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Microsoft Bets Big On Computing For the Car
dstates writes "The automobile industry may be hurting, but Microsoft is doubling down and making a massive new investment in its automotive business unit. Microsoft already works closely with a number of car companies and will enhance that effort with more people and more resources. Sync developed as a collaboration with Ford Motor Co. allows motorists to control their cell phones, music players and navigation systems with voice commands while they drive. Microsoft is also making 'Live Search' technology available to automakers to develop in-car search and navigation. Detroit native Tom Philips, the new unit leader said 'There are a lot of technologies that are two to three years out that are going to provide even more connectivity and innovation. There's such a disconnect between what people experience in their cars and what they experience in the rest of their lives.'"
The lifetime of a car is 10 to 20 years.
You obviously drive Japanese, not American cars. With American cars, the 5-year life cycle is no problem...
A-Bomb
Whats the state of navigation for linux in car systems?
Well, as soon as Microsoft gets their project finished far enough that it can be copied, I'm sure we'll get several incompatible Linux implementations that all implement different subsets of the functionality.