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

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

#61

Post by vuln »

paganel wrote: post #55
spacedcowboy wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is utter bullshit, as a cloud Apple employee. Mike was an excellent leader in iCloud, championed a whole bunch of new tech, and took a failing business and made it massively profitable. I don't think anyone in Eddy's org was happy to see him go.

Sure hope iCloud is “massively profitable”, they’ve been spamming me non-stop with their messages both on my phone and on my laptop ever since my cloud hardware disk space there (which I had never asked for in the first place) got “full” or such some time ago. Otherwise great hardware products, both the Apple phone and the Apple laptop.

Well for other users they might wonder WHY their data is no longer being backed up. Hell they may not even know they hit capacity until the alert.

Should users be able to dismiss the alert? Yes. Should the alert pop back up at a later time to remind the user that their data is still not being backed up? Yes.

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

#62

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

skyyler wrote: post #35
SilasX wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Until your screen is wet from the rain or you have gloves on.

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

#63

Post by r00fus »

RandallBrown wrote: post #48
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…

> but I am gobsmacked at just how terrible modern vehicles are CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, automatic lights (brights, on/off, turning), cameras, remote start from my phone, and lots of other things are awesome modern additions to cars that I wouldn't want to go without anymore.

Lane assist done poorly (seen on my latest Toyota Corolla rental) is distracting and made me want to turn it off.

Any advanced features that are rushed or poorly thought out - can turn into liabilities instead of assets.

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

#64

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

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.

>such as the wheel and buttons on their watches

But not on their phones.

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

#65

Post by usrusr »

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.

Are the bad ones exceptional though?

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

#66

Post by freedomben »

spenczar5 wrote: post #50
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…

> I know customers are dumb and are easily impressed by cheap gadgetry, but why did we have to throw the baby out with the bath water? I don't think it's about gadgetry. I think there are a few other things going on. None are really pro-consumer, in my opinion. - Software can be updated. Overhauling mechanical parts is way harder. This lets the manufacturer go a little quicker with development - you can "fix it in po…

One other reason I've discovered, is regulatory. The amount of mandatory "features" required nowadays by government regulation is incredible, and the only economical way to meet many of those is with software implementations. The big automakers certainly aren't complaining because it justifies higher price tags and has a major stifling effect on upstarts and other competition, and they've got the machinery (literal and figurative) to navigate the requirements. Hell they write a lot of them.

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

#67

Post by AlotOfReading »

throwaway63728 wrote: post #21
eganist wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> where he didn’t make any meaningful contribution. Super curious about this, what more can you share?

Throwaway, It was chaotic, plenty of technical and leadership missteps. But at the core, he was incapable of confronting deeper issues. The proficiency of Apple does not lie in cloud or infrastructure. It's a simple truth.

You can certainly argue that Apple isn't good at cloud or infra in the same way Google and Amazon are (which would still be a weird argument), but it seems undeniable that cloud and cloud infra is a fundamental part of their product offering. Things like universal sync, iCloud, email, etc are important parts of the value prop for Apple devices.

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

#68

Post by gurumeditations »

p0wn wrote: post #44
lbussell wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really not that good. On my Mazda, Apple CarPlay won't even let me change albums while I'm driving. Which encourages me to then pick up my phone, take my eyes off the road to unlock it with my face, and fumble around with the music app until I get to what I want. Mazda even disables the touch screen while driving, forcing you to use their navigation wheel, which is supposedly safer! So I don't understand why Car…

Your problem isn't CarPlay, it's Mazda's integration.

I frequently find myself picking up my phone in motion because their dial knob is utterly useless with navigating the music app and maps often as well.

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

#69

Post by wlesieutre »

throwaway63728 wrote: post #21
eganist wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> where he didn’t make any meaningful contribution. Super curious about this, what more can you share?

Throwaway, It was chaotic, plenty of technical and leadership missteps. But at the core, he was incapable of confronting deeper issues. The proficiency of Apple does not lie in cloud or infrastructure. It's a simple truth.

From a user perspective, Apple had a rough time with "cloud" for a long time (iTools, .Mac, MobileMe) and the recent era of iCloud feels like they've finally gotten their cloud services in a good direction. It does what I need it to.

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

#70

Post by rubidium »

RandallBrown wrote: post #48
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…

> but I am gobsmacked at just how terrible modern vehicles are CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, automatic lights (brights, on/off, turning), cameras, remote start from my phone, and lots of other things are awesome modern additions to cars that I wouldn't want to go without anymore.

After just moving from a 2009 to a 2023 vehicle (both Ford), I agree. I’m overall happy with the tech improvements, despite the occasional bond-headed software implementation.

I say this as someone who used to be a “stick-driving don’t put a computer if it’s not required” card carrying member. Maybe I’m just getting soft.

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