Posted on 02/13/2015 1:27:47 PM PST by Star Traveler
Apple is recruiting experts in automotive technology and vehicle design to work at a new top-secret research lab, said several people familiar with the company, pointing to ambitions that go beyond the dashboard.
Dozens of Apple employees, led by experienced managers from its iPhone unit, are researching automotive products at a confidential Silicon Valley location outside the company’s Cupertino campus, the people said.
Sir Jonathan Ive’s team of Apple designers has held regular meetings with automotive executives and engineers in recent months, in some cases trying to hire them. Recent recruits to Apple’s team include the head of Mercedes-Benz’s Silicon Valley R&D unit.
The Apple research lab was set up late last year, not long after Apple unveiled its forthcoming smart watch and latest iPhones, which suggests that any resulting product may still be years away from release. Apple often investigates a wide range of new product areas, some of which never get released.
(Excerpt) Read more at ft.com ...
There’s no doubt that whatever it is will tie into Apple’s ecosystem. AND ... as for myself, I’ve found Apple’s ecosystem of products and services to be very useful.
When things work as well as Apple’s products and services ... Those things are a joy to use. Consumers love that.
That made me go look at mine. Mac Se Superdrive. Still works. 16mhz 68030 CPU IIRC.
Little know little cared about fact. At the time I also used a lot of TRS 80 machines including the Color Computer. The CoCo used a similar Motorola chip to the Mac SE, the 68030E, with the basic difference being the CoCo CPU had an external clock.
Probably because Google is likely to fail with its self-driving car, as it failed with Google Glass.
As a Ford tech I have dealt with the Microsoft Sync system and one thing it lacks that is rather annoying is the ability to update over the internets.
(good thing for paranoid freepers afraid of hacks )
You use a thumb drive and the dealer has to do it.
I have been away from the trade for a couple of years and I wonder if they have changed yet.
Well, I’ve heard Jonny Ive is quite the car collector. Actually started out in automotive design but switched because the other designers kept making ‘vroom vroom’ sounds when sketching and he thought them weird. To each his own I guess.
Obviously, switching his design focus didn’t hurt him any.
I might get one of those to replace my spare tire on my truck.
Naw, I’d rather change a 20” 60# tire than be caught dead driving one of those POS.
An LS460 Lexus I worked on had 54 computers, five in the drivers seat. I drive 20th century cars.
I’m not sure that Google necessarily failed with glass. Too short of battery life for sure. Then there was the whole creepiness factor of having ‘glassholes’ walking around recording everything, and everyone they saw.
I consider Google to be the public, commercial arm, of the NSA.
I’m thinking it might be in-dashboard technology. For example, you will be able to stream your iTunes music library from the Cloud directly into your car stereo, without having to connect a device. Maybe have Siri built in so all you have to do is say an address and you will have GPS instructions on the display. Things like that.
Yeah, I’m thinking it’s some kind of system “for” the car, rather than building a car. Building a car is really stepping out of Apple’s consumer electronics focus, it would seem to me.
OK, I LOL’d.
I have a 2009 Ford Taurus Limited Edition with Microsoft Sync. It drives me crazy when using it for Bluetooth phone. For example I say Call "Girlfriend on Cell". Most of the time it will work. . . but one time out of six it will do something else, such as come back with "Press ONE for Call Girlfriend at home, Press TWO for Call Girlfriend at Work, Press THREE for Call Girlfriend on Cell, Press FOUR to call Girlfriend on Fax". . . only there is no number pad on my car! I finally discovered that the numbers are related to various buttons on the dashboard. . . but they do not have numbers ON THEM. Nor are they documented as being numbered. Then another time it will say "Use the Arrow Keys to select Home, Cell, Work, Home, or Fax to call Girlfriend"—and my car DOES NOT HAVE ARROW KEYS! I finally discovered it was referring to the "+/-= buttons, but it changed no displays. Another time it will say "Say ONE after the tone to call Girlfriend at home, say TWO after the tone to call Girlfriend on Cell, say THREE after the tone to Call girlfriend at work, say FOUR after the tone to call Girlfriend on FAX"! THEN sometimes it will come up with Any of those using random names completely unrelated to "Girlfriend!" Now add in that my girlfriend has only a cell phone and a home phone. . . no work number and no fax number! AAARRRGGGHHHH!
Oh, a couple of times it is come up with this gem : Press ONE to Call Girlfriend at Home, SAY TWO after the tone to call Girlfriend at Home, use the arrow key to call Girlfriend at Home, . . . and kept repeating it until I switch off the PHONE choice and held down the END CALL. ARRRGGGHHHH! again. Microsoft!!!!
Then, out of the blue on at four occasions, it would load the contact list, what it calls the phone book from my phone, and not be able to find anything. It would have the names, but if you asked to call anyone, it would come up with the phone number of someone at random. . . and call them. Ask for Girlfriend, get a plumber. . . or my doctor's office. . . of once 911. Nor, once it displayed the name of whom it was calling and started dialing would it allow canceling the call! SHEESH! This would go on for a few days to a week, then it would miraculously fix itself. The first time I had the Ford Dealership re-flash the Sync. . . the second time I had an appointment to do the same thing and it started working correctly when I started the car to go to the dealer for my appointment. The next two times I left it alone for a couple days to a week and it fixed itself. ARRGGGGHHHH!
The iCrash
There was a news story the other day that Apple was considdering a self-driving car. Humph!
Stock ticker MBLY
They will be glad to oblige, and when that time comes you neighbors will be more than happy to help them because you will have became, that one.
You say that like you can fix or modify current cars. We are a long way from the hot rod of the 50's and I built them all but wouldn't even attempt to work on one today, never even looked under the hood of my current car.
Google did not fail technologically. They failed by not grasping the social factors. They are tone deaf there. Apple excels on social factors. . . Apple understands users and user interfaces. Google is geeky. . . and GoogleGlass was a big hit with geeks. It was a big turn off with normal people. Apple would have never have released it as a product, because they understand that difference. It would have been one of those projects that Steve Jobs would have said "Neat, but NO!" to.
Yep, I can see it now.
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