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cURL Author Is Getting Tech Support Emails From Car Owners (daniel.haxx.se)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the email-address-in-the-dashboard dept.

AmiMoJo writes: The author of the popular cURL utility has been receiving requests for help from frustrated car owners having difficulty with their infotainment systems... [B]ecause his email address is listed on the "about" screen, as required by the cURL license, some desperate users are reaching out to him in the hopes of finding a solution.
It sounds annoying to receive complaints like "why there delay between audio and video when connect throw Bluetooth and how to fix it." But though he rarely answers them, Stenberg writes that "I actually find these emails interesting, sometimes charming and they help me connect to the reality many people experience out there."

In a post titled "I have toyota corola," Stenberg says "I suspect my email address is just about the only address listed. This occasionally makes desperate users who have tried everything to eventually reach out to me. They can't fix their problem but since my email exists in their car, surely I can!"

82 of 141 comments (clear)

  1. Bluetooth delay by ZorinLynx · · Score: 1

    >why there delay between audio and video when connect throw Bluetooth

    My 2014 Honda has this problem, and it's exasperating. You hit "next track" on the steering wheel when listening to music from your phone on Bluetooth, and it takes a full 3 seconds to respond because of the delay.

    I have no idea why the car stereo system feels the need to buffer that much audio. Maybe they want to absolutely make sure bluetooth audio doesn't ever skip? Even a one second buffer should be long enough for this, though.

    Watching video in a car is generally a bad idea, so it's not a deal breaker, but still.

    1. Re:Bluetooth delay by JustOK · · Score: 2

      What I've heard is the only solution is to get a British car, put the system in the back. Twice. Rebooting always works.

      --
      rewriting history since 2109
    2. Re: Bluetooth delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Either your phone or the bluetooth stack used in the stereo do not support one of the low latency audio codecs in current use, and therefore defaults to the standard codec which has that level of latency inherently. Even low latency aptx is on the order of 50ms or so, not particularly low latency, but much better than default for sure.

    3. Re: Bluetooth delay by ZorinLynx · · Score: 1

      People with big balls aren't bothered by crappy audio equipment? :)

    4. Re: Bluetooth delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Too bothered trying to find comfortable seats to notice...

    5. Re:Bluetooth delay by AncalagonTotof · · Score: 1

      There are many potential causes for the delay. And they can add a second here, few ms there. I guess that :
      - there is the button on your wheel that goes through the car wiring and base embedded system : can (and CAN !) take time.
      - the button event is communicated to the infotainment system : should be fast, but who knows ?
      - the infotainment system sends an AVRCP (play, stop, pause, next/previous track) command through its Bluetooth module : some of these can also take time. I had the case where play was immediate, but pause (same play/pause command in fact) took 3 seconds. By the way, next/previous may be used in two way : short press (for track change) or long press (for fast forward/backward). May be your car system waits a bit to know of its a short or a long press.
      - your phone receives the command and propagates it to the music player : depending on the music player, there may be some fading delay. Check your player settings !

      By the way, may I ask how this topic is related to the initial post (cURL) ? Oh, yes, the mail example ... A bit light may be ...

      --
      Totof
    6. Re:Bluetooth delay by snookiex · · Score: 2

      I always thought the delay (which also affects some bluetooth headsets/speakers) was caused by the audio compression/decompression process.

      --
      Open Source Network Inventory for the masses! Kuwaiba
    7. Re:Bluetooth delay by AncalagonTotof · · Score: 1

      You're right, it's part of the process and I shouldn't have neglected it. But I think it's not the main reason for the delay.
      Just keep in mind that there is more than that, especially in the case of a car (that I don't know everything about), but also in a BT speaker (which I know much more because it's part of my job).

      --
      Totof
    8. Re: Bluetooth delay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      My car's audio system only uses closed source software

      No it doesn't.

  2. The law of unintended consequences... by undefinedreference · · Score: 1

    ...that clause that requires keeping the license and email address with derivative software clearly had some surprisingly results.

