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Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

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Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#201

Post by gaius »

usaphp wrote: post #36
ulfw wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea why you're getting downvoted. If a company decides not to produce wireless routers (which were class leading) or monitors etc anymore, all because they're non "core" to a computer/mobile hardware company then I don't see how building automotive AI is core to a computer/mobile hardware computer company that has zero core competency in either car manufacturing or AI.

They stopped making routers and monitors not because they are non “core” products, they stopped making them because there is not much money in it. You buy routers ones every 10 years probably, and margin is limited, but supporting them throughout this period is quite expensive. As for monitors, there is so many competitors right now, that it’s hard to make it worth building your own monitor, Especially if you want to…

non “core” products, they stopped making them because there is not much money in it

The idea of Mac was always “it just works”. You could go to the Apple Store and get everything you needed and know that while it wasn’t cheap, it was amongst the best you could buy. You pay the premium for that experience and you remember how nice it was and come back next time.

Now that experience is broken, you need to shop around and make it work yourself. And if you need to do that then the experience is no better than anyone else’s.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#202

Post by thirdsun »

dkersten wrote: post #150
thirdsun wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like a negligible issue. It's really not unusual that both device and software need to be on the same or latest version to work as intended.

Then it should tell you that's whats wrong and how to fix it.

If I remember correctly iTunes absolutely tells you that that your software versions are incompatible and suggests that update.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#203

Post by bunnycorn »

pentae wrote: post #6

When you can't make a laptop with reliable screens or keyboards, or an iMac lineup that has CPU's 2 generations behind.. Maybe it's time to shut down the stupid vanity projects and focus on your core business instead?

Ohhh, that hate...

Apple is the most reliable computer manufacturer of all, according to ConsumerReports actual statistics.

Now according to BS fake news that is paid by Apple competition, yes, there are lots of problems with Apple computers (like 3 or 5 people that complained on Twitter), and nothing with Apple competitive products ever (unless it's a widespread recall like with Samsung...)

Also, what's your problem? If you have any problem, Apple will fix it for free. It's called WARRANTY.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#204

Post by bunnycorn »

jrockway wrote: post #189
pentae wrote: post #6

When you can't make a laptop with reliable screens or keyboards, or an iMac lineup that has CPU's 2 generations behind.. Maybe it's time to shut down the stupid vanity projects and focus on your core business instead?

I am pretty sure laptops (and other computers) are a vanity project for Apple at this point. They need some way for people to be able to write iPhone apps, and the history of Apple kind of makes it difficult to say "buy the latest version of Windows and use our Visual Studio plugin", so they make Macs. But I'm not sure it's a good business decision. The number of people that use a computer outside of work seems to be…

Yes, because Apple doesn't completely dominate the market of computers above $1000 or nothing...

It's just stupid people like us that buy their computers...

Stupid people like engineers at actual first tier tech corporations. First tier arts and entertainment companies and individual artists.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#205

Post by marcosdumay »

osullip wrote: post #180
lsc wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this seems like the biggest problem. there are a bunch of spam call filtering solutions available from third parties that require me giving third parties a lot more of my data than I'd like; if apple would come up with a solution to the spam call problem, I'd pay good money for that.

Really? It seems that it is a very easy thing to do. Obviously you need to grant permission to the app to monitor every inbound call, but I am sure that it could be an open source project that is not using that data for anything apart from the stated purpose. I'd pay for the same on Android

FDroid has a very good call blocker. It integrates with everything so you don't even remember it's there.

But I didn't try to block calls with no disclosed id. Those disappeared from my view a while ago, so either it does block them by default or something changed on the part of the callers.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#206

Post by freeflight »

lsc wrote: post #192
mrweasel wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but it's $19 and should have been included for free with the phone.

I mean, yes. If you buy a mac laptop, they should include the usb c -> lightning cable as a courtesy. It's not a cheap machine. However, it's a small thing, I think, compared to the cost of the mac laptops. If paying $20 for a cable is a big deal, then the macbook pro laptops and high end iphones are not for you.

