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Ford and GM Open Car Software To Outside Developers
Dr Herbert West writes with news that General Motors and Ford have both used CES to announce a Software Development Kit for developers to create in-car apps. "Ford is focusing on three primary categories for apps: news and information, music and entertainment, and navigation and location. Marchwicki said the automaker will “instantly deny” apps that incorporate video, excessive text and gaming in a bid to reduce the risk of distracted driving. After developers have incorporated the Sync AppLink code into a proposed app, they submit it to Ford engineers for review. Ford will certify the app is bug-free and appropriate for automobiles. Once approved, Ford will work with the developer to provide a distribution license and get the app on the market." Similarly GM seeks infotainment apps that can be downloaded directly to the dashboard. "GM will provide developers with an SDK through an online portal that allows them to work with the automaker to design, test and deliver relevant automotive apps. GM also is including an HTML5 Java Script framework in its SDK."
I refuse to trust anything he writes in about. After the incident at Miskatonic University, he should have had his medical license revoked!
"He who can destroy a thing, controls a thing." --Paul Atreides, Dune
Why do they bother?
The future car computer is an iPhone/Android dock.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
I thought maybe they were opening up the software that actually matters. No real chance of that, though.
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
Malware developers...
Nothing is enough for whom enough is too little - Confucius
Why do they bother?
The future car computer is an iPhone/Android dock.
Exactly. Cars last over a decade but that's a century in silicon-years. When I was shopping for used cars recently many of them boasted GPS maps built in, only they needed updating from non-existant dvd updates made for them. Pointless when my smart phone does a much better job and knows what the price of hotel, and hours places are open and where the coffees shops are. In a few years my smart phone will be google glass. The car cannot possibly keep up.
On the other hand I love my hands free voice activated phon calling that just piggybacks on the smart phones address book.
So what you need is a versatile interface definition to the smart phone that can use voice and video in the car but not supply any og the intelligence from the car. the car is just an input and out put device. these evolve less fast. consider the video screen, mouse and KB. not much has changed in decades.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
I had rented several cars with Microsoft SYNC and in _each_ case I had some kind of problem with it. Starting from losing Bluetooth connectivity (completely, until I reseted the computer by pulling a fuse) to suddenly setting volume to max and switching to AM radio while I was driving 65mph on a highway.
And now they're trying to add additional crapware to the already buggy system?
Who doesn't have a smartphone these days?
Anyone on the least expensive plans from Virgin Mobile USA. CDMA2000 phones in the United States don't use a removable CSIM; instead, they use a subscriber identity programmed directly into the phone. (Some of Verizon's CDMA2000/LTE phones use a combo CSIM/USIM, but Virgin is part of Sprint.) So each handset has to be activated as a separate line, and the cheapest plan for a smartphone ($35/mo) is seven times as expensive per month as the cheapest plan for an occasional-use dumbphone ($5/mo).
I pay £15.32 per month for my smartphone service.
Smartphone service is more expensive in countries that use $ (USD/CAD) than in countries that use £ (GBP).
until you find yourself in your car without a charger, and then you find out just how quickly the battery run out when your iphone has the maps app, gpsm and 3g running.
Worse, and far more often encountered is the great null zone (something you city folk never actually experience except in elevators) where there is no cell service or insufficient bandwidth, like Edge or GPRS) and you can't really use on-line maps. I use to think this only occurred in the boonies of the Western US, but driving around in Upstate New York off of freeways quickly disabused me of that notion.
A dedicated GPS, either built in or suction cupped on the dash is a far better solution.
What is needed is a bluetooth way to send an address to the damn thing directly from the phone. Why do they all forget this feature?
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Just think -- if you could hack into a network of cars and knew which cars played which musical notes, you could play merry havoc during gridlock by playing an orchestra of selected traffic. You'd be in control! Bieber for road rage, Star Wars theme at the red lights, a nice tango for the cloverleaf intersections -- the mind boggles!
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear