Items tagged with automatic
An auto startup called Automatic is turning to third-party developers to help turn your dumb car into a smart one. The way it plans to do that is through a new app store for its car adapter, a small device that plugs into almost every car manufactured since 1996. By partnering with over 20 third-party developers, the first batch of apps found in the new Automatic App Gallery can upgrade your driving experience by helping you remember where you parked, decode engine problems, track mileage for business trips, and more. To attract even more third-party developers, Automatic also has made available its software development kit (SDK). It includes rich APIs that give access to a wealth of driving...
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Practically every vehicle sold in the United States since 1996 has a data port within, something called an OBD II socket. Over the years, a few adapters have allowed those ports to communicate with smartphones, but none of the existing options have truly packaged together a seamless, polished experience. For those who are looking for just that, a company by the name of Automatic has launched a new 'Automatic Link' -- a small dongle that plugs directly into the OBD II port of your car, and communicates directly with your iPhone 4S or iPhone 5. It's scheduled to ship in May, and the app is certainly the star of the show. It's designed to communicate over Bluetooth 4.0, leaving the iPhone 4 and...
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Who has time for manual backups these days? Exactly. To meet the demand for more automated backup processes, Toshiba has today introduced the Automatic Backup Portable Hard Drive, which will interestingly be sold exclusively (at least for now) at Walmart. t’s compatible with both USB 3.0 and 2.0, and not surprisingly, It's pretty basic outside of the intelligent storage / backup. It'll ship in 500GB ($59.99) / 1TB ($84.99) sizes starting July 23 with a 2-year warranty and a palm-sized form factor. The software included works with PCs using Windows, so Linux and Mac users need not apply....
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Ever wonder why Microsoft releases these sorts of major updates via manual update first? Well, if you've been reading along, you know why (and we've seen more than one example of why). However, Windows XP SP3, after its initial fits and starts, is nearly ready to hit automatic distribution via Windows Update.This was revealed in an MSDN blog post by Nick MacKechnie, senior technical account manager at Microsoft New Zealand:Hi All,Microsoft is committed to providing quality products to customers. As part of this commitment, we would like to remind you that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) will be released to Automatic Updates shortly. The third service pack to Windows XP includes the previously...
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Wednesday, in a post on the Windows Vista Team Blog, Microsoft announced that they had begun automatic distribution of Windows Vista SP1. What this means if that if you have Windows Updates set to automatically download and install on your PC, Windows Update will automatically download SP1 to your PC, after which a few clicks (for the EULA, naturally) will be required for the install to begin.Today, we're happy to announce that we are beginning automatic distribution of SP1 in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. So what does this mean? Over the next few months Microsoft will automatically distribute Windows Vista SP1 to PCs that have automatic updates turned on (Learn how to turn...
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No it's not a car. Husqvarna claims that its Automower is "the world's first fully automatic lawnmower." Of course, one of the things users must always do manually is set up the perimeter by laying down wires to define the Automower's boundaries. Being able to handle rain, inclines, and obstacles - it simply reverses when it bumps into stuff - the Automower is, without a doubt, both a smart and hassle-free minion. Complete with its own docking station, the Automower simply checks in to charge its batteries when it is low on fuel and can navigate all on its own. The Automower even incorporates a schedule feature, giving "users" the freedom from having to turn the Automower on and off....
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A very serious security flaw in Firefox Password Manager has been discovered. It may also be a problem, though less severe, in Internet Explorer. Dubbed a reverse cross-site request, or RCSR, vulnerability by its discoverer, Robert Chapin, the flaw lets hackers compromise users' passwords and usernames by presenting them with a fake login form. Firefox Password Manager will automatically enter any saved passwords and usernames into the form. The data is then automatically sent to an attacker's computer without the user's knowledge, according to the Chapin Information Services site. Your friends...
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