On Q

LTE Connected Car: Zooming in on the virtual mechanic

2009-11-05T12:06:00.021-05:00

Yesterday, I took you on a tour of some applications in the LTE Connected Car. One app that I mentioned, but didn't provide images for, is the virtual mechanic. Before we go any further, let's get something out of the way: The virtual mechanic won't fix your car for you. You'll still need a flesh-and-bones grease monkey to do that. That said, the virtual mechanic can tell you when things are

Screenshots: Putting the LTE Connected Car into focus

2009-11-04T14:16:00.002-05:00

I posted some photos of the LTE Connected Car yesterday, but they weren't all that sharp. As a result, everyone had to squinch their eyes really hard to make out what was going on. So, for the promotion of good eye health everywhere, here are some nice, crisp screen captures of the car's user interface.At first glance, some of these images might appear a bit soft, but if you click on 'em, you'll

Look ma, no wires: The making of the ng Connect LTE Connected Car

2009-11-04T04:00:00.001-05:00

Hey, have you ever watched any of those "making of" videos that take you behind the scenes to show how a movie was made? Don't know about you, but they typically ruin the movie for me.For instance, I loved "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" when it first came out. But, stupid me, I made the mistake of watching a video that shows how wires created the illusion that the movie's actors were flying

A look inside the ng Connect LTE Connected Car

2009-11-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know: "ng Connect LTE Connected Car" sounds a little repetitious. But the emphasis on connectivity is apropos. This concept car, a joint project of QNX and Alcatel-Lucent, is all about exploring what happens when you connect cars to 4G/LTE wireless broadband networks.Take, for example, voice recognition in the car. Today, it’s a relatively primitive affair, using grammars and speech

Toyota to ship vehicles with QNX-based infotainment system

2009-10-30T15:47:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago, I introduced you to a new, scalable infotainment system from Harman. Based on the QNX CAR application platform, the system employs a modular architecture that allows automakers to offer infotainment features at a range of price points.It seems Toyota was some impressed with the system's design. Because yesterday, Harman revealed that Toyota will deploy the system in vehicles for

What my colleagues are up to...

2009-10-30T12:08:00.000-04:00

Linda Campbell sheds her nice-girl imageAndy Gryc gets his head around 92 terabitsNancy Young does a jig in her kitchenAndrew Poliak questions someone's OS strategy

Virtual instrument cluster or digital instrument cluster: What will it be?

2009-10-28T04:00:00.000-04:00

I've blogged several times on the new generation of automotive instrument clusters, which replace mechanical gauges with software-controlled LCD displays. Almost invariably, I refer to these displays as digital instrument clusters. My employer, QNX Software Systems, which makes software for these displays, follows the same practice (see a recent press release for an example).In every case, the

"QNX, meet Mark Hamill..."

2009-10-09T10:14:00.000-04:00

On its own, winning an Adobe MAX award is pretty cool. But here is what makes it even cooler: Members of the QNX team got to rub shoulders — literally — with Mark Hamill. And I have a photo to prove it:In case you're wondering how Mark got into the picture, it's simple: He was the master of ceremonies for the Adobe MAX awards dinner.Okay, before I go, two bits of trivia:Mark Hamill was the voice

Moon bombed; little green men ticked

2009-10-08T21:49:00.000-04:00

“They’re going to do WHAT?!,” I bellowed.So okay, maybe I didn’t exactly bellow. And maybe I didn't even raise my voice all that much. But trust me, I uttered the question with heartfelt incredulity.It all started when I got home this evening. I was tired, I was hungry, and I was looking forward to a nice warm welcome from my family. That’s not too much to ask, right?Instead, the first thing I

QNX CAR Takes Home Adobe MAX Award

2009-10-06T21:34:00.000-04:00

We won! We won! We freakin' won!!! Sorry... I just had to get that out of my system. A few minutes ago, the Adobe twitter stream revealed that the QNX CAR application platform has won the Adobe MAX Award (mobile category) for its innovative use of Adobe Flash technology.I've already blogged a couple of times (see here and here) on why QNX CAR's implementation of Adobe Flash is a game changer not

QNX celebrates 10 years in the auto business

2009-10-02T17:49:00.000-04:00

I knew I was forgetting something, but couldn't put my finger on it. Then I remembered: September marked the 10th anniversary of QNX's entry into the automotive business. In fact, September 14 is something of an official anniversary. On that day in 1999, Motorola unveiled mobileGT, an automotive reference platform based on the QNX Neutrino RTOS. For the first time, QNX publicly threw its hat into

New car infotainment system gears up with QNX middleware

2009-10-02T15:46:00.000-04:00

Recently, I blogged on some way cool infotainment systems for Mercedes and BMW vehicles. But if you’re anything like me (read “cheap”), the car you drive is smaller than an S-Class and humbler than a Z4 — and much less expensive than either. In my case, it's an 8-year old Neon. Now, I have no plans to replace the Neon anytime soon. In fact, I still rather like it. But it would be nice to think

Stop reading this and vote for QNX CAR

2009-09-29T17:20:00.000-04:00

Last week, I told you that the QNX CAR application platform has been shortlisted for an Adobe MAX award.Well, guess what: It's time to do something about it. Here's what I'd like you to do:Stop reading this blog (temporarily, of course)Point your browser to http://max.adobe.com/awards/finalists/Scroll down to the Mobile category and click on Vote when you see this:If you're still reading this

