dslreports logo
 story category
Ford, Microsoft 'Sync' Up On In Car Communications
New system to be unveiled in Detroit & at CES
Microsoft and Ford have announced a new partnership, which they'll show off in more detail at the American International Auto Show in Detroit and at CES in January. The new system will be named "Sync" and will feature a hands-free Bluetooth wireless system and an in-vehicle operating system -- that may soon be an option in all Ford models. According to the Wall Street Journal, the new system "will allow for hands-free cellphone communication and other wireless information transfers inside the car, including the ability to receive email and download music." No word yet on what kind of connectivity will be used, but hopefully the system will integrate 3G.
view:
topics flat nest 

sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ

1 recommendation

sporkme

MVM

Microsoft...

...giving a whole new meaning to the term "car crash".

For my own safety I certainly hope this doesn't tie in to anything critical in the car's control system. Windows + drive by wire = Death.

MSeng

join:2000-07-13
Ork

2 recommendations

MSeng

Re: Microsoft...

Then again, it may work as expected, provide convenience for those who choose the option and set a trend for other manufacturers to follow suit.

MSFT bashers never cease to amaze me with their insight and wit.
SD6
join:2005-03-26
Pittsburgh, PA

SD6

Member

Re: Microsoft...

said by MSeng:

Then again, it may work as expected, provide convenience for those who choose the option and set a trend for other manufacturers to follow suit.

MSFT bashers never cease to amaze me with their insight and wit.
Actually, Acura has had BT in some US models for a couple of years. There was also cooperation between Nokia and European VW Passat and worldwide Range Rover. MSFT was also late to the game in even including a BT stack in Windows. They are not setting a trend.

Stefania
Jezu Chryste, Kubi
Premium Member
join:2003-03-17
Chicago, IL

1 edit

Stefania

Premium Member

Re: Microsoft...

said by MSeng:

MSFT was also late to the game in even including a BT stack in Windows.
and it still doesn't work, imagine that.

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3

Premium Member

Re: Microsoft...

said by Stefania:
said by MSeng:

MSFT was also late to the game in even including a BT stack in Windows.
and it still doesn't work, imagine that.
I use it all the time, works fine here. Now my Ubuntu BT stack leaves a little to be desired, like basic file transfer functionality.
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

bmn

Re: Microsoft...

said by Matt3:

I use it all the time, works fine here. Now my Ubuntu BT stack leaves a little to be desired, like basic file transfer functionality.
I've noticed that it depends on the device... Some of the BT devices I've run across work flawlessly with Windows and others don't work at all... It is hard to tell if it is the device or Windows that is the problem.

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3

Premium Member

Re: Microsoft...

said by bmn:
said by Matt3:

I use it all the time, works fine here. Now my Ubuntu BT stack leaves a little to be desired, like basic file transfer functionality.
I've noticed that it depends on the device... Some of the BT devices I've run across work flawlessly with Windows and others don't work at all... It is hard to tell if it is the device or Windows that is the problem.
That could be. My BT USB adapter is only a couple of months old.

mustang03282
join:2003-01-10
Bridgeton, NJ

mustang03282

Member

Re: Microsoft...

its broadcom bt devices that wont work with service pack 2 or higher but if u look hard enough google cracked widcom bluetooth stack and thats how i got my broadcom devices to work

Stefania
Jezu Chryste, Kubi
Premium Member
join:2003-03-17
Chicago, IL

1 edit

Stefania to bmn

Premium Member

to bmn
said by bmn:

It is hard to tell if it is the device or Windows that is the problem.
Considering every single one of them work flawlessly with Mac OS, I'm going to have to go ahead and let everyone else come to their own conclusion with that one.
matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Middletown, CT

1 edit

matrix3D to Matt3

Member

to Matt3
Just like Vista leaves a little to be desired with its "3D" interface (and I use that term loosely). I mean, Ubuntu 6.10 running AIGLX/Beryl does everything it can... plus another two dozen things it can't that are actually pretty useful. And Vista's not even ready yet!

I still say the whole deal between MS and Novell was so that MS could rip off some XGL features and stick them into Vista at a later point in time. The deal precludes Novell from ever suing Microsoft (and David Reveman, from Novell, was the one who started Compiz) so it makes logical sense to me. Don't be surprised to see a 3D cube feature integrated into Vista sometime within the next year or two.

