It was clear that to be successful, this new platform had to be open and accessible like the PC platform. To keep total cost of ownership down, it needed to replace as many existing information, entertainment, and communication features as possible. It should easily install into existing vehicles in the auto aftermarket, and do everything an existing car stereo could do, maybe better.

There were a number of other requirements specific to the automobile and consumer markets that had to be met. One of the most obvious differences from a typical computing device was that the operator of such a computer for the car would need to be primarily occupied with driving. The implication was that our user would have all but a fraction of their visual and tactile resources occupied by driving. The only things we'd have to work with would be the user's speech and auditory resources. This meant that a speech-driven user interface would need to be developed. Since this product would be replacing a consumer electronics product, the car stereo, it needed to be as reliable and predictable as the product it was replacing. After all, when was the last time you rebooted a car stereo or had a tuner cause an exception error?

AutoPC fantasy and reality
My main interest in the product lay in the feature set, or rather, the potential feature set. I wanted to design a system that would allow a virtually unlimited potential feature set. Here are some of the potential features I saw as desirable for the AutoPC, contrasted with the reality of how they are now. Of course, technology and product development takes time. My original vision is still possible and each day and each week, we get closer to making it all practical.

Vision: high end audio system
I thought all audio should be kept in the digital domain, all the way to the speakers if possible. 24-bit processing would be nice with 5.1 channel surround sound. All crossovers, equalization and other sound contouring should be done in the digital domain. Any number of audio playback devices should be able to interface to the unit through a digital bus. Digital amplifiers should be able to receive the audio information via the same digital bus. This would eliminate noise that gets injected into the signal in conventional audio systems.