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Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

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171–180 of 220 posts

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#171

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to avoid purchasing, and therefore tying myself to, 'connected' platforms. I recently decided to purchase a new washing machine. It was difficult to find one that did not feature some form of wireless connectivity. I know from other discussions on this forum around so-called 'smart' televisions[1][2] that simply not connecting the device to your home wi-fi network, or implementin…

I think legislation is the only way to fix this :(

Require owner's/user's consent to connect. If no consent, no connect. Device's offline capabilities must still work and it must not nag you or otherwise use dark patterns to force a consent out of you.

That would be a relatively minor extension to gdpr.

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#172

Living in a city and having street-parked "rent-a-car" vehicles for infrequent trips while using trains to get to work is an incredible lifestyle. I went camping recently, so I rented a 4x4 for a few days. I needed to pick up family from the airport, I'll just rent a car for a few hours. Want to go for a hike up north, rent a car for a day. All I have to do is Lime-style, book one on the app, tap my car on the windsh…

Good solution if one doesn't care at all about cars they drive. I could save 500€ a month with this solution but I'd much rather drive a 20l/100km V8 than a sweaty public ecobox.

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#173
post #116

I hate subscriptions as much as the next guy, but I also see the flip side of this coin: the legacy auto companies don't have OTA updates, and this affects their incentives in negative ways. I have considered getting a Subaru Outback, a Toyota RAV4, and a Honda CR-V. All of them have 'lane-centering' features, but none of them are good at present. And none of the companies say that they will allow OTA (or any other p…

> the legacy auto companies don't have OTA updates That's a huge feature. OTA updates means: 1. An attack vector that will (when, not if) be exploited by bad guys. 2. An attack vector that will (when, not if) be exploited by the manufacturer itself to make your car worse (Tesla already doing this sometimes). A secure and reliable car must not be modifiable remotely.

Take your meds.

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#174
post #28

We will rent everything, and we will love it. https://medium.com/illumination/in-2030-youll-own-nothing-an...

The only things I rent currently are Utilities, Internet Access, Standby servers for my business, Auto Insurance and Netflix. No SAAS / PAAS / MyAss etc. So no I will not love any further encroachment and actively resist it.

How about a bank account and a credit or debit card tied to it?

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will go rebuild some grandfathered antique car. The classic car community continues to thrive and the aftermarket has plenty of parts available. My daily driver (perhaps not so daily for the past year or so...) doesn't need any software to start and drive, and that's the way I like it. It doesn't have the fuel efficiency or cleanliness of a modern car, but I guess that's just the cost of freedom and comfort for whi…

Motorcycles are legal but if you commute and carry your kids around in them 100% of the time you may be choosing poorly. You moved the goalposts from a good choice to legally allowed.

You can pick old cars which are easy to fix and barely have any software. Old Volvos come to mind. They are also very safe, not just for their age. If safety is a primary concern you might consider something ridiculously massive like an F350. Those vehicles also don't have a lot of Software and with the weight and the size most modern SUVs with sleeping drivers will simply be consumed.

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#176
post #168
post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. I will not ever own any car that has network connectivity. So that means older cars only. Oh well. So be it.

I, on the other hand, look forward to the day, probably not for at least 20-30 years from now, when all or virtually all vehicles are autonomous, and they're all constantly communicating with each other. Could you imagine the improvements in efficiency and traffic management? The vast reduction in accidents because someone forgot to use a turn signal or was following too closely? The marvelous freedom it would offer…

Do you work with software? Because you don't seem to be scared one bit. I don't see this becoming a thing anytime soon. Not just because of how horrible software is and how little it improves. In the last 20 years we barely had any improvements in what cars assist us with. The Mercedes Benz W220 from 1998 had active cruise control. And today modern active cruise control systems barely work better. Some cars can sometimes change lanes for you. But even that is far from good. I look at how bad lane keep assists (which also have been around for over 10 years) detect roads, especially country roads and i don't feel like we will get anything remotely good from "self driving" cars in the next... MANY years.

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#177
post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not so sure. Look at the European market: manual gears everywhere. Look at the UK, South African and Autraslian market: the car is inversed, with the wheel on the right. The car market seems way different than the phone market. It's not an information platform, it moves matter. It's not virtual, it's real. It's not luxury like the phone used to be, people life depends on it already. It's not a free market, but he…

Hm, is it true that there’s manual gear every where in Europe? I can remember we laughed at the Americans and their automatic gears 15 years ago, but now everyone drives automatic here as well.

Yes the vast majority of cars in Europe are manual, except maybe in the high-end where there are more and more semi-automatics (not the mechanical automatics).

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#178

A friend of mine bought new BMW and the whole thing just shut down half way into the journey, he said he was happy he could get out of it. The more complexity the higher the chance of failure. If you're like me you just want a car that get's you from point A to point B reliably and safely. You're probably thinking they will always be an option for a straightforward mechanical machine. But that may not be the case. Re…

Cars have a lot more components and electronics than they had 30 years ago, and yet they are very significantly more reliable.

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#179
post #36

I don't want my car to be a software platform. I want it to be like my microwave. It might have software, but software is only incidental to its operation. I do not want to tweet from my microwave. I do not want ads in traffic. This is non-negotiable for safety reasons alone. I don't care what I have to do to attain that. If that means replacing the radio. I will do it. If you brick my car if I don't have a Manufactu…

The problem is that you're not going to have this choice. You'll be that guy insisting he wants a phone that's thicker but has better battery life - no manufacturer cares what you want because they have to operate at a scale where they can't cater for niches.

All great technology will eventually suck when the masses start using it.

Re: Cars are about to be a software platform, subscriptions and all

#180

I don't want my car to be a software platform. I want it to be like my microwave. It might have software, but software is only incidental to its operation. I do not want to tweet from my microwave. I do not want ads in traffic. This is non-negotiable for safety reasons alone. I don't care what I have to do to attain that. If that means replacing the radio. I will do it. If you brick my car if I don't have a Manufactu…

Its interesting that we have created a world where the people who build software are often the most skeptical of and aviodant of the software industry.

I work on the foundations of automotive software. I live in a low-tech cabin in the woods and drive a older minimal-tech car. Enough said.
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