I love how, on this site at least, anybody who appears to be anti-MS is instantly bashed. Which is ironic, considering it's usually the opposite way around on pretty much any other forum. For all you MS lovers on this site, please explain to me exactly WHAT Microsoft has been so innovative at doing? Who knows -- if you explain it good enough, I might justify shelling out the $200+ for Vista when it goes to retail. But I've already downloaded, installed and run the RTM version and honestly I must say I'm not impressed at all. With the exception of shinier windows and an overly cluttered Control Panel and a slightly revamped Start Menu, I do not see the amount of innovation we all should've expected after having to wait for this OS for FIVE YEARS.

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3

Premium Member

Re: Microsoft...

said by matrix3D:

Just like Vista leaves a little to be desired with its "3D" interface (and I use that term loosely). I mean, Ubuntu 6.10 running AIGLX/Beryl does everything it can... plus another two dozen things it can't that are actually pretty useful. And Vista's not even ready yet!
I run Ubuntu 6.10 w/ Beryl/XGL and oddly enough, I like the Aero Glass theme the most.

Does that make me evil, or just confused?
matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Middletown, CT

matrix3D

Member

Re: Microsoft...

Confused.

mustang03282
join:2003-01-10
Bridgeton, NJ

mustang03282 to matrix3D

Member

to matrix3D
Im running vista right now and love it. It seems to run alout faster then xp I run xp on the other pc and use linux on the laptop. windows has its issues but then again so does linux and so does mac its a matter of using the right tool for the right job. I personally try to take advantage of the best of both worlds instead of being a windows or linux fanboy like most
matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Middletown, CT

matrix3D

Member

Re: Microsoft...

Oh, I run Windows XP, Vista and Ubuntu. I just don't like Microsoft for several reasons. I agree though... the best tool for the job.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller to SD6

Member

to SD6
you fucking dumbass. its not just bluetooth, it is an in car broadband enabled computer.

uninformed MSFT bashers die.

La Luna
Fly With The Angels My Beloved Son Chris
Premium Member
join:2001-07-12
New Port Richey, FL

1 recommendation

La Luna to MSeng

Premium Member

to MSeng
said by MSeng:

....MSFT bashers never cease to amaze me with their insight and wit.
Or lack thereof?
bmn
? ? ?

join:2001-03-15
hiatus

bmn to MSeng

to MSeng
said by MSeng:

Then again, it may work as expected, provide convenience for those who choose the option and set a trend for other manufacturers to follow suit.
Maybe, but considering this is a new product market for them and based on their past performance, the jokes are totally warranted...

roombaix
@comcast.net

roombaix

Anon

Re: Microsoft...

New product? I was recently looking for navigation system and everything decent I was able to find was built on Windows CE.

jgkolt
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
Avon, OH

jgkolt to MSeng

Premium Member

to MSeng
"
MSeng 2000-07-13 Ork Premium,Mod 20856 33m reply to sporkme
Re: Microsoft...

...

MSFT bashers never cease to amaze me with their insight and wit. "

You may bash the M$ bashers all you want but if you have to pull over to reboot your car 7 times a day(even once) you may change your tone. Ha
Kiwi88
Premium Member
join:2003-05-26
Bryant, AR

1 recommendation

Kiwi88 to MSeng

Premium Member

to MSeng
said by MSeng:

Then again, it may work as expected, provide convenience for those who choose the option and set a trend for other manufacturers to follow suit.

MSFT bashers never cease to amaze me with their insight and wit.
That's what the front page attracts normally, the smaller group mentality.
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

1 recommendation

Joe12345678 to sporkme

Member

to sporkme
download music
What happens when the DRM locks up the car systems?

C0deZer0
Oc'D To Rhythm And Police
Premium Member
join:2001-10-03
Tempe, AZ

C0deZer0 to sporkme

Premium Member

to sporkme
Tow driver: "So what happened to it? Dead battery?"
driver: "nope. Battery still works..."
Tow: "engine failure?"
driver: "nope."
Tow: "fan belt seized up?"
driver: "nope."
tow: "then what?"
driver: *points to display* "It BSoD'd on me."

mustang03282
join:2003-01-10
Bridgeton, NJ

mustang03282

Member

Re: Microsoft...

hmmm will my car insurence cover a viri lol

insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

insomniac84 to sporkme

Member

to sporkme
Because the current software in cars that no one knows anything about is better?

sporkme
drop the crantini and move it, sister
MVM
join:2000-07-01
Morristown, NJ

sporkme

MVM

Re: Microsoft...

said by insomniac84:

Because the current software in cars that no one knows anything about is better?
Yes. There are tons of documented RTOS products out there for just such things. Somehow tweaking windows into some kind of quasi-embedded product is just a wee bit silly. The track record of their products (not the popularity, the quality) really speaks for itself.

