Open Source Autos Hit the Streets in Spain 110
markdowling writes "BBC News has a story about electrically powered tourist cars in Cordoba which provide tourist information in French, English and Spanish as landmarks are passed. The promoter, Alfredo Romeo, calls them Blobjects which he heard described in a speech by Bruce Sterling. The car's tourist guide software is open source - Romeo's quoted reason: 'With proprietary software, innovation comes from the people in marketing. But with open source, innovation comes from the guy who is really in the market. It comes from someone who knows the city.'"
Re:Slow... (Score:3, Interesting)
These could work in really big Cities. Traffic in big congested cities is stop and go and averages about 20MPH. Unfortunately modern U.S. cities have given up the grid patern and let the developers do the planing ad hoc with huge high ways. These GEM cars won't work in these "modern" cities.
I could see these things working in European cities or even the older U.S. cities. Big Cities that charge congestion tolls could make exceptions for these small vehicles.
What a load of baloney (Score:2, Interesting)
Second, it's an electric car. Someone call Ed Begley, Jr. and wake me when they design and build one that is properly competitive with my SUV and cost effective.
Third, innovation does NOT come from the marketing people, they merely put a glitzy name to the innovation. Innovation in software comes from astute programmers who "get it" as to what the customer is not only wanting, but actually needing and lacking the descriptive powers to convey. The cry programmers should live for is not, "oooh, cool, open source..." but "EXACTLY! This is EXACTLY what I was needing! Damn, this is EXACTLY IT!"
And then the common know-nothing-about-the-behind-the-scenes people chalk it up to the sales and marketing people while the programmers go on to have post orgasmic depression, their having "gotten it" gone unappreciated. Such is the life of those doing the writing. Strangely, no one ascribes Stephen King's works to the marketing department of his publisher...
Re:Slow... (Score:3, Interesting)
Because I can have room for my dogs (two German Shorthair) to run and my nearest neighbor is 30 meters from my house. I also have a spectacular view of the river from my house.
Time to start thinking about living closer to work..
Well, that is one possible way to attack the problem. I prefer to do more of my work at home, thereby not starting my internal combustion engine at all.
-- your car is an unimagined luxury,
Not where I live, nor in the line of work I am in. I am a geologist and the work I am in requires that I go to where the contamination is to clean it up.
and your not going to have that leisure for long...
You and your grandchildren's grandchildren better hope you are wrong. If I don't get to where the contamination is, you will be eating/drinking it on or in your dinner/lunch/breakfast.
the Chinease and Indians might like lightbulbs and concrete floors for their huts -- thats going to take PLENTY of gas.
Quite possibly. They will not, however, have to string miles of copper across their country to have nation-wide telephony. Cell phones have seen to that. And the Chinese are building out gigawatts of nuclear power, lessening their dependence on fossil fuels for electrical generation.
Your going to compete in the international marketplace for that oil.
Here's some news for you: I already do.
What do you think its going to cost you to drive your existing car 30miles in 15, 25, 35 years?
I don't plan on owning this particular vehicle in 10 years, so your question is moot.
What do you think that drive is going to look like?
SPACE CARS!!!
Haven't you seen a modernist movie of the future?
5 passenger, steel, 4x4 suv that gets 15mpg -- or a 40mph golf-cart? I'll bet the latter.
I'll take that bet. You see there were plenty of people in 1980 who would have bet on the golf cart and lost.
Your ability to predict the future of oil is mitigated by the behaviour a human's response to market demands.