Anyone have problems with cell phones turning the oven on?

by quapan

The story hit the New York Times. — if true it’s pretty dangerous.

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August 23, 2009
ABOUT NEW YORK
Hello, Oven? It's Phone. Now Let's Get Cooking!
By JIM DWYER
First the superintendent and the handyman checked the oven from top to bottom. Then they tested the electrical outlet that supplied ignition power for the oven. Everything worked. Finally, they gave their verdict to the tenant, Andrei Melnikov.
It was simply not possible, they said, that his oven, a Magic Chef made by Maytag, had turned itself on full blast, as Mr. Melnikov maintained.
"Maybe you imagined it," the handyman said.
Mr. Melnikov picked up a warped meat thermometer, its plastic casing melted.
"How did I imagine this?" he asked.
"He told me, 'Probably you don't remember pushing the button,' " Mr. Melnikov said.
Actually, Mr. Melnikov and his wife, Lina, almost never cook in the oven, which was new when they moved into their apartment in Gravesend, Brooklyn, three years ago. Like many people who live with more stuff than space, they store kitchenware in it.
On the day it turned itself on, Mr. Melnikov recalled, his cellphone had rung in the kitchen. He talked for about 10 minutes. Then he smelled smoke. The oven was roaring. The thermometer was in flames.
"Maybe the ringing cellphone turned it on," Mr. Melnikov suggested to the two men.
They scoffed.
He laid the phone next to the stove. They dialed it. Suddenly, the electronic control on the stovetop beeped. The digital display changed from a clock to the word "high." As the phone was ringing, the broiler was heating up.
Three other apartments in the building are fitted with the same make and model oven: Maytag Model CGR1425ADW. "My phone turned on all of them," Mr. Melnikov reported. "One apartment had a General Electric. It didn't work on that one."
On Thursday, Mr. Melnikov welcomed a skeptical visitor — me — into his kitchen.
"Will it happen now?" I asked.
"Sure," he said.
He reconnected the oven, which he had unplugged from the wall for safety, and turned the gas valve on. I dialed his number. The electronic pad on the oven beeped, the word "high" appeared, and the phone rang. The flames were licking from the broiler jets.
"It goes right to the high setting on the broiler," he said. "It prefers high."
He disconnected the oven. I asked him to show me again, and he cheerfully started over. Once again, a call to his cellphone turned it on.
Maytag learned about the rogue oven from a report on WINS 1010, which broke the story last week. A company technician confirmed the problem.
"In our experience, this situation is highly unusual," said Jill M. Saletta, a spokeswoman for Maytag. "We have offered to replace the unit with a brand-new one, at no cost, and will be taking the old unit to fully test in our lab." Any other ovens with the same problem will also be replaced, she said.
City fire marshals came to the apartment Friday and saw a demonstration. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has written to Mr. Melnikov for information. Ms. Saletta said all Maytag's appliances are tested and meet safety standards set by Underwriters Laboratory and the American National Standards Institute.
The landlord of the building, Arkadiy Eydlin, said he bought the Maytag ovens about four years ago. "Maybe around $ 500, $ 400 each," he said. "It's not the most expensive, and it's not the cheapest one."
Cellphones, which send signals at up to 3 watts, often create electromagnetic interference with baby monitors, computer speakers and car radios, so it's not surprising that they might also affect an oven's electronic controls. People with heart pacemakers are cautioned not to carry phones in pockets over the implant. Engineers for Consumer Reports say that it is possible that Mr. Melnikov's cellphone induced voltages in the keypad of the oven.
Whatever the exact mechanism, the evidence is strong that these Maytag models are vulnerable to cellphones — and not just the one owned by Mr. Melnikov. The superintendent was able to turn on the oven in his own apartment by calling his own cellphone, which is a Samsung. Mr. Melnikov has a Sony Ericsson PDA.
"I couldn't afford it, but it was a gift, like four years ago," he said. "It was maybe $ 700 then. More than the oven."
Mr. Melnikov, 35, who emigrated from Russia in 2000, runs a company that sets up computers, networks and security systems. His apartment is crowded with electronics gear. The oven fire unnerved him and his wife. "Not for the material things," he said. "I have three chinchillas."
The next big cooking holiday in their home will be Thanksgiving. "Actually, right now, cooking turkey, it's easier than ever," Mr. Melnikov said. "It takes just one phone call."
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Answer by POOKIE
WOAHHH!!!! im not having that problem thank God!!!Lol

Answer by john
No but something almost as crazy happens in my apartment.
My LG HD remote regulates my Haier air conditioner.Crazy!!

Answer by Emily H
I wonder if that person has ever been struck by lightning. The mood of someone who has can turn on electric devices. My friend’s mom has done that.

I’m suspecting urban legend.

Answer by bongzta2
Possible, actually because cellphone has tungsten metal at the signal receiver to detect the frequency and the electronic control of oven having that same metal if that oven is electronic control

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

U.S. Rep Pete King Wants Your Camera Phone to Go “Beep”


Image by Thomas Hawk
U.S. New York Representative Pete King (Republican, Long Island) introduced a new bill in Congress this month H.R.414: "To require mobile phones containing digital cameras to make a sound when a photograph is taken. " The short title of the bill is simply, "Camera Phone Predator Alert Act."

From the bill:

" (a) Requirement- Beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, any mobile phone containing a digital camera that is manufactured for sale in the United States shall sound a tone or other sound audible within a reasonable radius of the phone whenever a photograph is taken with the camera in such phone. A mobile phone manufactured after such date shall not be equipped with a means of disabling or silencing such tone or sound.

