O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: cars

  • Denver Police Department begins distributing free AirTags, Samsung SmartTags to help fight auto theft

    Denver Police Department begins distributing free AirTags, Samsung SmartTags to help fight auto theft

    If you live in Colorado, this is kind of nifty.

    The Denver Police Department has begun distributing free AirTags for motorists to hide in their vehicles as part of an effort to help reduce auto thefts. Apple’s AirTags have regularly become the key for police recovering stolen cars and making arrests, due to being given the location of the tracker.

    The department has begun offering either a free Apple AirTag or Samsung SmartTag in their vehicle. As part of the initiative’s launch, Denver Police will provide 450 free trackers between March 19 and March 21. Vehicle owners can register with a form, detailing the vehicle’s particulars and information about any built-in GPS tracking or third-party tracking devices inserted into the vehicle. A report is then generated, with an email provided to the vehicle’s owner to confirm the registration and a permanent case report number. Drivers will also get a DenverTrack decal sent through the mail, which can be placed in the vehicle’s window.

    Drivers who don’t have a tracking system built into their vehicle and don’t own an AirTag or SmartTag can sign up in advance for an in-person registration event. The AirTags and SmartTags are provided by the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority. Should a car be stolen, the owner can call 911 to report the theft, and confirm it was registered under DenverTrack. The police will then work with the driver to either access the built-in tracking system or the aftermarket AirTag or tracker. While the registration “preauthorizes the Denver Police Department to work with GPS information” provided when a vehicle is reported as stolen, it doesn’t grant automatic access to the vehicle’s location. Officers are unable to see the location of the AirTag until it is shared by the owner.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and denvergov.org

  • Apple’s CarPlay 2 delay confirmed, company cites work continuing with collaboration from automakers

    Apple’s CarPlay 2 delay confirmed, company cites work continuing with collaboration from automakers

    Apple’s CarPlay 2 technology, which was promised in 2024, has been delayed and still needs some work.

    Apple confirmed the delay via its CarPlay 2 website, though the system is still undergoing development.

    In a statement to 9to5Mac, however, Apple said that it is still working with “several automakers” to implement the next-generation CarPlay experience.

    All throughout 2024, Apple’s CarPlay site claimed that the first models with CarPlay 2 would arrive in 2024.

    Up until December, the language remained unchanged, leading may to believe that a launch was imminent and the software would hit its deadline. The deadline passed with no announcement, eching a similar event from late 2023, when Apple promised the first CarPlay 2-supporting automakers would be announced. They kept that promise, just barely, with a December news drop.

    At this point, Apple has yet to announce a new date as to when to expect CarPlay 2 as well as a list of auto manufacturers that will support it.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac and MacRumors

  • Rumor: iPhone 15 could use stacked battery technology, see heat and product life improvements via this method

    Rumor: iPhone 15 could use stacked battery technology, see heat and product life improvements via this method

    The rumor mill currently has it that the iPhone 15 could use a “stacked battery” that could result in lower heat and better overall battery life.

    According to prolific Android leaker “@RgcloudS” who posted a tweet about stacked battery development in Samsung devices, this feature could also be en route to Apple’s next-gen iPhone. While Samsung’s “on track” to introduce a stacked battery for smartphones, the leaker writes “Apple used it on the entire iP15 lineup,” referencing the iPhone 15.

    If true, this could offer some nifty benefits to the handset, such as faster charging, higher capacities, and considerably extended battery life.

    The leaker didn’t go into detail as to Apple’s own batteries but discussed Samsung’s prototype samples. Samsung has apparently been waiting for stacked battery equipment to arrive at a plant owned by subsidiary Samsung SDI.

    A stacked battery refers to a specific method in how a battery’s cells are assembled and packaged. A battery is made up of positive electrodes and negative electrodes, produced in long strips. In a typical battery cell, these are rolled up in a “winding” process before being packaged.

    A stacked battery cell instead uses the elements as well as separators, but folds them into zig-zagging layers instead of a roll., in what is referred to as lamination. The new process would allow for less wasted space as opposed to a wound cell, allowing for more material to be included, and therefore a higher capacity. The layered construction also means the battery works as a multi-pole battery rather than a single-pole wound battery. This allows there to be less resistance in the battery itself, so there is far less heat generated when it is charged or discharged. The heat itself would be generated more uniformly throughout the cell, as opposed to focusing across a single area. This process would mean that the battery itself won’t get worn out as quickly compared to wound battery cells, extending its life.

    The stacked battery can also be charged and discharged at far higher rates. This equates to faster charging of devices, as well as the potential for those devices to draw more power from the battery if required. Though still a relatively new technology for smartphones, this technology is commonly used to produce batteries for electric vehicles, a device that needs to massively draw power and recharge as quickly as possible and benefits greatly from higher densities.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and @RGcloudS

  • BMW announces temporary halt to shipping cars with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto functionalities

    BMW announces temporary halt to shipping cars with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto functionalities

    If you’re hankering for a BMW with either Apple’s CarPlay or Android Auto functionality, you may have to wait a bit.

    BMW has begun temporarily shipping cars without these technologies giver the automaker changing its chip suppliers.

    The new chips built into many BMWs manufactured this year require updated software to be able to run Apple ‌CarPlay‌ and Android Auto. BMW customers who receive a new car without ‌CarPlay‌ are being asked by dealerships to wait for an over-the-air update that will enable the functionality “by the end of June at the latest.” 

    It’s unknown how many BMW models are affected, albeit a large number of customers in the U.S., Italy, Spain, the UK, and France have posted online about their new vehicles being delivered without ‌CarPlay‌. Affected models include the code “6P1” in their specification.

    BMW has stated that it is changing chip suppliers to strengthen its supply chain in the long term amid the continued impact of the global chip shortage, which could reduce component shortages in the second half of the year.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and Automotive News Europe

  • Researchers discover security flaw on some Intel processors that allows firmware to bypass security

    Researchers discover security flaw on some Intel processors that allows firmware to bypass security

    This is why firmware updates exist.

    A flaw has been discovered within certain Intel chips that allow an attacker with physical access to the computer, known as an “evil maid attack,” install malicious firmware onto the chip. The flaw was noted by Mark Ermolov, Dmitry Sklyarov (both from Positive Technologies) and Maxim Goryachy (an independent researcher).

    The flaw, tracked as CVE-2021-0146, is found in Pentium, Celeron, and Atom CPUs on the Apollo Lake, Gemini Lake, and Gemini Lake Refresh platforms. The attacker could use debug and testing modes to extract the decryption key from the TPM module. If TPM is also used to store a Windows BitLocker key, that can also be bypassed. Then, malicious firmware could be installed on the chip as a permanent backdoor.

    According to Ermolov:

    The vulnerability is a debugging functionality with excessive privileges, which is not protected as it should be. To avoid problems in the future and prevent the possible bypassing of built-in protection, manufacturers should be more careful in their approach to security provision for debug mechanisms.

    The flaw can affect a wide range of devices with these processors, such as cars, notebooks, medical equipment, home appliances, and various Internet of Things (IoT) products.

    Intel has stated that the company is actively working to patch the vulnerability so make sure you install the latest software or firmware updates for your devices.

    It’s unknown as to exactly which Macs are affected by this.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer and Intel