markcincinnati

Bear with me for a paragraph or three. . .

I work with application software that runs on a widely used IBM computer platform. Over the years, it was easy to notice that everytime a new upgrade to the platform came along (about once a year or so), the new platform was much faster, even physically smaller and much larger (capacity wise.) Toss it up to affirming that Moore's Law is real.

If you want more info on Moore's Law go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore%27s_law

What does this have to do with Audis (or cars in general)?

Well, over the holidays, I rented several Blu-ray disks and several of them just wouldn't load -- I took them back, time and again, and every copy had the same problem. Damn, my player was already going bad (LG brand), I wondered? Then I remembered that little USB port on the front of the unit and I signed onto LG's website, keyed in my player's model number and was taken to a page full of software updates. I copied the updates to the memory stick, then inserted the stick into the USB port on the front of the player and powered it up. A few minutes later, I "rebooted" the player and the stubborn Blu-rays played first time. My player is now, for a while at least, up-to-date.

Back to the IBM computer -- one of my clients runs a monthly process on the computer that, due to circumstances (and the amount of data to be crunched) no longer could be run from Friday PM to Monday AM. The IBM SE I spoke with told me that my client's computer, one of the middle models in the line, was really a "governed" top of the line model, and that all I needed was a "key" to unlock a boatload of extra processing power.

The key isn't free, of course.

The point is, you can buy any one of the computers and under the covers they are all the same -- the optional extras are all there, extra CPU cycles, power, speed, etc, all there, all waiting to be "authorized."

MMI (and iDrive and Command, and whatever the Americans, Koreans and Japanese call theirs) OUGHT to contain every possible feature and optional "content" Audi sells: backup camera (check!), parktronic (check!), blind spot notification (check!), voice controls (check!) and so on.

The cost to make ONE unit that has everything already in it ought to be less than or equal to making multiple (different feature) units. Then the cars could go to the dealer (or an arm of the mfg "in whatever country the car was being sold in) as strippies and the customer could be sold the "key" that unlocked the feature-set that separated the Premium from the P+ from the Prestige. Somewhat like the IBM computer that can be made into a super computer at at any time with virtually no down time or interruption of any kind. One minute the car has no nav, the next minute it has it. Need a backup camera feature? Insert the tiny camera lens into the slot on the boot lid, "authorize" the software to know it is there and take the customer's credit card number.

Done!

Audi gets a new Revenue and Income stream; customers who buy their cars on Monday without Audi Side Assist but want the feature on Tuesday (or 6 months from Tuesday) need not try to retro-fit content (at usually a roll-up-your-arm and bend-over price), they simply need to authorize it at the normal MSRP for that option.

I see so many people buy or lease a new car (a new Audi) and within the first few months wish it had "fill in the blank" content -- often the content desired seems, like my IBM computer example, something that could be (for a price) authorized.

Sometimes we don't need new cars or hyper expensive after-market work around, we just need to be able to give the dealer $150 to turn on the freakin' heated steering wheel which was there all along!

Just make ALL the cars have ALL the software features already "in there" and offer upgrades (for a fee) any time the customer wants it.

Think of it as a VAG com cable and software set up on steroids.

I wish mine had the articulating headlights built in and -- for a fee -- that I could just pay to have them activated.

Everyone would win. And that poor guy who ordered his A4 with a backup camera wouldn't have to be figuring out what to do to add a feature he clearly wanted and was willing to pay for from day one. Yea, sometimes the OEM stuff costs more, but the integration with the car, IMHO, is usually worth it.

Now, where is that code to turn on the REAR heated seats?!?

Bargamon

Interesting take.

I wonder thought if too many outside software makers would make available their own firmware upgrades and if somthing went wrong it would screw with the system and crash it. Then "whose at fault" would not eat millions of dollars of extra time to determine a warranty claim or car owner liability.

If aftermarket were to crack the code it would really cost them a bundle in lost revenue.

Maybe dealers would be the culprits also. They could garner much of the fees to install leaving the Audi not able to capture revenue.

Your right, its how it SHOULD be done, but maybe there are reasons?

Other markets globally are not as protective as ours.

QUA77R0

I think that you are merely suggesting that it be easier to access/authorize these option as they ARE already in your ECU. Obviously, you are aware that using VAG-Com to enable options is fairly simple. As you noted with regard to the rear view camera, what is missing is the hardware that is necessary for many options.
Many/most times the wiring/connectors are already in place.

Mainly enthusiasts use these simple means to gain the benefit of options that were not originally equipped. Are you suggesting that it should be even more easily accessible?

I can already hear the assembly line kicking into action in China to churn out cheap imitation Audi option parts. The Chinese market will end up only selling stripped down Audi's and people will pull into the alley across the street where "Chan" and crew will enable all the options and plug in cheap imitation cameras, side view mirrors, parking sensors, etc. Don't think I'm slamming China. I have much respect for a country that can take a Russian Mig, reverse engineer it and sell the copies on the open market in mere months. Wouldn't surprise me to open the mirror housing and see "Made In China" inside.

Then there's India where I saw Audi emblems on auto rickshaws and mini Suzuki's... Heck they even have "Ducati" motorcycles with 80cc... heck I don't even think Ducati knew that they had a line of bikes with motors smaller than a hair dryer.