(b) Enforcement by Consumer Product Safety Commission- The requirement in subsection (a) shall be treated as a consumer product safety standard promulgated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission under section 7 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2056). A violation of subsection (a) shall be enforced by the Commission under section 19 of such Act (15 U.S.C. 2068)."

Now I’m a father of four young children, and nobody wants to protect their children from predators more than I do, but this is just plain stupid.

First off there are many times that you don’t want your camera to make audible noises. Let’s say your shooting your own kid in the school play. Having a bunch of disruptive beeps going off every time someone takes a photo is annoying. There are many times when you want to shoot something being less disruptive not being more disruptive. There are certainly plenty of times and places where it is perfectly appropriate to try and be as quiet as you can while shooting.

Secondly, this bill only applies to cell phones. So if some predator wants to try to sneak photos of kids in the locker room all they would have to do is use a regular old point and shoot camera which this bill doesn’t apply to. In fact, spy type cameras have been around for years and if someone really wants to try to take stealthy photos, they certainly can without the need to use their cell phone camera. The law also does nothing to address video.

Then of course there is the part of the bill that this would only apply to new phones. So let’s see, a predator then could, theoretically, still use any old cell phone that they want to take silent phones while millions of law abiding users have to put up with noisy beeps going off whenever they shoot.

I have no idea what the cost of implementing this technology would be, but I’m sure AT&T would figure out some way to make the "enhancement" a reoccurable fee every month on your cell phone bill.

It seems to me like this bill is yet another example of really bad ideas coming from government. It would seem that this is not the first boneheaded idea that Rep. King has come up with by the way. Another of his winner ideas was responsible for funneling million in taxpayer money to a campaign donor for custom manhole covers that Con Ed said could be dangerous in — order to fight those pesky terrorists. At least that’s the way the Daily News reported it. I thought Republicans were supposed to be for less government not for more.

ArsTechnica has more on this new bill here. Thanks, Geoff!

We saw it with cell phones and then televisions in the driver’s view, accidents were what rose right along with entertainment value. Do you predict internet surfing will produce a similar effect? Do you think this is a good or bad idea for the auto industry?

–quote—
Ford brings Wi-Fi to the highway

Ford is making its cars into mobile Wi-Fi hot spots.

The next generation of the Sync in-car entertainment and information system will use a USB mobile broadband modem to establish a secure wireless connection capable of supporting several devices simultaneously.

The system will be available next year on selected models — no word yet which ones — and you won’t need a subscription or hardware beyond the modem.

“While you’re driving to grandma’s house, your spouse can be finishing the holiday shopping and the kids can be chatting with friends and updating their Facebook profiles,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas. “And you’re not paying for yet another mobile subscription or piece of hardware because Ford will let you use technology you already have.”

Several automakers already offer in-car Internet access — Japanese drivers have been using it since 1997 — and many others are rushing to bring it to us. Ford’s announcement follows General Motors’ promise last week to make in-car connectivity available in seven models of trucks and SUVs. They’re the latest automakers to bring the infobahn to the autobahn.

Mercedes recently announced it has successfully tested in-vehicle Internet applications — including web browsing, vehicle software updates and VOIP — on a prototype 4G network. It follows BMW’s Internet-connected iDrive system and Chrysler’s Uconnect Web in-vehicle mobile hotspot. With so many automakers getting in on the action, there’s a push to introduce hardware standards.

Ford is taking a decidedly different approach, opting to allow consumers to plug in their own USB modem to get connected.

General Motors, on the other hand, offers a dealer-installed system called Chevrolet Wi-Fi by Autonet Mobile. It creates a Wi-Fi hot spot 300 feet in diameter around the vehicle, and GM claims the 3G network achieves speeds of up to 1.5 mbps. The hardware costs $ 199 after the $ 200 mail-in rebate, and the service costs $ 29 a month.

Given how connected we are, it makes sense for automakers to put the Internet in our cars. The number of iPhones and other mobile devices being used to connect to the Internet jumped 75 percent in the third quarter of this year, according to JiWire Mobile Audiences Insights Report.

Letting people log on from the road will be a big selling point among 20-something buyers, the so-called Millennials who have propelled much of Sync’s success. Millennials will make up 28 percent of the driving population next year, a nine-point increase from 2004.

Kids aside, Ford says interest in in-car connectivity is high among the general public, with one-third of people surveyed by the Consumer Electronics Association expressing interest in being able to check e-mail or surf the Web from the car
–quote–

source.. http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/26/wired.ford.wi.fi/index.html

Answer by Johnny Rotten
These are little tiny steps to the big picture….Self driving cars…..

Answer by bluff mike
20-something drivers are already involved in a majority of accidents because they are inexperienced and because they are playing with cell phones and texting instead of paying attention to their driving.

The car companies should make better, cheaper fuel efficient cars and forget all the gimmickry

Answer by Jus{hug}Me
I think that any additional stimuli you place in vehicles will put drivers and passengers at more risk. The more there is going on inside the car, the less likely the driver will be aware of what is going on outside the car. People who text, talk, navigate and now surf the web in their cars, are putting the rest of those on the road at risk. I’m not sure what auto makers are thinking. Do they think it will encourage us to buy a new car, so we can take the internet with us to the grocery store? Anything that needs an internet connection, can be done at a rest area, hotel, or at our intended destination. I find this to be a dangerous convenience. That said, here are some ideas that may keep us safe while driving.

1. Invest in a Bluetooth device. Either an earpiece or a dash device.
2. Use a voice GPS unit, or with a windshield mount, you can place your smartphone in a safe view for directions while driving.
3. Use automated readers on you phone to alert you of calls and texts, and that let the person calling know you are unable to answer, as you are practicing safe driving.

What do you think? Answer below!

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