Blog Archives
America’s Next Top Model?
There’s no Flux Capacitor, but…
Business Insider is reporting that electric car company Tesla, led by innovator Elon Musk, will be making the Model 3 that will be built by year-end 2017 (or possibly the beginning of 2018) and will not exceed the $35,000 mark. Usually tens of thousands of dollars more expensive, this appears to be the hyped-about (and necessary) next step towards an emissions-free car market.
A small step, yes, but it’s a step forward that leaves a smaller footprint burnout.
$35,000 is an expensive price tag, but it’s at least within range and consideration of people who buy luxury SUV’s and luxury sedans and the Toyota Avalon. Business Insider also reported that applicable tax breaks and incentives could spark a price plummet of nearly $10,000.
Ladies and gentlemen, that’s Toyota Camry territory.
The point is that Tesla’s forthcoming innovation towards a more affordable electric car, with their current models receiving sensational reviews, should expand their marketplace and improve their target demographics. People will be able to invest in a car and a renewable future. With the Millennial generation that focuses on (and responds to) business pursuits that simultaneously promote social good, Tesla’s Model 3 could become the next iPhone in the sense that the next versions will be followed by the masses with anticipation and an infectious energy for its new gadgets and groundbreaking features for the road.
Let’s not dive into Musk’s sour feelings of Steve Jobs and Apple right now. The above hypothesis was just a general observation.
The Model 3 will shine its lights on March 31, 2016: Plug it into your calendars.
Shifting Control
Do you prefer dealing with mechanics in a garage or tech support over the phone?
Interestingly, this may become the question in the not-so-distant future with regards to what kind of car people prefer to drive. Wired Magazine recently conduced a controlled, yet chilling experiment that challenged two computer savvy individuals to attempt to effectively take the wheel of a Jeep Cherokee driven by Wired Magazine employee Andy Greenberg.
The security experts, Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek, accessed the Jeep’s computer brain through its Uconnect infotainment system and rewrote the firmware to plant their malicious code. Once in, the duo began blasting hip-hop through the stereo system, turned the AC to maximum and, ultimately, killed the transmission and brakes.”
—Marco della Cava of USA Today
In a word: scary.
In more words: Isn’t this a big part of what science-fiction movies warn us about?
Advancements in technology can and will be good and bad, but it’s essential we fully understand both consequences of whatever new developments are made. The above instance unnervingly illustrates this point.
A trend throughout the past decade in the auto world (starting with luxury brands) are cars that are increasingly being designed and built with more software and hardware than mechanical parts. The 21st century may be witnessing its defining mark in the evolution of the automobile, for better or worse.
The excitement comes with the necessary navigational system and an impressive interactive control center at the easy and simple touch of the driver and his or her co-pilot. These are great inventions. The caution comes with the realization that a wrench, screws and some gasoline in a small red plastic container are becoming archaic with the modern car. And the fact that a couple hackers (from above) could penetrate a computer system in a popular car should be the latest yellow light of caution aimed at the benefits of technological convenience. Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call to Jeep and its competitors who utilize similar systems.
And yet, at the same time, this should not deter technological innovations.
It’s practically inevitable that a majority of cars in the next ten to fifteen years will be designed with a centralized computer. Will consumers continue and/or start to buy cars that take such a momentous shift and reliance towards technology? Time will tell. Tesla, with its environmental payoffs, sleek features and powerful engine, is basically a giant computer on the inside. Their car models are incredible. The infrastructure is ever-growing, which is critical to its ultimate success. While costs are high now, it’s certainly a company with a bright future if they can control and lower prices for the competitive consumer market.
Tesla’s success down the road would literally (re)define the auto grid.
Computers, in its myriad formats, are here to stay. However, what the startling experiment described above reveals is that patience is required with machines deliberately built for speed.
We use computers everyday, but maybe it’s time we consider (and plan for) how computers use us.
Steering the Future with an Apple?
Are Tesla Motors & Apple joining forces?
If you’re betting any real money, it’s probably best to keep Benjamin Franklin housed comfortably in your wallet or money clip. The answer appears to be no, according to analysts. Jerry Hirsch of The LA Times cited one specific reason for the unlikely alliance between the tech giant and the electric car company in his article, “Tesla Motors closes at record after Apple merger rumor surfaces.”
