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Obsolete software design plagues mobile devices - cars, to be specific!

Every time a new Bluetooth or WiFi gadget comes out, someone points out how nice it would be to have one in their car. The reason it isn't there, is that it takes a long time before technology can be integrated into the automotive factory; and it seems (says the New York Times) that bugs are hurting the business.

In a scary analysis of the rise and rise of software bugs in cars, the [registration needed] paper says that a third of warranty complaints in America are now related to software.

The article quotes Gartner analyst Thilo Koslowski acknowledging that the Center for Automotive Research is probably correct in estimating that computer glitches are a major problem: ""The problem is that most of these applications in the vehicle are being supplied by a lot of different suppliers."

What the NYT doesn't say, but probably could, is that the problem is hugely exacerbated by the fact that the software inside most cars is at least two years old by the time the brand new vehicle hits the tarmac road surface. If they didn't catch it two years ago, it's going to be hard to track now.

The story leads with an awful warning tale of a car owner who found that his vehicle's software was trying to warm up the kids in the back seat, being convinced they were at freezing point - because of a faulty sensor showing 32 degrees F. But the fault took a long time to diagnose, because it didn't occur when the car was in the garage.