LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. will showcase the new Microsoft® Car.NET framework, an advanced, new-generation infrastructure technology that revolutionizes computing and communications in the automobile, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Jan. 6-9, 2001, in Las Vegas.
Based on standards supported industrywide, Car.NET brings the technology and development tools that will help open up the world of the wireless Internet to motorists. Car.NET is designed to manage delivery of information, entertainment and communication services to a wide variety of in-vehicle information systems, be they portable or embedded in the dashboard.
With Car.NET, devices will be able to shuttle information between home, office and car and among several devices, from pagers to cellular phones to desktop computers. Drivers can use it to download information from the Internet, listen to e-mail or news, communicate with other motorists, make purchases and receive satellite broadcasts. Car.NET uses speech-recognition technology that allows users to make cellular phone calls, change the music selection, or access information without taking their hands off the wheel or their eyes off the road. Distraction controls ensure that certain functions such as typing or reading text can be performed only while the car is stopped.
“The market for in-car computing is poised to embark on an amazing journey,”
said Bob McKenzie, general manager of the Automotive Business Unit at Microsoft.
“Safety and security services are among the most important criteria to motorists. They want access to Internet-based information such as news, traffic updates, instant messaging, navigation assistance and other services. They also have a keen interest in back-seat entertainment systems. The Car.NET framework is designed to provide these features and more by delivering state-of-the-art reliability, flexibility and connectivity.”
Car.NET has its origins in the Microsoft .NET initiative, a vision for the creation of distributed Web services that will integrate and collaborate with a range of complementary services. These services, combined with in-vehicle electronics — audio and video, telephone, navigation and telematics (which integrates vehicle control and monitoring systems with location tracking and wireless communications) — will make traveling easier, more entertaining, less stressful and safer.
The Microsoft Windows® CE for Automotive 3.0 operating system is an integral component of the Car.NET framework. The third-generation automotive-centric operating system, Windows CE for Automotive 3.0 delivers built-in reliability. It averts problems or resolves them without user intervention, prevents system crashes and ensures that the system will detect and automatically recover from failure. It offers enhanced communications capabilities and enables system manufacturers to build a broad range of in-vehicle information systems, from entry-level telematics devices to the most complex and full-featured multimedia devices for the car.
About Windows CE for Automotive
Microsoft Windows CE for Automotive is an operating system built on Windows CE technology to make possible new categories of in-car computers that are capable of safely providing drivers and passengers with hands-free communication, access to personalized information on the Internet, the ability to summon emergency services and roadside assistance, and an array of convenience and entertainment applications. Windows CE for Automotive is an open platform that allows developers to quickly create powerful in-car computing solutions. It offers flexibility and choice of computing platforms, hardware peripherals and software components, as well as a large community of developers familiar with Windows CE development practices.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
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