"A stability issue"

Heh, the man has a gift for understatement.

That was the worst Onion article I've ever read. Wait a minute, that wasn't the Onion...

1. From what I remember, the computer system in Fords, and many other cars as well, is embedded Widows mobile. It is pretty popular in 3rd party multi function stereos as well.

2. We support many issues with iOS devices sycing to mail. Quite often, the fix for sync issues, calendar issues, DST problems, is to reboot the iOS device when it is not responding correctly.

Installed this new update day before yesterday. If you have an account on syncmyride.com, the update is available now.

Took nearly 45 minutes to do. You can do it by turning the key to on, plugging the USB stick in, and go the part in apps where the Updates are. I didn't have the engine on during the latter 25 minutes of my update, being bored and leaving the car for a while.

No freaking clue why it took so long to load the software, but it did. Thought the whole SYNC froze up during the process, but it didn't. It's just there's no "It's still loading!" graphic to assure you.

The other updates I installed prior to this were minor and only took a minute or two.

This one takes a while.

/2012 Focus
//software is bleeding edge, so for now, Sarah Connor is safe.

I've got one of the first SYNC systems with no touchscreen display, it's been wonderful for the past three years.

When does it get for the "explode for no reason" part?

Wait, Pinto, never mind.

dustlesswalnut: I've got one of the first SYNC systems with no touchscreen display, it's been wonderful for the past three years.

I have a 2010 truck with Sync and it has NEVER frozen or crashed. My guess is that they went with a whole new app or OS and didn't test it enough.

Mine has been fine for phone, radio, nav, sirius, etc.

/knocking wood
//Blue windshield of death... heh heh heh

RexTalionis: Touchscreen interfaces for cars are stupid. What could go wrong with having an interface that requires the driver to take his EYES OFF THE ROAD to change the radio station?

Okudagrams are the solution?

Cybernetic: I had a Ford rental car a couple of months ago that had Sync, and it was kind of a pain in the ass. To pause the music, I had to tap the switch for voice activation, wait until it prompted me with "Say a command," say, "Pause", and then wait for it to say, "The music is paused." This all took much, much longer than it would have taken me to push the "Pause" button on a regular car stereo. So I don't really see the attraction.

It's new and it's shiny.

Seriously, that's it. Ford's marketing department didn't need any other justification to get that crap put in, because there are some people who need no other justification to buy that crap. If it's new and shiny, somebody will probably pay top dollar for it.

/see also: MW3

wingnut396: 1. From what I remember, the computer system in Fords, and many other cars as well, is embedded Widows mobile

They actually make the ECU for Formula 1 cars, too. So they can do at least one thing right, it seems... those guys take zero excuses and engineer the hell out of -everything- for the last millisecond.

RexTalionis: Touchscreen interfaces for cars are stupid.

THIS. Adding more, clearly-distinct buttons to control more common tasks on the steering wheel? Brilliant. Putting controls into a touchscreen (or a system with a unified control device requiring you to look at a screen to make choices)? Soiled-pants-on-head, potato-countin' retarded.

Looks like it will be a long, long time before I buy another Ford...

In addition to the 39 years it's been so far.

It takes crashing to whole new levels.

I just bought a new Honda minivan, shopped several others (Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, etc). It's hilarious to me how car designers are struggling to pull themselves into the 21st century.

- My Honda offers a USB plug, that's good. Charge, play musicfrom my iPhone, other uses. But they put it in THE FREAKING GLOVE BOX! What makes this even more hilarious is the front console has not one, but two, cigarette-lighter style power outlets, like this is 1995 or something. Really? You couldn't have found room on the front console for the USB? It had to go in the glove box?
- Likewise, the Honda has a built-in hard drive you can store music on. How big, you ask? TWO GIGABYTES! That's enough for 18 music CD's don't you know! My word, that would have been amazing in 2001. You can get a massive 15gig hard drive in it, but only if you drop $2k on the navigation system option.
- The Toyota has a USB port as well, and they were smart enough to not put it in the glovebox. They put it on the front console, right at the floor. So there you are in one of those captain's chairs in the front seat, trying to lean over the center console, reaching all the way to the floorboard to blindly plug in a USB cable/device.

