All About Microsoft

Mary-Jo Foley

Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

By Mary Jo Foley | October 19, 2010, 6:14am PDT

Summary: Another day, another Microsoft product with “7″ in its name launches. On October 19, Microsoft unveiled Windows Embedded Automotive 7, the latest version of its Embedded Automotive platform.

Another day, another Microsoft product with “7″ in its name launches.

On October 19, Microsoft unveiled Windows Embedded Automotive 7, the latest version of its Embedded Automotive platform.

Windows Embedded Automotive 7 is the next generation of the Windows Embedded Automotive platform. It is the newest SKU from Microsoft’s embedded platforms team. (Other offerings from that team include Windows Embedded Standard, Windows Embedded Handheld and Windows Embedded Compact. Windows Embedded Compact — which has been known up until now as Windows CE — is the core upon which older Windows Mobile phones, the first generation Windows Phone 7s and the Zune HD are built.)

Microsoft released Windows Embedded Standard 7 earlier this year. Windows Embedded Compact 7 still has yet to be released to manufacturing, but is still on track to be done before the end of calendar 2010, officials have said.

Update: The RTM date for Embedded Compact 7 has slipped. From a spokesperson on October 19: “(T)he general availability date for Windows Embedded Compact 7 has been moved from the fourth quarter of this year to the first quarter of next year (2011). ” That means until that time, Embedded Compact 6.0 R3 is the latest version of that offering which is available to OEMs and Microsoft divisions building products.

“Windows Embedded Automotive 7 and Windows Embedded Compact 7 share some common components, including the Silverlight for Windows Embedded UI framework, although Windows Embedded Automotive 7 has been developed to meet the unique needs of the automotive industry,” a company spokesperson said.

Windows Embedded Automotive is targeted at car makers and suppliers who build components like automotive infotainment systems. The Embedded platform provides OEMs with a base for communication, entertainment, navigation and information systems for vehicles. The latest version of Embedded Automotive includes Silverlight support, TellMe speech support, and new developer tools, according to the company.

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Topics

Microsoft Corp., Windows Embedded Automotive 7, Windows Embedded Automotive, Windows Embedded Compact, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Mary Jo Foley

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

makrekdw87-24353647461810270232220173141352 10th Nov

bafocb,good post!

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Ok, Microsoft

Cylon Centurion 19th Oct 2010

I love Windows 7, don't get me wrong, it is a great OS, but can we stop with the "7" naming convention?

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If it's based on Windows 7, which is

John Zern 19th Oct 2010

a redesigned core and everything, they have to let people know what it's based on.

Still, Windows Embedded Automotive 7 sounds like line in a song, or something happy

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

easson 21st Dec 2010

@John Zern

Actually, Windows Phone 7's core is precisely Windows Embedded Compact (version 6.5, the latest shipping one). It just has a thin layer of Silverlight on top of that.

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

bobiroc 19th Oct 2010

@Cylon Centurion 0005

Its all about Brand Awareness and keeping a bit of consistency across the board. Microsoft knows that Windows 7 on the Desktop is well received so they are applying that naming convention to their other areas. Also I think they want to keep a bit of consistency and basically call all their OSes the same just give it the industry it is focusing on. So Hence Windows Phone 7 and Windows Automotive 7

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Oh boy, let's spread the malware!

ahh so Updated - 19th Oct 2010

To your automobile now! - - I guess having infections on your desktops is not enough.

McAffe Mobile Edition, anybody?

LOL... grin

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

John Biles 20th Oct 2010

ARRRR! Now we know why there are vehicle "Crashes" their running Windows! LOL!

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Given I have MS in my Car (Ford)

itguy08 19th Oct 2010

It's the same old BS from Microsoft. Works most of the time, needs lots of care and feeding. While I Love what Sync can do the fact it's Microsoft and I've already had to "reboot" the system by pulling fuses reminds me that MS can't make anything reliable.

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

spivonious 19th Oct 2010

@itguy08

Interesting. Every review I've read of a sync-enabled Ford has made no mention of any technical problems.

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

Qbt 19th Oct 2010

@itguy08

I also have Sync and I have never had to do anything special other than start the car and go. It has never had any down time or needed "care and feeding". I'm not saying you are wrong about your experience, just that I and apparently every other reviewer I have seen did not see any techincal problems, so I think your problems are the exception.

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

bobiroc 19th Oct 2010

@itguy08

Sorry either your problems are unique and rare or you are making this up. I know plenty of people with Sync Enabled Fords and some had difficulty setting it up initially but all say it works very well all the time. Not saying that you are not having actual problems but you have a long history of showing hatred towards Microsoft and making up stuff to just try and spread FUD that everything Microsoft doesn't work.

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A linux fanboy that hates a Microsoft Product, and has problems nobody else

Michael Alan Goff 19th Oct 2010

CALL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

DongFow 19th Oct 2010

Amazing, I got a feelign its gonna be pretty good stuff.

www.total-privacy.au.tc

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RE: Microsoft replies to GM.. or was it other way around?

PercySludge Updated - 19th Oct 2010

And let's not forget what Bill Gates said about automobiles!
... Or was it General Motors that said it about Windows?

Wait! Was it Henry Ford and Linux? Oh, never mind. It's all the stuff of urban legends anyhow.

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Do you have to reactivate it everytime you change a tire....

dougogd@... Updated - 19th Oct 2010

Until Microsoft rethinks activation i will never buy a single product from them. If a car comes with their product I will go elsewhere. But then again the only American car that I would buy was Pontiac and that leaves me with only being able to buy foreign cars now since Pontiac is no more. Also any thing this is assembled in another country and shipped to the us is also an import. So before you yell at me for only buying foreign cars, think about where your ford and chevy's are assembled.

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

bobiroc 19th Oct 2010

@dougogd@...

So you must have to choose from a limited number of softwares then because many of the biggest players in the software/Game market require activation these days. Also aside from a few glitches that affected a few people Activation works just fine even if you have to reinstall the OS on the same computer. Also if you have to change a major component that trips activation I have not once run into a problem with Microsoft having to approve the activation even when I had to change out the motherboard with a completely different one on a friends computer. Most people complaining about activation are software pirates or just people that like to use activation as a means to complain about Microsoft.

Oh and if the OS Embedded in the Car why would it need to activate other than to maybe initialize your services. You have to activate cell phones, and many other electronic devices and software so why just complain about Microsoft unless you are a troll.

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What does activation have to do with this?

Michael Alan Goff 19th Oct 2010

N/T

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

Pete "athynz" Athens 19th Oct 2010

@dougogd@... Depends on the model of Ford or Chevy - or Dodge for that matter... there ARE still functioning automotive assembly plats here in the US.

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No thanks

cyberslammer 19th Oct 2010

This car has performed an illegal operation and will shut down...

CTRL ALT DEL!!!
CTRL ALT DEL!!!
CTRL ALT DEL!!!

(car sails off cliff)

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

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RE: Microsoft delivers Windows Embedded Automotive 7

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