I guess, if you don't want "crap technology" don't buy the cars with Sync. I have no idea why people complain so much about things they do not have to purchase. Also, show me a business that is not out there to make a profit. Look at Google...do no harm...they are acquiring companies like there is no tomorrow. I am not mad at them...they have shareholders to please now. That's just business.

This seems to me like just another thing to break, get a virus, etc.

Ford and M$? American capitalisim at it's worst? TOGETHER?!?!?

"yeah, imagine driving down the road and getting a blue screen of death. Then you have to pull off the side of the road, turn the car off, and restart it. LOL."
If you CAN pull off the road. (sorry, siryak, I'm just doing a "what if...")

yourcat is so cool!!!!! s/he's using the $ in MS!!!

Once again if you don't know what it is don't comment on it, even IF it did BSOD it wouldn't affect the operation of the car as sync is for MEDIA functions.

I never realized my cat was so incredibly stupid...

lol, you just saved me 30 minutes browsing the internet for something funny.

I live to serve.

Hey!

Read the rest of the comments before you comment on mine. I'm just doing a "what if..."

And I do know what it is.

Thank you.

Straw!

;)

C'mon...even you have to admit that comment was a troll.

...and my cat really *is* stupid.

I can believe that "...and my cat really *is* stupid", but think about drive-by-wire systems. This might come sooner than you think.

It isn't anything in particular about M$, Apple, Linux, or anything else could have problems too. I'll admit that I hate M$ and Apple, but I'm not saying Linux is perfect either.

Well, nothing's perfect. :p

Electronics are no less fail-safe than a steering column. Matter of fact, you might even see less moving parts with a Drive-by-Wire system, which should actually decrease the amount of failures.

We'll see when we see...

I hope it's a long time...

The Goverment has the right to know were your car is at all times for Homeland security.

Do you see black helicopters too?

Pfft, black helicopters are so old school. They have been upgraded to stealth helicopters... lol

"At a cost of 30 dollars, then charging us 400 dollars sounds like good ole ford at its best, that is ripping you off. "

You can always save yourself the $30 and design a system yourself...

Does that $27.80 include the cost of the Microsoft Software license and a portion of the 18-month exclusivity pact??

This is pointless technology that adds cost (whatever it may be) to the vehicle and creates all kinds of hidden dangers in a process of assigning IP addresses to everything. This makes me NOT want a new vehicle (knowing that all makers will try this at some point). It makes me remember that old story that was put out way back in the Win98 days of "if Microsoft built cars". There is simply too much negative potential to make this kind of thing worth having. But, people will buy into it simply because it "looks" like progress....like the auto makers are moving into the 21st century.

Yet, another troll if this was anyone other then MS this topic would have no responses.

Sync comes STANDARD on some of their vehicles and others its an optional feature. No one is forcing you to have it.

MS didn't build the car, it only controls media functions so if there was a problem it would not affect the operation of the car.

This might not interest you, but for millions of people with a cell phone and digital players this is a nice feature and keeps the driver focused on the road.

IP addresses? it doesn't go on the internet, why would you need an ip address? It may use a MAC address maybe but what does that have to do with anything?

People will buy into it because its convenient, not because it looks like the future. Good thing you aren't in marketing you would fail miserably as you don't understand the need of the consumer.

Try and do some research before you go commenting on something you have no clue about.

It would NOT matter to me if it were MS or any other company. The fact that it's MS just makes it worse. Being standard on some will translate to being standard on all. That's only a matter of time. As vehicles advance, it will go further than just media functions. Anyone that has been following the auto industry should be able to see this. What's the point in MAC addresses if IP addresses never get involved?

As for convenience...
That is only a perception. Having convenience for more foolishness that is by nature designed to focus a persons attention away from driving.

I never said I was in marketing. I would never say that. Infact, I despise the world of marketing. It overflows with lies and distortions for the purpous of selling crap to people that don't understand how much they don't need what's being sold. I do understand it's not always what's needed but rather what's wanted. But, the world of marketing makes Billions of dollars all based on lies.

There is not a single company out there that makes a perfect product, for godsakes apple had viruses on their ipods, sony had exploding batteries, Dells randomly caught on fire.

