Dave Horvath
2 Jan 2007 6:27
Although automobile giant Ford refuses to comment right now, Microsoft has announced that they inked a deal to enter project Sync where Ford models will have an integrated version of Windows inside the car.
A recent report shows that Ford is expected to reveal details about Sync in the CES show on January 6 and North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 7. What Sync appears to be all about is integrating computing into your daily life. Since most of us spend much more time in our cars, it only makes sense to integrate the other part of our life into it. It's expected to pave the way for further GPS projects, media downloads, navigation updates, traffic conditions, email and the like. This technology is expected to be available in select models later in 2007 and further available to all Ford models by 2008. Partners Lincoln and Mercury are also slated to get the same treatment.
All of this sounds like wonderous technology and a fine integration, however I'm not sure if my insurance company will cover me if I'm attempting to download porn in my car and smack a tree browsing screencaps. Then comes the famed Blue Screen of Death. Lets hope that Ford doesn't plan on using this computer integration to control any aspects of the vehicle as a normal automobile ECU does. Imagine the horror when you go to apply the brakes and you get a STOP error on your windshield.
Of course that last paragraph was pure exaggeration. Microsoft founder Bill Gates had this to say, "To set apart car companies in the future, vehicles will have features such as HD screens, voice recognition, electronic calenders, cameras and navigation systems that include road and traffic conditions. The upcoming Sync project will provide a platform to centralize and standardize all of those functions."
Source:
Daily Tech