29/09/2012 Click

home and abroad. Now, it is time for Click.

Would you trust a computer to drive you about?

This week, Click hits the road without touching the wheel. We will

test drive the travellers technology that could fit into

existing vehicles. Is it something that you would trust? It is never

too late to get online, so we will look at ways to make technology

work for all ages. We have the latest tech news from around the

world and we will show you have to find anything you have stuck one of

these two. No matter how much of a tech head

you are, there are some things must have this will not let a computer

do. Of the 60 million new cars bought last year, none of them came

without a steering wheel or similar human control. Several companies

are demonstrating cars which drive themselves. Will they ever make it

Thank you. We will be back in half an hour. The test track and into

the fast lane? City driving is hardly as pleasant

as the open road romanticised in most car ads. Hummus a daily

commute contains breathtaking views and the odd hairpin turn, you might

wish you could drive to work with your eyes closed. But what it

vehicles could drive themselves? Request and location and the card

as the rest. -- Carte does the rest. The most publicised of recent times

comes from Google. It has developed a car that uses mapping data

alongside video cameras and radar. The resulting vehicles can drive on

their own. The company has looked over 300,000 miles so far in its

research. Car makers have already included automated features in some

of their models, like Self parking. Ford's automatic stopping system

works at speed under 40kph. Three radars at the front of the car

detect the speed of the vehicle ahead. The car's on-board computer

makes a judgement and in a collision looks likely, the bricks

will kick in. It takes over. You have no control over the braking

system. It will apply maximum braking force instantly. Parking

and bricking are only two aspect of driving. Imagine being able to let

go completely in the middle of a journey. Relax and take in the

scenery. Imagine driving around here as if your car was on rails.

It would be as easy as catching the right tram. A few miles away, that

is what is being promised for cars. It is here at a top-secret test

track in Sweden that I'm about to get my first hands of experience. -

- hence off. This is eroded train. The project has been running for

the last three years. -- a rogue train. It allows drivers to take

their feet of the paddles and hands of the wheel. Cars travel in

private sink. It is as if the Cup throws out a breadcrumbs with

information on acceleration and steering so the following vehicles

can repeat the same acceleration and steering and follow the exact

track but of the League Cup. does it feel to go hands-free at

60kph? Is it okay to take my hands off the will? There we go. I have

to say, this is an odd experience. Even just turning around to talk

you feels utterly unfamiliar. There is a part of me going, keep your

eye on the road. I found it surprisingly easy to trust the

system what I joined the platoon. In the past a laptop please? You

could do pretty much anything. How would this work in real life? The

road train is not completely autonomous. There is still a driver

at the front. One may indicate or changed lanes, the other cars to

the same. -- when they indicate. When you get to a turn-off, you can

request to leave the platoon, take back the wheel and continue on to

our final destination. Each vehicle saves up to 20% of its feel and to

the aerodynamics. That is unless the technology goes wrong. Should I

be controlling the vehicle at this point? Thank you. Not exactly

relaxing. The technology can't afford to fail. The main challenge

technically is making sure it works under all circumstances. On the

test track, it has been a challenge but on public roads, the challenge

is much bigger. We have to do a lot of verification to understand we

can work with unexpected situations. The once the industry has

straightened up the technology, they have to convince the rest of

us to make it legal. So far, the proposals have enjoyed overwhelming

bipartisan support. There has been a bit of hesitancy and concern,

firstly from the many factoring community out concern for liability.

If the car driving itself as something goes wrong, who is at

fault? We have fault-based liability in most states of the

worst. But it is the driver that is responsible, provided the injured

party can provide some net -- evidence of negligence on the part

of the driver. Now, the machinery takes over, and we turn these cases

into product liability cases more than cases of individual liability

for negligence. This week, the senator's bill was backed. If

approved, it will pass into law with a proviso that a licensed

driver will sit in the driver's seat in case of emergency for --

emergencies. Technology is not the big hurdle. The big hurdle is the

legal, liability and perception issues. General Motors dimmest --

demonstrated similar technology in its concept video last year. Other

companies are playing with the idea of autonomous driving. If all these

can't make this can do it, why can't we buy it? They many

factories have said there was no existing barrier between the

technology available and having these vehicles on the road -- roads.