Cybernetic: I had a Ford rental car a couple of months ago that had Sync, and it was kind of a pain in the ass. To pause the music, I had to tap the switch for voice activation, wait until it prompted me with "Say a command," say, "Pause", and then wait for it to say, "The music is paused." This all took much, much longer than it would have taken me to push the "Pause" button on a regular car stereo. So I don't really see the attraction.

Heh, my Jetta has a touchscreen interface that doesn't seem to have those problems. One of the 'neater' features I noticed was that if I turned the volume all the way down (quick flick of the wrist on the physical button or pressing and holding the volume button on the steering wheel) it automatically pauses the music. It also has the voice command interface, but I haven't used it once. I also read, "please say a command," in the awfully loud female voice that my VW uses. *shudder*

RexTalionis: Touchscreen interfaces for cars are stupid. What could go wrong with having an interface that requires the driver to take his EYES OFF THE ROAD to change the radio station?

Uh, how do you know which button you're pushing or what temp you're setting the climate control to? Or if you're changing CD's/songs on your mp3 player? Or making a phone call/answering the phone? Sneezing? I can't vouch for the Ford interface, but VW's is pretty straight forward and has large screen buttons to press. I don't typically mess with it while I'm driving, but when I do my eyes aren't off the road for any more time than when I had a physical button to press in my old 4Runner.

/I'm more upset about the people I pass on the interstate who clearly are scrolling through their iPhone/iPod for a certain song and don't look up for 15-20 seconds at a time.
//don't get me started on people who text while driving...

King Something:

It's new and it's shiny.

Seriously, that's it. Ford's marketing department didn't need any other justification to get that crap put in, because there are some people who need no other justification to buy that crap. If it's new and shiny, somebody will probably pay top dollar for it.

/see also: MW3

This is a common disease for both marketing weasels and consumers. I once had a job setting up stereo systems and TVs for Gateway stores. They made a ton of sales with the 'universal' remote making customer believe that 1 remote would make operation simple. Not a damn one of them could comprehend the concept of putting the remote in TV mode vs receiver mode vs DVD mode. It usually ended up being simpler to have them just use 1 remote for each product.

How about all the money and time wasted on software to control your computer with voice commands. Sounds great until you realize it takes 4 to 6 voice commands to open your browser instead of 2 clicks of the mouse.

And 90% of Microsoft's Vista debacle could have been avoided if they had just not decided to redo the GUI. I still cant find any actual improvement in the Vista GUI over XP.

/Don't let me get started on the new and improved Vista search function.

SFSailor: wingnut396: 1. From what I remember, the computer system in Fords, and many other cars as well, is embedded Widows mobile

They actually make the ECU for Formula 1 cars, too. So they can do at least one thing right, it seems... those guys take zero excuses and engineer the hell out of -everything- for the last millisecond.

.

ECUs are bit different than Nav and Infotaiment systems. ECUs are much more robust as they are the systems controls of the vehicle. If your Nav system flakes, its a pain in the ass sure, but it generally won't cause your car to run so poorly it can damage itself.

That said, I was only making fun of the fact that the car, does in fact, run Windows (new window). So the joke of the headline is not so much a joke.. mabye.

I have driven the ford SUVs with the touch screen and my biggest complaint is the delay between when you press the button and when it does something.

For example, there is a way to directly tune the radio. Lets say you want to listen to 91.3 but you are at 100.9, and you don't have 91.3 on a preset. Well you can just hit 91.3 on the touchscreen like you would dial a number on a telephone. The only problem is the response is so slow, sometimes you hit the number twice because you thought maybe you missed the first time, and sometimes it just didn't register the hit. And once you type the station number in, then you have to hit "enter".

