Earlier quoted context omitted.
Those are not safety addons, those are surveillance ones
It's surveillance if the car manufacturer wants to use it for that.
Which they inevitably will.
Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
661–670 of 848 posts
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#662Earlier quoted context omitted.
Those are not safety addons, those are surveillance ones
Let me guess: you are afraid of the surveillance, use only cash for payment, pager for connectivity and have no permanent address? It's safer and convenient to have a connected car. I like it that way. When you can open your car app and check the location where it is parked, amount of gas or request ventilation/ac.
That is a blatant reductio ad absurdum. People should have the right to reasonable privacy without being homeless and off grid.
I am happy to share my address and phone number etc. but not to be tracked wherever I go or have everything I do on my computer or within my home monitored. These are different things.
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#663Earlier quoted context omitted.
> There is nothing good that can come out of installing Android in your TV, fridge, let alone a - for fuck's sake! - a car. Android Auto is not Android on the car, it's a protocol that allows an Android phone to use the car's system as a display, with limited UI integration.
The version in Volvo and Polestar's is actually Android Automotive, which is it's own Android distribution with it's own version of Maps/Spotify etc. Funnily it even has Android Auto functionality too.
Restated: “Android Automotive” != “Android Auto”
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#664Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ok but that doesn’t really solve the problem in Europe.
I mean we can also change laws again in europe (in favour of that) - but we could also keep it as a separate module. So the LTE chip only gets used for an emergency call and nothing else. No remote control. Unlikely to happen, but possible (not 100% safe, but good enough).
If you don't turn on the LTE chip, it can take a while to get registered or a network in order to perform an emergency call. If the LTE module is turned on (the same applies for mobile phones) the network operator will know your coarse location because of the LTE specification itself. Furthermore, all communication equipment is legally required to support Lawful Interception; and LTE is no exception to this.
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#665As someone who works professionally on embedded software devices that update over the internet, car companies are stuck not because they can't get software talent, but because they have no ability to actually build the electronics alongside the software, which is ultimately what constrains embedded software. Without the right hardware, the constraints are just insurmountable, you can not do X feature because board A…
The VW and Rivian tie up for electronics will help answer if a traditional automaker can catch up if the electronics integration bit is taken off the table.
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#666As someone who works professionally on embedded software devices that update over the internet, car companies are stuck not because they can't get software talent, but because they have no ability to actually build the electronics alongside the software, which is ultimately what constrains embedded software. Without the right hardware, the constraints are just insurmountable, you can not do X feature because board A…
How much extra work have automakers made for themselves by pridefully(?) refusing to use Android Automotive to handle some of the very things that auto makers are worse at?
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#667Earlier quoted context omitted.
And naturally of course you don't carry a cellphone with you while you drive...you know, that device with accelerometers, GPS and an LTE chip that you leave powered on all the time on your person?
Of course I am free to carry it or not
You are also free not to use a mode of transportation. You can, for example, buy an old car, register it on a historical number plate, and you’re good. There is no retrofit requirement. If you want a new car, suck it up.
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#668> Consumers have had it with clunky, slow automotive technology, and the modern car is so computerized that a seamless electronic interface is an absolute necessity.
Say what? Give me a clunky manual interface with buttons and knobs any time over an electronic interface for which I have to look away from the road.
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#669Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not sure why you have the downvotes. Even it's mostly just about GPS, the built-in screen is better than iPhone on a somewhat dodgy clip attached to a vent someplace. Unless the car were otherwise compelling--and it's a pretty competitive market--not sure I'd buy a car without CarPlay.
I want a car with a phone holder built in! My phone will always be higher powered and more update than any tech in the car. Give me a car with no computer, but a phone stand and charger built in! Oh oh, we could even use a standard like monitor stands.
The more premium Opel Astra K models had a phone holder built-in (optional accessory, but you get the point) that would also charge the phone. Practically no one bought it so they removed it in later models.
Re: Car companies are in a billion-dollar software war
#670Earlier quoted context omitted.
Removing LTE would remove key features that drivers want, including real time traffic updates, remote controls and streaming media? What's your objection to LTE?
> What's your objection to LTE? Tracking, phoning home (with related privacy issues), etc : * https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/09/flaw-in-kia-web-portal-... * https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/10/five-...
You're not using a smartphone?