February 2012
4 posts
5 tags
EV HOV Reciprocity: Maryland Bill With High Hopes...
At Well Known Fact’s urging, Maryland House Bill 683 (sponsored by Delegate Luiz Simmons, D-17) would provide Maryland and Virginia electric vehicle owners reciprocity on high-occupancy lanes in both states. Currently, these vehicles only enjoy privileges in the state in which they are registered.
While Maryland House Bill 683 is headed toward a March 6 hearing in Annapolis, a companion...
5 tags
EV HOV Reciprocity -- Bill in Maryland House
A bill suggested by Well Known Fact in the Maryland legislature will establish HOV exemption reciprocity with Virginia for electric vehicle owners.
Well Known Fact is very pleased to report the favorable standing of Maryland House Bill 683, entitled “Electric Vehicles - Use of High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes - Reciprocity with Virginia,” sponsored by Delegate Luiz Simmons (D-17).
A...
3 tags
Solving Problems That Don't Exist
Two stories this week to file under “solutions looking for a problem to solve.”
First, the non-scourge of charging electric vehicles (EV) using a power cable will be non-solved with the addition of wireless inductive chargers. It seems that people who have grown accustomed to inserting the hose-end of a gasoline pump into their cars for the past 120 years can’t imagine doing the same thing with...
4 tags
Who Says Electric Vehicles Have Range Issues?
Here’s the story of one opportunist who’s pushing 2,000 miles a month in his Nissan Leaf.
January 2012
33 posts
3 tags
What I Learned at #CES This Year: Part 3 of 3
Lesson 3: Great design still matters.
With all due respect to my esteemed colleagues who are great designers, great design need not be expensive. Great design often is pricey, though.
Working with a great designer with a solid track record costs. But even small fish can use great design principles and get great results.
There’s an oft-cited trope about three project management...
5 tags
Honda Fit EV Coming Not Very Soon
File under “setting expectations.”
Cars.com reports that Honda is bringing an EV version of their popular Fit subcompact to the United States. Look, here’s one now, being sent to the City of Torrence, California.
Just one. That’s it.
That’s what I call a limited release.
Everyone else? A small batch of production models will be available in 2013.
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What I Learned at #CES This Year: Part 2 of 3
Lesson 2: Glitzy tech sizzles, but ecosystems sell.
Traditionally, CES was about making the deal, but today, it’s just as important to make a big splash. To make that splash—or “earned media” as PR pros call it—something new, innovative, and clever drives mouse clicks and page views.
Trouble is: technology needs are rarely satisfied with one-off solutions, no matter...
2 tags
The Economics of Extraordinarily Large Numbers
An interesting article in The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) summarizes why Apple’s products are made in China.
The short answer: only China has the requisite labor force at the needed size, with the needed skills and living in the needed densities to crank out enough product to meet demand. No joke.
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#MondayMusings -- The Value of Testing
Let’s face it. Testing is not the most fun possible on planet Earth.
But it’s vitally important to the success of complex systems.
Using a non-software example, this Wired article describes the (literally) fatal outcomes that can result when the hubris overtakes our thinking if A causes B, and B causes C, they always will.
7 tags
#ElectricCar -- Getting Legislative
With the inevitability of electric vehicles becoming a more regular presence in our lives, a few modest accommodations are warranted.
As a prospective electric car owner, here are a few items you want resolved sooner than later.
1. Legislative safe harbor for required EV infrastructure
My new charging station is ensconced in my home garage, away from the elements and public view. But the device...
3 tags
An Open Letter to Congress: On #PIPA and #SOPA
Dear Members of Congress:
I am gravely concerned about the potential adoption of the bills generally known as SOPA and PIPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act. As eWeek recently noted, “The language of SOPA is so broad, the rules so unconnected to the reality of Internet technology and the penalties so disconnected from the alleged crimes that this bill could effectively...
12 tags
What I Learned at #CES This Year: A Three Part...
Lesson 1: Be a great generalist, be a great unitasker or be gone.
The tablet market best describes this lesson.
Apple owns the general tablet market with iPad.
For e-book readers, Amazon’s e-ink Kindle line represents one example of a product offering good value (starting at USD $79) for a very constrained list of functions.
There remains room in the current marketplace for additional...
