from Hacker News

Mercedes-Benz Wants to Become a Software Company, the CEO Says

by hownottowrite on 4/16/23, 10:39 AM with 3 comments

  • by politelemon on 4/16/23, 11:21 AM

    > Company executives envision the car as an entertainment center, with gaming, social media, video conferencing, music, and other third-party apps. Schäfer touted partnerships with Universal Music as well as myNFT, the latter of which will allow customers to create and display their own private art galleries inside their vehicles.

    This article, its celebratory tone, the company's focus on software, and particularly paragraph scares me. A car is not an entertainment center, nor is it a 'supercomputer', it is a transportation medium, and the drive for profits should not let anyone lose focus of that fact.

    While it would be easy to assume that people can avoid 'bad ideas' like this, it is not the case with large chunks of steel travelling at speed, where a mistake can easily affect others who had nothing to do with the poor decision.

  • by FabHK on 4/16/23, 11:06 AM

    Terrible. No analog buttons, and not using the phone ecosystem, but their own...

    > Company executives envision the car as an entertainment center, with gaming, social media, video conferencing, music, and other third-party apps.

    So you'll have to subscribe to Netflix, Disney, and Mercedes Benz? Great.

    > Schäfer touted partnerships with Universal Music as well as myNFT, the latter of which will allow customers to create and display their own private art galleries inside their vehicles.

    <face palm>