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Apple Hiring Automotive Experts
An anonymous reader writes: A report at the Financial Times (paywalled) says Apple is on an aggressive hiring push to pick up automotive experts. Recent rumors suggest Apple is putting together a transportation research lab, and nobody outside the company is quite sure why. It's unlikely they's want to build an entire car themselves, but quite possible they see a big space for Apple technology within motor vehicles, much as Google seems to. They already have CarPlay, and it will doubtless grow, but we still don't have anything approaching a dominant platform for car software. Whatever they're working on, it looks like the competition for more robust computer technology in cars is heating up.
We need communism now!
The economic prerequisite for the proletarian revolution has already in general achieved the highest point of fruition that can be reached under capitalism. Mankind’s productive forces stagnate. Already new inventions and improvements fail to raise the level of material wealth. Conjunctural crises under the conditions of the social crisis of the whole capitalist system inflict ever heavier deprivations and sufferings upon the masses. Growing unemployment, in its turn, deepens the financial crisis of the state and undermines the unstable monetary systems. Democratic regimes, as well as fascist, stagger on from one bankruptcy to another.
The bourgeoisie itself sees no way out. In countries where it has already been forced to stake its last upon the card of fascism, it now toboggans with closed eyes toward an economic and military catastrophe. In the historically privileged countries, i.e., in those where the bourgeoisie can still for a certain period permit itself the luxury of democracy at the expense of national accumulations (Great Britain, France, United States, etc.), all of capital’s traditional parties are in a state of perplexity bordering on a paralysis of will. ....
All talk to the effect that historical conditions have not yet “ripened” for socialism is the product of ignorance or conscious deception. The objective prerequisites for the proletarian revolution have not only “ripened”; they have begun to get somewhat rotten. Without a socialist revolution, in the next historical period at that, a catastrophe threatens the whole culture of mankind. The turn is now to the proletariat, i.e., chiefly to its revolutionary vanguard. The historical crisis of mankind is reduced to the crisis of the revolutionary leadership.
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I hope that the batteries are replaceable
only at the dealer with apple prices.
and they may make you get an apple toll pass that you pay 30% admin fee on top any tolls you pay.
Sure. Making a good cell phone qualifies you to build a car. Apple and Google need to be careful. There investments get wackier by the day.
an ill wind that blows no good
Introducing the world's first $70,000 dollar steering wheel that has ear buds and a touch screen.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that that's exactly what Apple wants to do.
Support the First Amendment. Read at -1
Would it have windows?
Further the bean counters think the dash space to be some sort of profit center. "They bought our car right? Let us make them pay 200$ for map DVD upgrade, 1800$ for navigational package, ha ha haa, you negotiated 800$ using edmunds.com and truecar.com? Well buddy, I will get that money back, 900$ for mp3 player! ".
Further they are used to product cycles running into decade or more and taking 9 months to admit the ignition switch has a problem and six years to hide it from NTSB. They are not used to software release cycle speeds of once in 8 months or once a year.
They used to do this with car radios and make it impossible to install after market radios. Then SAE defined standard connectors and that market got some real competition. It is high time SAE define user interface API for the common things and allow third parties to come in with custom made tablets to be integrated into the cars. With the 3D printing advances, we could get clean molded plastic brackets that fit almost as good as factory made dash with custom tablets. The market is ripe. Hope two really big companies with good customer base enter and do a serious fight for market share.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Carjackers can apply to Apple as "automotive security experts" to do penetration testing, etc.
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
As a member of code.org, I assume Apple will only accept people for these positions if they are without a penis ?
Because: Men are bad.
Apple has roughly 175 billion in cash and Tesla's current market cap is around 35B. If Apple wants to get into the car business might as well jump in feet first. Not to mention you get one of the greatest CEO visionaries Elon Musk, since Steve Jobs. The Wall Street Journal is reporting today that Apple is building its one electric vehicle that resembles a minivan.
It seems to me that if Apple gets into the car business, they'll do so by hiring the top automotive engineers and designers in the world. I know they can outbid anyone else for them.