A blog(ger) is born

2009-09-23T15:03:00.001-04:00

All I can say, it's about time. I've worked with Andy Gryc for a couple of years now, and I was hoping he'd get off his (admittedly busy) keester and start blogging. Because, frankly, he has interesting things to say. Some of them are even important. So I am (delighted? happy? pumped? I'm still working on the exact emotion) that Andy has finally launched a blog, entitled True Gryc. Do yourself a

QNX to drive first Intel Atom-based car infotainment systems

2009-09-22T22:16:00.000-04:00

This morning, at the Intel Developer Forum, Intel CEO Paul Otellini announced that the BMW 7 series and Mercedes S- and C-class cars will be the first to ship with in-car infotainment systems based on Intel Atom processors. And, according to the online magazine apc, the systems will run the QNX Neutrino RTOS. A few days ago, I mentioned that Mercedes will use a QNX-based infotainment system in

Linux is huge, scary, bloated: Torvalds

2009-09-22T14:45:00.000-04:00

You've got to hand it to Linus Torvalds, he's never been afraid to speak his mind. Even when it comes to his own baby.Speaking yesterday at LinuxCon, he stated that the Linux kernel has become "huge and scary" and that it isn't "the streamlined, hyper-efficient kernel I envisioned when I started writing Linux."Asked whether a solution was in the works, he commented, "I'd love to say we have a

Intel blogger: QNX BMP simplifies migration to multi-core chips

2009-09-21T12:58:00.001-04:00

Maury Wright, former editor-in-chief of EDN Magazine, has just posted a blog on the Intel embedded community site that provides an overview of QNX's bound multiprocessing technology — aka BMP.If you've never heard of BMP, it's a variant of symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) that simplifies the migration of legacy applications to multi-core processors. In a nutshell, it allows legacy apps to run on a

Cloud computing: It's a guy thing

2009-09-18T13:28:00.000-04:00

I stumbled across the Cloud Computing Journal website and what did I see but the following ads, right next to each other:Click to enlarge.Now, either the "Patrick Fitzgerald and Gerald Fitzpatrick Modeling Agency" has got a near-monopoly on the IT advertising market, or the folks who come up with these promos need to mix things up a bit. I mean, do all IT guys come from the same gene pool? Do

QNX CAR shortlisted for Adobe MAX award

2009-09-17T10:05:00.001-04:00

UPDATE: Voting for the Adobe MAX awards is now open. To vote for the QNX CAR application platform, point your browser to http://max.adobe.com/awards/finalists/ and scroll down to the Mobile category.This just in: The QNX CAR application platform has clinched a finalist spot in the Adobe MAX awards, for its innovative use of Adobe software.Yeah, I know. That doesn't compute. Adobe software lets

iPod nano gets FM radio

2009-09-10T09:50:00.001-04:00

I'm going to have to eat my words.A few weeks ago, I opined that Apple would never market an iPod that supports FM, for the simple reason that users would end up listening to the radio when they could be browsing the iTunes store instead.Boy, was I wrong. The new iPod nano not only supports FM, but also lets you pause FM broadcasts and pick up where you left off. You can even rewind and

Mercedes chooses QNX-based infotainment system for new S-Class and C-Class models

2009-09-09T10:02:00.000-04:00

Earlier this morning, Harman International announced that it will provide the next-generation COMAND infotainment system for the new Mercedes-Benz S- and C-Class models. The system, based on the QNX Neutrino RTOS, offers "3-D navigation, brilliant graphics, Internet access, and wired or wireless connectivity." It also has a hard drive that will provide "rich navigation data and accommodate the

Sharp as a tack: Are we entering the golden age of camera lenses?

2009-09-02T21:39:00.000-04:00

Camera lenses are getting better. Way better. And you can blame digital cameras for the improvement.For all their advantages, digital cameras share a common problem: they tend to create images with moiré patterns and other unsightly artifacts. To eliminate these artifacts, most digital cameras come equipped with an anti-aliasing filter, which blurs the image slightly. The result is a better

The Canon G11: When less is more

2009-08-30T20:33:00.000-04:00

Has Canon lost its mind? It recently announced that it will replace the popular G10 digital camera, which boasts 14.7 megapixels and a 3" LCD, with the new G11, which has only 10 megapixels and a 2.8" LCD.Canon is crazy all right — like a fox. Let me explain.First, the sensor resolution. Almost 15 megapixels may sound impressive, but packing that many photoreceptors onto a small sensor creates a

Building a digital instrument cluster? Read this first.

2009-08-11T04:00:00.000-04:00

Digital instrument clusters may be cool, but if your development team takes on the challenge of building one, expect a development path dotted with some unexpected twists and turns.This is especially true if the team has built only analog speedometers and gauges in the past. Suddenly, everyone has to migrate from the 8- or 16-bit world to the 32-bit world. And that means a new tool chain, a new

QNX chosen to power GE’s flagship Mark VIe control platform

2009-08-06T16:33:00.000-04:00

It controls gas turbines, steam turbines, hydro plants, and nuclear plants, including the largest power and water facility on the planet. It runs in hundreds of installations worldwide — from Cairo to Quebec to Los Angeles — delivering electric power to homes, hospitals, factories, and businesses. It’s called the GE Mark VIe, and GE Energy promotes it as the company's "most advanced control