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interesting

T

Terry Given

Jan 1, 1970
0
Chris said:
It appears they have. My recently purchased DVD video recorder set it's
clock automagically.

Anyone know what's going out over the TV cable these days to allow for
this?


Good day!

In the late 1990s IEE spectrum had a hilarious article about these
stupid VCRs, many of which have *no* other mechanism for setting the
clock, other than using the time data built into the TV signal (I forget
the details of how it works).

Problem was East vs West coast time. Quite a few channels were failing
to strip the old time info and add the correct time (for, say, a
west-coast program piped to the east coast). Result - VCR automatically
fucks up the time setting whenever such a program airs. lovely.

Cheers
Terry
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Terry,
In the late 1990s IEE spectrum had a hilarious article about these
stupid VCRs, many of which have *no* other mechanism for setting the
clock, other than using the time data built into the TV signal (I forget
the details of how it works).

Reminds me of a rental car. They gave me a free upgrade, with all bells
and whistles. Then it almost happened. Arrived at the hotel, stepped out
of the car, opened the rear door to retrieve a coat or something. Closed
the rear door. A sudden wind gust closed the driver side door as well.
Then "clunk", the car locked itself.

Luckily I had already popped the trunk and the wind didn't slam that
shut. Whew. After a few unlatching tricks and contortionist climbs I was
able to get the keys.

Oh, and about ten minutes later it started honking. In front of a big
hotel at around 1:00am.

Regards, Joerg
 
M

Michael

Jan 1, 1970
0
Joerg said:
Hello Terry,


Reminds me of a rental car. They gave me a free upgrade, with all bells
and whistles. Then it almost happened. Arrived at the hotel, stepped out
of the car, opened the rear door to retrieve a coat or something. Closed
the rear door. A sudden wind gust closed the driver side door as well.
Then "clunk", the car locked itself.

Luckily I had already popped the trunk and the wind didn't slam that
shut. Whew. After a few unlatching tricks and contortionist climbs I was
able to get the keys.

Oh, and about ten minutes later it started honking. In front of a big
hotel at around 1:00am.

Regards, Joerg


Great story. That locking circuit is one more case of a solution looking for a
problem. Or more to the point, the result of an over-imaginative engineer's
poor design for a solution to a non-existant problem. Car mfgrs! They balk at
adding a few dollars or euros worth of parts to their products in the name of
safety, yet they willingly cram in such "no-cost" "feechurs" as DVD, cup
holders, and automatic door locking.
 
J

Joerg

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Michael,
Great story. That locking circuit is one more case of a solution looking for a
problem. Or more to the point, the result of an over-imaginative engineer's
poor design for a solution to a non-existant problem. Car mfgrs! They balk at
adding a few dollars or euros worth of parts to their products in the name of
safety, yet they willingly cram in such "no-cost" "feechurs" as DVD, cup
holders, and automatic door locking.

Sometimes these feature can become rather uncomfortable or even
dangerous. Another rental (I'd never buy such cars) locked all doors the
minute you put it in D and started rolling. I guess the design engineer
must have lived in a rough part of town where carjackings are normal.
But I just kept imagining. What if a cement truck plowed into this car
while I am in it and then nobody could peel me out of there in time
because the doors are locked?

Remember those automatically engaging safety belts? Well, a guy got his
lit cigar smashed into his face by one. Ok, he probably shouldn't have
been smoking while operating a dangerous robot machine ...

Regards, Joerg
 
K

keith

Jan 1, 1970
0
Hello Michael,

These "no-cost" feechurs sell cars. Safety modifications, for the most
part, aren't seen and don't. It's simply business.
Sometimes these feature can become rather uncomfortable or even
dangerous. Another rental (I'd never buy such cars) locked all doors the
minute you put it in D and started rolling. I guess the design engineer
must have lived in a rough part of town where carjackings are normal.
But I just kept imagining. What if a cement truck plowed into this car
while I am in it and then nobody could peel me out of there in time
because the doors are locked?

I'd imagine that a dangerous impact with a cemet truck would break enough
glass for someone to reach in and unlock the doors. ;-) The purpose of
the auto-locking door locks isn't to prevent car-jackings, rather to
help keep you inside the car in a collision. I rather like them, and
wished my peekup had 'em.

Remember those automatically engaging safety belts? Well, a guy
got his lit cigar smashed into his face by one. Ok, he probably
shouldn't have been smoking while operating a dangerous robot machine ...

I'd never buy a car with these things. No purpose, overly complicated,
another thing to break. Apparently I'm not alone because these things are
going the way of the Do-do.
 
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