    1. Re: The law of unintended consequences... by bigbang137 · · Score: 1

      WTF does this have to do with GPL? It doesn't require an email address to be listed.

    2. Re: The law of unintended consequences... by suso · · Score: 1

      Maybe not explicitly, but I think there is an implicit requirement and also a tradition/convention of including your email address in open source software. After all, the author has to be contacted about changes.

    3. Re: The law of unintended consequences... by opus_magnum · · Score: 2

      Maybe not explicitly, but I think there is an implicit requirement and also a tradition/convention of including your email address in open source software. After all, the author has to be contacted about changes.

      cURL is MIT licensed which requires the copyright notice to be shown.
      (actually it's the only requirement, much more permissive than the GPL)

  3. And still... by demonlapin · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why can't we just have a line-in input on a 3.5 mm jack as part of every damned car audio system? (Spare me the iPhone jokes.) My car has one that's in the center console along with a lighter plug, so I can actually power my Bluetooth audio receiver and connect it to the aux input. It's great. But when I rent a car, they all seem to have dropped the aux input. Bluetooth is good, but it's not that good yet.

    1. Re:And still... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Bluetooth ranges from bad to fucking shit.

    2. Re:And still... by Richard_at_work · · Score: 1

      I had a Peugeot 207 "m:play" which was advertised as multimedia ready - that solely consisted of having a 3.5mm jack in the glove box. Thats it.

    3. Re:And still... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Aside from audio quality, I really love it when you are on the road and need to reboot the stereo because you started the car before remembering to turn on BT on your phone, so the BT won't connect. Only way to reboot the stereo? Pull over and reboot the CAR. These things, being mini-computers, need to have a reboot functionality built in. Or maybe that's just Hyundai...

    4. Re:And still... by somenickname · · Score: 1

      Bluetooth is good, but it's not that good yet.

      Bluetooth is about 20 years old now. I think it's safe to say that it's never going to be "good". It's a great idea that rarely works well in the real world.

    5. Re:And still... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Order the car without "multimedia system" and then install a radio that costs less than 1/3 of the shitty OEM one and has everything you could possibly need?

    6. Re:And still... by Trogre · · Score: 2

      Way to miss the point there.

      --
      "Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
    7. Re: And still... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      You don't buy an iPhone to listen to music, the main purpose is to show the Apple logo.
      If you want to listen to music you get a secondary device for that.

    8. Re:And still... by wolrahnaes · · Score: 1

      That's just Hyundai. Even my Ford with the widely hated MyFordTouch (aka Sync 2) system doesn't have that problem, nor did my previous Kia (which shares corporate overlords with Hyundai, but strangely they don't share infotainment systems even in their platform-sharing models like Optima/Sonata.

      --
      I used to get high on life, but I developed a tolerance. Now I need something stronger.
    9. Re:And still... by KingMotley · · Score: 1

      Not sure why you have such a bad time with bluetooth. I suspect it's the equipment you buy rather than the standard itself. I never have an issue.

    10. Re:And still... by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      My Bluetooth receiver kicks ass. Most don't.

    11. Re:And still... by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      Mine is a 2009 Lexus with a tape player, a CD changer, and an aux port. Interface- wise, it's more promiscuous than David Bowie.

    12. Re:And still... by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Bluetooth ranges from bad to fucking shit.

      I guess it depends on how its implemented. If you have latency issues inside a car, the implementation is the problem, not bluetooth. My BT audio setup is synched well within the frame rate of any video I've ever watched. I even use it for video editing.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    13. Re:And still... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Maybe it's because I'm buying the cheap stuff. I looked at a 200 dollar headset but then I thought of all the other things I could do with 200 dollars. My apple mouse works pretty good and so far that's the only thing that isn't too bad.

    14. Re:And still... by sootman · · Score: 1

      The Bluetooth in a family member's 2012 Rav4 was surprisingly good. The same phone playing the same files in the same way via Bluetooth in a 2016 Corolla is almost a full second behind which is SUPER annoying. (Note: I am not the guy with the "Corola" in the title who wrote to Daniel. But I do love curl and have been using it in shell scripts for over ten years.)

