Cars, etc.

[Bob Zumbrunnen]

The auto industry is becoming more and more like Microsoft. Isolate you from the machine as much as possible. It's unfortunate.

There are definitely benefits. Writing this kind of software is an awful lot easier now than it would've been in the days when you had to do things like checking the brand of modem and using the appropriate command language for it in much the same way you no longer have to mess with ignition timing on most cars because they keep themselves advanced just short of knocking.

But we lose some capabilities and freedoms.

A good thing, though, is that efficiency (unlike with MSFT) is extremely high on the list with automakers. And the same efficiency that yields improved fuel economy yields previously unheard-of power/displacement ratios. Many cars now make better than 100 horses per liter, which was solely in the motorcycle domain for a long time. And they're doing so while still making the kinds of torque it takes to move thousands of pounds instead of hundreds.