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My dad recently ditched his Audi Q7. Not for exactly the same reasons but because of endless electronic glitches and downright bizarre behavior. Now he’s got an

My dad recently ditched his Audi Q7. Not for exactly the same reasons but because of endless electronic glitches and downright bizarre behavior. Now he’s got an EcoBoost F150 and loves it. Consumer-grade hardware & software is a wonderful demonstration of why aerospace and medical systems cost what they do.

xendipity 7y ago
> Consumer-grade hardware & software is a wonderful demonstration of why aerospace and medical systems cost what they do. Can you elaborate on what you mean by this?
- allenrb 7y ago
  Sure. I’m talking about the general category of “software which must work, else people will die”. The difference between working 99.9% of the time, vs working 100% of the time appears to be very expensive. Automakers and their suppliers could develop to the same standards but the software and associated hardware might well cost more than the rest of the vehicle. There’s no market for that.
- boring_twenties 7y ago
  They're not allowed to unpredictably and inexplicably fail like consumer stuff, but they're also orders of magnitude more expensive.
  - saltcured 7y ago
    Even with that cost, you usually have to get device-specific training and sometimes certification to operate them. They also often have rigid operating procedures you are required to follow, with deviations possibly leading to fail-safe modes, audit, and/or recertification...
KingMachiavelli 7y ago
How so? It seems consumer hardware & software (phones, bluetooth speakers) work much better than expensive, name brand cars. I think this extends to aerospace and medical equipment, the manufactures of these devices know their industry and their engineering but are 5-10 years behind in the implementation and polish of basic things like bluetooth. Medical devices especially are notorious for poor security; unsecured endpoints, outdated/unsupported OS versions (think MRI machine with 20 year lifespan running Windows XP Embededed).

xendipity 7y ago

> Consumer-grade hardware & software is a wonderful demonstration of why aerospace and medical systems cost what they do. Can you elaborate on what you mean by this?

allenrb 7y ago
Sure. I’m talking about the general category of “software which must work, else people will die”. The difference between working 99.9% of the time, vs working 100% of the time appears to be very expensive. Automakers and their suppliers could develop to the same standards but the software and associated hardware might well cost more than the rest of the vehicle. There’s no market for that.
boring_twenties 7y ago
They're not allowed to unpredictably and inexplicably fail like consumer stuff, but they're also orders of magnitude more expensive.
- saltcured 7y ago
  Even with that cost, you usually have to get device-specific training and sometimes certification to operate them. They also often have rigid operating procedures you are required to follow, with deviations possibly leading to fail-safe modes, audit, and/or recertification...

KingMachiavelli 7y ago

How so? It seems consumer hardware & software (phones, bluetooth speakers) work much better than expensive, name brand cars. I think this extends to aerospace and medical equipment, the manufactures of these devices know their industry and their engineering but are 5-10 years behind in the implementation and polish of basic things like bluetooth. Medical devices especially are notorious for poor security; unsecured endpoints, outdated/unsupported OS versions (think MRI machine with 20 year lifespan running Windows XP Embededed).