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    15. Re:And still... by slazzy · · Score: 1

      Agreed. I love the 3.5" in my Subaru.

      --
      Website Just Down For Me? Find out
    16. Re:And still... by fph+il+quozientatore · · Score: 1

      Now rebranded as the Apple iProfit iRule.

      --
      My first program:

      Hell Segmentation fault

    17. Re:And still... by silverkniveshotmail. · · Score: 1

      My Chevy's infotainment system about once a year requires that I pull the fuse to get bluetooth to work. It generally works but it's really annoying, seems to only happen once I get on the freeway at the beginning of a long journey.
      I strongly agree with you. I should be able to hold the power button down for a few seconds to reboot it.

    18. Re:And still... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Why can't we just have a line-in input on a 3.5 mm jack as part of every damned car audio system?

      Because nothing bad has ever come from battling with a cable in the middle of a console? No seriously I loved my 3.5mm jack. I specifically ripped the radio out of my current car because it didn't have an aux input and replaced it with ... a radio with bluetooth.

      Over the year there's been enough tangle messes and near misses, cable getting caught around the stick (not an American problem I know) and changing gears has tossed the iPod across the dashboard that I am glad that this is one area where we have eliminated cables.

      I still will always have a 3.5mm aux input in any car I intend to own but that's because I also still have an old iPod to play music from for big road trips. For the vast majority of cases bluetooth is just fine in a car (audio quality not withstanding and at the same time not a problem because it's just a car).

    19. Re:And still... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      There is nothing wrong with Bluetooth as a standard. Every problem experienced these days is the result of software attempting to do more than just simply play music and the writers having no clue.

      e.g. Every car I've had with a crap bluetooth setup has always also had a crap USB audio setup, really shitty programmed menu interface, and android apps which spend more time crashing than running. Every computer tool I've had connectivity with in bluetooth has similar connectivity issues with wifi and USB.

      It's bad programmers, not bad bluetooth. Bluetooth audio is frigging trivial to implement, just some embedded designers start frothing at the mouth at the thought of having to implement the additional stuff that reads the media library, controls the audio playback, activates the phone's microphone etc.

    20. Re:And still... by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 1

      With wired technology, even a $1/£1/€1 device works perfectly fine. The complexity of Bluetooth and the general physics of wireless conspire to make bad devices bad. A 3.5mm plug may be less "advanced", but it's superior technology, just as the wheel is a superior technology to the hovercraft's "air-skirt" for most land-based purposes.

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
    21. Re:And still... by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 1

      I had a Peugeot 207 "m:play" which was advertised as multimedia ready - that solely consisted of having a 3.5mm jack in the glove box. Thats it.

      Still the most effective solution. Road rage is bad enough when it's caused by human drivers -- adding Bluetooth drivers to the list of frustrations is going to get someone killed.

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
    22. Re:And still... by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 1

      The answer is the "device drawer" that sensible car-makers added to the dash. The cable only sticks out a couple of cm, you plug in, drop the device in the drawer and shut it. Control it via the inline control protocol and job's a good-un.

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
    23. Re:And still... by jareth-0205 · · Score: 2

      Isn't that the point though, it's a complicated technology that is frequently unreliable to do a very simple job that is already solved by means of a cable.

    24. Re:And still... by jareth-0205 · · Score: 1

      Well don't the have to do all that other rubbish? Otherwise if you just use bt audio for audio, in a car there's no advantage to just having a cable.

    25. Re:And still... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Then where does my coffee cup go?

      The answer was already given in my argument. Cable management does not belong in a cockpit.

    26. Re:And still... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Not sure what you said there? They shouldn't have to do all the other rubbish? Or that without the rubbish there's no benefit?

      Both are demonstrably false. The other rubbish comes in to using a standard interface to control the device. e.g. steering wheel controls instead of screwing with your phone. The cable itself is also a safety hazard, anything dangling that can get tangled in a cockpit is.

