And not ideal for brief use, since they take 5 minutes to warm up.

*** varies by location and custom.

Probably not true in most areas of most first-world countries.

I don't believe a piece of crap FM transmitter could make enough noise or QRM to disable a real car alarm system. I suspect something else going on here.

And NOT unrelated:
I used to work aboard a naval air station and every GREAT once-in-a-while one of the EW aircraft would return to base and the EW officer would forget to disable something or other... now that WOULD intefere with auto electronics (USUALLY temporarily) and set off a few hundred car alarms all over the base. Pretty hilarious for the most part, imagining some JG getting a serious ass-chewing (or worse.)

EVERYBODY is ahead of their time by a few years. The trick is to stick it out until your technology works. Lanier just moved on to the next thing that would get his picture published.

I knew all kinds of people like him in college; they know they're not really geniuses but they would like for you to think they are. True geniuses tend to be essentially invisible; I think it's a survival trait.

As someone said above/below, the shit sinks to the bottom and stays there. It's this current common mentality of protecting all of the "precious snowflakes" out there from some imaginary harm that makes people like you feel that they have the right to not be offended by anyone, ever.

You probably complain about all the filth on TV as well, completely ignoring the fact that you can change the channel any time. Honestly, you don't belong on /. Stick to writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper, where you will be guaranteed not to be offended, just as their advertisers and board member will also have the right not to be offended by any of your ideas by way of not publishing your drivel.

I know you have to notify the government if you're selling a car,

I've never heard of any rule or regulation requiring anyone to notify any government agency when they sell a car. What are you talking about?

couple of posts.
couple of posts.
couple of posts.

If your in-dash infotainment system quits working the car is still good for a few things, like driving.

When that ECU and related hardware goes out in, say, 20 or 30 years (let's be REAL optimistic) you're just gonna be SOL. Especially on cars where the ECU controls the A/C, brakes, transmission, etc. On a BMW there isn't much that ISN'T controlled by the ECU or its wicked stepsisters. My brother has an e39 M5 that has spent a total of MONTHS at the dealer for issues with the electronics. Some of them couldn't be diagnosed, much less fixed, even by the factory reps (their responses boiled down to "don't that beat all!") . He has tried every avenue available. It just hit the wall with regard to complexity.

My 69 Camaro will be low-techishly burbling along (reactive electronics in the engine: 1 capacitor and 1 coil.) People will still be driving them in 2069. At least a few. How many 2012 BMW's will still be drivable in 2069? My guess is zero. Even if you put it in storage, some of the solid state stuff will degrade over time, some ESPECIALLY if they're left unused. Chances of finding replacement electronic assemblies or components? Also zero.

Try repairing an analog synthesizer made just 15 years ago. In most cases it's difficult to impossible to obtain the parts. And I can only imagine how much more custom silicon is in a German made ECU.

Need more evidence: Had he consumed milk in the past 4 days? How much sleep had he gotten every night? What percentage of caffeine was in his blood? How recently had his brakes been inspected?

It seriously distorts your sense of time. I also hate sitting behind a stoner at a stop sign when he's waiting for it to turn green.

Don't get me wrong, I think it should be an individual's right to choose his methods of chemical recreation, but there ARE consequences that need to be addressed. And nobody wants their doctor stoned, right?

The Obama/Holder administration has been fairly aggressive in California in shutting down producers. Those medical pot shops do NOT operate with impunity, they are randomly raided and shut down on a regular basis, in addition to being robbed by the street pharmacists they replaced.

Obstructed Lung?

That's my new band name.

Donnie and Marie fans are a touchy lot, are you?

Yep.

It's GOOD to be an important supplier to a black project with a black budget. *cough* NSA *cough*

There will be trainloads sent to Bluffdale, Utah, in boxes labeled as containing Donnie and Marie CD's. I imagine much if not most of the development was done by SAIC contractors with TS clearances. There will no doubt be a few thousand crippled versions marketed though the normal channels.

Coffee?