Hollywood_North GT

After Fields champions the new Focus, he and Bill Gates talk about Ford/Microsoft's "exclusive" new Sync technology, which integrates all your mobile electronic devices into the car. We won't discuss the fact that several other manufacturers already have much of this technology in their vehicles. But, props to Ford for finally adopting it. Click here to watch.

Best part: Available on new Focus but not Mustang.

Even better: Ford + Microsoft. A struggling car company teaming with a company known for craptacular bloatware.

Perfect.

Great.

Can't wait.

Hopefully the software only crashes the communications system. We already know that reflashing your PCM for added horsepower can cause your Shaker audio system to kick out errant messages. It would really blow if some wag in Vladivostok could hack your fuel management or ABS control module with a MOAB virus.

hi5.0

From some people's experience with the Shaker systems in the Mustang, you'd think Microsoft already had a hand in Ford's in-car-electronics.
"What do you want your car to do? - Shutdown, standby, restart, cancel"

Hollywood_North GT

The best part will come when you have to call India for tech support using your cell phone.

"Right click...Properties. Select Engine Management Protocol. Select Engine Reactivation. Select ABS Reactivation. Select Airbag Reactivation."

Meanwhile, you're trying to coast your "deactivated" car to a safe stop on the Interstate during rush hour.

Knight

press cntl alt delete to reboot..

"darn we forgot to add those buttons to the console."

Zastava_101

if microshaft helps out Ford

Every time they repainted the lines on the road, you'd have to buy a new car.
Occasionally your car would just die on the highway for no reason. Accept this, restart and drive on.

Occasionally, executing a maneuver would cause the car to stop and fail to restart. You'd have to re-install the engine. For some strange reason, you'd just accept this too.

You could only have one person in the car at a time, unless you bought "Car 95" or "Car NT". But then you'd have to buy more seats.

Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was twice as reliable, five times as fast, twice as easy to drive - but it would only run on five percent of the roads.

The oil, engine, gas and alternator warning lights would be replaced with a single "General Car Fault" light.

People would get excited about "new" features in Microsoft cars, forgetting completely that they had been available in other cars for years.

We'd all have to switch to Microsoft gas and auto fluids.

New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.

The airbag system would say, "Are you sure?" before going off.

If you were involved in a crash, you would have no idea what happened.

Microsoft wouldn't build their own engines, but form a cartel with their engine suppliers. The engine would be a side-valve design so you could still use Model T parts on it.

Microsoft cars would have a special radio/cassette player which would only be able to listen to Microsoft FM and play Microsoft cassettes.

Microsoft would do well, because even though they don't own any roads, all road manufacturers would give away Microsoft cars for free!

If you couldn't afford to buy a new car, you could borrow your friend's and copy it.

Whenever you bought a car, you would have to reorganize the ignition a few days until it worked.

You would need an upgrade to run cars on a highway next to each other.

Moosetang

Hate to tell you guys but, outside Windows, M-soft software is excellent. 360, XBLA, M games divsion, Mobile devices,etc. Windows tries to be all things to all people, so it ends up with tons of issues. But When they focus they're dynamite. I was very impressed by this demo and I look forward to having it down the road.

Hollywood_North GT

Whoaa...hold on there a second. "Excellent"? I think you're reaching...quite a bit. The only software I have on my computer that EVER crashes is made by Microlimp. Office programs like Word are notorious bloatware, filled with crap nobody needs or ever uses - making it too often unstable.

Believe me, I know. I use this stuff every day.

Moosetang

Like I said, their Non-windows products (IE NOT office/word/etc) are excellent. Yes, Windows and its office cousins are a mess, no argument there. But this Sync program would be from the Entertainment division. Entertainment has different personell, a different track record, and most imporantly a different mentality. Their product is Quality.

mustang_sallad

yeah, i gotta second BC's views on windows and office, but i'll take your word about other microsoft products. And i gotta say, while I like to rag on bill gates all the time for ****s and giggles, I've realized recently that he seems to be a pretty decent human being.

Boomer

Anti-MS rants make me laugh

mustang_sallad

pfffff! People who never question why they only use MS products without ever trying anything else cause its DIFFERENT make ME laugh!
The only thing good about windows is that everyone uses windows...


Props to ford for being ahead of the game on this one.