    27. Re:And still... by KingMotley · · Score: 1

      Solved how? How does the cable solve me having to pull my phone out and try and connect a cable every time I get in and out of my car? Bluetooth solves that.

    28. Re:And still... by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      You can put the jack in the center console. Then it won't get tangled with anything.

    29. Re:And still... by Xest · · Score: 1

      For the same reason that having satnav fitted into my car is a £750 module, when it could just be a free download onto the existence in car computer from the Google Play store. Because money. That's why.

    30. Re:And still... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Except that the phone is glued to the windscreen on the car and you now have a 2m long cable floating around the cockpit.

      There's literally nothing you can do with a cabled connection that won't result in some case that cable getting in the way. Cars are incredibly versatile with many different setups and layouts, may different ways people operate them (including many ways they shouldn't).

      Personally I used to run my 3.5mm cable through the air vents right to my phone, but that was a custom fix for my particular situation. A much more general solution would be going wireless.

    31. Re:And still... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Neither does coffee.

      Yeah tell that to the guy asleep at the wheel.

    32. Re:And still... by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      Oh, I just use Bluetooth from phone to a Bluetooth receiver hooked to the aux input, entirely within the console. My car has Bluetooth phone but not audio, so this was the easiest way to do it: use the car system for phone, independent receiver for audio.

    33. Re:And still... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      That's a great idea. I should remember this next time I have a hire car :)

    34. Re:And still... by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      There are some cheap ones like the Blackberry Music Gateway, but the maximum output is pretty weak. On the recommendation of someone else who was in my situation, I got a Himbox HB01, which came with a lighter->dual USB adapter for power. If you're in an older car, it can even do the hands-free thing for your phone, but that would have visible cables (the microphone is in the Bluetooth receiver). I set my phone to connect to the built-in for calls (so numbers show up on the display, and the microphone is hidden) and only use the Himbox for audio.

      It was only $30, and it works really well for this situation. Like I said, if you have a power outlet in the console, and an aux jack in the console, all it costs you is a bit of space at the bottom. I don't ever listen to the radio except for the occasional bit of news, so it's quite seamless for the vast majority of my usage. I don't need the phone mounted because my car's built-in GPS is Good Enough even with somewhat outdated maps - the areas that aren't on the maps are places that were developed recently, so audio from Google Maps is enough (the roads in newer developments are spaced out more, so there's less chance of missing a turn).

      Incidentally, assuming you're in the UK, this appears to be an updated version. £21.99, only £2 more than the older version.

    35. Re:And still... by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      My Toyota Tundra has that issue, it makes no sense, but turning the stereo on and off doesn't connect, and telling the phone to connect doesn't work. You have to actually turn off the vehicle and turn it back on to get the stereo to connect to your phone. It even happens sometimes when Bluetooth is turned on, I am not entirely sure why though.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  4. Desperate users by mrsam · · Score: 2

    Many years ago I wrote a simple webmail server. My email address wasn't even on the login screen, just my company name. There have been more than one occasion over the years when some customer of an internet provider that used my webmail server needed technical support, and apparently managed to Google the company name, find my email address, and ask me for a password reset, or something along those lines...

    1. Re:Desperate users by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think this is a result of so many companies making it nearly impossible to get in contact with them, or only providing a forum on their website and saying to customers "you guys figure it out on your own." Okay, I get it that there's support costs. But I would LOVE to reach out to an engineer at Amazon to tell them about a very irritating and easy-to-repro bug in their Android Kindle app when using it to play audiobooks. Or I'd love to contact Corel to tell them that they're alienating someone who's been buying and using CorelDRAW literally since version 1 with their current marketing shenanigans. But alas, there's no direct and simple way to provide feedback (at least that I've seen), and their products suffer as a result from lack of feedback.

      Interestingly enough, I have to give credit to the Visual Studio team at Microsoft for actually doing it right. They have a feedback tool built right into Visual Studio which can give both positive or negative feedback, report bugs, and even take a screenshot right from within the program. Too bad the Windows team doesn't seem to follow their example in listening to feedback. Or more likely, they're simply told by management to implement all the shitty things they've done to their users.