Tuesday’s closing stock price left Tesla with a market valuation of $25 billion, about $1.1 million for each of the 22,450 Model S cars it sold last year. The cars sell for $70,000 to $100,000, depending on options.
And that market valuation doesn’t include any premium Apple would have to toss in as part of an acquisition.
“Apple does not have a history of paying massive premiums,” Irwin said.
While this partnership seems like a futuristic dream amongst tech geeks and visionary opportunists, it doesn’t hurt to ponder how this relationship could be translated into a feasible vision…
Cost would undeniably be one of the primary concerns surrounding the design, construction and maintenance of a car that would feature high-quality and cutting-edge components from both Tesla and Apple. These two companies prefer to only the best materials. That’s okay, but there needs to be an outlet for those who don’t live a Hollywood lifestyle.
Speaking of outlets and lifestyle…
One solution (just one) to the cost issue is to require the user of the car to own an iPhone or an iPad (or, for convenience and price, both).
Why?
Imagine a car that is immediately personalized to the driver with the simple plugging-in of your phone and/or tablet? The center console would be partially empty, ready for the driver to insert his or her iPhone and/or iPad in the appropriate spots to function and bring to life the center console/the “heart” of the car. All of the music and preferences would instantly download from the connected phone and/or tablet (if you don’t own either a phone or a tablet, then that could be inserted and preset for your preferences by Tesla’s Apple or whatever name they decide on for their joint venture). The temperature, seat warmers, air conditioning system, etc. would be built in around the vacancy left for the phone and tablet.
Of course, with this being a car, there would be voice-activation control and navigation capability to strongly encourage and help prevent people from scrolling and tapping with their fingers while driving. Still, the usual functions of Apple products would apply with the touch features.
Here’s the catch:
An iPhone and/or iPad must be preset for the car to recognize that specific device(s) with a sign-in requiring a preset finger print scan. There would likely be many more additional safety and identity precautions (passwords, firewall features) and protections, but these are just two necessary starting points.
Plus, like any Apple device, it will charge when it’s plugged in, which resolves the problem of a phone or tablet running out of battery life while driving.
Admittedly, this would certainly accelerate the prospect of cars virtually becoming computers on wheels. Is that good or bad? There are valid points for both.
Regarding the fuel aspect, that is still obviously “TBD.” The assumption is that Tesla and Apple would create an emissions-free, electric battery of some sort. This is where the equation (predictably) gets cloudy and pricey at the inception of development. Plus, there are the questions of testing, safety, performance, infrastructure and so forth.
For right now though, imagine the iPhone and iPad concept.
Talk about each person driving their own iCar/iJimmy/iYour Name…
“The physics is theoretical, but the fun is real”
The best television shows consistently demonstrate one commonality: the audience knows the cast is having fun and that they are actually friends off-camera. This post will examine one of these sitcoms.
As crazy as this reads, my Dad and I were actually at the taping of “The Big Bang Theory” pilot! Full disclosure: it was an amazing atmosphere, sitcom episode and, being candid, it felt like a hit from the very first scene that was shot in the waiting room where Sheldon & Leonard were waiting to make manly depos-…you get the picture. They ultimately bailed out, but this first impression of the characters was funny nonetheless.
In this first episode, the final scene comprised of the four guys and Penny driving out to dinner. Howard Wolowitz, the self-described Ladies Man, who can wish a woman “good shower” in a multitude of languages, was flirting with Penny by enticing the group to got to a karaoke bar. Wolowitz then proceeds to seductively, and humorously, serenade Penny. Penny is caught between a smile and a gentle laugh, genuinely amused by her co-star as Sheldon closes out the show with a quip about Leonard being a, “veritable Mack Daddy” in the car, directly referring to his long-shot chances of dating the beautiful girl next door. Penny then bursts into laughs from the back seat as the scene goes to black.
Comradery is special to see in any episode, let alone the pilot. Aside from the fact the first episode was great by regular standards, this quintet appeared to be onto something beyond just a pilot. This very funny show with its great characters enters Season 7 (already!?) this fall with Leonard returning to Pasadena and his girlfriend Penny from his career-changing voyage at sea with Stephen Hawking’s research team and with Raj finally able to speak to women without being intoxicated, which actually turned Amy into a bit of a drinker…this being a sips worth of red wine.
One guarantee is that if the cast is having fun, it’s very likely the audience is too.
The laughs in the upcoming seventh season are only four months away.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 