Compare that to the new Caravan and Town and Country minivans with the touchscreen. The touch screens are very responsive. Plus, I don't have to hit enter after typing in a station. I can change the station this way 2 - 3 times faster than with the Ford.

I don't know if this patch will fix the slow touchscreen response or not. I hope it does.

RexTalionis: e time than when I had a physical button to press in my old 4Runner.

A well designed stereo set with dials and buttons can be controlled by touch, or require minimal amounts of eye focus. People will know by feel that the big left dial controls the volume, and the big right dial controls the radio stations. Touchscreens change for every option, so you have to look down and see what you're pressing. Plus, you have no feedback through your fingers, so you don't even know if you're pressing a button or just a random blank space unless you look down.

Im a computer guy. Grew up programing. Own 2 computer stores. Love computer games. However:

Digital does not always = better.

jayhawk88: I just bought a new Honda minivan, shopped several others (Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, etc). It's hilarious to me how car designers are struggling to pull themselves into the 21st century.

- My Honda offers a USB plug, that's good. Charge, play musicfrom my iPhone, other uses. But they put it in THE FREAKING GLOVE BOX! What makes this even more hilarious is the front console has not one, but two, cigarette-lighter style power outlets, like this is 1995 or something. Really? You couldn't have found room on the front console for the USB? It had to go in the glove box?
- Likewise, the Honda has a built-in hard drive you can store music on. How big, you ask? TWO GIGABYTES! That's enough for 18 music CD's don't you know! My word, that would have been amazing in 2001. You can get a massive 15gig hard drive in it, but only if you drop $2k on the navigation system option.
- The Toyota has a USB port as well, and they were smart enough to not put it in the glovebox. They put it on the front console, right at the floor. So there you are in one of those captain's chairs in the front seat, trying to lean over the center console, reaching all the way to the floorboard to blindly plug in a USB cable/device.

Beats the pants off my wife's pontiac van which has a grand total of one cigarette lighter plug in the entire car, and it is in the same place as that toyota's usb. On the floor right in the middle, and you have to feel for it, it can't be seen from anywhere.

jayhawk88: I just bought a new Honda minivan, shopped several others (Chrysler, Toyota, Nissan, etc). It's hilarious to me how car designers are struggling to pull themselves into the 21st century.

- My Honda offers a USB plug, that's good. Charge, play musicfrom my iPhone, other uses. But they put it in THE FREAKING GLOVE BOX! What makes this even more hilarious is the front console has not one, but two, cigarette-lighter style power outlets, like this is 1995 or something. Really? You couldn't have found room on the front console for the USB? It had to go in the glove box?
- Likewise, the Honda has a built-in hard drive you can store music on. How big, you ask? TWO GIGABYTES! That's enough for 18 music CD's don't you know! My word, that would have been amazing in 2001. You can get a massive 15gig hard drive in it, but only if you drop $2k on the navigation system option.
- The Toyota has a USB port as well, and they were smart enough to not put it in the glovebox. They put it on the front console, right at the floor. So there you are in one of those captain's chairs in the front seat, trying to lean over the center console, reaching all the way to the floorboard to blindly plug in a USB cable/device.

The Japanese have really struggled with stuff like this. It's fairly straightforward on Fords and Hyundais. They put the USB slot on the center console somewhere, although I think with Hyundai it's in the center console arm rest, but even that's not too bad.

The jokes I've always heard were about Microsoft building planes, but I'll take subby's word for it.

pdee: RexTalionis: e time than when I had a physical button to press in my old 4Runner.

A well designed stereo set with dials and buttons can be controlled by touch, or require minimal amounts of eye focus. People will know by feel that the big left dial controls the volume, and the big right dial controls the radio stations. Touchscreens change for every option, so you have to look down and see what you're pressing. Plus, you have no feedback through your fingers, so you don't even know if you're pressing a button or just a random blank space unless you look down.

