At least in the US market, BMW and Audi seem very likely to have mainly iOS user buyers. In Europe, probably more Android. So picking one platform is basically guaranteed to piss off a sizable part of one's customers. I'd probably go BMW instead of Audi if the BMW had better iOS integration, even though I generally prefer Audis. I assume an Android user would go the other way.
>> "At least in the US market, BMW and Audi seem very likely to have mainly iOS user buyers. In Europe, probably more Android." How did you come up with that??
BMW/Audi = rich people in the US, who generally are iOS buyers.
BMW/Audi = not as rich in Europe, and Android is generally stronger there.
This comment is a bit dismissive. Can you really claim that for iPod, iPhone and iPad? Sure, every invention is based on work of others, but Apple has still made huge improvements on multiple areas.
This comment is a bit dismissive. Can you really claim that for iPod, iPhone and iPad? MP3 players were already pretty mainstream when the iPod came around and it didn't really add much. And the iPad was merely an iteration on the iPhone. But every rule has an exception. I'll grant that Apple definitely redefined what a smartphone was with the iPhone.
I, for one, found the click-wheel to be an innovation strong enough to switch from other MP3 players. I have, and had at the time of the iPhone release, a large music collection, thanks to my interest in jam bands that allow for legal downloads of recordings from their concerts. I tried many mp3 players, both before and after the release of the iPod. None matched the ease or speed of navigation provided by the iPod. There's a reason that, after the release of the iPod, no other MP3 player had more than a tiny sliver of market share. The click wheel was an innovation. Yes, they patented it, so nobody could mimic it. But to claim that it was not an innovation is ignoring its functionality and novelty at the time it was released.
Yay, more touch screen in cars. More ways to distract, frustrate and confuse users who are operating a big box of steel weighing 3 tons and going at speeds the human brain has never evolved to appropriately deal with. 1) Not only are touch screens a very poor interactor in the first place [0], but why do you think planes and other complex machinery have stuck with physical controls? For operating complex vehicles/app…
> Yay, more touch screen in cars. It's odd though that the number of auto accidents in the US has not increased with the increased use of in-dash touch screens and SmartPhones. Deaths from auto accidents have also been on the decline. It seems like people are doing a pretty good job adapting. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 13.4 12.5 18.3 11.8 10.9 10.7 10.4 10.6 10.2 10.8
There's a lot of factors that go into reducing auto accidents, so that correlation doesn't really tell us anything about the danger of driving with touch screens in the car.
Yay, more touch screen in cars. More ways to distract, frustrate and confuse users who are operating a big box of steel weighing 3 tons and going at speeds the human brain has never evolved to appropriately deal with. 1) Not only are touch screens a very poor interactor in the first place [0], but why do you think planes and other complex machinery have stuck with physical controls? For operating complex vehicles/app…
> Yay, more touch screen in cars. It's odd though that the number of auto accidents in the US has not increased with the increased use of in-dash touch screens and SmartPhones. Deaths from auto accidents have also been on the decline. It seems like people are doing a pretty good job adapting. 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 13.4 12.5 18.3 11.8 10.9 10.7 10.4 10.6 10.2 10.8
> It seems like people are doing a pretty good job adapting.
You'd think so but I get 7mpg more than the best rated Toyota hybrid which is supposedly the most efficient thing out there. Bear in mind I drive a 6 year old 1.3L diesel Fiat van converted to a people carrier which is as aerodynamic as a shed. It also has 3 children, a buggy and a pile of crap in it. Perhaps a computer could optimise this better but I doubt it. The computer and automatic box just goes when you push…
> You'd think so but I get 7mpg more than the best rated Toyota hybrid which is supposedly the most efficient thing out there. You sure about that? Because I easily get about 70 mpg on my Prius (C class) when I'm supermiling in the city. Granted it's not as efficient on the highway, and unfortunately I do have to do a lot of highway travel. I can sustain a good a 55mpg average at the end of the month though. I plan t…
I get 58 solid. Prius is quoted at 50 here in the UK. If I'm on a flat road at 40-50mph (north circular) I can get a solid 80mpg average. Just have to stay easy on the throttle and not change speed.
Marketing and gaining widespread adoption seem to be the areas that Apple excels at. In most cases where something is heralded as "revolutionary" by Apple, it has been done before. Maybe not as well or as polished, but usually it has been done before.
It's pretty hard to see the iPhone and iPad as anything other than a revolution. Similar to how Windows was a revolution in desktop computing (whether you liked it or not). "Gaining widespread adoption" was never an area Apple was very good at. They were always good at creating consumer-focused PCs. The initial line of MacBooks and iMacs are good examples of this — minuscule user base compared to Windows, but built t…
Yay, more touch screen in cars. More ways to distract, frustrate and confuse users who are operating a big box of steel weighing 3 tons and going at speeds the human brain has never evolved to appropriately deal with. 1) Not only are touch screens a very poor interactor in the first place [0], but why do you think planes and other complex machinery have stuck with physical controls? For operating complex vehicles/app…
> why do you think planes and other complex machinery have stuck with physical controls Avionics has been moving away from tangible indicators and controls for some time. Honeywell has already announced that is working on "touchscreen-enabled avionics for the next-generation air transport and business aviation cockpits" [1]. I also believe SpaceX runs a largely virtualised command centre. > Self-driving cars...every…
Cars have a greater tendency to crash into other things than planes.
I used to think automatics were horrible (I live in the UK, drove manual for 15 years) then I got one... In terms of fuel economy, isn't it just a matter of time before automatics become as economical (then probably more economical) than manuals? Even without anticipating future events? Driving efficiently feels like something a computer could optimise for and that a human has no natural advantage doing.
You'd think so but I get 7mpg more than the best rated Toyota hybrid which is supposedly the most efficient thing out there. Bear in mind I drive a 6 year old 1.3L diesel Fiat van converted to a people carrier which is as aerodynamic as a shed. It also has 3 children, a buggy and a pile of crap in it. Perhaps a computer could optimise this better but I doubt it. The computer and automatic box just goes when you push…
You do realize that you're comparing a diesel car to a standard petrol-hybrid right? Diesel engines are ~33% more efficient per-liter (and usually that much more expensive).
The number for a Prius-hybrid you'd really care to look at would be the city driving numbers as that's where you get all the advantages of regenerative breaking. Running a Prius at 100+ km/h it just turns back into a standard petrol fueled vehicle carrying drained batteries.
Humans fail regularly even when the situation is not especially complex! e.g., not paying attention and rear-ending someone at lights on a straight, dry road during the day.
That's of course true. However if a human driver causes injury through error he might expect to be held liable. If an autonomous vehicle responds incorrectly to an unanticipated driving scenario and causes injury, the manufacturer will likely be subject to a lawsuit.
And if you thought the "sudden unexpected acceleration" hysteria recently was bad, just wait for the first time someone dies in or because of a robocar