Garage Door Opener Aplication for Your iPhone
March 5, 2010
As if the iPhone doesn’t have enough apps, now you can use it to open your garage door? Seems impossible, and without extra software, it is. “My Door Opener” is new software created to be used with the iPhone to open your garage door! With some inexpensive and easy to setup hardware you will be securely opening, closing or monitoring your garage door directly from the palm of your hand.
Features include:
• The “MyDoorOpener” controller is a standalone and free standing application. The application does not require any computer to be turned ON at home for the “MyDoorOpener” iPhone application to be able to control your garage door.
• The “MyDoorOpener” iPhone application works both over GSM and WiFi when you are in proximity/reach of your house’s WiFi access point.
• All exchanges between the “MyDoorOpener” iPhone application and controller are encrypted using a password scheme which changes for every single operation. No two control operations will get encrypted using the same key, preventing signal theft and unauthorized entry.
• If your garage door is equipped with an open/close alarm contact, the “MyDoorOpener” iPhone application can leverage this by offering visual feedback of your door’s current state. If you don’t have such sensor installed, the “MyDoorOpener” iPhone application will still be able to control the door, but will not provide this additional feedback information.
• iPhone app supports operating up to 3 doors in the ‘Elite’ version, and a single door in the regular version.
• More to come, such as garage door watchdog, Twitter & email notifications, and much more.
Instructions and details are at MyDoorOpener.com and with a little bit of building and downloading, you can replace that remote in your car with the iPhone that you’ll already have on you.
“Idiot” Lights on Your Dashboard
March 2, 2010
I came across this article highlighting dashboard lights as ‘Idiot’ lights, and realized how dumb that these dashboard indicators really are. Back in the day, dashboards had analog gauges which told you if something was wrong with your car. Now, all we have is a bunch of different lights that mean absolutely nothing to us. Whenever we see one, we freak out and have to look up what it means in the manual, because it is nearly impossible to memorize every indicator and their meaning. Even though they are less expensive than gauges, they are definitely more confusing to the driver. Here is a brief explanation of some of the “idiot lights” that you may not be familiar with:
Low Oil light indicates the oil has stopped circulating. You should pull over immediately and turn off the engine, check the oil level, and have the vehicle towed to a shop for diagnosis.
Engine Temperature light is often on the dashboard with an engine temperature gauge, if it enters the red zone, your engine is too hot. You should pull over and if steam is coming from under the hood, or antifreeze is leaking, something is not right. Take your car into a shop to be looked at.
Charging System light indicates that your battery is not charged. You should drive it directly to a shop with the limited life that the battery has left. Turn off as many electrical accessories in your car as possible, and don’t turn it off once you get it on.
Low Tire Pressure light tells you when the pressure drops to 25% below the specified cold inflation pressure. If your tire is flat, you’ll have to change it with a spare, or if you think it is safe enough to drive, fill it to its specified pressure.
Brake light warns you when you are driving with your parking brake on OR if the brake fluid level is low. Have your brake system checked for a leak or other problems.
ABS lights warn you that your anti-lock brakes are not working. Have a technician check them.
Check Engine light indicates that the vehicle’s system has detected an issue. You may not notice any difference, but if you ignore it, you may damage your control system. Take the vehicle to a repair shop so they can check everything and pinpoint your problem.
Others Include:
Stability Control light indicates that the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) is active. This becomes active when you are driving too fast for the traction, usually happens in extreme weather conditions. It is a warning that you must proceed with caution.
Supplement Restraint System light alerts you when the supplemental restraints have an issue. This includes airbags, seat-belt sensors, and seat sensors.
Maintenance light reminds you to take your car into the shop for its scheduled maintenance.
Washer Level light tells you that you’re low on windshield washer fluid. Get more and read the owner’s manual to find out where it goes.
Make sure you are familiar with these “idiot lights“, so that you can know when there is an actual problem with your car, and that you can fix it before anything drastic happens.
