Most people (and I'm talking 85%+) do NOT need 4wd or ground clearance. I get so tired of these excuses being trotted out by truck owners. Don't get your panties in a wad when people say you don't need a truck. I get it - YOU do happen to tow a 10,000lb boat or trailer every day for work/play. Fine. Nobody is taking your truck. But the vast majority of truck owners do NOT NEED a truck. They WANT a truck. And that is fine too - drive what you want! Just be honest with yourself and others....
I'm building modular home audio speakers. Wireless, self-powered, upgradeable, repairable. Think Sonos meets the Framework laptop. Check out my prelaunch page here:
This seems cool, but I think many people have been burned by smart speakers of various types. If your system does Spotify and Pandora and such then it's going to have a phone app and then if the phone app enshittifies the entire investment in the 'ecosystem' goes to waste. Nobody wants to throw out their speakers because of software updates.
I think a better smart amplifier could be a good product -- and then people can bring their own speakers. Or you can make great wireless speakers and then people can bring their own amplifier. But the moment the speakers and amp become an 'integrated solution' I hear the e-waste bells toll in the distance.
People have been burned by sonos and don't expect their framework laptop to last more than a couple of years. Meanwhile my 25 year old dumb speakers are still going strong.
I would respectfully disagree with your assertion regarding Framework laptops. Their entire business model is predicated on building computers that DO last more than a few years....
There are plenty of streaming audio amp solutions currently on the market - Wiim builds a nice one. But some of us don't want to run speaker wires through the walls for a home theater.
I've given a lot of thought to building a system that will work without a dedicated internet connection and this system won't require a central server to check-in to. I too have 25+ year old speakers that work just fine (Paradigm Titan's from 1998) and that's partly my inspiration. I wanted more sound from them but there's no way to upgrade traditional passive speakers. I don't want these speakers to be bricked if my company fails. They also don't need an app to work. The TV can control it through the eARC connection.
For years I thought, "Wouldn't it be great if I could upgrade my current home audio speakers without having to buy new ones?" Well after noodling on this idea for a few years I've finally cracked a solution to this problem. The first and only modular speaker system. I'm using prelaunch to gauge PMF. Would love any and all feedback.
Finding good embedded developers is tough. I think this is a stable career path. There's a lot of "python jockeys" out there, but ask them to port something from their laptop to an MCU/MPU (think ESP32 or Raspberry Pi) and 95% of the time you'll get a blank stare....
The capex build-out for the gpu's reminds me of the telecom build-out in the late 90's. So many of those companies went bust but they laid a lot of high-speed fiber before they did which we all are enjoying now. I suspect most of these gen-ai companies will go bust in the next couple of years but all that compute power will be repurposed and used in the decade to come...
I agree with your sentiments on an open platform ultimately prevailing. The hardware is still not there yet for good AR glasses (IMO). The processing power, connectivity, power, displays, etc.... just can't be crammed into an almost invisible pair of glasses. You basically need to squeeze the equivalent of the latest apple watch into a form factor about the size of a stick of gum (cut in half length wise)....
It's a classic chicken and egg economic problem. BMW doesn't make the chips/electronics that support the 48V architecture - Bosch & Continental (with NXP/TI/Infineon/Renesas as their silicon suppliers) do and they're not going to support 48V unless ALL (or a significant majority) of the automakers will. So it's a game of chicken.
I designed some stuff along these lines 15 years ago. At that time, 12 volt stuff was not just available, it was available with great economies of scale and a huge range of options, off the shelf. You need an automotive-qualified relay? A light? A solenoid? A DC-DC converter module? A fan? You'd have 100 choices at 12v, 30 choices at 24v and 3 choices at 48v.
reply