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    Daily Dispatch: 100 million lines of code in your car; Phone prototype reads lips

    Consumer Reports News: March 09, 2010 04:23 PM

    Combing through hundreds of blog posts and news articles daily, Dirk Klingner, our technology-trend watcher, sifts through the noise to bring you the tech news most important to consumers. If you have a tip on a story you want to share, leave a comment below.

    This Car Runs on Code ( IEEE Spectrum)

    ...These are impressive amounts of software, yet if you bought a premium-class automobile recently, "it probably contains close to 100 million lines of software code," says Manfred Broy, a professor of informatics at Technical University, Munich, and a leading expert on software in cars. All that software executes on 70 to 100 microprocessor-based electronic control units (ECUs) networked throughout the body of your car.

    Lip reading mobile promises end to noisy phone calls (BBC)

    ...The device, on show at the Cebit electronics fair in Germany, relies on a technique called electromyography which detects the electrical signals from muscles. It is commonly used to diagnose certain diseases, including those that involve nerve damage.

    Keep Your Passwords Safe on a Piece of Paper (Digital Inspiration)

    ...What you need is just a piece that has a unique (per card) combination of secret letters to help you create a unique password for each website. You may use the RAND() function in an Excel spreadsheet to generate unique password cards.

    Miso: A Foursquare-Like App for Homebodies (ReadWriteWeb)

    ...With Miso, instead of checking in to locations outside of your home, like bars, restaurants and events as you do with popular mobile applications like Foursquare, Brightkite, Loopt and Gowalla, the Miso app takes the "check-in" model and uses it to connect people enjoying TV shows and movies. Although you could check-in when watching a movie at a local theater, the app is just as useful to those who tend to stay at home.

    Lighter side: New York's PS22 Chorus covers "LISZTOMANIA" by Phoenix (agreggofsociety)


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