Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi iMiev, Ampera - they're all outside our office this week. It's the annual Canary Wharf Motorshow. My chance to see the Leaf and Ampera in the metal. Both very nice; saw the iMiev last year.
These cars very visibly computers on wheels, now that they're electric. The Leaf has a 7 inch screen, USB, Bluetooth and apps - you'll be able to remotely instruct it to heat or cool the car before you arrive. The sales guy said they're hoping it will be able to locate the nearest available charge point. These cars will be really smart cars. Boris Bikes on wheels, scaled up.
And if they are computers, will we be able to upgrade them? New motherboard, more ram, more disk space for iTunes music and films for the kids? Will there be wifi, so that your Ampera in the garage or drive or across the street will be able to sync your movies, music and ebooks?
Then there's software. We're all used to software upgrades. Car companies have a whole new revenue stream: charging for the latest Leaf or Ampera operating system upgrade. Sell two million cars and then sell an upgrade every year for the next five years... At £50 a time, as part of your annual service, that's another 500 million. Nice money. Add in-car apps if you want more.
There's a downside: malware. These days, it's not just kids in back-bedrooms, it's well-funded government spies in air-conditioned offices. If you want to invade a country, you don't need to nuke them. You just arrange all cars to lock down during commuting hours on a Monday morning. Easy.
The Open Car
No, not a convertible. With projects like Black Current around, all you may really need to create your own electric vehicle is a donor vehicle for the analogue parts, like steering and doors; a few parts from B&Q and a few digital Linux-powered bits and pieces. Put them all together and you have an open source car; one you can keep upgrading as new software comes out.
Typewriters?
Think of today's fossil-fuel cars. Once you buy one, it's obsolete. You can't upgrade it; all you can really do is replace parts. With a digital cars, much of it can be upgraded through software. The new computers on wheels will be exactly that. And we'll look back on today's cars as being as archaic as IBM golfball typewriters.
These cars very visibly computers on wheels, now that they're electric. The Leaf has a 7 inch screen, USB, Bluetooth and apps - you'll be able to remotely instruct it to heat or cool the car before you arrive. The sales guy said they're hoping it will be able to locate the nearest available charge point. These cars will be really smart cars. Boris Bikes on wheels, scaled up.
And if they are computers, will we be able to upgrade them? New motherboard, more ram, more disk space for iTunes music and films for the kids? Will there be wifi, so that your Ampera in the garage or drive or across the street will be able to sync your movies, music and ebooks?
Then there's software. We're all used to software upgrades. Car companies have a whole new revenue stream: charging for the latest Leaf or Ampera operating system upgrade. Sell two million cars and then sell an upgrade every year for the next five years... At £50 a time, as part of your annual service, that's another 500 million. Nice money. Add in-car apps if you want more.
There's a downside: malware. These days, it's not just kids in back-bedrooms, it's well-funded government spies in air-conditioned offices. If you want to invade a country, you don't need to nuke them. You just arrange all cars to lock down during commuting hours on a Monday morning. Easy.
The Open Car
No, not a convertible. With projects like Black Current around, all you may really need to create your own electric vehicle is a donor vehicle for the analogue parts, like steering and doors; a few parts from B&Q and a few digital Linux-powered bits and pieces. Put them all together and you have an open source car; one you can keep upgrading as new software comes out.
Typewriters?
Think of today's fossil-fuel cars. Once you buy one, it's obsolete. You can't upgrade it; all you can really do is replace parts. With a digital cars, much of it can be upgraded through software. The new computers on wheels will be exactly that. And we'll look back on today's cars as being as archaic as IBM golfball typewriters.
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