Domino’s Buys A Fleet Of Chevrolet Bolt EVs

On Monday, 11-21-22, Domino's announced the arrival of more than 100 Chevrolet Bolts to select Domino's locations with another 700 due by the end of 2023. You can even check on their progress online, of Bolt deliveries, not pizza deliveries, although that's possible, too, thanks to onboard telematics.

"Domino's has always been on the cutting edge of pizza delivery and electric delivery cars make sense as vehicle technology continues to evolve. We've made a commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and this is one way we can begin reducing our environmental impact, one delivery at a time," said Russell Weiner, Domino's CEO.

The Bolt is an eminently sensible choice as one of the most affordable and efficient EVs for sale today. Domino's says that not only are there servicing and maintenance advantages to an EV fleet, but it should also help the company attract delivery drivers who don't have cars of their own.

Credit: arstechnica.com

Apple Wants To Change "Hey Siri" To Just "Siri"

Apple Bytes: 

While you currently have to say “Hey Siri” to activate the assistant hands-free, that may not be the case for much longer. Bloomberg reported on 11-7-22 that Apple engineers are working to drop the “Hey” part of the phrase, so you’d only have to say “Siri” followed by a command to activate the assistant.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that this is “a technical challenge that requires a significant amount of AI training and underlying engineering work.” Apple has reportedly been working on this change for the last several months and hopes to roll it out either next year or in 2024 depending on the progress of development and testing.

As it stands today, Apple is testing this change with employees and is collecting the necessary training data as part of that process. One of the specific challenges is making sure Siri is able to understand the wake word in multiple different accents and dialects.

Apple is also working to make improvements to other aspects of Siri, including its integration into third-party applications and services. “It will integrate the voice assistant deeper into third-party apps and services and improve its ability to understand users and take the correct course of action,” Bloomberg says in the report.

Apple’s mission to change Siri’s wake phrase from “Hey Siri” to just “Siri” shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Doing so would match what’s offered by Amazon, where you simply have to say “Alexa” to trigger the assistant, not “Hey Alexa.” It would also give Apple a leg up on Google, where the wake phrase is “Hey Google” or “OK Google.”

But as the report says, this isn’t a small undertaking and there’s a lot of training and behind-the-scenes work that goes into a change like this. For Apple, this is especially true as Siri is already prone to a number of false positives particularly with activations of Siri on the HomePod.

Credit: 9to5mac.com

Executive Board Minutes

Computer Technology Club, Inc.
Executive Board Minutes
November 11, 2022

Alan Marcus, President, called the meeting to order at 9:00AM. Members in attendance: Jim Trimboli, Bob Kenlay, Bob Leiner, Don Forgette, Linda Tingley, Bill Balch and Alan Marcus.

The Secretary’s report was read by Bob Kenlay. No corrections or additions necessary.

Jim Trimboli then read the current Treasurer's report. The current balance is $1563.85.

Linda Tingley will purchase 8 dozen donuts & 2 lbs. coffee for the Holiday party.

Alan Marcus suggested that we buy $1 scratch off tickets for the Holiday party giveaway. Alan Marcus made the motion to purchase 100 scratch off tickets. The motion was seconded by Jim Trimboli. The motion was passed.

Jim Trimboli made a motion to buy 10 - $10 gift cards for the Holiday party. Linda Tingley seconded the motion. The motion was passed.

Alan Marcus said he received a message from Steve Maly that he is no longer a resident of Oak Run. Linda Tingley confirmed that he has resigned as Vice President. Alan Marcus will mention at the next club meeting for any nominations for the club Vice President position.

Linda Tingley ask how we should determine the distribution of the 50/50 funds. It was agreed that Linda should make that decision depending on the amount collected.

