Earlier this year, Toyota was hit by an epic disaster in the United States. The automaker's cars were accused of defects that caused vehicles to accelerate uncontrollably. The alleged fault was blamed for numerous accidents, including one where a rental Lexus went out of control and crashed at over 100 miles per hour, killing four passengers inside.
The problem is still unexplained despite investigation by numerous organizations because no one has found a way to consistently reproduce the issue. One proposed solution is the introduction of a black box that, much like the equipment found on an airline, records data about a car's operation. That information could be used after an accident to determine the driver's actions and the vehicle's response.
Intel believes that this technology is inevitable, and is creating a product that could be sold to auto manufacturers. The project, which doesn't seem to have an official name, is a hardware and software solution capable of monitoring telemetry, road conditions and the use of safety equipment such as seat belts and traction control.
The introduction of an electronic watchdog is probably not how most tech enthusiasts dreamed Intel would step into the automotive market, but it is likely that this technology will be available at least as an option – if not standard – on future automobiles.
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New York man claims to own 85% of Facebook
A New York newspaper has discovered that a man in the suburb of Wellsvile, by the name of Paul D. Ceglia may own a 85% share of Facebook, in return for web design he did for the company years ago.
The Wellsville daily times reports that Ceglia has a civil law suit against Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg. According to the Wall Street Journal, Ceglia claimed that seven years ago, in 2003, he signed a contract to develop a website - he was to pay a $1000 fee, but recieve a fifty percent stake in the product, and that he would get an extra 1% interest every day the site was uncompleted after January 1st, 2004. He claims that he has rights to ownership in the company, as well as monetary damages.
The Wall Street Journal was also able to view a copy of the contract, and says the contract was "for the purchase and design of a suitable Website for the project Seller [Mr. Zuckerberg] has already initiated that is designed to offer the students of Harvard university access to a Website similar to a live functioning yearbook with the working title of 'The Face Book.'"
Oddly enough this claim clashes with historical evidence of Facebook - the original domain name of 'The Face Book' was only registered in January 2004, and Zuckerberg was said to be working on another product called 'Facemash' during 2003.
A temporary restraint on Facebook moving its assets has also been put into place - though Facebook does not believe this will affect the company, saying that "The order will not affect our ability to do business but we do not believe it is legally supported and we have moved to have it vacated," said Facebook's Barry Schnitt. Facebook believes that the lawsuit will blow over quickly, and a company spokesman for the company stated that "We believe this suit is completely frivolous and we will fight it vigorously."
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