry allows you to put your hand on one of the front door handles to unlock the car so long as you have the “key” in the immediate vicinity (such as in your pocket or in a bag). Similarly, Smart Start allows you to turn on the car by pushing the start button with the “key” inside the vehicle.

Prius Smart Key

For the security conscious, the car won’t start unless they key is inside the vehicle nor can you unintentionally lock the key inside the car. However, you can start the car with the key inside and then throw it outside and drive away. Of course, if you did that and turned the car off you would be unable to turn it back on again.

Keys are also paired with an individual vehicle  so you shouldn’t find that others can open your car nor can you get into other cars. The keys that we have operate on the unlicensed 2.4GHz spectrum shared by Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices. Whilst this is convenient for Toyota, it does mean that the key may not work when in very close proximity to a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth device (i.e. in the same pocket).

Anyway, having being spoilt with smart key it makes me wonder why similar devices aren’t more widespread. I carry about ten traditional keys in my pocket everyday (of which I regularly use two) and whilst I make do with them, I’d really like to get rid of them.

People have gotten creative with the use of X10 devices and iPhones which I think is fantastic (and I might even have a go myself one day) but I think those things might be beyond the average punter that just wants to get inside their own house. Another concern is that people don’t want to be stuck outside when their phone goes flat (which does happen from time to time).

Personally, I will be putting a smart entry or equivalent feature on the “must have” list when we get a new car. Sure, it does narrow down the selection somewhat but I appreciate the convenience and simplicity such a feature provides.

A while back I came across an iPhone application called Sun Seeker which uses your GPS location, the accelerometer, the compass and the camera to show you the trajectory of the sun. This can be useful if you are checking out a new house and want to know where the sun will be at certain times of the day or even dates in the future or maybe something more simple as finding the best place to have a picnic in a park.

Sun Seeker on iPhone 3GS

This sort of augmented reality got me thinking about what other sort of applications this sort of technology could have in our lives. Certainly, when I am driving I notice the sheer amount of “sign pollution” that adorns the roads as well as traffic lights and even things light lines on the road.

What if we could see all of this from within the cabin of our cars with the assistance of augmented reality? Putting aside certain things that require pedestrian interaction (and subsequent physical infrastructure) this could be quite a money saver when it comes to the deployment of informative infrastructure.

It could also be handy for the dynamic deployment of traffic management. I bet there are heaps of intersections or stretches of road that could be more effectively used if only the appropriate traffic management especially in areas where there are infrequent major events that take place.

Of course, this would rely upon all vehicles having GPS, compasses, data connections as well as augmented reality windows and mirrors. Then you have the issue of bicycles and motorbikes whose drivers would need some sort of portable solution with a pair of glasses to get them on the same page.

Again, this is just a figment of my imagination and, if it were to come true, I’m sure it would be decades away from mainstream implementation. Augmented reality might go some way to supporting autonomous vehicular transport but I’m torn as to whether or not it could actually get off the ground.

What are your thoughts? What other sorts of augmented reality have you come across?

Before I get started, I’ll preface this entry with the fact that I own a 2008 Toyota Prius (second generation) which is not affected by the current recall of the third generation Prius.

It seems to me that the media has sensationalised what is effectively a nuance in the way a Toyota hybrid vehicle brakes. Having owned one for nearly 18 months, the brakes by nature feel and react different simply by virtue of their being two sets of brakes (one set of regenerative brakes to recharge the hybrid battery and traditional brakes when you really need to stop).

The actual problem at hand has to do with the way the ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) is engaged in certain situations such as driving over a pothole or over a patch of ice. I can attest first hand that my Prius exhibits a similar behaviour to what has been reported in the third generation vehicle. There’s a developing pot hole in the slip lane before the bend when turning on the Pacific Highway heading towards Sydney that I sometimes hit on my way to work. Without fail, the ABS light will flash and there will be a slight moment where it feels as if the car has sped up ever so slightly.

Of course, Toyota can do some fine tuning to make things feel closer to the brakes on a non-hybrid but I don’t think they will ever nail it nor should they have to pursue it. I think there just has to be an acceptance that there is a lot of technology inside the Prius and the fact that it works as well as it does is amazing. I am more impressed with the fact that the drive-train (which is far more complex than the brakes to be honest) has not had a single reported fault across the three generations of the Prius.

Of course, highlighting the positives sure does take the wind out of a sensational story, doesn’t it?

The fix itself (which is already available) takes a minute or two to implement. No need for spare parts or a screwdriver – just plug in a computer with the software update and upload away. My previous vehicle (Hyundai Grandeur XG) had a recall that took a couple of hours to fix and it wasn’t a simple one either.

One thing with which I completely agree is that Toyota could have absolutely handled this situation in a better fashion. Due diligence should have been exercised in investigating customer claims which would have involved minimal financial outlay. Mind you, certain parts of the media has also suffered some collateral damage such as the ABC in the US which has had Toyota advertising shifted away to a competing station due to “excessive coverage”.

I’m all for hearing about the facts and getting a message out to the masses when appropriate but the brakes need to be put on the hyperbole. Shock reporting gets ratings but fails to satisfy in terms of substance especially when it comes to subject matter involving technology.