 Retrieving the odometer reading using a car iphone app. |
 The firmware update message that appeared on my friend’s car’s display last night as we headed out on an errand. |
Yesterday I ran into 3 signs that we live in the future.
- I had to report my wife’s car’s odometer reading to our car insurance provider to help estimate mileage for policy renewal. She was busy and I had no physical access to the car –but I realized during the call that I could launch her car’s dedicated iPhone app, log in to her car, and fetch the desired information. Crisis averted.
- A friend’s car offered up the option to upgrade its firmware while we were off running an errand.
- And this is kind of a cheat since it’s not a personal observation – but last night I came across this blog post by JWZ about a “Firmware Update to Address Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities Identified in Abbott’s (formerly St. Jude Medical’s) Implantable Cardiac Pacemakers”. That would surely make me nervous if my life depended on one of those devices, both the prospect of having a mechatronic body part hacked and also the prospect of surviving the firmware update.