AlphaOne
I see
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21

AlphaOne

Premium Member

BSOD

Did I hear someone say "crash" ?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

As long as the driver can't read email off the Nav screen ..

while the car is in motion, it sounds OK to me.

sandman9r
Premium Member
join:2003-11-09
Franklin Square, NY

sandman9r

Premium Member

Blue Screen of Death

[News Tease] Can a system crash cause an actual crash? We'll tell you at 11...
brianiscool
join:2000-08-16
Tampa, FL

brianiscool

Member

Where do you want to go today?

Computer drive me home! Error out of resource. Kernal32.dll dump. Need more memory, driving you to CompUSA so they can rip you off the most .
firewire9999
join:2004-07-11
Livonia, MI

firewire9999

Member

Re: Where do you want to go today?

Hmmmm you forgot the most important feature "Windows Blue Screen Of Death"


Hazeleyze
join:2003-05-09
Wauseon, OH

Hazeleyze to brianiscool

Member

to brianiscool
Instead of pulling up for gas, you'll have to pull up to get auto updates.

•••

Agent_haito
join:2002-09-20
Winston Salem, NC

Agent_haito

Member

Voice

read email? I wonder if that is the case. I mean how many more distractions do you need at 70 mph?
JoeBubba
join:2006-11-20
Farmingdale, NY

JoeBubba

Member

Will I be able to....

CTL+ATL+DEL at a red light?
wxdude10
join:2004-11-15
Chelmsford, MA

wxdude10

Member

Another reason...

.. for Ford's to be called

Found On Road Dead


•••••••

aefstoggaflm
Open Source Fan
Premium Member
join:2002-03-04
Bethlehem, PA

aefstoggaflm

Premium Member

Turn off car

I guess they will turn off the car with the start button

HarleyYac
Lee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-13
Allendale, NJ

HarleyYac

Premium Member

Re: Turn off car

Thats Funny!
bgraham2
join:2001-03-15
Smithtown, NY

1 edit

bgraham2

Member

Don't worry about M$ and cars...

Worry about when Microsoft gets into the air plane industry. All kidding aside, there must be someone at Microsoft talking to Boeing right now. That is a large industry, as yet untapped by Microsoft as far as I know. Airplanes probably have triple redundancy so they could sell 3 licenses for every on board system.

Oh, I forgot, they have almost gotten the system written anyway with Flight Simulator.

Skilos
join:2000-08-19
Astoria, NY

Skilos

Member

Re: Don't worry about M$ and cars...

Hey how is it going, my car has been acting funny lately.

Yea, Your car got a virus probably parked next to one of those foreign models. I think it would be best to do a clean install.

roc5955
Premium Member
join:2005-11-26
Rosendale, NY

roc5955

Premium Member

BSOD in your CAR?!?!?!

OMG -- Now they've done it. I never would buy a Ford product, now it's a lock! I will wait for Micro$oft to sue Ford for something in a few years. After which, I'll watch FoMoCo go bye-bye!

bassthumpa
Premium Member
join:2000-12-26
Austin, TX

bassthumpa

Premium Member

Wokka Wokka Wokka

I knew the lame BSOD and ctrl-alt-del jokes were gonna come, but good grief. I bet some of you wankers are sitting there after you post your weak one-liner grinning and waiting for someone to reply with an LOL to your alleged wit.

jarthur31
join:2006-04-14
Carlsbad, NM

jarthur31

Member

Re: Wokka Wokka Wokka

LOL

keyboard5684
Sam
join:2001-08-01
Pittsburgh, PA

keyboard5684 to bassthumpa

Member

to bassthumpa
I wonder how many are actually using a Microsoft product right now...

sirwoogie
Blah
Premium Member
join:2002-01-02
Saline, MI

sirwoogie

Premium Member

You really don't understand what this is...

The article points out it's a multimedia head-end for the car. There is no way this would be the only computer that runs the car internals as well. They probably can talk to each other. Looks pretty neat.

Besides, Microsoft embedded is a COMPLETELY different animal than its other OS's. I've had the chance to play with it, and it's pretty good.

•••
jimbo21503
join:2004-05-10
Euclid, OH

jimbo21503

Member

News Articles

I pity the day Ford makes automated vehicles...

Here are a few more news article titles to ponder over:

"Virus Takes Vehicles In New Directions"

"Bus Accident Caused By 'Crash'"

"Hackers Can Drive Cars... From 1000 Miles Away"

"'My Husband Crashed Our Car... Watching Porn!'"

