Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Wants To Power Self-Driving Cars With Software, Not Build One (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft's Peggy Johnson said at the Converge conference (Warning: WSJ source paywalled) in Hong Kong this week that the company is not interested in manufacturing its own self-driving cars, but instead is interested in building software for cars. "We won't be building our own autonomous vehicle but we would like to enable autonomous vehicles and assisted driving as well," said Johnson, head of business development at Microsoft. "We in different ways enabled a variety of different partners and you'll see us continuing to do that." Microsoft is open to partners requesting an operating system for cars. The company has partnered with Harman to integrate Microsoft Office 365 into its infotainment systems, bringing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to cars for the first time. "You're sitting in the car for many, many minutes a day. Can that be part of your new office, can it be your new desk, a place where you actually get work done?" asked Johnson. "We believe it can." Two years ago, Microsoft unveiled their "Windows in the car" initiative to compete against Apple's CarPlay.
...to blue screen of death! :: CRASH ::
brakes.sys has caused a system error.
Hold down start to reboot.
More than a silly comment, I wonder if that kind of software will leak information to Microsoft like Windows 10. Just imagine: GPS maps of where and when you did drive. Where you stop for get gas/enegry. How many people travel in the car and their faces just for safety. If you get tickets and how many. Just for deliver ads in the front panel or phone home to your Microsoft profile for sync all the data they harvest for you. Better get a 2000s car where you are the driver and not a product for harvest data of.
"Can we stall your car out with forced upgrades? Can we put ads on your dashboard?" asked Johnson. "We believe it can."
I've been a systems engineer since 1995, and before that worked networks and as a technician.
Based on my experience with the reliability of Microsoft products: I will never EVER put my life in the hands of Microsoft.
If the car runs Windows (or a Microsoft product) I won't own it or ride in it. Simple self preservation.
Another consultant who stuck it out.
"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
I'm very pro-self driving cars, but the thought of Microsoft, with their unenviable record on security and stability, running the thing? Oh, hell no. I'd walk first.
An oldie from many years ago, copied from http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/pnw...
For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."
In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue.
For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off."
"We mustn't be caught by surprise by our own advancing technology" -- Aldous Huxley
"Cortana, take me home."
"Okay. Relax and enjoy these sponsored messages from our selected partners."
"Cortana, skip ads"
"Skip ads is not available on Microsoft Drive Home Edition. Upgrade to Drive Professional Edition? $6000 USD will be deducted from your savings account at... Wells Fargo Bank"
"NO! Do not upgrade!"
"Okay. We are passing by Applebee's San Bruno. Would you like to travel to Applebee's San Bruno for their new hearty Chicken Ravioli Pot Pie?"
"NO!"
"Say 'no' again to confirm travel to Applebee's San Bruno."
"Argh. Uh. Yes?"
"Okay. Traveling to Applebee's San Bruno."
"NO! Cortana! Take me home!"
"This is hacker group carhakz.ru. We now control your car. Transfer $1000 to our account or car will drive into oncoming traffic in 10... 9..."
"Shit! Shit! Cortana! Transfer $1000 to carhakz.ru!"
"Okay. Updating to Microsoft Drive Enterprise Edition. $10000 USD being transferred from... Wells Fargo Bank."
The manufacturers originally wanted to use Linux but were unable to overcome the issue of bad drivers.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
You're sitting in the car for many, many minutes a day. Can that be part of your new office, can it be your new desk, a place where you actually get work done?
Or, how about our employers stop finding new and increasingly intrusive ways to gain from us our endeavours, and we just read a book in the car instead?
That's just what we want. A company that took several decades to figure out that security and stability might have some value and that has a legacy of releasing barely beta quality software as commercial ship so that its customers could find the problems building the software that controls our cars. Anyone who has been stuck with a Ford Sync (sadly I am in that group) or MyFord Touch radio running the crap software MS built knows how bad of an idea this is.
Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But then I repeat myself. -- Mark Twain
These are the steps, in order, Microsoft will go through:
Microsoft will work on a self-driving car for a very short time and figure out they cannot do it fast enough to compete.
They'll partner with another company. There will be lots of hoopla, but nothing will come of it, and the partnership will dissolve.
They'll buy a company which is well-respected and doing well/poised to succeed. It will rapidly go down the toilet and they'll sell it.
[ optional step ] They'll come out with their own product too late.
They'll partner with successful companies to get hooks into cars which link to their other products. This will be marginally profitable. They will attempt to use this to gain as much leverage as possible. This may or may not be successful, but will anger people.