Carmakers and lawmakers may be confident that they are not far off

but they will have to persuade humans that -- computers are better

at writing than we are. -- at driving.

Could you ever see yourself giving control of your whack into a

computer? Tweet us. Next, a look at the tech news.

Cat that mobile phones will stop working in Kenya from the start of

October. The Communications Commission hopes the move will give

people a better use experienced and protect mobile payment systems from

potential fraud. Worried owners can send a text message with the

check if the model is genuine. Samsung Galaxy Tab -- Galaxy owners

could see their phones returned to backrower settings by clicking on a

specific link. This was demonstrated at a security

conference in Argentina. The researcher who found it said the

fault lies with Samsung's interface. Samsung encouraged users to

download a fix. The measures in addition to

existing restrictions prevent Iranians from accessing many

western sites. It is not the first assault on Google services in Iraq

-- Iran. YouTube has been censored cents bit 2009. All parties say the

restrictions will be in place until further notice.

A new report sporting six cameras has been unveiled in France,

designed to help wine producers maintain their vineyards. Tracking

technology, artificial intelligence and mapping capabilities enable the

robot to move Trudie veneered, recognising plant features,

memorising each vine and pruning is needed. It supplies its owner with

valuable data on the help of the soil, fruit and wine stocks. It can

As we have said, apart from driving you about, there are many areas of

our lives that we are happy to give over to technology. It is easier to

stay in touch with friends and family, do your shopping, Bank of

line. But ironically the generation of people that would benefit the

most from the convenience is also the generation that finds it

hardest to use. -- bank online. But there are some ways to make a

complicated PC with small icons more user-friendly. We have been

Silver service or senior citizens seduced by the allure of the

silicon chip. Perhaps an unfamiliar sight. All the people wrestling

with the finer details of writing an e-mail or making an online

purchase. But as more and more services migrate to the Web, there

is a growing need to educate less techs than the members of society

about computers and technology. Here, all the people are learning

this very skills on a course specifically created for novices. -

- all the people. If you want to go anywhere or

bought tickets for anything, most of it is online. If you are not

online, you are out of everything. I feel as if I am missing out, in

the sense that I feel cut off sometimes. Now, there are times

when I need to be able to use a computer properly. We run classes,

over 100 classes, all over England, helping people learn right from the

very basics of how to use the mouse, through to how to make savings on

my own and operate a bank account or compare prices online. I use the

computer quite a lot and I am OK on word-processing. But there were

things... Everything I know, I have picked up piecemeal. At the has

been structured. So I wanted to get to know the computer properly. And

toured by experts. The in-flight copying and cutting and pasting.

Those things I picked up but I did not know how to do it properly. I

had to ask somebody to help me. -- things like copying. This

particular cause runs for ten weeks. As the students' progress, the

world of technology starts to seem less daunting. I am more confident

in copying, cutting and pasting, things like that, because I have

been taught the correct way to do it. Once you on the computer, there

is no stopping you. Training is an important part of introducing

technology to all the users but is there anything the technology

industry can do to assist? -- elderly users. Operating systems

like windows have accessibility settings, which makes the type

larger oar mac the five parts of the screen. But could ideas like

this be refined into a simpler computing experience? There are a

couple of solutions designed specifically for novices. We will

take a look at a couple of them. First is this. It is called

Simplicity. Simplicity is a complete operating system on a USB

stick and comes with instructions and a disc. But the user will have

to source a computer themselves. Now cut a her instruction manuals

are something you do not see often these days. -- instruction manuals.