      One of these days, I'm waiting for a decently-large company to figure out that they can stand out from the crowd by providing outstanding customer service - that always seems to be the first to go when a company gets large. I'd think customers would actually want to support such a novel enterprise. Of course, the trick is that if your products are crap, your support costs skyrocket. So rather than fix products, it's easier for companies to simply shut down or outsource their support.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    2. Re:Desperate users by l0n3s0m3phr34k · · Score: 2

      Dell's Enterprise Support for products under warranty is pretty decent. We use them pretty exclusively for our VMWare sub-system, hosts, SANs, iSCSI switches, and ESXi itself. 24/7 support, with a 4-hour onsite if we need it. One phone number, one ticket. I've yet to have an issue they couldn't fix.

    3. Re:Desperate users by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's amazing how decent support can get when you start throwing buckets of money at the company.

    4. Re:Desperate users by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2

      Try using the Gimp, it is very easy to communicate directly with he developers - and you don't even need a Microsoft O/S, as it works fine on Linux!

      CorelDRAW is not a paint program.

      Besides, while a lot of free software is amazing, FLOSS can certainly have its own issues. I've heard it said, "if ever you are unsatisfied with the software, please feel free to return it for a full refund of the purchase price." That's a nice way of saying that if you don't like the software, you really have no recourse or even a right to complain, because you paid nothing for it.

      If you ever want to be disabused of the notion that free software is always more responsive to it's users, then just read this thread. It's ten pages of users begging for a workaround to a problem they're having, and the developer essentially telling them to piss off.

      I'm not picking on free software. After all, my first two examples were of commercial software. I'm just saying that it's prone to the same shitty customer service, although I suspect it may be often for different reasons.

         

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    5. Re:Desperate users by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      One of these days, I'm waiting for a decently-large company to figure out that they can stand out from the crowd by providing outstanding customer service - that always seems to be the first to go when a company gets large. I'd think customers would actually want to support such a novel enterprise. Of course, the trick is that if your products are crap, your support costs skyrocket. So rather than fix products, it's easier for companies to simply shut down or outsource their support.

      Unfortunately this doesn't usually work out. Example: Starwood hotel group has/had excellent customer service. Business and pleasure travelers who experience a Starwood hotel become brand-loyal quite quickly. Marriott's customer service is slightly below average, but they chain generates more profit. With that profit, they bought Starwood, and at the end of this year much of the Starwood customer service team in Connecticut is getting laid off. If the money you save by providing low quality service is enough for you to buy out the competition, it doesn't really matter.

    6. Re:Desperate users by blackest_k · · Score: 2

      So it seems that the issue in this case was a server with a security vulnerability that the then current version of filezilla wouldn't work with

      2solutions

      fix the server
      use an older version of filezilla

      3rd solution make the current version of filezilla compatible with the broken server.
      Does it need spelling out why the 3rd solution is not a solution?

      Basically the server provider gets complaints that the clients can't connect with the current client builds. Either they are too lazy to fix the server or were unaware of the issue. In the latter case they are now informed in the former case they pretty much have to admit to the client they are too lazy or incompetent to fix the server. The client has the choice to use the old version of filezilla or find a more responsible host. The client may also be unaware of the security issue till filezilla stops working. However they know now.

      I am 100% with the developers of filezilla on this one, because getting my site compromised is not acceptable. Especially if I will rebuild and the vulnerability is still there. The only people who should be disappointed by the vulnerability being fixed are the people who wish to exploit it.

      --
      Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
    7. Re:Desperate users by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 1

      I think this is a result of so many companies making it nearly impossible to get in contact with them, or only providing a forum on their website and saying to customers "you guys figure it out on your own." Okay, I get it that there's support costs.

      One of the problems with offering support is that your average punter isn't capable of judging where the problem is and ensuring they're contacting the correct customer support. The classic one is the poor old ISP who gets everything right down to "my computer won't switch on". If you get vastly more irrelevant support calls than relevant support calls, the support desk is just going to become a massive cost sink.

