Ford is switching to Android in 2023

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slowmachine

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Do you have a driver's license? Is your Ranger registered and licensed by the state? Do you have insurance? How about rented, leased, or owned real estate? Pay taxes? If any of these are true, you have no privacy. Do you make every phone call from a cell phone that you purchased used, with a new anonymous SIM card, then destroy the phone and SIM card after each call? No? You're being tracked. Many state DMVs sell your personal information to help fund their operations, and they provide it for free to all other state governments and a very long list of federal agencies.

I like privacy as much as anyone, but being a citizen in any modern country involves giving up some of your anonymity and autonomy to gain the benefits of citizenship. From birth to death, our lives are recorded, tracked, and in extreme cases, controlled, by the society in which we live, and the multiple layers of governments with jurisdiction over of the chunk of earth we're standing on.

I'm typing this on a Chromebook, while logged in to four Google accounts at the same time. In my pocket is a Google Pixel phone. Next to me, on the table, sits an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet. In my bedroom, I have an iPhone, Apple Watch and an iPad Mini, running two Apple IDs, each with multiple aliases. In my basement office, I have a Mac Mini with Mac OS 11, and a Dell laptop running Ubuntu and Fedora Linux. The only thing I don't have readily available is Microsoft Windows, though I do have a Microsoft account and a Windows 10 license that I can use at any time. I'm not afraid of living in the modern world. I do not, however, use any of the big social media platforms, no Facebook, Twitter, etc. Ranger5g is on of several special-interest forums that I belong to. My life is not a secret to anyone with minimal tech skills. It's been this way since Windows 3.1 and an AOL account, with no ill effects.

I do not believe that Ford contracting with Google for infotainment software and cloud services exposes me to any more risk than borrowing money or owning real estate. Google owns the best mapping software of any company that covers North America, and they are so far ahead of all of the competition that nobody will match them in my lifetime. I use Google Maps. Google has the best search engine of any company that supports the English language. I use Google Search. Like everyone else, I am bombarded with advertising on nearly every website that I visit. That's not because Google is bad, it's because the website (this one included) sells ad space to Google to help pay for their operating costs. Do you really think that Ford will allow Google (or any of thousands of other companies) to place advertisements on the screen in your dash? I'm not bothered by seeing web page ads that are targeted to my personal interests. I actually prefer that over whatever random product would appear in its place.

I think that Ford (and GM, who are also partnering with Google) are doing a smart thing. They're getting state of the art services that they could never duplicate on their own.
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Stevie Gee

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It is really a NON-ISSUE....the original SYNC was Windows/Microsoft based, the latest version is Blackberry Limited.
If anyone thinks Google (or even Apple) will be any less (or more) secure than the present or past systems, you are mistaken.
 
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Stevie Gee

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Do you have a driver's license? Is your Ranger registered and licensed by the state? Do you have insurance? How about rented, leased, or owned real estate? Pay taxes? If any of these are true, you have no privacy. Do you make every phone call from a cell phone that you purchased used, with a new anonymous SIM card, then destroy the phone and SIM card after each call? No? You're being tracked. Many state DMVs sell your personal information to help fund their operations, and they provide it for free to all other state governments and a very long list of federal agencies.

I like privacy as much as anyone, but being a citizen in any modern country involves giving up some of your anonymity and autonomy to gain the benefits of citizenship. From birth to death, our lives are recorded, tracked, and in extreme cases, controlled, by the society in which we live, and the multiple layers of governments with jurisdiction over of the chunk of earth we're standing on.

I'm typing this on a Chromebook, whiled logged in to four Google accounts at the same time. In my pocket is a Google Pixel phone. Next to me, on the table, sits an Amazon Kindle Fire tablet. In my bedroom, I have an iPhone, Apple Watch and an iPad Mini, running two Apple IDs, each with multiple aliases. In my basement office, I have a Mac Mini with Mac OS 11, and a Dell laptop running Ubuntu and Fedora Linux. The only thing I don't have readily available is Microsoft Windows, though I do have a Microsoft account and a Windows 10 license that I can use at any time. I'm not afraid of living in the modern world. I do not, however, use any of the big social media platforms, no Facebook, Twitter, etc. Ranger5g is on of several special-interest forums that I belong to. My life is not a secret to anyone with minimal tech skills. It's been this way since Windows 3.1 and an AOL account, with no ill effects.

I do not believe that Ford contracting with Google for infotainment software and cloud services exposes me to any more risk than borrowing money or owning real estate. Google owns the best mapping software of any company that covers North America, and they are so far ahead of all of the competition that nobody will match them in my lifetime. I use Google Maps. Google has the best search engine of any company that supports the English language. I use Google Search. Like everyone else, I am bombarded with advertising on nearly every website that I visit. That's not because Google is bad, it's because the website (this one included) sells ad space to Google to help pay for their operating costs. Do you really think that Ford will allow Google (or any of thousands of other companies) to place advertisements on the screen in your dash? I'm not bothered by seeing web page ads that are targeted to my personal interests. I actually prefer that over whatever random product would appear in its place.