"New Report: Cell Phones Used as Vehicle Remotes"

... as much as I want to see cars with auto-pilot, they should NOT be run by Windows...

keyboard5684
Sam
join:2001-08-01
Pittsburgh, PA

keyboard5684

Member

Re: News Articles

Have you driven a new vehicle lately? I own a Ford and 2 GM models. The oldest, a 2002 Ford van, comes pretty dependent on the vehicle computer systems.

Some of the "neater" stuff is on the 04 GM. But to make a long post short, I had trouble with the battery in the vehicle which in turn made the computer "crash" and then the vehicle run a little nutty until it suddenly went into "safe mode" where the vehicle hobbles along. The vehicle did suddenly accelerate and the dash went nuts for a few seconds then the car started "limping" without the computer system fully in control. All because the battery was bad, needed a new one, but the voltage problems were enough to crash the computer.

Point being that ALL new vehicles are computer controlled from the ABS to the throttle itself (Throttle position/controls), at least in some way.

So are many new washing machines, dryers, tools, all sorts of things that are computer controlled for a lot of different reasons.
jimbo21503
join:2004-05-10
Euclid, OH

jimbo21503

Member

Re: News Articles

said by keyboard5684:

Have you driven a new vehicle lately? I own a Ford and 2 GM models. The oldest, a 2002 Ford van, comes pretty dependent on the vehicle computer systems.

Some of the "neater" stuff is on the 04 GM. But to make a long post short, I had trouble with the battery in the vehicle which in turn made the computer "crash" and then the vehicle run a little nutty until it suddenly went into "safe mode" where the vehicle hobbles along. The vehicle did suddenly accelerate and the dash went nuts for a few seconds then the car started "limping" without the computer system fully in control. All because the battery was bad, needed a new one, but the voltage problems were enough to crash the computer.

Point being that ALL new vehicles are computer controlled from the ABS to the throttle itself (Throttle position/controls), at least in some way.

So are many new washing machines, dryers, tools, all sorts of things that are computer controlled for a lot of different reasons.
Washing machines probably arn't as deadly as a vehicle... bad suggestion there.

There is a reason I don't buy Ford cars... what was it... Oh, thanks for answering me.

I had a Saturn a while back and the same thing happened to me, battery went bad. My dashboard went haywire for a minute, then appently switched to full manual. ABS, etc turned off automatically and it switched over to manual transmission. A light turned on that told me to shift manually. Not enough juice for transmission. No big deal. Just did that till I got it home then made the call to AAA.

It was one of my favorite cars to date.

I now have a Pontiac and have not had a problem with it yet.

My main point is, if you think the computer controlling your car is bad now, wait untill M$ gets their OS in there... {shudders}.
tdar
join:2004-04-05
Alpharetta, GA

tdar

Member

Sorry MS Haters

For the MS haters.....have any interest in a BWM 5 or 7 series...it's user controls are a MS OS.....sorry MS has been in cars for some time now....this is nothing all that new
itguy05
join:2005-06-17
Carlisle, PA

itguy05

Member

Re: Sorry MS Haters

quote:
For the MS haters.....have any interest in a BWM 5 or 7 series...it's user controls are a MS OS.....sorry MS has been in cars for some time now....this is nothing all that new
That would explain why pretty much nobody likes the iDrive system in BMW's. Almost every review mentions iDrive as a negative.

I was a Ford guy and would buy them again, but with the MS junk, I'll just stick with Infiniti. My G35 has been an awesome car and one of the most reliable I've owned. Neither it or the M use MS software and that's a good thing.

HarleyYac
Lee
Premium Member
join:2001-10-13
Allendale, NJ

HarleyYac

Premium Member

Ford .. What are you thinking?

Hi,
I own 2 Fords and have used "Windows" since the Ninties!!
I will no longer buy a FORD,Lincoln or Mercury if Microsoft has anything to do with Operation or Safety of any Motor Vehicle........ period.
Lee
GhostDoggy
join:2005-05-11
Duluth, GA

GhostDoggy

Member

Dumb and Dumber

So, will they sync up on the bugs, vulnerabilities, and patches, too? How about the worm of the month service?

Tomek
Premium Member
join:2002-01-30
Valley Stream, NY

Tomek

Premium Member

CarPC / InDashPC / Carputer

There are so many custom option for few talented people that can integrate computers into cars.
The few advantages is price and flexibility.
I don't want to think what kind of integration is Microsoft and Ford thinking. Could be some modified embedded Windows Mobile.
But at the same time it reminds of Zune...

aurgathor
join:2002-12-01
Lynnwood, WA

aurgathor

Member

Re: CarPC / InDashPC / Carputer

said by Tomek:

I don't want to think what kind of integration is Microsoft and Ford thinking.
Mostly the entertainment system, so even if it crashes, it shouldn't have any real bad effect.