      Then game theory and chain reactions set in, because if the vendor of product X shuts down or hides their support services from normal users, the users with a genuine problem with product X will find a support number for product Y. The increase on load for product Y's support team leads them to hide their phone number, so now all issues with products X and Y start getting diverted to the team for product Z. Even if you haven't experienced this, you know it's a risk, so it's a race to hide your contact details before everyone else does.

      The other confounding issue is corporate contracts. When I was in corporate IT apps management, we were the first point of contact -- users were not supposed to go directly to the vendor. So corporate software hides its support details -- it has to. Now it just so happens that a lot of corporate software is also used by private individuals too, and the hidden contact details for them could be an unintended side-effect.

      Interestingly enough, I have to give credit to the Visual Studio team at Microsoft for actually doing it right. They have a feedback tool built right into Visual Studio which can give both positive or negative feedback, report bugs, and even take a screenshot right from within the program. Too bad the Windows team doesn't seem to follow their example in listening to feedback.

      The difference is that most users of Visual Studio (regardless of what you think about it) are reasonably clued up, what with them being software developers and all. You're not going to get the usual stream of irrelevant and incoherent issues that you would get from non-technical users.

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
  5. This is why I quit tech support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    And got into politics. After all, if I had to suffer human stupidity, I might as well be grossly overpaid for it.

  6. Re:When the radio in my new Ford... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    I rented a Ford Exploder a few weeks ago. I'd rather have a fucking cassette player than their shit audio.

  7. why there delay between audio and video when conne by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    hi i just found you're website with google searc i got the same issue on my car sterio too. wats the answer? email me bak asap

  8. Perhaps. . . by smooth+wombat · · Score: 2

    if we weren't trying to technology the crap out of everything we wouldn't have so many problems.

    It's an absolute factual truism, the more complicated you make something the more problems you will have and these "entertainment systems" are living proof.

    Apparently in the mind of engineers a simple on/off knob, one which can be easily felt and operated without taking ones eyes off the road is now verboten. Instead, one now has to look at a screen, in the middle of the car, hope they find the correct icon to select, touch some more icons to get closer to what they want, possible go through a menu system and if they're lucky, at that point can finally listen to the radio or play music.

    Whatever happened to, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."?

    --
    We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security. -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
    1. Re:Perhaps. . . by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      Totally agree. Now you have to take your eyes off the road to perform the most simple tasks. Nothing beats tactile controls. Now idiots demand their cars come with giant ugly touchscreens because they think its modern. You know all that shit is gonna break in a few years,

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  9. Re:When the radio in my new Ford... by TapeCutter · · Score: 2

    I have a 13yr old mazda 6. The leather seats are worn out and the gearbox makes strange noises but the factory installed sound system is still fucking awesome.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  10. Re:When the radio in my new Ford... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I would break a window for that.

  11. Uniform multimedia by eric31415927 · · Score: 1

    Why are the car companies even offering infotainment?
    They should stick to making their cars ride smoothly and include a generic multimedia dock for customers to put in their own 3rd-party systems.
    The 3rd-party systems could be replaced every few years for people who want the latest and greatest.

    This may lead to increased stereo thefts but a lot less future negative image for the car companies.
    If a modern youth's first car is a 10-year-old [insert model and make here] with a sucky stereo, he/she is unlikely to buy that make ever again.

    1. Re:Uniform multimedia by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 2

      So that they can make money selling ads?

    2. Re:Uniform multimedia by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1

      You think car companies haven't already thought of this? All the technology is in place now. One OTA update and you car chimes and displays the McDonald's logo when you drive past. You hit the radio button and have to watch a 10 second ad for Dr. Scholls odor eaters.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  12. Re: When the radio in my new Ford... by sumdumass · · Score: 1

    NAh.. My posts look like that when I'm posting from my phone after about 6 beers. Well, that is until slashdot fucked up and I cannot even log in on my phone any more.

    If anything, it should be a -5 for posting from small devices while drunk or on the way to getting drunk..

