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2003-2011 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
You wrote: "is there a chip in the car designed to do this?" I know you meant that as a joke, but what if this were really true? What if product manufacturers intentionally inserted an electronic fail-by stamp or some other code into their products to all but ensure eventual failure? This is not an uncommon concept as obsolescence engineering is a matter of fact.
When you consider the impact of computers on pretty much every car component these days, you have to wonder what if things were coded to go wrong after a period of time or use. As it stands now, computer coding is really a wonder. As we are learning from the Stuxnet worm example, there are computer geniuses out there who know how to write some seriously amazing code - they took down a nuclear plant without leaving any fingerprints - amazing! And if you read the Wikipedia write up on Saab's Trionic 8, it really is remarkable what Saab's software engineers were able to do with engine management software. Makes me proud to be a Saab owner when you appreciate the brilliance that went into that system.
Along those same lines, what would prevent a car computer from - at a pre-designated point after the warranty expires - changing operating parameters that would lead to premature component failure? Not life threatening stuff for sure, but little annoying things that would tempt an owner to consider purchasing a new product?
I seriously doubt car manufacturers would do this purely out of self-interest (i.e., tarnished reputations if it leaked out), but what about other lesser products? If a kitchen blender was encoded to fail after so many revolutions of the motor, or some other variable metric to keep people from catching on, who would ever be the wiser for it?
All I know is my parents' toaster is 50 years old and still works like the day it was purchased, and I'm on my third in 10 years.
posted by 96.57.12...
, Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:38:33
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