Wow, people with american cars slamming on the CannonballCheck out:
http://tinyurl.com/5zc2rBunch of Corvetter owners pissing and moaning about ricers and how nerds are trying to cannonball. So funny. If I wasn't the one posting this article to laugh at them. I would post a thread like "Lamer Corvette Owners trying to host a web forum". Losers.
I can't say this is like BMW with Apple but... Microsoft, Fiat in Wireless Partnership Source: Associated Press
Microsoft and Fiat SpA have formed a partnership to develop a standardized system for designing wireless communications into vehicles made by the Italian automaker, the biggest deal yet for the American software giant's automotive business.
The goal of the alliance, announced Thursday, is to create a flexible, easy-to-use telematics system for Fiat and its Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands sold in Europe, the companies said.
The best known telematics system may be OnStar from General Motors, whose services include diagnostic information, roadside assistance and stolen-vehicle recovery capabilities.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but Microsoft marketing manager Peter Wengert said it's the largest deal of its kind for the Redmond, Wash.-based company's auto division.
Only four or five years ago telematics primarily involved navigation systems in a few high-end cars. Today, some form is available on 255 models representing 39 brands globally, according to the Minnesota-based Telematics Research Group. That is up from 200 models and 32 brands a year ago.
Wengert said Microsoft hopes to illustrate the effectiveness of standardizing systems for entire lines of vehicles with the Fiat initiative Â? and sell other automakers on it. To date, Microsoft's telematics customers include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Citroen, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota and Volvo.
"It's the first time our automotive software will be partnered with a (manufacturer) across all their brands and product lines," he said.
The Microsoft/Fiat system, expected to be available in vehicles next year, will be based on standard hardware and operate with Microsoft Windows Automotive software. Using the short-range digital wireless communications standard known as Bluetooth, it will allow motorists to integrate their cell phones and personal digital assistants with the onboard system.
Drivers also will be able to access digital music stored in personal electronic devices through a USB connection in the dashboard, as well as other information.
Phil Magney, the Telematics Research Group's principal analyst, said a standardized system should allow Fiat to offer customers a useful, cost-effective feature. Fiat has yet to determine if the system will be standard equipment in some models or entirely optional, a Microsoft representative said.
"It's a relatively simple device that augments the existing audio and electronic systems, so it's not something that's going to take over the dashboard," Magney said. "It's flexible and could be used by other (auto manufacturers) to do different things."
Magney said the potential exists for Microsoft to sell other automakers on the concept, but many already have invested heavily in their own systems. GM's OnStar service, for example, is available on more than 50 GM models and select models from six other manufacturers. It provides safety, security and information services using a Global Positioning System satellite network and wireless technology.
GM owns a small stake in Fiat Auto, the loss-making division of the Italian conglomerate. For decades, Italian consumers were highly loyal to Fiat, but many have turned to other European makes and Asian brands in recent years.
A new management team at Fiat is banking on new models as a way to turn around the auto division's fortunes. Earlier this year, Fiat Auto chief executive Herbert Demel said he hoped to halve Fiat Auto's operating loss to about 500 million euros ($620 million) in 2004.
Sort of off-topic but...Security Doors, Worth $200,000 Disappear From Police HeadquartersSource: NY1
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has launched an investigation to find out how four high-tech security doors, worth $50,000 each, disappeared from One-Police Plaza.
The NYPD bought the doors, made by Georal International, in June of 2001.
The doors were placed in the lobby of police headquarters, but never installed because they were found to be too heavy for the floors.
Now the $200,000 doors have disappeared.
The president of Georal has been indicted on separate charges for submitting inflated invoices while supplying doors to other city agencies.
Bernard Kerik was commissioner when the doors were bought. After he left the post, he joined the board of Georal's parent company.
But Kerik says he didn't order the doors, and knows nothing about them.
Hacker group hawks hooky softwareSource: Tech World
I remember Ron Gula working for this company. I wonder if it is all trueA hacker group claiming to have stolen source code from many Fortune 100 software companies says it is attempting to drum up business by offering the complete source of a leading security system, at a price of $16,000. The operation, calling itself the Source Code Club (SCC), annouced its existence with an email to the Full Disclosure security mailing list on Monday, offering the source code and design documents for Enterasys Networks Dragon IDS (Intrusion Detection System) and the Napster client and server. The e-mail directed customers to a bare-bones Web site registered with a Ukrainian hosting provider. "The Source Code Club is now open for business," said the email, sent by a user identified as Larry Hobbles using a South African-registered address. "SCC is a business focused on delivering corporate intel to our customers." According to an Enterasys spokesman, the company is well aware of the existence of SCC and is working with the authorities in investigating the situation. He said that "Enterasys is investigating the alleged theft of what may be a portion of source code of an older version of our Dragon IDS software. We donÂ?t expect complications from this situation, as we have made significant modifications to the product since the 6.1 version. To further protect their networks, customers running the older Dragon 6.1 version can go to www.dragon.enterasys.com to download the version 6.3 upgrade. Customer service is available to assist as needed with the upgrade process. "
Congressional panel to vote on bill to ban Next week, a move to block states from taxing Internet-connected phone service faces its first test.
A U.S. Senate bill that would ban states from taxing and regulating Internet phone calls will face its first hurdle in a committee vote next week.
Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., said Tuesday that the Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a vote on his voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) bill on July 20 at 9:30 am. If approved by the committee, the bill--which is moving forward at an unusually rapid pace--would be sent to the full Senate for a floor vote that could take place this year.
"It is a simple choice for members: vote to establish a clear legal regime based on technological innovation and consumer choice or vote in favor of multilayered regulation of VoIP that will let chaos reign," Sununu said in a statement. "Those who use e-mail and instant messaging should know, if members vote to regulate Internet applications such as VoIP, those technologies are next."
Approval by the Senate committee is far from certain. At a hearing in June, some Democrats and Republicans complained that they could not support Sununu's bill because it did not permit states and counties to tax VoIP firms to pay for 911 service.
Another point of contention is universal service--a tax levied on phone lines to subsidize rural and low-income subscribers. Sununu's bill, called the VoIP Regulatory Freedom Act, says that VoIP firms that connect to the public phone network must "contribute, directly or indirectly," to universal service. It does not cover VoIP providers that do not link to the traditional phone network.
In addition, the Justice Department has indicated that it would like the measure's wiretapping rules strengthened. Laura Parsky, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department, suggested in an appearance before the committee in June that wiretapping requirements should cover Internet-only VoIP networks that do not touch the existing phone network, such as Pulver.com's Free World Dialup or the initial version of Skype.