I think that Ford (and GM, who are also partnering with Google) are doing a smart thing. They're getting state of the art services that they could never duplicate on their own.
BINGO! ?
 


ROBERTECOX

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As for your privacy concerns.."resistance is futile, you will be assimilated"
 

db_tanker

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I remember when Apple was treated - rightfully so - as the "evil empire". Just ask Wozniak.

Is Google any better? I doubt it but I will say this...my Samsung smart phone is easier to use and manage than my wife's fruit phone (she hates it when I call it that).

Brand loyalty is awesome and we deal with it daily. My Ranger is better than your Taco or Colorado! My HP laptop is more capable than that Dell you got on your lap! Lets face it...we will believe what we wish to believe. We will consciously or subconsciously make this true in our minds. Regardless we will do what we wish to do and not be affected by others opinions. Ford, in their pursuit of not just profit but sustainability, decided to go with an Android-powered infotainment system instead of making their own in-house system. It is what it is and as others have said I am CERTAIN they will not alienate their iOS users like my wife (even though they are mislead waifs following fruit lol).


Bottom line - it won't change what makes this a Ford. Not one bit.

MTCW

D
 

PL8SWPR

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Microsoft is not much better than Google unfortunately. Big Tech is one big communist love fest.
 

Sashimi_Moto

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I don't agree. The DMV and insurance is not the same as FB/GOOG/etc. Knowingly providing certain (limited) information to the DMV and your insurance company is not the same as being the product of a company that vacuums your privacy to an unknown degree, repurposes it and resells it in unknown ways to unknown entities. But this is not an either/or - we can dislike tracking regardless of who's doing it government, private company or 'other'. I'm just saying the difference between the two (for this scenario) is significant.

Most people accept the perverse business practices of Goog/FB/etc because they know that in exchange for the free service, you are the product. You get the 'thing' for free, in exchange for privacy and willingness not to ask too many questions.

On the other hand, when you buy an item, you are the customer and deserve to be treated as such. Well, that's like you know.. my opinion man. If Ford/GM want to track my driving behaviors along with Goog (android) then they can provide me the damn truck for free. But if I'm spending $30+k on my consumer good - they can fuck right off with that nonsense.

The same goes for my smart TV that tracks everything I watch - no F'in way. You want to siphon my data and resell it - you can give me the TV for free. The same thing goes for insurance companies and their OBD2 port tracking devices. If you want siphon my data, I don't want an arbitrary discount on my insurance - I want a zero dollar premium.

Agreeing to be the product in exchange for something free is one thing. Paying to be the product is for suckers.
 

txquailguy

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Guess I'm one of the few that stays off fecesbook.

Unfortunately, with a smart phone we are tracked by one of the evil tech companies.
I actually share a facebook page with Mrs. Quail Guy. The only reason I'm EVEN on there is when I was in school at Texas Tech, a retired Army Ranger buddy of mine started a chapter of Team Red, White and Blue in Lubbock. He made me his veterans coordinator and told me I had to have a facebook presence. Since I am not in that role anymore, and with the recent revelations that this private company wants to manipulate the political theater in our Republic, I've been very tempted to remove my name and get out. I do like keeping up with family around the country so that is my only reason for staying. I've worked for the government and I'm sure they monitor everything we do now. Can they find the data or keep it protected.....NOT! ;)
Update: I’m more than sure they already know all about Papaw...lol
 
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r1ch999999

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The amount of data they have on you, even without a Facebook or Google account, is astonishing. Every smartphone tracks you, even if you have none of those things installed. Hell, even a dumb phone can track you based off which towers you used.
 

Big Blue

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The amount of data they have on you, even without a Facebook or Google account, is astonishing. Every smartphone tracks you, even if you have none of those things installed. Hell, even a dumb phone can track you based off which towers you used.
Heck the fact you are on this forum means you are using the internet. Doesn't matter if it's Android, Apple, windows or whatever OS you choose. They know where you are, what you look at and any amount of other things. If you use a credit card, they know where you shop and what you buy. Don't get me started on grocery store value cards. Your cell phone knows where you are within a few feet 24/7. You call 911 and they know where you are, and you can't turn that off. Unless you've been living up in the mountains for the last 20 years with absolutely no electricity or tech of any kind, it's too late someone somewhere know a lot about you.

On another note maybe Google will get the updates right the first time.
 

Langwilliams

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Heck the fact you are on this forum means you are using the internet. Doesn't matter if it's Android, Apple, windows or whatever OS you choose. They know where you are, what you look at and any amount of other things
I started using a VPN to cut down on the spying as much as possible.

I use what's supposed to be an independent search engine....I resort to Google as a last resort if I don't find what I need.
 

Big Blue

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I started using a VPN to cut down on the spying as much as possible.

I use what's supposed to be an independent search engine....I resort to Google as a last resort if I don't find what I need.
If you are on the internet, you can run but you can not hide. Someone wrote the VPN, they know who and where you are.
 

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I was late to the Apple party but I heard Apple keeps your data on the phone an google/android keeps the data on the cloud making it less private. Reality is privacy is a thing of the past anyway.
Correct.
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