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It is absolutely stupid. I was chatting on a plane ride with my neighbor once and he was in that industry. He was rolling his eyes as well. I think he said some cars had a computer to open and close the windows, or something.
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It shouldn't be a thing. But bad engineering is making it so.
The only valid excuse I've heard of for needing programmable window opening is for those windows that lift up at the very end, to seal the window. So when the door is open, the window is down about 1/4" or so. But that is still bad engineering. What happens when the battery dies, and someone opens the door?
A power source, a motor, and a switch is all that should be needed to operate a window.
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Volkswagons used to be pretty simple, even had a spare engine in the trunk.
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I have to admit that my new Skoda Fabia, bristling with sensors and gizmos, is not as reliable as my previous one. The orange "EPC" light (Electronic Powertrain Control) has lit up twice since I purchased it begin this year. Since the last visit to the Skoda dealer things seem better, and there were no flashing lights during my vacation in Denmark luckily.
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Quote: Since the last visit to the Skoda dealer things seem better, and there were no flashing lights ...that's because they just removed the lightbulbs.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I did that with a motorcycle once: when you changed into neutral, the main fuse would blow. Took out the neutral indicator bulb and that stopped it. Lasted for years like that ...
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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Zo relaxen, und watchen das blinkenlichten!
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Exactly how my (very) old Skoda Octavia passed its MOT year after year... Multiple garages could never work out why it was coming on.
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OriginalGriff wrote: Still, at least I get a tank full of fuel as a "thank you for your patience".
Is this no longer a standard thing for all dealers? My dad worked for a dealer for over 4 decades, and owners of brand new cars wouldn't be allowed to leave the lot until the tank had been filled.
OriginalGriff wrote: Modern cars have too many computers ... ands that's quite something coming from me
I've been saying that for years, which surprises some people because I'm a software developer. I tell 'em it's because I'm a software developer that I don't want a crap-ton of computers in my car.
It's not an entirely horrible idea. It's just all horribly integrated.
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I don't buy new cars - I'd rather someone else took the huge initial depreciation!
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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But look at it this way - they get a full tank of gas...which these days is adding up :-p
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OriginalGriff wrote: I don't buy new cars - I'd rather someone else took the huge initial depreciation!
Normally my mantra too, but lockdown was a superb time to look for bargains. We got a car which the dealership had bought as a demonstrator but had never been demonstrated and was sitting there depreciating. Currently the second hand value, 18 months later is several £k more than we paid for it!
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I think @den2k88 has experience with software in the automotive industry. It would be interesting to get his take on this thread.
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I don't have any particular take, the only thing I can say is that 60-100 computers in a car is lowballing, the new average is about 130.
Are they necessary? Some of them yes, for example the ECUs that manages the towing hook manages the brakes and signaling lights for the towed vehicle or trailer, making it a far safer experience.
Some ECUs are there simply to reduce costs and prolong the life of components: an ECU that knows when and how to go in deep sleep will make your car battery last much longer (and i'ts a huge thing in automotive, I had to work three montsh with other 20 people to reduce sleep consumption by 20 microamperes).
Most ECUs are needed to prevent fires, 99% of the work the components I am developing these days is to properly cool the engine, ensure proper cooling and in case of malfuction issue a red alert to the engine to either stop the functioning or activate a low heat "limp home" mode.
Other ECUs are needed due to always more stringent laws: in the US newly manifactured cars are required to automatically issue an emergency call when a crash is detected, which sends the GPS location of the car. That means having to integrate a Internet connected ECU to the car, with usually two different processors on the same board segmented in such a way that a breach on the Internet facing one will not become a source of commands in the main bus of the car, which is also (but only recently) segmented to accept certain messages only from certain sources.
So yes, too many ECUs with too much cost cutting and a production culture that has zero capability of managing complex computer system make for cars that as of now are quite rickety, with the caveat that while rickety old cars killed people new cars kill themselves first.
GCS/GE d--(d) s-/+ a C+++ U+++ P-- L+@ E-- W+++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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OriginalGriff wrote: Still, at least I get a tank full of fuel as a "thank you for your patience".
That's probably worth more than the car at this point!
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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Guess it's the last thing you ask a builder for! (8)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
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ESTIMATE = Guess but beyond that not really sure why... first thing, surely?
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You are up tomorrow!
An estimate is the last thing you ask for when you are trying to select a builder.
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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This reminds me of why I have been dragging my feet in hiring a jr. dev!
"Go forth into the source" - Neal Morse
"Hope is contagious"
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...know what the inscriptions on these two wooden objects are:
Wooden statues[^]
Thanks.
"One man's wage rise is another man's price increase." - Harold Wilson
"Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." - Michael Simmons
"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." - James D. Miles
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Right, Queen: We want your tree house. Salt
Left, King: I want the tree house. Pepper.
Just guessing.
No offense intended.
Do not read or understand.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day"
Badfinger
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Jangseung - Wikipedia
Probably souvenirs from here (not sure, I had to Google it)
Google Maps
Translation from Japanese Wikipedia page
Quote: Until before World War II, it was called the Shogun's Marker for Expelling Demons, and the abbreviated name Shogun's Marker was also used. In the past, the Korean Peninsula had a belief in demon gods that brought disease and misfortune, and wooden markers were placed at the entrances to villages to ward off their demons. Wooden markers with Chinese characters inscribed under a human mask of a different shape were installed in pieces, but the ones installed in Japan today are inscribed with the words "General of the Heavenly Generals" and "General of the Underground Women's Army," and are a pair of male and female markers.
In recent Korean, it is called janggungpyo (将軍標標), but another expression is jangseung (장승, jangsun, jangjo). A sacred pole with a bird perched on the pole head is called sotdae (솟대), and a sacred tree carved with a human face is called jangseung (창栍). The bird was deified because it was believed to be a messenger of the gods, coming and going between heaven and earth, and the sacred tree was carved with human masks to make it a personal deity[1].
The most famous Shogun marker in Japan is the one at Kora Shrine in Hidaka City, Saitama Prefecture. There are also those at Seitenin Temple, also in Hidaka City, and in front of Korai Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line. There is also one at Tokoin Myokomi-gu Shrine in Hinode-cho, Nishitama-gun, Tokyo. Korean dances are dedicated at the Myoko-in Myoken-gu Shrine's annual festival (May 3).
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