121–130 of 268 posts
So, long story short, it's not a tracking device, it's an aftermarket alarm system? Guess what folks: with few exceptions, no one cares about tracking you. Enough with the paranoia already.
> with few exceptions, no one cares about tracking you. HN is one of those places with a higher than average number of people that groups would be interested in tracking.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's amusing to me that someone would go through the effort of deconstructing it, writing a gist, and posting it on HN before literally just googling "device under steering wheel" and seeing other people posting about the _exact_ same device. People tend to imagine their lives are more interesting and worthy of surveillance than they really are :)
Yeah, people are just imagining the NSA led global surveillance apparatus.
I want to point out something. Even though this device is/was most likely innocuous, it should also be clear that such non-factory, seemingly innocuous devices could easily contain and cloak something of concern. Quick googling finds for example: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-h...
Wasn't that Bloomberg article found to be false? Don't take my word for it, look it up, but I remember hearing Bloomberg take a big reputation hit after that one.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
the NSA is certainly real, the likelihood of them bugging your car unless you're smuggling nuclear secrets is rather low the three letter agencies don't care about people who play video games and watch cat videos all day
You make it sound like the NSA can never fail. If it's monitoring you then you are likely doing something deserving of monitoring. They can be wrong though and you'll still have been spied on and information collected for future use. Consider a career in politics, perhaps?
I want to point out something. Even though this device is/was most likely innocuous, it should also be clear that such non-factory, seemingly innocuous devices could easily contain and cloak something of concern. Quick googling finds for example: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-10-04/the-big-h...
Wasn't that Bloomberg article found to be false? Don't take my word for it, look it up, but I remember hearing Bloomberg take a big reputation hit after that one.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most people in the US do not drive manuals. You can get them in manuals but you have to hack some stuff, and yea, it will stall your car out if you start it in gear. In the US they are largely for convenience so you can heat or cool your car before you go out.
No manual I have ever driven will even start without the clutch engaged, so I assume a remote starter can bypass that somehow? I always leave my manual car in gear in the opposite the direction the car would be likely to roll if the emergency brake ever failed. (If the car would roll forward, put it in reverse. If it would roll backwards put it in 1st).
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What is the usecase for a remote starter? I don't really understand why someone would want this. Could even be dangerous if it's left in gear.
It's hyper super duper useful in rough climates. Primarily when it's minus 40 outside and you have kids, it's nice to warm up the car slightly before entering it. If you get spoiled, you might then also remote start it when it's plus 40 outside and you want ac to at least start. Also note that "if it's left in gear" is virtually irrelevant in North America, fwiw - something like under 2 percent of cars here are manua…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's hyper super duper useful in rough climates. Primarily when it's minus 40 outside and you have kids, it's nice to warm up the car slightly before entering it. If you get spoiled, you might then also remote start it when it's plus 40 outside and you want ac to at least start. Also note that "if it's left in gear" is virtually irrelevant in North America, fwiw - something like under 2 percent of cars here are manua…
Here it's cold in the winter and it is definitely illegal to install a remote start system in a car with a manual transmission. Before my life in tech I worked in car audio installs back in the 90s. One day one of the senior installer techs put a remote start in his own Mazda truck which had a manual transmission. A bit of time went by and we were outside smoking one day when he must have hit the button in this pocke…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most people in the US do not drive manuals. You can get them in manuals but you have to hack some stuff, and yea, it will stall your car out if you start it in gear. In the US they are largely for convenience so you can heat or cool your car before you go out.
No manual I have ever driven will even start without the clutch engaged, so I assume a remote starter can bypass that somehow? I always leave my manual car in gear in the opposite the direction the car would be likely to roll if the emergency brake ever failed. (If the car would roll forward, put it in reverse. If it would roll backwards put it in 1st).