May be a bit hyperbolic, but I think you might agree once you hear what it is.
I was channel surfing tonight and came across an episode of Future Cars on the Discover Channel. This one was titled "The Brain" and was talking about how changes in computing power will influence the design and capabilities of the car of the future. Basically, your car is going to get really smart (smarter than the vast majority of drivers, I have to assume.)
As someone who actually enjoys driving, I have to say I found a lot of the ideas and concepts they were floating anywhere from annoying to downright chilling. I hated the idea of the "Senso" from Sweden… a car that can sense your driving style and mood and will change the interior color scheme to soothing colors and your music to easy listening if it finds you driving too aggressively. (Might as well call it the Orwell.)
While I found the concept of the "Automatrix" somewhat less annoying, I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to embrace that concept yet. I like the idea of each car being able to communicate with the others around it, making traffic flow more efficiently and safely. Hell, if I can kick back during my commute to and from work and catch up on my reading while my car handles the driving, I'm all for it. But I want the ability to be able to jack out of the Matrix whenever I please so I can get back to driving myself (which probably negates the whole safety and efficiency idea).
But the worst idea ever? Along with the other concepts of the Automatrix came this gem… micro-transactions to help speed your way through traffic. Yeah, some guy saw how Microsoft sold videogame publishers on the idea of charging for every little update they push out for a game and thought "hey, we can do a better job with that idea!"
Their plan is to allow the driver to "purchase" the right of way. The example they use is that you're driving your pregnant wife to the hospital, but traffic's too heavy. You can authorize your car to charge your credit card and purchase the right of way from slower moving traffic, so they'll get out of your way and let you pass.
Anyone who's spent as much time driving around LA (ground-zero for CotU) can immediately see the problem with this notion… The jack-hole with the AMEX Black is going to be using that every time he runs over to the golf course. Frankly, I don't want my ability to get where I need to go in the timeliest fashion possible beholden to every a-hole with a better credit line than I have. Sadly, much like nuclear weapons, no-talent celebrity idolizing and the Bush presidency, once you open the door to this kind of stupidity, it's hard to slam it shut.
Someone needs to take this guy's drafting tools, notepads and slide-rules away from him before he manages to inflict any more such stupidity on the world. (Does anyone actually USE slide-rules anymore? Oh well.)
I was channel surfing tonight and came across an episode of Future Cars on the Discover Channel. This one was titled "The Brain" and was talking about how changes in computing power will influence the design and capabilities of the car of the future. Basically, your car is going to get really smart (smarter than the vast majority of drivers, I have to assume.)
As someone who actually enjoys driving, I have to say I found a lot of the ideas and concepts they were floating anywhere from annoying to downright chilling. I hated the idea of the "Senso" from Sweden… a car that can sense your driving style and mood and will change the interior color scheme to soothing colors and your music to easy listening if it finds you driving too aggressively. (Might as well call it the Orwell.)
While I found the concept of the "Automatrix" somewhat less annoying, I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to embrace that concept yet. I like the idea of each car being able to communicate with the others around it, making traffic flow more efficiently and safely. Hell, if I can kick back during my commute to and from work and catch up on my reading while my car handles the driving, I'm all for it. But I want the ability to be able to jack out of the Matrix whenever I please so I can get back to driving myself (which probably negates the whole safety and efficiency idea).
But the worst idea ever? Along with the other concepts of the Automatrix came this gem… micro-transactions to help speed your way through traffic. Yeah, some guy saw how Microsoft sold videogame publishers on the idea of charging for every little update they push out for a game and thought "hey, we can do a better job with that idea!"
Their plan is to allow the driver to "purchase" the right of way. The example they use is that you're driving your pregnant wife to the hospital, but traffic's too heavy. You can authorize your car to charge your credit card and purchase the right of way from slower moving traffic, so they'll get out of your way and let you pass.
Anyone who's spent as much time driving around LA (ground-zero for CotU) can immediately see the problem with this notion… The jack-hole with the AMEX Black is going to be using that every time he runs over to the golf course. Frankly, I don't want my ability to get where I need to go in the timeliest fashion possible beholden to every a-hole with a better credit line than I have. Sadly, much like nuclear weapons, no-talent celebrity idolizing and the Bush presidency, once you open the door to this kind of stupidity, it's hard to slam it shut.
Someone needs to take this guy's drafting tools, notepads and slide-rules away from him before he manages to inflict any more such stupidity on the world. (Does anyone actually USE slide-rules anymore? Oh well.)
Comments