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Comment Re:Some things should probably be left alone (Score 1) 178

Drive-by-wire is fine, and actually makes quite a lot of things possible that aren't otherwise.

You need damn good failsafes, though, if you have it.

On my car, a VW TDI with a manual transmission, here are the mechanical failsafes in question:

Ignition switch mechanically breaks current flow to most of the ECU, including to the fuel shutoff solenoid
Clutch pedal mechanically breaks connection between engine and transmission
Neutral position on shifter mechanically breaks connection between input shaft and output shaft of transmission

So, if something goes wrong with the DBW system, I've got three areas to split the power flow, and odds are that they won't fail in a failed position.

And, cable throttles do stick, too.

Now, the annoying one is the Toyotas that had unintended acceleration issues...

Ignition button told the ECU to shut down in software
Automatic, so no clutch pedal
Neutral position on shifter told the trans to shift into neutral, which the trans computer would ignore if the engine was running at max RPM and over 50% throttle

Comment Re:Good luck replacing a WLAN card in a laptop (Score 1) 195

They're in Mini-PCIe slots almost all of the time.

The other problem that you have to deal with, though, if NONE of the cards are supported, is the fact that many laptops need a BIOS hack to use third-party WiFi cards (to either disable the check, or add in the PCI vendor and device IDs for the card you're using).

Comment Re:Velocity (Score 1) 516

Manifold pressure is actually a useful one for constant diagnostics on a turbocharged engine - if it doesn't come up at all or comes up slowly or late, you've likely got a turbo control issue, if it goes up too high, you've likely got a turbo control issue that could get very expensive very quickly.

Comment Re:Eventually... (Score 2) 169

Because the measurement used to define time drifts slightly.

The second used to be defined based on the Earth's rotation, but cesium atomic clocks became so much more accurate than the earth itself, that the standard was changed to be based on the behavior of a cesium atom. The standard can always be changed again.

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