[Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem
This is off topic but it is related to technology, and to the latest bruouhaha in the news. People have called into question the report made by James Sikes that his Prius went out of control for several miles. In the interest of disseminating technically accurate information, here is a comment I made about that elsewhere: Sikes does seem suspicious but it is much too early to brand him a con artist. I drive a Prius, but I am sorry to say there are credible reports of the Prius running out of control. Most notably, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computer, reported that his Prius went out of control. However, the incident was nothing like what Sikes reported. Quote: Wozniak said he was surprised several months ago when his 2010 Toyota Prius started accelerating on its own -- to as much as 97 mph -- when he used cruise control to increase the vehicle's speed. He said he had to tap the brakes to stop the car from accelerating. Wozniak is a superb engineer and one the most honest and decent people in public life. I have no doubt he is telling the truth. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem
On 03/15/2010 06:14 PM, Jed Rothwell wrote: This is off topic but it is related to technology, and to the latest bruouhaha in the news. People have called into question the report made by James Sikes that his Prius went out of control for several miles. In the interest of disseminating technically accurate information, here is a comment I made about that elsewhere: Sikes does seem suspicious but it is much too early to brand him a con artist. I drive a Prius, but I am sorry to say there are credible reports of the Prius running out of control. Most notably, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computer, reported that his Prius went out of control. However, the incident was nothing like what Sikes reported. Quote: Wozniak said he was surprised several months ago when his 2010 Toyota Prius started accelerating on its own -- to as much as 97 mph -- when he used cruise control to increase the vehicle's speed. He said he had to tap the brakes to stop the car from accelerating. Wozniak is a superb engineer and one the most honest and decent people in public life. I have no doubt he is telling the truth. But Woz's description, as quoted here, is of a malfunctioning cruise control, which none the less responded to a tap on the brakes by letting go, just as it's supposed to do. It could be something as simple as a failure of the cruise control's speed sensor. That is certainly *not* a case of a car accelerating out of control, in any normal sense of the phrase out of control! Furthermore, a cruise control malfunction of that sort is probably the least dangerous form of unintended acceleration, because it happens at the moment when you're engaging cruise, which is likely to occur at a moment when you are paying attention to the controls and are in a reasonably clear spot on the highway. When you're in a tight situation, heavy traffic, or dangerous conditions, you're probably not going to be engaging the cruise control. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem
Wozniak also said that he thinks the problem is a software one, rather than a mechanical one. Cheers, Lawry On Mar 15, 2010, at 6:14 PM, Jed Rothwell wrote: This is off topic but it is related to technology, and to the latest bruouhaha in the news. People have called into question the report made by James Sikes that his Prius went out of control for several miles. In the interest of disseminating technically accurate information, here is a comment I made about that elsewhere: Sikes does seem suspicious but it is much too early to brand him a con artist. I drive a Prius, but I am sorry to say there are credible reports of the Prius running out of control. Most notably, Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computer, reported that his Prius went out of control. However, the incident was nothing like what Sikes reported. Quote: Wozniak said he was surprised several months ago when his 2010 Toyota Prius started accelerating on its own -- to as much as 97 mph -- when he used cruise control to increase the vehicle's speed. He said he had to tap the brakes to stop the car from accelerating. Wozniak is a superb engineer and one the most honest and decent people in public life. I have no doubt he is telling the truth. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem
Lawrence de Bivort wrote: Wozniak also said that he thinks the problem is a software one, rather than a mechanical one. [. . . teed up and . . .] Yeah? Well he's a hardware guy. As a software guy let me assure you it's gotta be a mechanical problem. Seriously, there is no doubt that what he described is far less serious than what Sikes reported. Still, we have to be cautious not to dismiss reports or accuse people of being con artists in situations like this. There have been too many mindless accusations of fraud in cold fusion and also in things like crop circles, cryptozoology and so on. - Jed
Re: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem
Also on this subject, perhaps it is time for Toyota to re-think their advertising slogan: Moving Forward - Jed
Re: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem
I looked up cryptozoology on wikipedia. There is also entry for cryptobotany. Perhaps we should start one for cryptophysics?! Harry From: Jed Rothwell jedrothw...@gmail.com To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Sent: Mon, March 15, 2010 11:57:26 PM Subject: Re: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem Lawrence de Bivort wrote: Wozniak also said that he thinks the problem is a software one, rather than a mechanical one. [. . . teed up and . . .] Yeah? Well he's a hardware guy. As a software guy let me assure you it's gotta be a mechanical problem. Seriously, there is no doubt that what he described is far less serious than what Sikes reported. Still, we have to be cautious not to dismiss reports or accuse people of being con artists in situations like this. There have been too many mindless accusations of fraud in cold fusion and also in things like crop circles, cryptozoology and so on. - Jed __ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
Re: [Vo]:OFF TOPIC Wozniak reports Prius problem
LOL On Mar 16, 2010, at 12:14 AM, Jed Rothwell wrote: Also on this subject, perhaps it is time for Toyota to re-think their advertising slogan: Moving Forward - Jed
