5 ms·

Let's take this further still. Why not mandate identical car tire sizes, having the fuel door in the same spot on every car, all the controls inside the car be

Let's take this further still. Why not mandate identical car tire sizes, having the fuel door in the same spot on every car, all the controls inside the car be universal... How about actually just making one car that embodies every European's needs?

andai 7y ago
You mean, one public transport :)
gambiting 7y ago
You can argue that there is an actual practical reason for things like different tyre sizes. There is no practical reason for having slightly different barrel connectors on different laptops that makes them all incompatible.
- sokoloff 7y ago
  Different barrel jacks and adapters on different products have different voltages, sometimes different polarities, some are AC, some are DC. Some laptops have different voltage batteries that each "prefer" a different optimal voltage for building the on-board charger. This is a close analogy IMO to different sized tires on autos/trucks. Many companies would be happy to standardize, so long as everyone else changed and they got to be the de facto/de jure standard. Bonus points if they held a royalty-generating license on the connector/communications standard.
selectnull 7y ago
When I visit a friend, it is very convenient to be able to charge my phone without having my own charger with me and just use theirs. At the same time, I park my car and don't care to look for compatible parking space. As for tires, I don't even know nor care what sizes they are but I'm glad the air pistons are the same across all makers/brands/sizes so I don't worry I have to go to the right fuel station to check my air pressure. Right?
seszett 7y ago
Car tyres have standardised valves and fuel inlets are also standardised, and those two things are the exact equivalents to a mobile phone charging port. Car controls are obviously universal as well, so I'm not sure what your point actually is.
- yostrovs 7y ago
  If you buy a new car these days you'll spend quite a bit of time figuring out the controls for the stereo, heat, interior lights,etc. Had someone standardized that we wouldn't have to spend time figuring out every car maker's new interior. Sounds great, right?
  - seszett 7y ago
    It might be nice, but that's not really comparable to what this proposal entails.
glogla 7y ago
Aren't car controls pretty universal already? At least the pedals, the turn signals, the steering wheel, the "warning lights" button, the seat belt release button, the parking brake whether it is electronic or manual, are pretty much the same in any car. Gears in autos are pretty much the same (PRND) and manual transmissions have the same layout. Also, to get a closer analogy to the topic of the discussion, the fuel hole in cars is standardized - you have one for gas and one for diesel (which are incompatible on purpose) and that's it. There's no "you need to buy a dongle to fuel your BMW on non-BMW pump".
- yostrovs 7y ago
  If you've never driven a BMW, you may get stuck, as the reverse is in an unexpected place and you have to lift the lever to get there, also unexpected. (As far as I remember)

andai 7y ago

You mean, one public transport :)

gambiting 7y ago

You can argue that there is an actual practical reason for things like different tyre sizes. There is no practical reason for having slightly different barrel connectors on different laptops that makes them all incompatible.

sokoloff 7y ago
Different barrel jacks and adapters on different products have different voltages, sometimes different polarities, some are AC, some are DC. Some laptops have different voltage batteries that each "prefer" a different optimal voltage for building the on-board charger. This is a close analogy IMO to different sized tires on autos/trucks. Many companies would be happy to standardize, so long as everyone else changed and they got to be the de facto/de jure standard. Bonus points if they held a royalty-generating license on the connector/communications standard.

selectnull 7y ago

When I visit a friend, it is very convenient to be able to charge my phone without having my own charger with me and just use theirs. At the same time, I park my car and don't care to look for compatible parking space. As for tires, I don't even know nor care what sizes they are but I'm glad the air pistons are the same across all makers/brands/sizes so I don't worry I have to go to the right fuel station to check my air pressure. Right?

seszett 7y ago

Car tyres have standardised valves and fuel inlets are also standardised, and those two things are the exact equivalents to a mobile phone charging port. Car controls are obviously universal as well, so I'm not sure what your point actually is.

yostrovs 7y ago
If you buy a new car these days you'll spend quite a bit of time figuring out the controls for the stereo, heat, interior lights,etc. Had someone standardized that we wouldn't have to spend time figuring out every car maker's new interior. Sounds great, right?
- seszett 7y ago
  It might be nice, but that's not really comparable to what this proposal entails.

glogla 7y ago

Aren't car controls pretty universal already? At least the pedals, the turn signals, the steering wheel, the "warning lights" button, the seat belt release button, the parking brake whether it is electronic or manual, are pretty much the same in any car. Gears in autos are pretty much the same (PRND) and manual transmissions have the same layout. Also, to get a closer analogy to the topic of the discussion, the fuel hole in cars is standardized - you have one for gas and one for diesel (which are incompatible on purpose) and that's it. There's no "you need to buy a dongle to fuel your BMW on non-BMW pump".

yostrovs 7y ago
If you've never driven a BMW, you may get stuck, as the reverse is in an unexpected place and you have to lift the lever to get there, also unexpected. (As far as I remember)