Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Auto Industry May Mimic the 1980s PC Industry

Posted by Soulskill on from the as-long-as-my-car-gets-a-turbo-button-i'm-ok-with-it dept.

An anonymous reader writes: An article at TechCrunch looks at some interesting parallels between the current automobile industry and the PC industry of the 1980s. IBM was dominant in 1985, employing four times as many people as its nearest competitor. But as soon as Windows was released, the platform became more important for most end users than the manufacturer. Over the next decade, IBM lost its throne. In 2015, we're on the cusp of a similar change: the computerized car. Automakers, though large and well-established, haven't put much effort into building the platform on which their cars run. Meanwhile, Google's Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are constantly improving. As soon as those hit a breakthrough point where it's more important for a customer to have the platform than the manufacturer's logo on the side, the industry is likely to resemble a replay of the PC industry in the 1980s.

5 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. Year of Linux... by JoeCommodore · · Score: 4, Funny

    So, are we talking about the year of Linux on the Blacktop?

    --
    "Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
  2. Re:In a decade... by NotDrWho · · Score: 3, Funny

    And I, for one, welcome our new Google overlords. I'd like to remind them that, as a programmer, I would be very useful in managing the slaves in their data mines.

    --
    SJW's don't eliminate discrimination. They just expropriate it for themselves.
  3. Re:So, we're going to get Toyota clones? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can't envision a world where cars can be easily home built from standard parts.

    But... but... 3D printers!

    --
    Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
  4. Re:You're dying off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, well you just wait until my YouTube movie career takes off, dad! Then me and Ben and Del are going to be famous, and rich! And we're not going to have to live in your stupid house anymore!

  5. Re:You're dying off by plopez · · Score: 3, Funny

    Nah. Probably one of these:

    https://ecaremedicalsupplies.c...

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+