I saw two robots. :-)

Two words: Robot packages. :-)

(Not package robots, which Amazon already has.)

I don't mind an optional fob to open the door, though I rarely use mine. I don't like it being required (no door key) and I don't like keyless ignition.

Agreed, but, unfortunately, that kind of quaint thinking will only really matter (again) in about 2.5 years -- maybe starting in 8 months, if we're lucky. /cynical

Nice and a good father/son activity.

I have always been mechanically inclined and started with a used Kawasaki G5 100, with its engine in pieces, that my mom said I could have because she didn't think I could get it back together. Silly mom didn't know about official service manuals. Then it was my first car, a used '69 VW Beetle - basically one wrench, four 17mm (I think) bolts behind the fan housing (that are almost impossible to reach, designers should be forced to work on their creations), a tug on the exhaust pipes and the engine drops out. Then a Suzuki 380GT, a 3-cylinder, 3-coil, 2-stroke with an oil injector - which was very fast (like 110+ MPH fast, which is "yikes!" on a bike). But I settled down when I met Sue. It's been three Hondas since then: a 1-year used '87 Prelude Si, sold for my '01 Civic Ex (more safety features and better gas mileage), then a '02 CR-V Ex for Sue. I have Honda Service Manuals for the latter two (Civic: printed, CR-V: PDF). That said, I stay away from the heavy work or things that need special tools.

Thanks! Don't know why that guy went off on me.

Also, I've talked with several people who like cars the way they used to be - buttons, knobs, etc and fewer gadgets. I'm also not a fan of keyless ignition, which now seems to be everywhere -- I've rarely even used the keyless entry fobs on my current cars. Don't get me wrong, there have been many safety improvements since my cars were built in 2001 and 2002, but I still like mine the way they are and I like manual shifting. And they've both been paid off since 2003. I just had the CR-V painted and the mechanic said, "60k miles and a manual, ya, I'd keep it too." :-) There are now only about six vehicles you can get with a manual - Honda sells two: Civic Type-R and Civic Si, which are both more car than I need and more than I'd want to spend. The 2001 Civic still gets about 41 on the highway, so not to bad for a 25yo car. The 2002 CR-V still only gets about 28, but it was my wife's, who died in 2006 and it has sentimental value -- plus I can't put a cabinet in the back of my Civic. :-) I don't need my cars to be smart, I need them to be reliable and maintainable (by me *and* mechanics). Also, the Internet says the best auto theft deterrent now is two words: stick shift. :-)

As a final thought, and something I think someone else pointed out, I have intelligence and capability in my phone, which I can take with me, so why would I want a separate one in my car that stays with the car?

I have a 2001 Honda Civic and 2002 Honda CR-V with 134k and 62k miles respectively (both w/manual transmissions) and neither has any touch screens, just buttons, knobs and levers that can all be operated w/o looking at them.

Both vehicles are in excellent condition and get regular service, but that doesn't always coincide with the recommended time/mileage frames recommended by Honda as I don't drive them that much. (The CR-V was my wife's and she died in 2006.)

Ya, I don't google search restaurants, I know where I'm going before I get into my car. :-) I'm also fine with TV remotes. :-)

I'm a software engineer and systems administrator who's worked on just about everything from PCs to a Cray2 (the latter at NASA Langley). I'm just not glued to technology for everyday activities, like driving.

And they can only be cleared at a dealership.

(a) I don't like "voice experiences" and try not to use them.
(b) I don't want my car nagging me about recommended maintenance - or anything really.
(c) I have a minimal "digital life" and don't want my car(s) involved with that, especially as an "extension" - whatever that means here..

I'm not a Luddite, but don't need or want every part of my life integrated, especially as Google (and/or others) will be trying to track and monetize it. There's nothing wrong with compartmentalizing things.

Relevant Xkcd Listening. :-)

I'm with you. One thing that made my butt twitch was, "Users can now message Claude a task from a phone, ..." -- a phone -- not specifically your phone, etc... Is this text or voice or through a dedicated app? What's the security on this? I can't imagine ever wanting an AI to control my PC, especially using remote instructions from "a phone". This is a recipe for personal disaster. This AI crap is getting out of hand.

Similar. OPNsense on an old, spare PC I had -- HP a6130n: Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.6 GHz, 8GB RAM, added a SSD and Intel GB NICs (both also spares), and put in a smaller, simple case. It uses a little more power than a more dedicated device, but I have the PowerD setting at "Adaptive" and that's dialed it down a lot w/o impacting performance for this use. A kill-o-watt meter and some math shows it adds very little to my monthly power bill. The upside is it's all common, off-the-shelf hardware. I'm pretty happy with it.

I previously had a D-Link DSR-250, which I was also happy with for many years, but switched after D-Link announced the severe security issue they wouldn't patch. Using a spare PC was less expensive, and more flexible, than buying a dedicated device...

Spend more time/money on your system security and infrastructure and less on a clever name and marketing. /s

And how does *also* allowing non fossil-fuel energy, like wind and solar, hurt any of that? More sources increases availability, reliability and total capacity. The only way banning renewables helps would be if one is heavily invested in fossil fuel power and you don't want competition - oh, wait... Is he going to ban nuclear plants too?

Ya, but letting the states regulate this within their borders would interfere with Trump and his donors getting even richer, probably at our expense.