VW Goes USB

MadCow42 writes "According to this story on CNN, Volkswagen is going to offer in-dash USB connections on several models as of this December and others next year. This function is to let you connect your MP3 Player or USB drive to play your tunes on the car stereo! The bad news? I just got my Touran... sans USB."

Uh oh

[SsShane]

"Found new hardwa-" CRASH

Finally!

[Anonymous Coward]

I can plug in a force-feedback steering wheel!

Actually

[Anonymous Coward]

It does support Ogg Vorbis, but only because that's the official music codec of David Hasselhoff, and you know... Germans love David Hasselhoff.

good news?

[bokmann]

but did you save a bunch of money on your car insurance?

DRM too?

[twiddlingbits]

Will the player enforce DRM on anything you stick in? Once the RIAA knows about this and has it's way you'll be just as subject to the DRM issues in your car as on your PC!

"I'm sorry Hal, I can't let you play that, it is pirated"

Re:Be realistic

[neuro.slug]

Right, but I would really, really hope that said volume control simply reads data, like what the speedometer gets, and sets volume according to that. It's not like changing the volume slows your car down or anything...

-- n

Re:Mobile Computing

[Beryllium Sphere(tm)]

and as the two blur together, the "Universal Serial Bus" will become known as the "Volkswagen Bus". Connectors will come with flowers painted on the side.

Apologies...

Re:Mobile Computing

[Doc Ruby]

VWB: the People's Bus

FarfeGNUgen 2.0

Just get an mp3-dvd player and dvd burner.

[seramar]

It's still cheaper. And I don't see the sense in walking everywhere with music blaring out the ambience of reality. I mean, seriously... what if an elephant sneaks up behind me?

Re:Mobile Computing

[Gubbe]

> In the future, Americans will never leave our cars.

Look, I don't want to sound too critical of your premonition, but I think I speak for all of us europeans when I say that we don't really want americans in our cars, particularly so if they refuse to leave when asked nicely.