But I'll bet you a pound to a penny that in 20 years time they'll be absolutely standard, and the next generation will say "just imagine having to do parallel parking with no rear camera"
David
The safety elves would say that it's possible for a small child to stand behind the car and still be hidden from the driver's seat, too.
ah, like this you mean?
IN THE BEGINNING..
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep".
Quickly, God was served with an enforcement order, prohibiting further work, citing failure to file a planning application and an environmental impact statement. Also, there had not been a feasibility study to consider the financial, environmental and ecological viability of the project. Where was the funding to come from and would it involve any money from Central or Local Government sources? Had adequate provisions been made for carrying out the work safely, bearing in mind the depth and the lack of light? However, because of potential "planning gain" advantages, God was granted a temporary permit for the project, subject to the agreement of the Health and Safety Executive and to satisfactory answers to questions relating to the earthly part being forthcoming.
Then God said, "Let there be light".
Immediately the officials demanded to know how the light would be made. Would there be strip mining or drilling? What about thermal and light pollution? Would the light use fossil fuels or would it employ renewable energy sources? God explained that the light would come from a large ball of fire. God was granted provisional permission to make light, provided that no smoke would result from the ball of fire, and that he would obtain a building permit and would conserve energy, and would have the light out for half the time. God agreed and offered to call the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." The officials replied that they were not interested in semantics.
God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree bearing fruit."
The Planning Authority agreed, so long as only native seed was used, and no artificial fertilisers or non- organic pesticides were employed.
Then God said, "Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and foul that may fly above the earth."
The officials pointed out that this would require approval from various Government Ministries, each of whom would need to consult the Forestry Commission, the RSPB, the RSPCA and various bodies concerned with countryside conservation. International treaties relating to wildlife, particularly fish stock conservation, the hunting of whales and the culling of seals would also need to be considered as the application was for "abundant" numbers of creatures. It might be necessary to define what "abundant" actually meant in terms of precise numbers.
However, everything was okay until God said the project would be completed in six days. The officials said it would take at least two hundred days to review the application and the impact statement. After that, there would be a period for the lodging of objections followed by a public enquiry, which would recommend amendments to the original application, which would then need to be reconsidered by all the Government Ministries, in consultation with all the other interested parties. Then there would be ten to twelve months for international consultations, followed by an inevitable redrafting of the application, which would again need to be re-submitted, before............
At this point God created Hell.
YOU KNOW YOU HAVE HAD TOO MUCH OF THE 21st CENTURY WHEN ........
Hands up all those who don't find themselves in the list somewhere!
You try to enter your password on the microwave. You haven't played patience with real cards in years. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family. You e-mail your work colleague at the desk next to you to ask "Do you fancy going down the pub?" and the reply is, " Yeah, give me five minutes". Your reason for not staying in touch with friends is that they do not have e-mail addresses. Your idea of being organised is multiple coloured post-it notes. You hear most of your jokes via email instead of in person. When you go home after a long day at work you still answer the phone in a business manner. When you make phone calls from home, you accidentally insert a "9" to get an outside line. You've sat at the same desk for four years and worked for three different companies. Your company welcome sign is attached with Velcro. Your CV is on a diskette in your pocket. You really get excited about a 1.7% pay rise. You learn about your redundancy on the 9 o'clock news. Your biggest loss from a system crash is that you lose all your best jokes. Your supervisor doesn't have the ability to do your job. Contractors outnumber permanent staff and are more likely to get long-service awards. Board members salaries are higher than all the Third World countries annual budgets combined. It's dark when you drive to and from work, even in the summer. Interviewees, despite not having the relevant knowledge or experience, terminate the interview when told of the starting salary. You see a good looking, smart person and you know it must be a visitor. Free food left over from meetings is your staple diet. The work experience person gets a brand-new state-of-the-art laptop with all the features, while you have time to go for lunch while yours powers up. Being sick is defined as you can't walk or you're in hospital. You're already late on the assignment you just got. There's no money in the budget for the five permanent staff your department is short of, but they can afford four full-time management consultants advising your boss's boss on strategy. Your boss's favourite lines are: When you've got a few minutes... Could you fit this in...? In your spare time... When you're freed up...... I know you're busy but... I have an opportunity for you....... Holiday is something you roll over to next year. As you read this list, you think about forwarding it to your "mates you send jokes to" e-mail group
Nice. I'm on there twice, at the very least.
That will also remove the normal crap found on any car's 12v circuits. 'Interference' from the generator and ignition systems, etc.
As I said this 'load dump' thing is just a popular urban myth - a bit like memory effect on rechargeable batteries.
A pal bought a new Rolls Royce in the late '60s and specified this as he'd liked it on another car - probably in the US. And the RR prototype did exactly the same. ;-)
The wiper stalk etc were obviously production items and a month or so later they fitted new electronics which were fine. Then the feature appeared as standard on new models.
Coincidently, I've just made a replacement unit for my Rover SD1 as I've changed the wiper motor to a more modern version. Which has a different parking arrangement from the Lucas one requiring some wiring mods. So decided to have variable rather than fixed delay. And it switching automatically to delay when you come to a stop. Works perfectly on the bench, but haven't yet tried it on the car...
True.
Which I have personal experience with on early NiCd cells, though not on anything since. Though some Lithium batteries, especially on laptops, are a bit fussy about needing a full cycle now and again, IME.
And I've written a couple of unprotected ICs off when the 24 Volt system on a coach spiked to more than the maximum permitted voltage of the IC in normal use.
Only twice? You must be leading a very sheltered life.
Well, yes. But was there a voltage regulator before it?
As at least one of them was a power amplifier, rated for 12 - 24V supplies, no. Luckily, it wasfairly cheap.
In 20 years time I would think Automatic parking systems will be standard on most models and the next generation won't even attempt it. Thats for those who can afford to run a vehicle, The children of many who run a car now may not be able to on an equivalent income. So parking will be easier anyway as there will be more spaces.
G.Harman
There are already experimental vehicles (SAAB? - Was it on top gear?) that won't let you drive into objects, they cut the engine and apply the brakes
but I think you mean in 20 years time that old codgers will reminisce about the times when they were able to park, in the days of the internal combustion engine
Yes, it was a Volvo. It crashed into the immovable object (a trailer).
Sometimes and perhaps.
There have been times when I've been reversing a trailer that isn't visible in a central rear view mirror, and by the time it's visible in the wing mirrors it's already far enough out of line to be a pain. I didn't have a camera, but it would have been very useful if I had.
Slightly different scenario there, isn't it
Indeed. I'd say more than 50%. There's no hope for me ;-)
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