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posted by CoolHand on Thursday May 07 2015, @10:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the battle-of-the-corporate-giants dept.

In a move that could backfire badly, car manufacturers are working together to buy control of Nokia maps with the intent of blocking Google's development of software for self-driving vehicles. The auto-makers consider open sourced autonomous vehicles to be an existential threat to their existing business, and are prepared to pay Nokia more than two billion dollars to stymie the disruptive technology.

“The greatest threat to the automobile industry would be if Google developed an operating system for self-driving cars and made it available free to everyone,” said one source speaking with the WSJ.

http://jalopnik.com/bmw-audi-and-mercedes-benz-want-to-buy-nokia-s-maps-t-1702660909

 
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  • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @12:50AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @12:50AM (#180126)

    Shitty car manufacturers would not care about Google or whoever providing maps and self-driving cars. Those cars are shitty to drive anyway, and you just want to get to your destination without experiencing the drive. What Google wants to do is take the fun out of driving, the sales point of these three (and a few others maybe). No sane human being would buy an S-Class and then let Google drive it for them. Google wants drones it can control, and wants to tell you its in your best interest. 1984 is near. These three companies are fighting the good fight. They are saving the world from hostile takeover. They have my full support. Anything that delays Google's attempts to take over the world are welcome.

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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by tibman on Friday May 08 2015, @01:41AM

    by tibman (134) Subscriber Badge on Friday May 08 2015, @01:41AM (#180143)

    Yeah! And nobody wants preset radio stations. That would take the thrill out of spinning all those knobs. And nobody would want a service that does all your navigation for you. That would take the thrill out of staring at maps and penciling down a route. Nobody would even want an automatic transmission. That would take the thrill out of shifting those gears yourself.

    Not everyone wants to shoot a deer in order to eat dinner. Most people drive a car because it is the most practical way to get to work and back. Having a luxury car could also mean you have the luxury of not having to even pay attention to the road. It would be funny to be sitting in a manual 70k$ car revving the engine to get attention and all the plebs in their shitty plastic cars are watching netflix and completely ignoring you : )

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    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @05:08AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @05:08AM (#180197)

      Not everybody wants a computer to do the driving. Some drive to get from point-A to point-B. Why not take the bus then? Some drive for pleasure. Maybe the driver wants the experience from driving. No two drivers are the same, and no two cars are the same either.

      That would take the thrill out of shifting those gears yourself.

      Drive a manual car with a petrol engine and a turbo charger. Then hear the satisfying sound of the bov while changing gears. I guess no one wants to hear that. They just want to not have to shift gears because gears are so difficult. There should be a lower minimum for drivers, because not every passenger can drive in an emergency, which they will have to do when the google-infected car breaks down.

      Most people drive a car because it is the most practical way to get to work and back.

      Everyone does not drive to get to work and back. There are other uncommon uses of cars such as: Driving for pleasure, Driving to let off some steam, etc.

      How many times have you broken traffic rules and overspeeded because you were angry at something, and in the end it helped calm you? How would you let off steam if you are just the passenger? The car wouldn't let you get in front of somebody and slam on the brakes if you're angry with them. You will bottle up the anger and it will spill out at the wrong time causing real harm.

      It would be funny to be sitting in a manual 70k$ car revving the engine to get attention and all the plebs in their shitty plastic cars are watching netflix and completely ignoring you

      No, actually the plastic car drivers watching netflix will be watching netflix because they could not afford the $70k car. Its all google's fault. People who couldn't afford to have a large email inbox were "given" 1GB by google making them feel bigger/capable/more successful than they actually were.

      By the way, I drive a cheap car (without plastic), manual and no computers on board. And I like it.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @07:11AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @07:11AM (#180224)

        How many times have you broken traffic rules and overspeeded because you were angry at something, and in the end it helped calm you?

        That same thing often results in some innocent person involved in an accident.

        The best outcome is a tree, fire hydrant, or lighting standard takes the hit.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @08:28AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @08:28AM (#180239)

          That same thing often results in some innocent person involved in an accident.

          Not often, rarely. An angry person is full of energy and will not sleep at the wheel. One can slow down after a kilometer or two of speeding. And/or cut through traffic for a while.

      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Paradise Pete on Friday May 08 2015, @09:23AM

        by Paradise Pete (1806) on Friday May 08 2015, @09:23AM (#180249)

        How would you let off steam if you are just the passenger? The car wouldn't let you get in front of somebody and slam on the brakes if you're angry with them.

        Worst Argument Ever.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by sigma on Friday May 08 2015, @02:25AM

    by sigma (1225) on Friday May 08 2015, @02:25AM (#180154)

    No sane human being would buy a luxury vehicle and then let a chauffeur drive it for them.

    FTFY.

    And I suspect you're wrong about that. So wrong you've set a new Soylentil record for wrongness that will endure for many decades as an example to our children and our children's children for how absolutely wrong a single internet poster can be...

    • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @05:21AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @05:21AM (#180198)

      No sane human being would buy a luxury vehicle and then let a chauffeur drive it for them.

      Google wants people with few means to feel like princes sitting in carriages and being driven.

      That is the whole point of google's self-driving, self-accidenting cars.

      So they can be controlled and led to the slaughter-house.

  • (Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Friday May 08 2015, @02:42AM

    by PartTimeZombie (4827) on Friday May 08 2015, @02:42AM (#180162)

    Hmmm.. Flamebait or Troll? Flamebait or Troll?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @02:56AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @02:56AM (#180167)

      Yes.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @04:17AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2015, @04:17AM (#180189)

      Flamebait or Troll?

      Or the voice of reason?

    • (Score: 2) by everdred on Friday May 08 2015, @03:21PM

      by everdred (110) on Friday May 08 2015, @03:21PM (#180327) Journal

      There's no mod for "Half-right" or "Well-intentioned with a side of crazy" so I modded it Interesting.