Live United Super Heroes 2009 Community Impact Award!
February 17, 2010
CEO of Hall Automotive, Fred Miller and Beth Nance, Executive Assistant was honored by United Way with the Live United Super Heroes 2009 Community Impact Award.
Because they gave, because they advocated, and because they volunteered; these outstanding volunteers enabled the United Way of South Hampton Roads to strengthen our community in the areas of Education, Income, and Health.
United Way of America, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a non-profit organization that works with nearly 1,300 local United Way offices throughout the country in a coalition of charitable organizations to pool efforts in fundraising and support. The focus of United Way is identifying and resolving pressing community issues, as well as making measurable changes in the communities through partnerships with schools, government agencies, businesses, organized labor, financial institutions, community development corporations, voluntary and neighborhood associations, the faith community, and others. The issues United Way offices focus on are determined locally because of the diversity of the communities served. However, the main focus areas include Education, Income and Health.
Congratulations Fred Miller and Beth Nance on your devoted support to United Way and Hall Automotive for being a 2009 Campaign Super Hero for United Way of South Hampton Roads!
Welcome Aboard Tina Allison
February 16, 2010
Introducing your new Assistant Service Manager for Hall Acura Virginia Beach, Tina Allison.
Tina Allison has more than 22-years of experience in the automotive industry. She enjoys working on cars, educating the public on car care and safety while building trust and friendships.
“Though petite in size I can be very aggressive and love the challenger of being a woman in a male dominated environment.” Coming from Victory Nissan she has established many awards including the 2005 Bronze Nissan Owner First Award of Excellence, 2008 Platinum Nissan Owner First Award of Excellence and 2009 Silver Nissan Owner First Award of Excellence.
As an expert in the automotive field, she looks forward to sharing her knowledge with you. From all of us at Hall Automotive, we would like to welcome Tina Allison onto our team and are excited to work with such a dedicated car lover. Tina Allison, your new Assistant Service Manager for Hall Acura Virginia Beach.
2010 World Car of the Year finalists announced… is your favorite MileOne Car represented?
February 11, 2010
While we anxiously await the decisions for who will take home the big prizes, we do has the short list of nominees for both accolades. From a field of 59 jurors to 10 possible winners in each category we have the list. The top three finalists will be announced next month at the Geneva Motor Show ahead of the actually award ceremony at April’s New York Auto Show.
Those nominees for 2010 World Car of the Year are…
- Audi Q5
- BMW X1
- Chevrolet Cruze
- Kia Soul
- Mazda3
- Mercedes-Benz E-Class
-Buick Regal
- Porsche Panamera
-Toyota Prius
-Volkswagen Polo
Don’t worry if your favorite didn’t make the list. There is always next year!
What Was The Best Super Bowl Car Commercial?
February 9, 2010
Super Bowl XLIV has come and gone, with the New Orleans Saints pulling out a convincing albeit surprising victory over the Indianapolis Colts (An onside kick to start the third quarter?!?!?!). You’re in the minority if that spoiled a surprise, as the Super Bowl is traditionally the most watched televised event of the year. And because of that, commercials that run during the big game are often the most expensive to produce and fun to watch.
For the most part, this year’s crop of commercials lived up to their expensive price tags. The auto industry was in full effect with eight commercials that aired, six of which were by automakers themselves including Audi, Dodge, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen. The other were two were from Bridgestone and Cars.com.
Now that we’re all back at work nursing hangovers and upset stomachs, it’s time to cast judgment and decide which car commercial aired during Super Bowl XLIV was the best. Follow the jump to view them all and cast your vote.
UPDATE: Want to know what the experts have to say about this year’s batch of Super Bowl car commercials? Check out Julie Roehm’s feature on AOL Autos. It’s got charts and everything!
Continue reading Poll: What was the best Super Bowl car commercial of 2010?
[source: Autoblog.com]
