For years, the gearshift in a vehicle has followed roughly the same design: a user guides the stick to a designated slot corresponding to the desired gear selection. That has changed in recent years, as some carmakers have opted for sleeker, tech-savvy electronic shifters. However, these components have proven to be confusing, leading to some vehicles — thought to have been in “park” — rolling away, injuring some owners. [More]
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![An Emotion-Detecting Echo Speaker: Helpful Or Going Too Far?](../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/pr_alexafamily_v01.jpg?w=300&h=225&crop=1)
An Emotion-Detecting Echo Speaker: Helpful Or Going Too Far?
Alexa, the virtual assistant inside Amazon’s Echo speaker — and its smaller versions — can order you a pizza, but can she tell that you’re upset when she confuses pepperoni with ham? Not yet, but the e-commerce giant is apparently working on giving Alexa the ability to gauge users’ emotions. [More]
![VW Offers Amnesty To Whistleblower Employees, But Only For A Few Weeks](../../consumermediallc.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/volkswagen.png)
VW Offers Amnesty To Whistleblower Employees, But Only For A Few Weeks
A week after an internal investigation – aided by company engineers – uncovered carbon emissions issues with 800,000 Volkswagen vehicles, the carmaker says it will keep the door open for employees to share any cheating within the organization – as long as they do it by the end of the month. [More]