See, you still DO NOT get it and I said its a good thing you are NOT in marketing as you have NO clue what you are talking about. This may not work for YOU but again the people that use the devices it supports will. Plus in fall of 08 it will do diagnostics of the car and have 911 assist.

Millions of people everyday use media players and cell phones while they are in their car, while using said devices they are not focusing on the road. This is not perception its a FACT, that if you are using both your hands and your eyes are focused on the road, its going to be safer then using your hands to juggle a phone and push buttons on your media player.

People that buy things because an ad told them to you blame on marketing? If people are to stupid to fall for an ad they deserve whats coming,

I'm not questioning the fact that plenty of people use these things. I question the USE of these things.

I believe it's not a matter of the use of those devices, but how they are used while driving.

What are the examples of these "hidden dangers"?

Christ...

The "use"?

Dude, wake up.

If "use" and "practicality" were required for a product to be successful in marketing, we'd still be living in the dark ages.

If it was an Apple product, it would have cost them $300 per vehicle instead of $30.

but it would have worked %300 more of the time...

If everything on a Mac just works, then why does a website called "Mac fix it" exist? Here are a few choice topics on macfixitforums.com:

-Login window stuck!
-lower caSe "S" key not working!!
-Menu bar keeps flashing
-I can't drag and drop!

More? http://www.thebestpagein...e.net/c.cgi?u=macs_cant

yeah, imagine driving down the road and getting a blue screen of death. Then you have to pull off the side of the road, turn the car off, and restart it. LOL.

All the more reason to not buy a POS Ford.

That is one of the more misguided statements I've seen in a while.

Try telling that to my best friend whose unmodified launch-day 8GB iPhone locks up on him at least twice a week. Or, add the fact that my 30GB iPod requires a full restore occasionally.

Mac OS X has more than its fair share of broken functionality and security risks, especially since the release of 10.5. Windows Vista has fewer issues than OS X.

What exactly is the purpose of the price premium on Apple products again? If it's simply for the ability to say "I'm part of an elite crowd who paid more than everyone else for less features, functionality, compatibility, and just as many problems", I'll pass.

Zune is looking more attractive with each passing day.

POS fords?

A Shelby Mustang is a POS car?

Wow....

So I guess that means if it was made by Sony your car might randomly explode? The lack of intelligence in your posts are seriously starting to become excruciatingly severe.

No!!! This can't be right!!! Apple is perfect in every way!!! LA LA LA LA!!! /sarcasm

Sony had hardware problems, M$ has software problems. Big difference.

I will belive you, but why isn't OS-X in the news then?

Yah having it randomly explode is a lot worse than having to restart your computer a few times a year.

And it would be obsolete within 1 year because the new (incompatible and also not expandable) version would be soooo much cooler.

Because anyone challenging the Messiah will be taken down and to court.

Perhaps the less than 10% market share has something to do with it.

Most news outlets want their stories to be read by more than 10% of their readership. :)

Sync is not even available on shelby...

definitely.

LOL

Seems like the news could cover both...

....or not, since OS stories seem to gather nothing but trolls anyway.

I have to be honest, after seeing the demo at CES I really wasn't impressed. While this is neat and a new option never before available on lower priced cars I have a few complaints.
1. The voice recognition is not all that accurate. Several times during the demo, even though the lady spoke clearly and was very experienced, she still had to repeat herself several times (bug?)

2. At a cost of 30 dollars, then charing us 400 dollars sounds like good ole ford at its best, that is ripping you off.

3. This is yet another thing that is going to break, get a virus or some other thing.

4. Guess what music device it sync's with? Yep you guessed it, zune, all those millions of apple ipod users out there, S.O.L.

5. Ford + Microsoft, American greed and crap at its finest. Why do foreign countries know what American's want more then American's do? I mean, why can't American companies have quality that competes with the Asian countries? I just don't get it, oh yeah they are cheaper too.

Owell at least they are trying right?

Well, you made some good points but you turned into a troll at the end...

3. This is yet another thing that is going to break, get a virus or some other thing.

So because MS made it it has to break, huh? You realize all devices have problems whether they are Sony, Toshiba, Apple, etcetc.