Anyways, the point is that for enthusiasts, OEM+ mods are fairly simple if you desire them. Are you suggesting that now if I want the needle sweep of the S4, I should call Audi and give them my CC number? Thats's like telling me that I need to contact Intel and ask if I can pay them for something I already do for free, overclock. Free just has a better sound to it, especially when the result is identical...

If I missed your point, let me know.

gunsmoker

The software industry is doing this on a large scale - very often you install hundreds of useless megabytes to enable a fraction of the functionality with a license key. Doing it this way is cheaper or at no substantial cost to the software companies.

It's different with hardware products - the installed unlicensed hardware costs money to the vendor which is not the case with the installed unlicensed software. This strategy is feasible for expensive products that sell in low volumes and the NRE costs to develop lower-end options would offset the profits or if the company has more profitable products to put its engineering teams on.

I'm in the semiconductor equipment business and we do the same thing - we sell software licenses that can limit or unlock the full potential of the equipment. As you alluded, your IBM machine was also a top-of-the-line article at one point and these don't sell as much as PCs for example. So it really makes a lot of sense to cost-optimize the high volume product and not so much the high end counterpart.

I see that as a possibility with A8, but not in the A3 and A4 territory.

need_TQM

My take -- I have a feeling the # of people that would activate NAV and or drive select after buying the car for list price is extremely small. Plus building in every option would absolutely raise the minimum cost of the car, making it, at least on paper, not class competitive. That and Audi would run a very high risk of alienating customers who are told that the HW/SW is already there but now you have to pay more to use it. People (being people) will feel they are being swindled out of more money for something that they already bought - it is already there, for goodness sake.

Maybe someday that will change, but ...

Plus not having xx or yy feature that you really want tends to pull forward the next car purchase - and you'll opt for the higher feature package then...

Nice idea though, I think you would get a different reaction from the enthusiasts here at AW than the gen pop audi customer however.

QUA77R0

well if the internet is any indicator, ie. movies dvd ripped before the movies even make it to the theaters, then this would be a pointless waste of time for any mainstream car manufacturer. The "keys" would likely be in "free" distribution before the dealers have them. As gunsmoker pointed out, there is a potential market on high-end/low production cars. But I tend to think that market is beyond any Audi model. Real niche cars...Spyker, Bugatti, Koenigsegg, etc. maybe Ferrari...

Code is just too easy to crack these days. Encryption schemes/formats that were passable even 2-3 years ago are a joke to decrypt now. And applying Moore's Law we can deduce that any encryption used would be more quickly defeated in the coming years.

Now if was a hardware based key, it might be possible to prolong the viability of such a venture beyond a few months. I still don't see this being winner for a manufacturer who has more incentive to have you trade in the car lacking the options that you now want and sell you a new car equipped with whatever you feel you need now..

Canuk1.8T

It seems you must have read Audi's mind! I recall reading something about this being in Audi's future.

There was a thread about this as well where the idea of hacking into the code would then allow 'free' options.

In a way VW/Audi are doing this as we speak what with many of us using VCDS to unlock features found on higher trims or even different vehicles i.e. ambient lighting.

http://www.egmcartech.com/2010/05/19...ne-style-apps/

QUA77R0

That's what I'm talking about...
Oh and I hope that I can download my AudiDroid apps just like I get my Android apps. Let me know if you find the AudiDroid PowerBoost and BrakeNOW apps.

gunsmoker

Needing to upgrade BD players to be able to play newer disks is a completely different issue. That has nothing to do with limitations imposed by the manufacturers. On the contrary, it's a big problem for them, because they have to extend the life cycle of their products to cope with this issue. My understanding is that the most frequent causes are either bugs in the codecs (e.g. pixelated images) or unsupported features of the Java software (e.g. menus not loading) with the latter being the predominant case.
The studios keep trying to come up with fancier menus and features and that is a major pain for the BD player manufacturers, because the studios don't care what that does to the hardware support after the sale.
I seriously doubt if most people could care less about the menus, the bonus features, the interactive playback, the previews, and all other crap that keeps us hostage before we can start the movie. I think there should be a class action suit against the studios and the BD standard definition organization (Sony on both sides) for not letting the viewers skip the lengthy loading of useless menus, skip previews, and resume after stop.

Now let me go download the 3.7 firmware from the UK site for my US-made less-than-two-years-old Pioneer BDP-320 player that is not supported on the US site anymore so that I can spend another two hours of my life (that I'll never get back) on the next substandard Hollywood movie! At least this version is supposed to let me resume after stop regardless of what the studios think.

QUA77R0

codecs +1
and newer copy protection schemes courtesy of those studios you mentioned. One of the main attractions to BD is its ability to enforce copy protection if you use HDMI. I just use a PS3 for BD playback which since it's networked, is always updated to the newest revisions. The last update enabled 3-D BD playback among other things.

Back on the car issue, I remember reading something about the Audis in China being sold with networked GPS devices being added that connect to the dealership and they contact you when you need service based on how you are driving, etc. I'll see if I can dig it up... Pretty sure it was in AudiDriver magazine about a year ago. Apparently, they are being installed in most Audis in China except for Audis owned or more accurately, driven by govt. employees. I'm sure Jesse Ventura would have a field day with the possibilities for this new application of existing technologies.