Cool browser keyboard shortcuts

Hey, are you one of those people who still types the complete URL of every website they visit? Well, stop doing that and use the following shortcuts.

For instance, if you type qnx in your browser address field, then press <Ctrl>-<Enter>, your browser will immediately go to:

   http://www.qnx.com

Firefox provides extensions to this shortcut to help you jump to .org and .net sites. For instance, if you type ngconnect, then press <Ctrl>-<Shift>-<Enter>, you get:

   http://www.ngconnect.org

And if you type sourceforge, then press <Shift>-<Enter>, you get:

   http://www.sourceforge.net

In this case, the actual URL is http://sourceforge.net, but the resolution is handled automatically.

These shortcuts provide a nice complement to the automatic URL completion that most browsers now support.

How about you? Do you have any browser shortcuts that you'd like to share?

QNX circa 1999

• “With this phone, you can make calls, send and receive email, do your baking...”


• It’s a bird... it’s a plane... it’s UPM!


• The first in-car navigation system for industrial applications (confused yet?)


• A younger me accepts an award — and nearly loses a wallet in the process


• QNX throws hat into automotive ring

Totally random skill sets

• So fast, he needs two bassists to keep up
• How to make really thin glass pipes (don't try this at home)
• How not to behave when the camera crew shows up

Totally random

• From the information superhighway to your local highway
• Put a tiger bunny in your tank
• Let's see: I've 3 million Lego bricks, some spare time, and a degree in architecture. Hm....

Dataweek honors QNX fastboot technology with product of the year award

This just in: Dataweek magazine has unveiled its product of the year awards, and QNX fastboot technology is one of the winners.

If you aren't familiar with QNX fastboot technology, it allows x86 systems, including those based on the Intel Atom, to boot wicked fast. Often in a second or less.

This isn't the first time QNX fastboot technology has taken home top honors. A year ago, it received a "Most Innovative Software for the Intel Atom Processor” award from Intel.

A picture, or should I say a video, is worth a thousand words, so I invite you to check out the fastboot demos that I've posted on this blog:

• What? Another QNX fastboot demo on Intel Atom? Aw, c'mon...
• More QNX fastboot for Intel Atom videos

Once you've finished viewing the talkies, download this whitepaper or simply view this article on Automotive DesignLine to take a peak under the hood of this technology.

For the complete list of Dataweek winners, click here.

To view all my blog posts on QNX fastboot technology, click here.

LTE Connected Car: The media's take

I've noticed something: Whenever I discuss the LTE Connected Car, I focus on all the cool stuff that the car can access from the Cloud. But really, that's only part of the story.

For instance, in his coverage of the LTE Connected Car, WIRED blogger Eliot Van Buskirk focuses on the information that the car can upload to the Cloud — information that other cars can then take advantage of. In effect, each car becomes a sensor, helping other cars to avoid traffic jams, alerting road crews to potholes, and providing, in Van Buskirk's words, "a crowdsourced version of what traffic helicopters do today."

So, in the interest of offering you a more complete (and less unidirectional!) discussion of this story, here is what WIRED and a number of other notable publications are saying about the LTE Connected Car:

• Scientific American — Hot Spot Hot Rod: The Internet Invades the Automobile
• Wired — Next-Gen Car Dashboard Talks to the Cloud
• Engadget — LTE Connected Car redefines the 'mobile' in mobile broadband
• John Day’s Automotive Electronic News — Alcatel-Lucent launches LTE Connected Car from QNX platform
• UnStrung — LTE: Baby, You Can Drive My Car
• GIGAOM — LTE Connected Car: Dude, Where’s My Display?
• TheStreet.com — Alcatel, Toyota Tout 'Smartphone' Car
• AutoSpies — Is THIS The Future Of Auto Tech?
• Converge! Network Digest — ng Connect Partners Develop LTE Connected Car Concept
• PCMag.com Blogs — What Do You Want in a Web-Connected Car?
• The Inquirer — Alcatel-Lucent talks up connected vehicles
• FlashMobileBlog — MAX Award winners QNX: Video
• Stuff.tv — ng Connect turns Prius into living room

For even more media coverage on the LTE Connected Car, click here.

LTE Connected Car: Zooming in on the virtual mechanic

Yesterday, I took you on a tour of some applications in the LTE Connected Car. One app that I mentioned, but didn't provide images for, is the virtual mechanic.

Before we go any further, let's get something out of the way: The virtual mechanic won't fix your car for you. You'll still need a flesh-and-bones grease monkey to do that. That said, the virtual mechanic can tell you when things are going south and help you take appropriate action — before the problem escalates.

Low oil pressure... yikes!

The virtual mechanic gets OBD-II codes from the vehicle bus to display the status of your brakes, tires, power train, electrical systems, fluids, and so on. In this case, it's telling me that the engine oil pressure is low:


Click to enlarge.

What to do? Well, I'm a Major General in the army of the mechanically challenged, so I immediately tap the fuel pump icon at the bottom of the screen to display a map of local service stations:



Alternately, I could tap on the dealership icon (Toyota, in this case) and find directions to the nearest, well, dealership:



The virtual mechanic lets you zoom in on specific systems. For instance, in the following screen, I've just asked it to show me where to add brake fluid. (You think I'd be more worried about the low washer-fluid warning, but did I mention I'm mechanically challenged?)



The virtual mechanic is a component of the QNX CAR application platform, which provides most of the software for the LTE Connected Car.