Technology is all around us. 10 years ago, we had modems and BBS systems, today everyone connects everything with their mobile phone, with a 3G (or 4G card) and our data lives in the cloud. It’s no wonder the satellite radio phenomena is growing at an increasing pace. So much so Ford includes it in all cars. Not only does it include satellite radio, but they’ve also started bundling a service called “Travel Link”. Good news is you get it free for 6 months, bad news is, it doesn’t work, or by the time it does, it’s too late. Here is an example…
Q. How often is the traffic information updated?
A. Traffic data is updated every 1.5 minutes.
OK, so if I’m stuck in traffic for over 10 minutes, that 1.5 minute interval should have hit, right? Well, have a look at these photos:
If you click on the photo, you’ll see the emergency board read:
Accident ahead…expect long delays
Now, by this point, I had been stuck in traffic for 10 minutes (as noted above), so I figured, let’s check Sirius Travel Link. What did it have to say?
Yep, you’ve read it right:
There are no reported traffic incidents along the route.
Further, I was stuck in traffic for another 20 minutes and it never reported any problems on the road whatsoever.
So, what is the conclusion I’ve come to? Yep, I’d rather spend the $5.99 on a beer than give them money to tell me there isn’t traffic problems when there clearly is. Looks like there is some more testing to do boys, either that or maybe figure out that the updates really aren’t every 1.5 minutes like your FAQ says.
[editors note] – I’ve left the names of the photos the exact times they were taken (2010-05-05 16.28.57 and 2010-05-05 16.29.18 respectively) to show that there’s no photoshopping or foul play involved. The technology doesn’t do what it says it is charging you for.