4. Guess what music device it sync's with? Yep you guessed it, zune, all those millions of apple ipod users out there, S.O.L.

http://www.syncmyride.co...ay/overlay_music_player

It syncs with most music players including Ipod, do some research before trying to troll.

Also it does a WHOLE lot more then just music, so I question if you really even went to CES.

I doubt that he did, I did not go and I know more about it then he ever will.

www.talkprice.net

"At a cost of 30 dollars, then charing us 400 dollars sounds like good ole ford at its best, that is ripping you off. "

That is the cost of the parts used, it doesn't consider assembly, engineering costs, shipping or installation. Nice try...

You also have to figure in a radio upgrade, not all ford radios allow Sync. The cost of marketing & training is a big chunk...

Ahhh once again, the idiots of this board shine brightly.

As stated, if you don't know anything about it....then keep your mouth shut.

Sync is nothing more than a voice recognition program. It has been alive and well in the Windows Mobile community on Phones and Pocket PC's for over a year. It works very well and it's recognition capability is superb. Microsoft just adapted it for use in a vehicle. There IS a need for it and it's not a STUPID idea. What is stupid is you morons talking crap about BSOD's and s*** when you really have no clue!

Try learning about something before you spew drivel about it.

The Sync does not use the Microsoft speech engine, it is using the Nuance speech engine (Nuance has about 70% of the embedded mobile phone speech market). The Sync does use the MS embedded OS though...

I have SYNC on my new Taurus X and it's fabulous - the best thing for cars since round wheels.

As for your comments:

1. Indeed, the voice recognition was initially disappointing compared to other computer based systems. At first, I only got 25% comprehension (1 in 4 commands understood)! I tuned SYNC for my voice and comprehension went up to 50% (1 in 2 commands understood) with a lot of repeats. And after a couple weeks, I'm now learning how to say things, with the correct names for commands, the right emphasis, pauses, and proper syntax. It's comprehension is approaching 75% or better now, which is starting to be acceptable. The show ladies are chosen for beauty, not for technical skill. They may have only had a 60 minute tutorial before the show.

2. Only some of the major semiconductor parts add to $30. There's lots more other small parts (diodes, regulators, capacitors, connectors, ...) that can easily double the part cost. The PC board and assembly cost some, as well as the case. SYNC also has external parts and electronics such as an additional microphone/receiver in the rear view mirror with multiple microphones that look to have a phased array noise filter, also not included. The cabling and USB connector and their installation cost some too. I suspect all of this together add up to $100 or $150 in cost. Then the software development probably costs something significant, say $20 Million or more (pure speculation here), considering the flexibility, complexity, number of different platforms and feature combinations available, number of navigation, media and hardware interfaces, and the extreme reliability and testing needed. That $20M over 300,000 cars adds $60 in software cost. It amortizes down as SYNC goes to 1 Million cars, as hoped in 2009, but then new features (like 911 and car mechanical reports) are added so the software development cost keeps going too. At $400, SYNC is one of the nicest and lowest cost vehicle control systems for clean integration of multiple sources of media, navigation, mobile phone, and automotive status and emergency conditions.

3. The testing has surely been absolutely extreme considering the market, and tested over many years from all accounts. I haven't seen a single bug yet in my extensive use. The firmware/software reliability and virus susceptibility looks to be more along the lines of cell phone firmware than computer software.

4. SYNC not only works with just about any mp3 player, but also USB flash drives, Bluetooth music streaming from anyone's cell phone in the car, the 6-CD up front, the rear CD/DVD player, the Satellite Radio, the AM/FM, and the analog Audio input. It can also organize and control each of these digital data inputs, but not the analog audio and bluetooth. It integrates tightly with navigation system too, with display settings and all sorts of hand-offs and speaker reduction during navigation speech. Oh, and it also works with most cell phones for phone calls too. It can also download my phone's address book, and show signal and battery strength on the display. The SYNC phone's voice recognition is very good compared to the rest of SYNC.

5. I've found SYNC to be a very high quality product, and it has much more features and capability than any other comparable product, and at the lowest costs.
And for vehicle quality, Ford has improved and again becoming one of the best, getting top JD Powers awards over the Japanese and luxury brands. Car and Driver rated my Taurus X as one of the top for reliability and quality over many other Japanese brands, based on their data. You're out of date.