Friday, July 4, 2014

Software : Will your next car run Linux? Cars go open-source with Automotive Grade Linux

Software : Will your next car run Linux? Cars go open-source with Automotive Grade Linux

Will your next car run Linux? Cars go open-source with Automotive Grade Linux

Posted:

Will your next car run Linux? Cars go open-source with Automotive Grade Linux

In-car tech has just gone open source with news of a new automotive-grade build of the Linux operating system. But what does this mean for your next car?

Linux in various forms is already widely used in cars. But to date, it's largely been used in embedded systems, the operations of which are mostly obscured from owners and drivers.

This new build of Linux is designed to underpin the sort of hands-on multimedia and infotainment functionality that's having an increasing impact on the driving experience.

The idea is to make it easier for a broader range of manufacturers to include cutting-edge features like smartphone integration, streaming media, Google Maps and other apps.

In your car, off the shelf

Essentially, car makers would take Automotive Grade Linux off the shelf, pick their preferred feature set and skin the end result to suit their branding.

For some car makers, this could be a huge boon. Currently, a gap is growing between those who have invested heavily over the years in infotainment and those who have not. Automotive Grade Linux could help close that gap much more rapidly at much more cheaply than doing all the work in-house.

The Linux foundation has released some impressive looking screen shots of the default look of the new platform. It looks miles ahead of the clunky proprietary systems offered by most car makers.

Of course, you might also wonder what the safety and reliability implications are of open-source software in cars. But that's a debate for another day.

For more technical insight into Automotive Grade Linux, check out the announcement on the Linux Foundation website.

Updated Google Play Services 5.0 rolls out to nearly every Android device

Posted:

Updated Google Play Services 5.0 rolls out to nearly every Android device

Along with announcing the availability of Android Wear apps earlier today, the search company also pushed out Google Play Services 5.0 to almost all Android devices.

There's no need to download it either. The services update comes through the Google Play Store to almost all smartphones and tablets running Android 2.3 Gingerbread to 4.4 KitKat.

Google Service 5.0 brings with it an API designed to make it easier for users to communicate with apps running on Android Wear devices. In a developer update Google wrote that the 5.0 update allows apps to sync data, exchange control messages, and transfer data between wearables and compatible phones.

Matchmaker, make me a match

The Android Wear specific updates will only work with devices. What's more, smartwatches and activity trackers running Google's wearable OS will only work with certain handsets.

To help users make sense of whether devices can pair properly, the Mountain View company launched an Android Wear Check website. The online tool allows users to check the compatibility of their smartphone before trying to find a match.

Everything else

Aside from all the Android Wear specific tools, the updates services also adds a dynamic security provider allowing developers to rapidly deliver security patches. A necessity in today's world when it seems like some other app has been breached every week.

A tweak to Google Wallet adds the option to save offers or deals to users' wallets. At registers and online carts users can now pay for goods with both their Google Wallet Balance and linked credit or debit cards in case they don't have enough virtual currency in the bank to make the purchase.

The virtual wallet will also know when users have walked into a store by tracking their location data to automatically pull up loyalty cards and offers. Google hopes this will save the user the hassle of digging and carrying around the items physically when they can simply scan codes from their phones.

On the developer side app makers will be happy to hear Google has improved analytics capabilities for e-commerce sites. The updated tools include new ways to measure marketing and merchandising strategies, and search for the app like a webpage with an updated indexing API.

  • Google preps for Android Wear but what of Android L?

eBay to discontinue Magento Go and ProStores

Posted:

eBay to discontinue Magento Go and ProStores

eBay will shut down Magento Go and ProStores on February 1. The move will force more than 10,000 small and mid-size merchants to migrate to a new e-commerce platform.

In a statement, Mark Lavelle, SVP of Product and Strategy at eBay Enterprise said the e-commerce giant will now focus its resources on Magento Enterprise Edition and Magento Community Edition. Both platforms cater to larger businesses. It is unclear if either platform will be updated to support smaller enterprises.

E-commerce platform Bigcommerce will provide migration support for Magento Go and ProStores retailers, including the ability to transition to Enterprise, Community or third-party services.

A sign of things to come

eBay told Magento Go and ProStore clients that "changing market requirements" were behind the decision to shut down the service, according to TechCrunch.

In March, EBay laid off roughly 50 Magento employees, including members of its product and marketing departments. At the time, eBay told re/code that it was consolidating local offices "to focus more deeply on developing our core Magento products, Magento Enterprise Edition and Community Edition."

eBay acquired Magento in 2011, roughly a year after it invested $22.5 million in the company.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)