Stager-to-Go

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Thanks Microsoft!


I rented a new Ford Focus. The car is stylish for a no-frills sedan. It even comes equipped with Sync by Microsoft.

I've seen the TV commercials for Sync, but what it actually does remains hazy. But heck, the combination of Microsoft and Ford can mean nothing less than engineering magic. Who can resist strapping themselves into the love-child of the companies who brought America Windows Vista and the Pinto. (Don't forget Bob)

During the trip from NY to DC I decided to put Sync through its paces. I thought that clicking on the button with a phone icon would allow me to sync with my iPhone. Then I could do something space-age like talk on the telephone while driving.

The problem is that no sequence or combination of button pressing would sync the phone and Knight Rider. Disappointed, I decided to surrender and listen to the radio - kicking it old school while cruisin' down I-95.

Alas, listening to the radio was impossible. Sync was hung in an unbreakable loop.

So, for the first time in my life I had to stop at the next rest area and reboot my car!

Gee, thanks Microsoft!

PS: I still have no idea what Sync does.

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posted by Gary at 6:40 PM

7 Comments:

  • Okay that THIS is hilarious....we all knew one day we'd have to reboot our cars but I wasn't prepared..

    By Anonymous Dr. G, At May 14, 2008 7:14 PM  

  • This could make for a great new "Dude" commercial. Thanks for the laughs.

    By Anonymous Paul R. Wood, At May 14, 2008 7:20 PM  

  • Why am I not surprised!!! I'll cross post this one :-)) Thanks Gary.

    By Anonymous Carol Daunt Skyring, At May 14, 2008 8:02 PM  

  • Just had a talk with a few people about this. My thought is that this will really hurt resale in cars with SYNC. How many of these will still be working in 5 years? How will it look to have a big blue screen of death in the middle of the dash?

    By Anonymous Josh Morgan, At May 15, 2008 12:49 AM  

  • Apple Commercial:

    I can see the cars sitting next to each other at the traffic light now. One with the geek trying to show off his MS system. The other has the trendy guy with his iPod connected to the stereo. MS breaks down making geek look bad. Light changes to green and Ford car stalls and shows reboot light or worse, the blue screen of death.

    Thanks for sharing. I wondered how that system worked in real world use.

    By Anonymous Scott S. Floyd, At May 15, 2008 1:30 PM  

  • Gary - you have to pair your phone with the car's system before it will work - the same way you pair a bluetooth phone with any external speaker/microphone like a headset. This is basic bluetooth 101 stuff and is the same process for any car with phone capabilities (acura, BWM, etc).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, At May 18, 2008 6:15 AM  

  • Anonymous,

    I know that you need to pair the phone. I would have loved to do that if the car had not asked the same questions over and over again with no way to satisfy it or return to ever playing the radio again without rebooting the car.

    Also, I was attempting to be humorous.

    -=Gary

    By Anonymous Gary, At May 18, 2008 6:25 AM  

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