Smith's Technology Blog

Unless you are living under a rock, or somewhere in the outback, (in either case you would not be reading this) you have heard about Toyota’s woes.  The problem they are having has nothing to do with the sticking accelerator, believe it or not.  Their problem has to do with the owners of their product.  True, they have an engineering problem and it needs to be fixed.  If you looked at the Fox news website Friday morning there was a picture of the part needed to fix the problem.  It is about the size of a fingernail.  Small part, inexpensive, and easy to fix.  So why do I think their problem has nothing to do with the sticking accelerator?  Think about it, do you honestly believe that all the sudden the car simply takes off on its own.  If you read about the problem in depth, you will find that the accelerator, over time, begins to stick and the engine takes longer to slow down when the foot is lifted off the accelerator.  I drive a 1980 ford pickup, and just recently I begin to have the same problem.  Like most, I ignored the warning signs when it first begin, kept driving the truck, and almost had an accident because the engine just would not slow down.  The problem, the linkage need a little lubricant.  I’m not saying that a little WD40 would have fixed Toyota’s problem, but personal responsibility of the drivers to have the problem investigated before they had an accident may have been lacking.  Before you start to blast me for being uncaring for those who were injured or killed, let me say I agree that Toyota should have issued a recall much sooner and because the fix is so simple and cheap, it should not have taken so long to begin the fix.

So what does this have to do with technology?  Simple, personal responsibility.  Toyota designed the accelerator to have a part that created friction because the consumer wanted it to have “feel”.  In other words, the new technology they were using to control the engine had eliminated the friction and resistance we have grown used to in the older cars.  To improve user satisfaction they engineered in friction, which can cause sticking.  The point is, technology changed, and the users didn’t change with it.  Compare this to computers.  We the users learn to do things a particular way.  Microsoft designs the system to fit our wants.  Things are fine, but as technology changes we don’t.  We do however expect our actions and desires to continue to have no adverse effects.  That is where the personal responsibility comes in.  Microsoft, and Apple both strive to give us systems that meet our expectations, but from time to time the engineering flaws come to light.  That is when patches come out for their products; call it a recall.  Do you think anyone with a Toyota will ignore the recall?  Some will.  When Microsoft issues a patch, a recall, how many ignore it?  The point is that as users of the product, if we all would take responsibility for what we own and follow the manufactures recommendations, there would be a lot less problems with viruses, worms, and Trojans.   So my advise is to run the updates on your machine.  Set automatic updates to do it automatically so you won’t forget.  Microsoft and Apple, as well as the producers of other software such as Adobe reader, are doing their best to give you a safe and reliable product, but it is up to you to maintain it; just like maintaining your car.

Robert