Im a computer guy. Grew up programing. Own 2 computer stores. Love computer games. However:

Digital does not always = better.

Oh, I concur. That's actually one of the reasons I love my Jetta: it has physical buttons and dials for the essentials, such as volume, climate control, etc. The only time I really use the touchscreen is to open up the SD card (where I have a majority of the music I listen to) and select artists/songs as well as for CD's in the same sense. I generally don't have to do more then three touches before I'm done, all of which are usually done within 5 seconds and without me having to stare at it.

FORD = Found On Redringof Death

FORD = Farking Out Right Dangerous

Cybernetic: a UBS flash drive

They're sending the flash drives from a Swiss bank?

They meant "flesh drive". I think Terrified Asexual Forcemeat can explain it better.

Ford was perfectly positioned to do it RIGHT with their new interface and they totally bombed it. I mean BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Aston have all been playing around with touch-screen or dial-controlled interfaces for the last 8+ years with varying degrees of success. Ford, almost a decade late to the party could have simply tested everyone else's interfaces and figured out what worked and what didn't and then built on the shoulders of giants. Instead they made all the rookie mistakes that others made already years ago. How the hell do they explain missing it that bad??

I mean they are only NOW realizing that human beings have been conditioned to use a round turny knob to adjust volume, so it might be a good thing to use a physical volume control knob, not something that can be hidden behind other menus and you have to search to get it back?

Cybernetic: I always understood this to be an anti-theft measure. It keeps the device out of sight in the event that you forget to take it with you when you leave the car.

I suppose, but that's assuming you have a dedicated play device you want to keep in there all the time. How many of us now use our phones as our "iPods" to generalize the word?

Friend of mine says that car designers are always 4 years behind the curve, because that's about how long it takes to realize a design from start to finish. I don't know jack about cars besides where the gas goes, so I don't know how much truth there is to that, but it makes sense to me; I like the Honda and all but when it comes to features like this, it does feel like something that would have been awesome in 2007.

RexTalionis: matovichj: Uh, how do you know which button you're pushing or what temp you're setting the climate control to? Or if you're changing CD's/songs on your mp3 player? Or making a phone call/answering the phone? Sneezing? I can't vouch for the Ford interface, but VW's is pretty straight forward and has large screen buttons to press. I don't typically mess with it while I'm driving, but when I do my eyes aren't off the road for any more time than when I had a physical button to press in my old 4Runner.

A well designed stereo set with dials and buttons can be controlled by touch, or require minimal amounts of eye focus. People will know by feel that the big left dial controls the volume, and the big right dial controls the radio stations. Touchscreens change for every option, so you have to look down and see what you're pressing. Plus, you have no feedback through your fingers, so you don't even know if you're pressing a button or just a random blank space unless you look down.

I've got a 2010 VW and the touch screen interface is great. I wouldn't mess with it while driving though. But being the Germans they are, VW added the track information component from the stereo to the multifunction interface on the dash between the tachometer and speedometer. That, coupled with nice steering wheel controls and phone controls means that my use of the touchscreen is rarely required, and even then, can be undertaken at a stoplight.

I have had stereos with iPod/hard drive interfaces before and even when you have the buttons memorized, when you're looking for something specific, a nice large screen and backup display in the gauge set is wonderful.

I would agree that a touch screen alone is not an improvement. But VW did it right.

Honey, i'm going to need you to pick me up at work.....Yeah it bluescreened again. damn car wont boot up.

FTA: UBS flash drive loaded with new software

God, that takes me back to retail tech support. I hate old people.

/It's Linksys, not linkskee, moran.

As the owner of a 2011 Explorer, I can verify that the touch screen system has achieved a level of rage-inducing suck that I haven't experienced since some massive tool unleashed automated phone systems on the world.

This rig has it all: agonizing delayed reponses, dozens of touches to select a single song on the iPod, common functions buried deep in the touch-map, always getting bumped to the top of any menu, a voice command system that doesn't understand a single thing I say, and small type on big buttons.