Bzzt!
Tesla recently poached 150 folks from Apple. http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/02/09/elon-musk-has-raided-150-people-from-apple-for-tesla/
Apple is offering crazy money to get folks to jump the other way, but not having anywhere near that kind of success. http://evobsession.com/apple-trying-poach-tesla-engineers-250000-signing-bonuses/
A search for 'iCar' will bring speculation and images to tickle your fancy. Facts may be harder to find.
...omphaloskepsis often...
My car is over 10 years old and will still go about as fast as it did when I bought it, new. My iphone 4 is way younger and runs nowhere near as quickly on the latest iOS as it did on previous versions. These apple cars will be real unpopular after about the third software version upgrade when they can only do 20 miles/hr and need to be traded in for something thinner.
Nullius in verba
QNX is already running in pretty much every vehicle. I'd say someone beat them to the punch.
well to be fair, i had one of those GM cars with the ignition switch issue. the only thing is to me it was not a bug but a feature. I could start my car, lock it back up with it running and keep the key on me. this is great on days like today that are -20 with the wind. (not as nice as a remote start obviously but still)
If you cant drive and focus on driving simply because they key pops out of the ignition, well you got bigger problems in life anyway
Whether it's a bug or feature is certainly a fair argument.
To my mind, if you can't predict when the key will pop out then it's a bug.
Also, it appears to have killed 38 people.
I see terrible design all the time - washing machines, TVs, PVRs and of course cars. It's getting worse - the rush to put a touch screen in every Holden (GM's Australian arm) and execrable crap like BMWs iDrive and Ford's whateveritscalled convoluted garbage. It needs taking by the scruff of the neck and kicking into touch, and if anyone is in a position to do it, it's Apple. While their approach is not perfect, it's usually somewhat better than most alternatives. When I hit yet another irritating and apparently arbitrary snag point in the software system of my PVR for example, I often wish Apple would make one just to show them where they've gone wrong (it's a Topfield if you're interested). As long as they make their in-car system solid and secure along with sensible usability (hint: for a car that means NOT a touch screen) they'll have a winner on their hands. As of the 2015 model year, the only way is up.
In a few years every commercial vehicle will have to have to have a device that records the driver's status changes from data that comes from the vehicle engine computer. There are something like 14 million commercial drivers, so there is a LOT of money to be made here just in subscriptions.
I think that's what Apple is doing - they already have the driver-interface saturated with their phone, can create apps in five seconds, so all they need to cash in is the reporting and the vehicle-interface side to sort out.
"Who designs these things?" referring to cars. It wasn't the operating system that got him upset. It was the user interface. There is a huge difference between the operating system and the user interface. Operating systems are a dime a dozen. It's the user interface that makes a difference to the consumer. I have no idea how this will play out at Apple, but user interface is where they shine.
Google already has a developed and working self driving car, but just you wait, in 2 years they will have the 'next big thing' and it will be a self driving electric car. And it was all their idea in the first place anyway.
This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
Since Apple is going to preview the new oTunes soon, it makes sense they'd prepare to expand. oTunes is Output Tunes to iTunes Input. Basically, money is output from Apple. They pay you to listen to music with the idea that when you find something you really like, you'll play it for your friends, leading to a net profit for the publisher. After beta, they're going to integrate it into one package called ioTunes, which ups the ante by letting you pay your friends to listen to songs.
The same completion of their work will finally follow with the oPod, which records music, oMac, the life support OS, and oPhone, which converts its user into a cell tower by passing a tiny, imperceivable current through their body. The ioPod will allow recordings sales on the ioTunes Store, the ioMac converts from a computer to a hospice device, and the ioPhone will form a feedback loop useful in executions.
It's awesome that they're researching their next big move early though. By the time all of this is released to consumers, it will seem like they developed their automotive electronics with blinding speed.
...a translucent flying car that's not compatible with Google and Microsoft gas pumps.
Table-ized A.I.
this pretty much says it all.
I've always wanted Apple to invent automobiles.
