Automated alarm calls are apparently another issue. I haven't seen good statistics on what percentage of 911 calls are alarm calls, but it seems that they are at least 10% and that the percentage is rising. Over 95% of automated alarm calls are reportedly false alarms.

Some calls are repeats, either different people calling about the same event or the same person calling when he or she doesn't get through. 911 also gets automated calls from alarms, some of which are false alarms. That's why, of the 1700 calls that could not be heard, they estimate that about 400 represent human callers who did not get through.

How hard would it be to replace the software on these devices?

This sounds attractive but what I've seen on their site and reviews is not very clear on how good it is as a phone. I don't care about most cell phone apps. I either don't need the functionality or I do it on my Linux laptop. I want a voice phone on which I can text, take photos, and run a browser. That's about it. The option attaching a keyboard is attractive as I find typical virtual keyboards very slow and error prone. So, how well does it work as a telephone? Is it limited in which services it is compatible with?

Remote places here in Northern British Columbia, reached by logging roads. There are now chargers along some remote provincial highways (e.g. highway 20), but I have yet to see one on a logging road. Some of the places I drive, there isn't even a gas station. You have to carry a lot of gas yourself.

It's much less likely to crash than other software, and nobody will try to forcibly update it.

If you talk to your car about deep stuff, you should probably consider a visit to a psychiatrist. :)

I want a car that runs GNU/Linux or FreeBSD.

Interesting. Given some of the places I drive, a pure EV is not an option for me, but a hybrid might be.

Exactly. Using AI to edit the piece is like using a spellchecker. She's using a tool to do what she could do by hand. It has no bearing on the fact that many of her students have not learned basic math.

I definitely do not want a car with a giant touch screen. I have a 2014 Ford Explorer. The touch screen for that is modest in size but even so I would prefer some of the controls to be mechanical. I have driven a 2024 Ford Expedition belonging to a client. In many ways it is nice, but it has a knob instead of a gear shift lever, which I hate. It's distracting to have to look at a knob in the center console. Worst of all, it has a very large touch screen. It looks awful, but more important, it is very distracting to have to turn to it. Touch screens are okay for settings that you don't adjust while driving, but mechanical controls and gauges in front of you are much better for things you manipulate and look at while driving.

It is not obvious to me why a water system needs to be on the net. I understand having remote controls of various valves and pumps and so forth, but can't all of that be on a private local network?