NASA on Tuesday night launched the unmanned Antares rocket, which was supposed to deliver 5,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station, but something went horribly wrong immediately after take-off and the rocket exploded. Instagram user michaelwaller77 was filming the launch and he captured the entire explosion in a video, which was then posted online by The Wall Street Journal.
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Filed under: Audi, Car Buying, Buick, Honda, Kia, Lincoln, Mazda, Porsche, Scion, Subaru, Toyota, Ownership and Repair
The Consumer Reports Annual Auto Reliability Survey (right) is out, and the top two spots look much the same as last year’s list with Lexus and Toyota in first and second place, respectively. However, there are some major shakeups for 2014, with Acura plunging eight spots from third in 2013 to 11th this year, and Mazda replaces it on the lowest step of the podium. Honda and Audi round out the top five. This year’s list includes six Japanese brands in the top 10, two Europeans, one America and one Korean.
Acura isn’t the only one taking a tumble, though. Infiniti is the biggest loser this year by dropping 14 spots to 20th place. Other big losses come from Mercedes-Benz with an 11-place fall to 24th, and GMC, which declines 10 positions to 19th.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s not traditional mechanical bugs hauling down these automaker’s reliability scores. Instead, pesky problems with infotainment systems are taking a series toll on the rankings. According to Consumer Reports, complaints about “in-car electronics” were the most grumbled about element in new cars. Problem areas included things like unresponsive touchscreens, issues pairing phones and multi-use controllers that refused to work right.
The biggest offender was Infiniti’s InTouch infotainment system on its new Q50, with over 20 per cent of owners reporting problems. The QX60 SUV also was dinged on its reliability. Hence, the Japanese brand dropped 14 places in just a year.
Ford has reason to celebrate, though. Lincoln deserves a gold star for the best improvement by moving up 12 spots to take 15th place. Also, improvements to MyFord Touch helped the Blue Oval to jump three places to 23rd position. According to CR, the Explorer had just a 3-per cent complaint rate for its infotainment system, versus a peak of 28 percent for the model in years past.
The data in the table above (click to expand) is based on responses to surveys from CR subscribers. The institute claims that 2014 was its largest one yet, with info gathered for over 1.1 million vehicles. Scroll down to read the full press release about the results.
Continue reading Consumer Reports says infotainment systems ‘growing first-year reliability plague’
Consumer Reports says infotainment systems ‘growing first-year reliability plague’ originally appeared on Autoblog Canada on Wed, 29 Oct 2014 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google will soon release Android 5.0 Lollipop for several Nexus and Google Play Edition devices, with certain Android device makers including Motorola, HTC, LG and Samsung also working on updating some of their handsets by the end of the year. The company so far thoroughly demoed and explained the main features of the new mobile OS, but there’s one hidden trick you’ll be more than happy to start using as soon as you get your Lollipop update.
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Microsoft is working on various new Office products that should be released in the coming months and in 2015, according to ZDNet‘s sources. The publication has learned that Microsoft is not only developing new Office versions for Windows, but also new releases of its popular productivity suite for Mac computers and Android tablets.
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Marvel hosted on event on Tuesday, during which it shared release dates for 11 new movies coming out between now and the end of 2019. It’s true that we have a painfully long wait until Avengers: Infinity War parts I and II hit theaters in May 2018 and May 2019, respectively, but there’s still plenty to be excited about between then and now.
And the next big release in Marvel’s superhero movie lineup is shaping up to be a jaw-dropper.
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There’s really no good way to spin Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid’s decision to collectively block NFC-enabled mobile payment platforms such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet. This is especially true because the merchants’ real reason for blocking these platforms is because they want to instead promote CurrentC, the mobile app developed by the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX) that’s significantly less convenient and that collects such a disturbing amount of data that even diehard Google fans are a little creeped out by it.
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Following the many data breaches that have hit U.S. retailers, financial institutions and even the government, the White House has also confirmed that an unclassified computer network used by President’s Obama’s senior staff had been breached by hackers, The New York Times reports. However, it’s not clear why hackers attacked the White House, or at least such details have not been divulged yet.
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Google is not done improving Search just yet — with the company interested in answering more and more complex queries in the future — but it won’t just stick to providing users a tool to finding stuff online. Google X’s Dr. Andrew Conrad told The Wall Street Journal at the WSJ.D conference that the company is working on a special new medical project which might allow Google to search the human body for answers to various medical conditions including cancer in the future.
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The rerelease of Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most anticipated video game launches of the new generation, but Rockstar is aware that many of the customers who already bought the game once are going to need a few incentives to consider double-dipping. The graphical overhaul and expanded multiplayer options might be enough for some, but Rockstar is sweetening the deal with exclusive content as well.
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Taco Bell has unchained a new monstrosity upon the American public: A mobile app available for iOS and Android that will let you preorder and pay for your food ahead of time, thus saving you a lot of time you’d normally waste standing in line. As you’d expect, the marketing campaign behind this new app is unintentionally hilarious and will make anyone who’s even eaten at Taco Bell keel over either from laughter or clogged arteries.
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