Subject: [NEXTEL-1] BMW- Break My Windows!

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 08:53:08 -0400

Ah, BMW Security!  You can't beat those double lock doors. I found that out
on  my old M5 once you double lock it  nobody is getting in or out. My friends
called it Break My Windows (BMW- I still love them).
====================================================================================

Windows won't crash your car
By David Coursey, Special to CNETAsia
26/5/2003

URL: http://asia.cnet.com/newstech/perspectives/0,39001148,39133687,00.htm

COMMENTARY--A friend--one of those computer people who delight in pointing out
technology's pratfalls--sent me a link to a news story this week. The headline
read: "Govt. official trapped in car after computer fails."

"Security guards smashed their way into an official limousine with
sledgehammers on Monday to rescue Thailand's finance minister after his car's
computer failed," Reuters said.

Seems that the computer in Suchart Jaovisidha's BMW failed, automatically
locking all the doors and shutting off the air-conditioning.

"We could hardly breathe for over 10 minutes," the freed minister told
reporters. "It was a harrowing experience."
My friend--who'd take a sledgehammer to Microsoft if he could--appended a
second story to the Reuters report. It was a press release headlined,
"Microsoft technology powers the navigation feature used in BMW's innovative
new iDrive telematics system."

The juxtaposition of those two stories might remind some of you of an old
joke: What would happen if Microsoft designed cars? They'd run perfectly for
50,000 miles and then explode.

Of course, Microsoft had nothing to do with the Thai minister's George
Jetson-like experience ("Jane, open this crazy thing! Help!  Jane!"). I know
because I called Redmond to find out how a BMW could go from "the ultimate
driving machine" to a sweltering tropical prison. For the record, Microsoft
has no idea.

"We don't have any system that controls starting, stopping, door locks, engine
control, or things like that," said Peter Wengert, marketing manager for
Microsoft's automotive business unit. "We just handle the navigation system."
More specifically, Wengert's business unit is in the in-car infotainment
business, providing software that improves the driving experience, not the car
itself. And that business is no joke.

Microsoft has been in the automotive technology business for seven years. The
company has deals with eight major automakers; besides BMW, they include
Citroen, Fiat, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, and Honda. Microsoft's most
current car product, based on Windows CE .Net, is Windows Automotive 4.2. The
newest version, released last month, adds

Web services and Bluetooth connectivity.

With ever longer commutes and our growing dependence on all things digital, we
don't want to be out of touch for the many hours we spend behind the wheel.

Microsoft says its new software architecture supports hands-free
communication, access to information services, diagnostics, and wireless
synchronisation with other mobile devices via Bluetooth. The software also
supports limited voice recognition features, allowing drivers to keep their
hands on the wheel and off the phone. Turn-by-turn navigation is also
included.
Somewhat strangely, the high end of these Microsoft-powered systems can be
found in a US$10,000 model sold by Toyota in Japan called the WILLCypha.
Besides the information services I've already described, the WILLCypha's
G-BOOK in-car information system also includes karaoke.

Microsoft also supports aftermarket automotive electronics manufacturers.
Clarion still makes the Auto PC, first introduced in December 1998. The newest
version, called Joyride, includes a Windows smartphone and an Xbox game system
for backseat passengers.

While Clarion markets Joyride as a Microsoft-enabled product, don't expect the
major automakers to do likewise. Wengert said most Microsoft technology will
be under-the-hood--well, under the dashboard--and invisible to users.
Still, the company is predicting that, by 2007, 20 percent of new vehicles
will include Bluetooth technology, and an estimated 12 percent of new
automobiles will be equipped with 802.11-enabled hardware.
I asked my old friend Dick Brass, who invented the dictionary-based spell
checker back in 1981 and is now VP of Microsoft's automotive business unit,
about his goals for the unit. "We want to create a virtuous cycle, as we have
on the desktop," he told me.

Translated, that means a world in which standard operating systems and
application programming interfaces allow for a continual reduction in hardware
prices, continual improvement in hardware performance, and a stable platform
for software developers to build upon. The ultimate goal: having Windows
dominate your car's information and entertainment systems as surely as it
dominates the PC today.
Windows Automotive is a step in that direction.

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---

From: "Todd Ellis" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 09:05:11 -0400

In my car, you have to punch out the locks from the outside at the
dealership, or break a window.  GM is getting trickier by the day.  One of
the stepkids locked my keys in the trunk, and the wife locked the doors.  If
we could have gotten into the car, we could have opened the trunk
remotely.we wound up searching for 3 hours for a spare key and actually
found one.since the second remote control was dead, we couldn't use that
either.

One of the newer cars coming out for the next year actually does not have
key locks - only the remote control device.

Todd Ellis

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]] 
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2003 7:53 AM
To: [email-masked]
Subject: [NEXTEL-1] BMW- Break My Windows!

Ah, BMW Security!  You can't beat those double lock doors. I found that out
on  my old M5 once you double lock it  nobody is getting in or out. My
friends
called it Break My Windows (BMW- I still love them).
============================================================================
========

---

From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 10:24:44 -0400

Mine only has one key lock drives the parking attendants crazy at the $20.00
for the 1st hour garages....... I love it (Pay Back is a B****)

Todd Ellis wrote:

> remotely…we wound up searching for 3 hours for a spare key and actually
> found one…since the second remote control was dead, we couldn’t use that
> either.
>
> key locks – only the remote control device.
>
> Todd Ellis
>
> ===================================================================================
>
>                    Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
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