  13. Re: Honestly, pretty neat by Chrontius · · Score: 2
    Did you RTFA?

    The hacker news discussions on this post took off. I just want to emphasize that this post is not a complaint. I’m not whining over this. I’m just showing some interesting side-effects of my email in the license text. I actually find these emails interesting, sometimes charming and they help me connect to the reality many people experience out there.

  14. Re: Head in the sand? by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    That sounds an awful lot like telling him he might as well stick his head in the sand.

  15. Re: latency support by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    Given he isn't experiencing this problem with anything other than the car, it's likely the car, though he might not have any other devices.

  16. True, open source only guarantees you can buy supp by raymorris · · Score: 1

    While *typically* with major open source projects it's easy to contact the developers, the license certainly doesn't guarantee that. What it DOES guarantee is that you're not up a creek without a paddle when the company goes out of business or drops the product. Any good programmer who knows the domain and language can fix or even customize the software for you.

  17. Re:When the radio in my new Ford... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    I just happen to have a C= 1530 Datasette. What's on the tape?

  18. Re:When the radio in my new Ford... by amiga3D · · Score: 1

    I remember when I was in the Air Force back in the early 80's in Biloxi, Mississippi one of the guys in my unit had a POS Renault Le Car. Ugly beater that half ass ran half the time and over 3 thousand dollars worth of stereo equipment in it. It sounded great though.

  19. Android auto by Billly+Gates · · Score: 1

    It is time car companies gave up and do what they do best. That is MAKE CARS!

    When Steve Jobs returned to Apple he immediately sold the printing division, pippin, and killed the clone market. Why? He said let HP and Xerox do what they do best and have us do what WE do what is best.

    Car companies do not know how to make UI's for car stereos or write programming. Going to Indian shops to save money or bringing in h1b1 visas to write the UI for cars do not work either. That is not what they know best.

    Let Apple and Google do the stereo part and no I have NEVER HEARD anyone say BOY THAT STEREO DASHBOARD IS WHY I BOUGHT THIS car only X has it! I mean really??

    Now I have heard to avoid Ford like the plague. The newer ones are coming with Iplay and Android Auto which is a plus for the suckers who want to loose money on a rapidly depreciating asset but for us who only buy used it will be awhile. WIth Android and IOS you also get audiobooks and other cool features and synchronization with the cloud.

    --
    http://saveie6.com/
    1. Re:Android auto by ptaff · · Score: 1

      That is MAKE CARS!

      That makes sense in general, not only in cars; I'm looking at you, router vendors.

    2. Re:Android auto by Agripa · · Score: 1

      It is time car companies gave up and do what they do best. That is MAKE CARS!

      The problem is that they are not very good at this either.

  20. Re: True, open source only guarantees you can buy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Having the source is not a panacea. It can take a lot of time to get familiar enough with the code to fix it. Just pay someone else to do that? You then have the hassle of hiring him, time for him to ramp up, and then he costs money. Small custom work like that is rarely cost effective.

    Closed software stinks and so does open source. 20 years ago I thought open source could give us much higher quality, but it hasn't. It has -generally- given us free software of junky quality. The immediate cost of software is lower, but the junky quality (missing basic features, no or crap incomplete documentation) is an ongoing cost you never shake. It could've been so much better than this.

  21. My car is 15 years old so forgive my ignorance by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 2

    Why does a car need the curl utility to make bluetooth work?

    1. Re:My car is 15 years old so forgive my ignorance by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 1

      Why does a car need the curl utility to make bluetooth work?

      It doesn't. The cURL installation will be there for updating software and/or satnav map data. The problem is that the guy's email address is easier to find than any contact details for the manufacturer's official support team.

      --
      Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
  22. Re:First by Half-pint+HAL · · Score: 1

    First!

    I have a toyota corola and there is a delay between me posting and the post being published. This means I never get first post. Also how do I install "derp" leng?

    --
    Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
  23. yeap by bobmajdakjr · · Score: 1

    on a different vein but highly related i was just telling some people about why forks are a pain in the ass to deal with when the core project is still active. people will email the original project asking them to fix problems the fork messed up. its super annoying.