So yeah, if they were looking to ensure drivers were constantly distracted, staring at the dash, and thoroughly angred by the driving experience, then they knocked it out of the park.

/won't even go into driving performance
/whew, that feels better
/anyone want to buy a gently used Explorer?

Vanquish: Compare that to the new Caravan and Town and Country minivans with the touchscreen. The touch screens are very responsive. Plus, I don't have to hit enter after typing in a station. I can change the station this way 2 - 3 times faster than with the Ford.

I just bought a Chrysler 200, similar system. It sure is sweet.
Pretty darn peppy car for a 4 banger too.

Sync in my Ford Escape locks up silently-- it *appears* to still work, and does things like provide voice prompts when you click the voice button-- but when it crashes, it ignores all voice commands despite appearing to take them, and refuses to pair with bluetooth devices.

I have to pull a fuse to reboot it. That's the only part that kills me-- the rest is just life with software. Things crash, and this only crashes every few months, so it's better than most things. But for there to be no simple way to restart the thing is ridiculous.

Cybernetic: I had to tap the switch for voice activation, wait until it prompted me with "Say a command," say, "Pause", and then wait for it to say, "The music is paused." This all took much, much longer than it would have taken me to push the "Pause" button on a regular car stereo. So I don't really see the attraction.

In the system's defense (after I just got done complaining about how mine crashes), you can disable the verbose prompts, which makes things a lot easier. That makes what you described go like this:

button
[single beep]
"pause"
[music pauses]

The default prompts are just to help people learn what they can say and do, but I suspect nobody every disables them. Of course, I don't ever use voice for pausing-- there's a huge hardware pause button on the dash that's easy to hit without looking. What I *do* use it for is the occasional phone call.

button
[beep]
"call john smith"
[music pauses, speakerphone comes on, john is dialled via bluetooth, music resumes when call ends]

THAT is useful.

Meh, not a surprise. Cars are becoming more and more computerized. I had to turn off and restart my 2006 Nissan not long ago because I had to reboot the radio. Not one of the fancy touch screen jobs either, just a regular factory radio with buttons and a small LCD display.

The display worked but there was no sound. I turned the car off and restarted it and all was well.

As we add more and more complexity and computerized systems to cars this will happen more frequently.

The jokes I've always heard were about Microsoft building planes, but I'll take subby's word for it.

I was driving three Microsoft guys to the airport when the damned car had a flat tire.

The Microsoft marketing guy said, "You'll just have to throw it away and buy the latest release."
The Microsoft hardware designer said, "You obviously know nothing about cars. You just take the wheel off and the tire will be round again. You reset the wheel and off you go."
The Microsoft operating system said, "You two are idiots. You just turn off the car, reboot it and drive away."

/Don't forget to tip the wait staff.

matovichj: I also read, "please say a command," in the awfully loud female voice that my VW uses. *shudder*


I drive a new GTI. That lady...my god she's loud. Especially because the Aux input tends to be fairly quiet so you have to have your volume cranked up. I sometimes forget to turn the volume down and press the phone button only to hear

PLEASE SAY A COMMAND: BEEEEEP

so annoying.

/love my GTI
//would not have another car in the world

matovichj: Oh, I concur. That's actually one of the reasons I love my Jetta: it has physical buttons and dials for the essentials, such as volume, climate control, etc. The only time I really use the touchscreen is to open up the SD card (where I have a majority of the music I listen to) and select artists/songs as well as for CD's in the same sense. I generally don't have to do more then three touches before I'm done, all of which are usually done within 5 seconds and without me having to stare at it.

That's one of the things I miss about my VW. The controls were perfectly placed. Radio, HVAC, everything.

natazha: Looks like it will be a long, long time before I buy another Ford...

In addition to the 39 years it's been so far.

I bought one, early 80s. And I'm in no hurry to buy another. I can feel my blood pressure rise whenever I think about that car.