I want a basic car, with user replaceable parts. Not an all in one system that will not be supported after 2 years. Thats why so many people have little 80$ gps units stuck on their dash even though their car has gps. Either it doesn't work and to repair it would cost 800$, it needs a map update and the dealer wants $250 for a 3 year old map set or its useability is so bad the owners do not want to mess with it. European cars are terrible at useability, they say some bmw's and audi's take 7 steps to go from changing the heater setting to get back to the radio menu to change the preset to another station. I want separate heater controls, with knobs and buttons and not goto 2 menus and a submenu on a touchscreen. I also want a radio unit, standard din sizing, easily replaceable.
I'm an expert... I can drive..
Plus you won't be able to change gear.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Soon we'll see driverless cars with cracked windscreens all over...
I installed a bracket to hold my Nexus 6 - best thing I ever did.
Dashboard infotainment systems are pretty much garbage - and the aftermarket stuff is even worse.
Bluetooth handsfree and a bracket is all you need.
They would build an electric car. With the major car makers focused on fuel cells, they can easily jump into building and competing with them. Ideally, it would use Tesla's open patents and then focus on compact or even sub-compact with automated driving. If they work with Tesla and google, they can even come up with car ,to car and car to road communication standard.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
All of the majors, save Nissan, want to focus on fuel cells and keep oil companies happy ( nearly all hydrogen is coming from nat gas and some oil; next to nothing from splitting water ). As such, if apple and google were to follow Tesla's lead, but focus on different areas, they would easily take over autos. Interestingly, right now is the first time since before 1920 that this is possible.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
First off, Tesla has higher quality standards than what apple is used to. And apple would lower Tesla's standards to being like a caddie Audi, BMW, mb, etc: just more junk. Far better would be for apple, and ideally google to start plants for electric cars out there. They should make their own cars, but try to outcompete Tesla. With competition, combined with cooperation, these 3 could easily take the industry and bring new meaning to the big 3.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Although I agree that some of the user-facing electronics in automobiles are overpriced, the core components use time-proven technology that is reliable. Even a low-end car (sold for less than $20,000) has engine electronics that are expected to last for ten or more years, an operating temperature range of probably 0 F to 120 F, and can withstand fairly heavy vibration over its lifetime. Your average computer or phone perhaps operates from 40 to 90 (although rated for much less) and would fall apart if put on a shaker. The electrical environment is relatively bad -- voltages range from 10 to 14 V and there are 4, 6 or 8 plugs firing off sparks. Some of the devices also are critical safety items -- for example brakes need to have redundancy and degrade gracefully if power is lost.
Contrast that to your average PC/Mac/iThing which is put into the market with buggy software and has critical patches every month.
For airplanes, cars and other transportation, I'd trade off tested and proven hardware and software for cool-looking flat icons on the touch screen.
Here's something that I'm having a hard time figuring out. How is it that this particular Apple team has the time and resources to design and make fancy enclosures for the stuff on the van? Speaking more generally, I've noticed that a lot of companies including ones that aren't that big or are even startups are able to do this too. What's the secret to getting some nice molded plastic enclosure without having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on tooling?
I think Apple is going into a dangerous and risky direction desperate for attention with a new product. Nobody so far has proven EV's are anymore then a niche market. Self driving cars is another risky endeavor that has yet to prove its even viable on a mass production level. It could very well be that most people like to be in control and even though the proof might be that self driving vehicles are safer. It does not mean people will not want to still drive.
Apple manufactures more computers in the US than anyone else does (Mac Pro line).
It's just that simple.
Capitalism is decentralized and adaptive. It incentivizes innovation and productivity, both of which benefit the entire country. It attracts the best talent from around the world. Capitalism will beat communism (or any sort of heavily planned economy) pretty much every time, it much better optimizes for human biology (humans try harder out of greed and stop trying when someone hands them stuff for free). The US won the cold war with capitalism.
1. Apple is a $700B company with >$100B in cash. Think about that for a moment. They could purchase Tesla ($25B) and GM (~$60B) without so much as taking out a loan.
2. Tesla has already shown that you don't need dealerships to sell cars.
seriously.