#CES #CES2012 Trends That Won't Go Away
Observed at this year’s CES too many times defying explanation:
- egg-shaped media chairs
- robot vacuum cleaners
- dancing robots
- reclining massage chairs, like you see at the mall, but supposedly for home use
#CES #CES2012 -- Desperately Seeking Disruption
A long-standing theme for my coverage at CES is finding potentially disrupting technology. One clue that something new may be emerging is stumbling on the same underlying engineering in completely different sections of the show floor, used for completely distinct markets.
Two years ago I had the opportunity to get a sneak peak at PowerMat, a wireless, inductive charging approach for handheld...
#CES #CES2012 -- Back to Basics
After three excruciating years watching TV manufacturers chase, develop and hype 3D sets, makers are getting back to the fundamentals of television: quality images, rich sound, screen size variety and stylish enclosures.
3D TVs are still here at CES, for sure, but the importance of this particular feature is receding into the background. Sony is showing a glasses-free 3D line that is both...
9 tags
#CES #CES2012 #Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Takes...
A packed house at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show thumped into high gear last tonight with Microsoft’s CEO unveiling a refinement of the strategic direction well known to technology industry watchers.
Consumer Electronics Association President Gary Shapiro opened the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show with a half-apology thanking Microsoft for all their...
#CES #CES2012 Ryan Seacrest Is Surprise MC of...
#CES -- Maximum Data Density
True to form, maintaining a data connection on press day at CES remains elusive. Simply too many wireless devices in too small an area. You can practically see the packets crashing in midair. As I write this, my iPhone shows a relatively strong 4 bars. Like Steve Wynn’s first hotel resort, it’s a mirage.
10 tags
#ElectricCar -- Secret Message: Like Really Cheap...
Psst. Hey. Yeah, you.
Mile-for-mile, a 100% electric car is just plain cheap to drive.
This is the secret message hiding behind auto makers’ marketing hoopla and ultra green sloganeering of electric vehicles (EV).
Using one oft-cited example, the EPA rated the all-electric Nissan Leaf as having the e-equivalent of 99 miles per gallon.
This statistic is both provocative and misleading.
...
3 tags
Consumer Electronics Show Coverage Starts Monday,...
Early January means it’s time for the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. More than 100,000 of my closest friends will convene to see the latest and greatest.
Well Known Fact coverage begins Monday, January 9, 2012.
Heard about a particular piece of gadgetry and want to learn more? Need the inside scoop on a particular manufacturer’s plans? Post a...
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#ElectricCar -- Difficult Conversations
In his Washington Post review of the new Prius V, Warren Brown remarks that Toyota’s newest hybrid, “…is to appeal to an audience less interested in the science and politics of gas-electric technology and more interested in its practical value.”
I doubt Mr. Brown might make the same remark about any 100 percent electric vehicle on the road today.
Chatting over a cold...
7 tags
Republishing Tech Data (By the way, Android and...
Trading Alpha tends to be a wonky tech news source. TechCrunch is more mainstream.
Interesting things happen when the mainstream provider picks up news originated by the wonk. Case in point:
TechCrunch shows a graph reflecting the downward sloping smartphone handset sales curve of Windows Mobile and BlackBerry at the hands of Google (Android) and Apple (iOS). For purposes of this graph, Apple...
10 tags
#ElectricCar -- Mindfulness
My neighbor, Scott, said it best in describing my electric car relationship: mindfulness.
The driver of the electric car is mindful of the car’s range, and the distance between origin and destination.
The driver of the electric car is mindful of opportunities to charge the vehicle and possible bail-out locations in the event a unforeseen traffic jam crops up leaving the vehicle...
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#ElectricCar -- Charged Up
A key part of the process of buying an electric vehicle is setting up the home charging station. This is important if you value your sanity.
Use the regular wall plug and it can take 20 hours to charge your car. Use the special wall-mounted charging appliance and you’re topped off in a few hours while you sleep.
The appliance on the wall is, strictly speaking, known as electric vehicle...
December 2011
5 posts
8 tags
December to Remember?
Sidling up to a new Accord in this year’s Honda holiday spot, hawkster Patrick Warburton deadpans, “Are you a millionaire? No? Then you probably don’t give cars to people as presents.”
Such is Honda’s poke at Lexus’ decades-long “December to Remember” promotion. You know the one: thoughtful spouse surprises his/her beloved with the gift of a...
7 tags
#RantFriday -- Feature Pile-Up
New math: Sometimes one good feature plus another good feature equals two useless features.
Case in point: The Maps App on iOS.
Turn on traffic (Options>Show Traffic).
This a very useful feature that shows major roads and highways illuminated in green, yellow, or red stripes to correspond with the movement of traffic. This is a great feature.
Turn on Driving Directions (Directions tab).
...
4 tags
#ElectricCar -- Nissan Leaf Test Drive
Driving the Nissan Leaf is a little like the world of 2015 dropping by for a spot of tea: a lot like 2011 but with a few pleasant improvements.
These are the comments I wrote last March when I took part in Nissan’s “Drive Electric” event in Washington, DC. Nissan sets up a mobile version of a test center and showroom all wrapped up into a smallish suburban parking lot. Taking a...
6 tags
RantFriday -- Kensington is Honey Badger of Retail
Kensington, maker of laptop computer locks and other peripherals, isn’t interested in my business.
There’s a particular little connector they sell that I want to buy. Two, actually.
I’d get it, except their “Add to Cart” button doesn’t work (as of this writing).
I’d inquire politely, but the email feedback form doesn’t work—instead it goes...
11 tags
Experts Agree with WKF: Android is Insecure for...
In speaking about the state of encryption platforms in April, I suggested that in contrast to Apple which had just earned its first government encryption certification, “the level of effort necessary for Google to obtain a comparable Android full device encryption solution seems too great to overcome in the short term.”
In other words, ‘Andoid ain’t secure enough for...
November 2011
6 posts
8 tags
Troubleshooting the Weekend
My Mac suffered a catastrophic system failure Saturday.
When something breaks, and you happen to know how to fix that thing, the good news is that you’re unlikely to simply give up.
The bad news is that you may drive yourself mad figuring it out.
It’s faint praise to say that the Mac’s file system, known as HFS-Plus or Mac OS Extended with Journaling, is the best among its...
3 tags
Well Known Fact Motors: 2004 Subaru Forester for...
The Well Known Fact-mobile is up for sale. Interested in this future museum piece? It’s available for a limited time and for a very competitive price.
This All-Wheel Drive (AWD) unit is priced to move, folks. Gotta move this inventory to make space for the 21st Century all-electric models.
You can check out the listing on eBay or Craigslist.
For those interested in the particulars,...
#RantFriday -- Spectacular Failures: Federal...
The Federal Government’s track record with high-profile website transitions took another black eye with the October changeover for the Direct Loans program run by the Department of Education. Seems lots of folks can’t log on. Also, the new system doesn’t know about payments made under the old system.
The mail pieces with statements changed, too.
According to The Consumerist,...
4 tags
Visit From the Future: Apple's New TV
I can’t resist. I have to let it out of the bag. Future Me showed up last night and told Present Me all about the new rumored, Apple television.
Thinking about all the pundits’ speculation about everything it can’t be and won’t be, it’s amazing that everyone is overlooking the signs. The SIGNS.
When speculation over the iPhone was buzzing for years prior to its 2007...
4 tags
#ElectricCar -- A Recent History
At the turn of the Twentieth Century, electric vehicles (EVs) were all the rage.
If you could afford them.
Then as now, mass adoption was hindered by battery availability, performance, range and price. Henry Ford and his assembly line focused their engineering might on the internal combustion engine and the rest is history.
One hundred years later, EVs are back. Over the past year, three...
4 tags
#ElectricCar -- On the Bleeding Edge
Electric cars are finally making it to market. Soft of.
Electric vehicles—EVs as they are commonly known—are finally commercially viable for motorists and automakers alike. But actually getting your hands on one in 2011 is unlike any other car buying experience.
The next week on Well Known Fact will be dedicated to the experience of researching, test driving, preparing for and...
October 2011
12 posts
2 tags
#MondayMusings -- My Very Best Focus Group
At dinner with an old colleague, I described my two-year-old’s iron grip on technology: Meg is completely comfortable and capable navigating an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad.
This is to say she can:
choose, locate and launch a desired application across any number of separate home screens (aka SpringBoard);
organize applications within a folder or nesting inside and among folders or across...
Call It Like I See It: Halloween
Halloween is an extortion racket. How else should one take the demand “Trick or Treat?”
This is all well and good for little children. They are cute, if not innocent. But the adultification of Halloween means that grown-ups are in the mix, too—and not just as chaperones—coming to my house with their non-costumes and pillowcases.
The contrarian in me views this so-called...