Rick’s Short Circuit: GM’s fall, Skyhook’s rise, and a killer app

Tech news around the Web centers on GM and its possible demise and—in a more hopeful note—on startup Skyhook Wireless. Also, Test & Measurement World’s June edition is online.

In “The End of the Affair, ” P.J. O’Rourke writing in the Wall Street Journal recounts the evolution of the automobile from object of love to motorized cup holder. In Computerworld (by way of CircuitNet) suggests cars will evolve from motorized cup holders to wireless wonders by 2012. Computerworld’s Joshua Gliddon writes, “As environmental concerns come to the fore, car makers will increasingly turn away from performance and towards in-car electronics and connectivity as a way of differentiating their vehicles, said Gartner analyst Thilo Koslowski.” The article quotes Koslowski as saying, “The automotive industry must explore new ways to generate consumer interest, product differentiation, and revenue opportunities.”

The New York Times’ “Start-Ups” profiles Skyhook Wireless, which maps WiFi hotspots to enable cell-phone location services without satellites. Skyhook employs a fleet of 500 drivers to feed a WiFi database that spans North America, Asia and Europe, the article reports, noting that “The landscape of signals changes constantly as people and businesses set up and take down wireless networks, so the scanning process never ends.”

Paul Ingrassia in the Wall Street Journal talks about “How GM Lost Its Way.” Basically, everything would have been ok if it hadn’t been for the unions, managers, and dealers.

In Salon, Robert Reich recounts GM president “Engine Charlie” Wilson’s 1953 quote, when asked whether, were he to become secretary of defense, he could make a decision in the interest of the US that was adverse to GM. He said, “I cannot conceive of [having to make such a decision] because for years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa.” Reich, who doesn’t expect the current GM bankruptcy/bailout scheme to work, adds, “Wilson’s edict…has been turned upside down: in many ways, what has been bad for GM has been bad for much of America. The answer is not to bail out GM. It is to smooth the way to a new, post-manufacturing economy.”

Test & Measurement World’s June issue is now online. The cover story examines the philosophy of jitter at Altera. Also, Roberto Mattiuzzo and Davide Appello of STMicroelectronics and Chris Allsup of Synopsys recount their experiences with small delay defect testing, and a “Test Idea” shows how to emulate SPI signals with a digital I/O card. See the complete table of contents here: www.tmworld.com/2009_06.

Finally, has it come to this? The next killer app (with emphasis on “killer”) is the e-cigarette? Both the Wall Street Journal ("Controversy Swirls Around E-Cigarettes") and New York Times ("Cigarettes Without Smoke, or Regulation") examine the e-cigarette trend today.