Ford and Microsoft Venture

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ford and Microsoft have decided to sync. At the Detroit Auto Show and the Consumer Electronics Show in January, the two firms will jointly announce Sync, an in-car navigation and infotainment system built on Microsoft's platform.

Sync is designed to let drivers navigate better, download and listen to music, talk by cell phone, and even get e-mail without using their hands, according to reports. Powered by Bluetooth -- the same technology that powers wireless cell phone headsets -- Sync will debut in two Ford models, the Focus and Five Hundred series, in 2007, then expand to all Ford models in the 2008 model year.

This is not the first time that high-tech gadgets from Microsoft and elsewhere have found their way into a car's cockpit, of course. Ford joined BMW, Volvo, and others when it put input jacks for iPods into certain 2007 models, including the Edge SUV. GPS systems are common in today's age of connected driving; cell phone hook-ups are ubiquitous.

Laws Limit Tech

Yet not everyone approves the convergence of cars and digital wizardry. Laws that limit drivers' use of cell phones have sprung up in many states but are yet to be widely enforced. No doubt when e-mail and iTunes downloads are as easy to use on I-95 as a basic cell phone, such laws will expand -- or rather, the debate around them will expand, perhaps quickly.

The Sync is one more step for Microsoft's little-known but widely used Windows Automotive system, just one part of Redmond's attempt to expand its software Relevant Products/Services's reach into everything from toasters to PCs to drop-tops.

Built on Microsoft's Windows CE operating system, which powers mobile handhelds and smartphones, Windows Automotive attempts to lighten up traffic woes with a high-throughput injection of infotainment and on-board navigation.

Smart Cars Mean Big Business

According to Microsoft, it can direct drivers to the cheapest gas station in their neighborhood (using 3-D maps) and alert them to real-time traffic problems en route. E-mail, music, and cell phone features are built-in, too.

The first version of Windows Automotive was designed by Microsoft teams in Redmond and Tokyo in 1998. Now in version 5.0, it powers gadgets in cars from BMW, Citroen, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Volvo, and of course Ford, which hopes the Sync will help it revive weak sales and stave off another bad year like 2006, in which the company lost its CEO (also the great-grandson of Henry Ford, who replaced himself when the firm's performance began to flag under a turnaround plan).

Ford also offered to buy out the bulk of its work force to reduce labor costs that have kept the company in neutral.

Vista: Secure but not perfect

Last week's disclosure of a zero-day vulnerability in Windows Vista doesn't put a lie to the claim that it's the safest Microsoft operating system so far, a company security manager has said.

"The finding of vulnerabilities in any software is to be expected," said Stephen Toulouse, senior product manager with Microsoft's security technology group, in a blog posting earlier this week. "This is all part of the process of creating complex software today, and no one is immune to it. It's not, as they say, big news to us in the security industry."

Proof-of-concept code for an unpatched bug in all supported versions of Windows, including Vista, went public last week, prompting warnings from security vendors who classified the flaw as a low or medium threat. Microsoft has said it was "closely monitoring" the situation, but has not released any additional information since Dec. 22.

Toulouse countered that the exploit doesn't invalidate Microsoft's contention that Vista is more secure than its predecessor, Windows XP. "This product [is] the most secure version of Windows we've produced to date. That doesn't mean 'zero vulnerabilities.' No one can claim that crown," he added.

He also predicted that users would see more vulnerabilities early in Vista's lifespan than in previous versions of Windows. "We're probably going to see a higher initial rate of reported vulnerabilities to us than with previous versions of our products, given the early view researchers have had into Vista," Toulouse said. "This is going to help make the product stronger before many of the threats against it have a chance to emerge."

Other Microsoft executives, including Jim Allchin, the soon-to-retire head of the Windows unit, and chief executive Steve Ballmer, have repeatedly said that Vista will prove to be the most secure Windows yet. Like Toulouse, Allchin also has noted that no software can be considered 100% safe.

Said Toulouse: "No one will ever get the software right 100% out of the gate."

Nintendo offers to replace Wii straps

Nintendo today offered to replace 3.2m of the straps fixed to the controllers on its new Wii computer games console.

The Japanese games giant made the costly move following a string of reports that damage was being caused by the wand-like controllers flying out of the grasp of gamers.

The wireless controllers, which mimic the motions of a tennis racket or sword depending on the game being played, have helped the £179 console become a top seller this Christmas.

However, there has been an increasing number of reports that controllers had flown out of the hands of overzealous players. Numerous players reported suffering injuries or accidentally throwing their controller at the person they were playing with.

Videos on YouTube show players suffering mishaps with the controllers - or "wiinjuries", as they have become known by some.

Nintendo today said it would allow customers to exchange the current straps for a thicker, more robust version on request. The old straps have a diameter of 0.6mm, and the new versions will be 1mm in diameter, Yasuhiro Minagawa, a company spokesman, said.

Games players have always been advised to use the strap. Today, however, the firm also issued new guidance on using the innovative controllers, warning people not to make "excessively rapid, violent or wide swinging motions" while using them.

It also advised gamers to stay at least one metre away from their televisions and ensure their hands were not "sweaty or wet".

"People tended to get a bit excited, especially while playing Wii sports, and in some cases the control would come loose from their hands," Mr Minagawa said. "The new strap will be almost twice as thick."

The pledge to replace the straps could cost Nintendo millions of pounds - a costly hitch in its three-way battle with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the "next generation" console market.

However, stories about Wii controllers crashing into television monitors have not had a negative impact on sales.

More than 300,000 of the machines have been sold in Europe, and the Wii sold out in less than 24 hours after going sale in the UK last week. US customers bought 476,000 Wiis in the two weeks following its release there on November 17.