Future meeting topics:

Nov 16 - Using Team Viewer to get computer help and to remotely control your computer

Dec 21 - Holiday Party and Cloud Computing

Jan 25 - Whatsapp, Chat and Browse by Bill Balch

Feb 15 - What to look for when buying a dash cam

Mar 15 - How to participate in a Zoom meeting

Apr 19 - Streaming TV basics

The meeting adjourned at 9:40AM.

Respectfully submitted,
Bob Kenlay, Secretary

WiFi Security Flaw Lets Drone Track Devices

WiFi's friendliness to other devices might pose a significant threat in the wrong circumstances. University of Waterloo researchers have discovered a security flaw in the networking standard that lets attackers track devices through walls.

The technique identifies the location of a device within 3.3ft just by exploiting WiFi devices' automatic contact responses (even on password-protected networks) and measuring the response times. You can identify all the connected hardware in a room, and even track people's movements if they have a phone or smartwatch.

The scientists tested the exploit by modifying an off-the-shelf drone to create a flying scanning device, the Wi-Peep. The robotic aircraft sends several messages to each device as it flies around, establishing the positions of devices in each room.

A thief using the drone could find vulnerable areas in a home or office by checking for the absence of security cameras and other signs that a room is monitored or occupied. It could also be used to follow a security guard, or even to help rival hotels spy on each other by gauging the number of rooms in use.

There have been attempts to exploit similar WiFi problems before, but the team says these typically require bulky and costly devices that would give away attempts. Wi-Peep only requires a small drone and about $15 in equipment that includes two WiFi modules and a voltage regulator.

An intruder could quickly scan a building without revealing their presence.

Research lead Dr. Ali Abedi is calling for changes to the WiFi standard to prevent devices from responding to "strangers." That may take years, however, and Abedi suggests that hardware makers address the issue in the meantime by introducing randomized response times.

The chances of burglars using drones to map your home devices aren't high at this stage (they'd still need the know-how), but there are things developers can do to thwart these aerial spying efforts.

Credit: engadget.com

Affordable Solar-powered Electric Vehicle

German company Sono Motors says it will bring a solar-powered electric vehicle to market in Europe in mid-2023. Sono has brought the car, called the Sion, on a tour throughout the U.S. in anticipation of its eventual domestic release.

Priced at $25,000, the car is more affordable than most EVs on the U.S. market. It features 465 integrated solar half-cells throughout the exterior of the car, roof, doors, fenders, hood and all. The company estimates that solar power alone can fuel about 70 miles of driving per week.

For longer trips though, the Sion has a lithium iron phosphate battery with a 190-mile range, made by Chinese electric vehicle and battery giant BYD.

Sono is contracting with Finnish company Valmet Automotive to produce the Sion and the company says there are already 42,000 reservations for the car in Europe. The goal is to produce 257,000 Sions by 2030.

CEO Laurin Hahn says that contract manufacturing is the first thing that allows the company to keep costs down.

"Second is we have just one variant. This car comes in any color you like as long as it's black. So basically there's no options. That's massive in saving costs. Third, is we do online direct sells. Fourth is we have no steel stamping. It's an aluminum space frame, very safe car. And fifth is it has no paint. There is no paint job because it has solar panels on the outside. And for those five things, we can be so affordable."

Sono uses a polymer-based solar technology that it developed.

"We have several patents, over 30 patents on that," said Hahn. "And it's a big difference because all other companies who try to integrate solar are using most mostly glass. Glass is heavy, slow in production and very cost expensive."

An app on the car's dashboard gives drivers real-time information about how much solar power the car is generating at any moment. Drivers can also control power-sharing via the app, using the Sion's battery to charge other electric devices, including EVs, at a price point of the owner's choosing.

While there are no mass-market solar electric vehicles available today, Hahn believes this technology will take off soon.

"We think it has the potential to become a mainstream technology. Our mission is solar on every vehicle because there is no point of not putting it on. It is very cost-effective. It doesn't add a lot of costs onto the bill of materials for the car. So there's actually no reason not to integrate it."

Credit cnbc.com