Many are hidden in parts of the operating system. If you are a

novice, that could pose a problem. That is where good old fashioned

paper is perhaps more useful. The operating system itself is

massively simplified, originally starting life as an awareness. It

boots up and looks like an on the lip of the screen. There is

oversize type to make it easier to read. Each has the ability to surf

the Web all right documents. The idea behind the operating system is

that it can be plugged into pretty much any computer. Because it is so

simple and stripped down, you do not need a fire-breathing high-end

PC. It should work with lower specification and all the machines

without any problems. -- although machines. When you get it running,

it is pretty straightforward. There are a number of video tutorials.

And of course the manual is there to guide new users through the a

West. But getting started is part of the problem. Simple operations a

rather typical -- OS. The does not include a network options, which

for a novice is not ideal. This is the kind of functionality that

should be found on the main John Phillips green. Simplicity

themselves do recommend the first time set up is performed by

somebody who is reasonably techs savvy. -- found on the main screen.

And they do offer a comprehensive telephone support. This brings us

to a new outfit that had taken a slightly different approach to

Simplicity. They have created a hardware and software solution in

the form of laptops. This is basically a middle of the road

Toshiba notebook. The lack books come in two flavours. 17 and 15

inch. This is the 15th. The keyboard has an overlay, making it

easier to read. Some have been set up for one key operation, taking

the user to e-mail or we can. Upon boot up, the large icons instantly

open particular axe. The experience in a -- in using this machine is

not as smooth as it could be. Setting up an e-mail account is

more complicated than it needs to be. Again, slightly tarnishing the

easy to use, easy to set up ethos which underpins this and ever. Both

of these options have good ideas at the heart but a let down by some

irritating floors. And then you come to the cost. Simplicity is

cheaper but you will need a donor computer. This one is about the

middle of the road laptop with an operating system and is rather

expensive for what it his. Keeping things simple.

They can't be many of us who have not at one time or another have

gone for our phone only to begin a slack Dance of panic. This is

usually followed by a frantic search of your premises and a

desperate cry to your friend to call it. We have covered ways to

find a lost smartphone on this phone but Kate Russell start this

week's Webscape with something that should take the frenzy out of

losing almost anything. Two you wouldn't have to panic

about losing your valuable items if you attack them at Belongings. This

is a global Lost and Found service that uses stickers to mark an item,

allowing you to tap it in a database as yours. In the hope that

somebody on us will find it, lock onto the website and get it back to

you. -- log. Personal users can apply to get sent sheets of

stickers like these ones that are right through the post, free of

charge, but you are encouraged to make additional payment for could

points. Mind up about one week to arrive. When I got them, I started

sticking them all over the things I own. Dan? We would not want you

getting lost, would we? There is a monthly subscription plan for

customers that has a bunch of additional corporate features. The

new register the tax, providing contact details and either of --

even offering a reward using a credit card or PayPal account.

Users are wind-up anonymously so they can organise the return of an

item directly. One of the greatest things about

modern smartphone technology is enhanced personal security. You GPS

data can tell people exactly where you while, even if you can't. This

grabs this idea with both hands, to provide a paid app with your safety

at its core. With so many apps and services like dating roadsides

encourage you asked to step out of the online world and made in 3D

space, I can see a real place for an act like this. -- dating website.

You would hope to never needed and it should open the door to

complacency. But it on that one occasion you do need it, it could

To use it, just take a photo of something that can be identified,

like a licence plate, St side or bar name we will meet somebody. The

photo is stored on the Secure space with your ID, time, date and the

GPS location. If something does go wrong, you're nominated contacts

can request this information gets passed to the police, saving vital

time tracking you down in an If that's all a bit too serious, I

have the purse -- perfect thing - the Monty Python silly walks

generator. This is childish and you -- if you are not a fan often Monty

Python, you probably will not get it. But it's a lot of fun. Who

knows? It may even catch on around To make your own much sillier walk

than that, pick a background and character. My favourite is the

Spanish Inquisition cardinal. Then, mark your moves along the post

timeline and adjust the sliders to suit. Once finished, you can save

and share or e-mail to a friend. It is sure to crack a small smile when

Kate Russell with Webscape. Those links are available at our website.

You can also find previous reports from previous programmes on there.