With that kind of logic, you could justify any kind of price/attachment gauging. Like selling expensive laptop without batteries: "You already paid $3k for the laptop, why are you cheaping out on the extra $500 for the battery?".

People pay that kind of money with the expectation that everything works out of the box, not that they have to get extra adapters, which is usually only noticed after the fact. That isn't just extra costs, it's also the extra effort that people didn't want to have, that's why they paid the "premium price" in the first place.

In that context, $20 might not be "that big if a deal", but it would be even less of a deal for Apple to just include that stuff, while also making for a generally more customer-friendly experience without making them feel like being nickle&dimed every step of the way.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#207

Post by TomMarius »

iamgopal wrote: post #141
no1youknowz wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article is a bit sketchy, but serves my point-ish. They say Volvo is going to release a true self-driving car by 2021. But then it goes on to mention level 4. Let's pull it back a little and say by 2021, they release level 4. If any automaker is going to do Level 5 in the snow. It's going to be Volvo. Being a Swedish company (albeit owned by a Chinese firm now), they have a particular track record when it comes…

How in the world a car company can attract ( let alone provide environment or infrastructure etc ) sufficient software talent to achieve this ?

How did they attract sufficient software talent for their other advanced active safety systems?

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#208

Post by inertiatic »

iamgopal wrote: post #141
no1youknowz wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This article is a bit sketchy, but serves my point-ish. They say Volvo is going to release a true self-driving car by 2021. But then it goes on to mention level 4. Let's pull it back a little and say by 2021, they release level 4. If any automaker is going to do Level 5 in the snow. It's going to be Volvo. Being a Swedish company (albeit owned by a Chinese firm now), they have a particular track record when it comes…

How in the world a car company can attract ( let alone provide environment or infrastructure etc ) sufficient software talent to achieve this ?

In a world where "software talent" can be attracted to work on "boring" subjects such as advertising, do you have to ask this question? The same incentives apply.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#209

Post by goldenkey »

innocentoldguy wrote: post #35
pentae wrote: post #6

When you can't make a laptop with reliable screens or keyboards, or an iMac lineup that has CPU's 2 generations behind.. Maybe it's time to shut down the stupid vanity projects and focus on your core business instead?

I must be pretty lucky. I've been using Apple products since the original iMac and the only problem I've ever had was when I dropped my phone on a rock and cracked the screen. Apple was great about replacing it for me too. Regarding CPUs, I'm personally much more interested in being able to run macOS on my computer, iOS on my phone, and tvOS on my TV and have them all work together in ways that make me happy. If Appl…

A Titan V is a premiere GPU mainly for machine learning and other workloads, costs nearly $3000. And this computer is gathering dust?? Yes..you are out of your element and clearly privilege has gotten to your head.

Re: Apple Lays Off 200 Employees from Autonomous Car Unit

#210

Post by rubidium »

adrianN wrote: post #182
chx wrote: post #93

Maybe Apple doesn't want to pursue a dream which, as far as we know, can only have a limited outcome? They don't really like such compromises in products. Check this: https://medium.com/s/story/self-driving-cars-will-always-be-... > Waymo’s CEO, John Krafcik, has admitted that a self-driving car that can drive in any condition, on any road, without ever needing a human to take control—usually called a “level five” au…

Sensors on humans don't work well in snow or rain either. That doesn't stop us from driving.

They work amazing when properly developed.

Growing up in a land with 4-5 months of winter, I was very comfortable in the snow and ice. Still scary as hell at times but the human body is remarkably adaptable to the environment. 30 feet visibility with snow and ice on the roads engages all the senses (except smell). Listening to the sound the tires are making helps know what they’re encountering. Inner ears helping know if a slide is starting. Sight constantly doubting itself and peering into the barely distinguishable road. All the nervous system helping with steering and the pedals. The road has a feel to it in such conditions that any man made system has quite a ways to go before engaging in it.

I do think it can get there. But it may need something better than our current AI tech, as well as some more sensors than lidar.

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