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May 29, 2005
Audio Tech in Automobiles Needs To Be Upgradeable
I often drive around and look at cars on a weekend if I have a few moments.
I rarely walk into a showroom but I was in the local VW/Audi dealer on Saturday and noticed that one of the optional stereos have a slot for SD cards to be able to play MP3s. Not a bad idea, especially for listening to podcasts, but not great for those who get their music digitally. Most music delivered over the web has DRM (digital rights management) attached to it i.e. iTunes, Napster, etc. I don't see that the onboard systems support the AAC or WMA formats.
In many respects, mp3s are an antiquated format - poor audio compression compared to modern codecs and no DRM possibilities.
I think manufactures need to be designing easily upgradable technology paths for these kinds of applications so they don't go out of date overnight. Especially with the kind of change that is happening now with the advent of mp3 players, format wars of Apple vs Microsoft audio technology and memory stick types.
Here's my ideal setup for a modern audio setup:
- fully modular hardware with upgradeable software
- on board harddrive / flash memory
- wireless networking
- playlist synchronization with other devices coordinated via the network - i.e. the music in the car updates when you download something to your home pc or laptop
- individual passenger control so each person can listen to what they like
I like the portability of a player, but a setup like this in the car that was synchronized with my laptop would be far more convenient than toting around a portable playing.
Posted by Derek Leverington at May 29, 2005 12:16 PM
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