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Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

investor.gm.com

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Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#31

Post by bombcar »

LarryDarrell wrote: post #26

The 2022 Chevy Silverado I rented died at 488 miles on the odometer. The roadside assistance mechanic said the transmission "lost data connection to the engine". Later, a tow truck had to drag it onto it's flatbed as the rear wheels were locked up. Also, apparently the tailgate is electric now. And for some reason it stopped working when the transmission died. Also also, there is no way to turn the truck off? When it…

The computerization of vehicles can be done exceptionally well or exceptionally bad, and some of them are just phenomenally bad.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#32

Post by SilasX »

dmonitor wrote: post #30
SilasX wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then wouldn't the Apple mentality be "Touchpads ... for everything!" (and thus a steb back)?

Apple puts physical input methods where it matters, such as the wheel and buttons on their watches.

They removed the home button on iPhones, which was a net loss, since face recognition is much less reliable and easy to use than fingerprint, and requires a visually-disruptive bar overlay to indicate you need to swipe up.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#33

Post by nanidin »

smileysteve wrote: post #14
tshaddox wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me if I was buying a low cost used car, although at this point it has been around for long enough that even the beater Camry rental I’m driving right now has it. But if I’m paying big bucks for a new car I can’t imagine not having CarPlay. Ironically it’s the expensive “high-tech” brands like Tesla and Rivian that don’t support it.

My Tesla driving friend let his Tesla subscription lapse over a card failure last week, and the infotainment system, that has Spotify -- with an account he pays for -- no longer functions. But like, if he paired his bluetooth, he'd get Spotify playback capability, he'd just have to use his voice to explore Spotify music. Meanwhile, me in my 2004; with an aftermarket radio - with wireless tethering to my phone OR a go…

According to the email I got from Tesla about an upcoming end of free Premium Connectivity, Music Streaming still works when tethered to a smartphone.

The main drawback of letting the subscription lapse is loss of live traffic data on the map. The other lost feature is satellite view maps. Everything else works when tethered via wifi.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#34

Post by hospitalJail »

glanzwulf wrote: post #4

Hope he convinces them to go back on the stupid decision that is to abandon Carplay/Android Auto.

I personally like having a car with these, but I'm not convinced it will be the death of GM like people predict.

>GM was not affected by PRISM, so they could make claims of having a privacy oriented vehicle. That messaging does really well on HN and I imagine other communities as well.

>The other thing is deeper integration. Yes it sounds like a security nightmare, but you will get additional features this way.

>You also write your own future. If the tech duopoly decides to do something like forbid alternative web browser engines, you don't need to bend the knee.

Not to mention, if every car has a generic infotainment screen, it makes the car less unique. Cars are all about the marketing and if you can make someone feel like they are cool for driving your car with the infotainment screen, you can sell that car.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#35

Post by skyyler »

SilasX wrote: post #32
dmonitor wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple puts physical input methods where it matters, such as the wheel and buttons on their watches.

They removed the home button on iPhones, which was a net loss, since face recognition is much less reliable and easy to use than fingerprint, and requires a visually-disruptive bar overlay to indicate you need to swipe up.

Gestures are way more comfortable for me than a button ever was.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#37

Post by ubermonkey »

bombcar wrote: post #31
LarryDarrell wrote: post #26

The 2022 Chevy Silverado I rented died at 488 miles on the odometer. The roadside assistance mechanic said the transmission "lost data connection to the engine". Later, a tow truck had to drag it onto it's flatbed as the rear wheels were locked up. Also, apparently the tailgate is electric now. And for some reason it stopped working when the transmission died. Also also, there is no way to turn the truck off? When it…

The computerization of vehicles can be done exceptionally well or exceptionally bad, and some of them are just phenomenally bad.

And we see where GM stands.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#38

Post by hospitalJail »

phkahler wrote: post #23
jdelman wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's probably the opposite -- they've probably hired him to help build their new entertainment+surveillance stack.

My understanding of GM is that they outsource almost everything. Last time I hired an embedded software engineer from them, the guy felt he was in a very tiny niche within the company and it was a fluke his group still existed to write code. Infotainment systems may be different, but suppliers were doing most of the code several years back (I hired one of those guys too). With the desire to bring SaaS to automotive I…

>Last time I hired an embedded software engineer from them, the guy felt he was in a very tiny niche within the company and it was a fluke his group still existed to write code.

I've worked there. There are two types of people: "Lifers" which are the people you described. They are content with doing their pieces and never taking a step outside the cog they are part of. This is most of the people there.

Then there are temporary workers. Contract or Independent minded, these are the people who have no trouble calling out the problem and working on it, even if its outside the job scope. They didn't learn this at GM, they learned this somewhere else. They are temporary because they see that GM is a zombie company. There are too many useless cogs that you described. There are likely more people tracking the completion of work, than those doing work. These people are looking at their resume and how they can grow their skills to leave and make more money.

I feel like finding good workers at large companies are like playing the lottery.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#39

Post by ubermonkey »

glanzwulf wrote: post #4

Hope he convinces them to go back on the stupid decision that is to abandon Carplay/Android Auto.

That's just an amazingly boneheaded move, isn't it?

I absolutely will not buy another car in the foreseeable future that lacks Carplay. It's too good, and too much better than any carmaker's attempts to integrate with phones or music players that came before.

(I also won't pay EXTRA for it; looking at you, BMW.)

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#40

Post by ericmay »

hospitalJail wrote: post #34
glanzwulf wrote: post #4

Hope he convinces them to go back on the stupid decision that is to abandon Carplay/Android Auto.

I personally like having a car with these, but I'm not convinced it will be the death of GM like people predict. >GM was not affected by PRISM, so they could make claims of having a privacy oriented vehicle. That messaging does really well on HN and I imagine other communities as well. >The other thing is deeper integration. Yes it sounds like a security nightmare, but you will get additional features this way. >You…

> GM was not affected by PRISM, so they could make claims of having a privacy oriented vehicle

I don't this this really follows. Can't you be unaffected by PRISM and then later also sell lots of customer data or whatever? Though I agree this won't be the death of GM. The worst case is they later go back and just add Carplay and Android Auto and waste a bunch of money trying to write their own stuff.

> >You also write your own future. If the tech duopoly decides to do something like forbid alternative web browser engines, you don't need to bend the knee.

I just want to say that this isn't the case for any person or corporation and it never will be. You always rely on someone or something else. GM for example relies on the United States to secure oil. You, a regular person rely on (whoever) to go and mine minerals to build your laptop. It's not just a fantasy but it's a uniquely weird, and hysterical anti-social pattern that I wish would just die. It's ok to rely on someone else and in fact it's normal, acceptable, and desirable. Relying on someone else means you have to forge relationships, and not be an ass.

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