Microsoft launches Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 GPS operating system
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted June 16th 2008 12:06PM
posted June 16th 2008 12:06PM
[Image courtesy of Jim Clark]
posted June 16th 2008 12:06PM
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And it will crash and burn, sorry, freeze at the moment you need it to perform the most!
Disclaimer: Based on my previous experience with Windows CE based devices
People are skeptical for one very good reason.
When BMW released iDrive for the first time in one of their cars, the two major bugs in the software caused the car, traveling at highway speeds to shut down with no warning. And it caused the CD player to spit CDs at the passenger. (Reported in the New York Times.)
So, regardless of whether we needed such a thing now that iPhones have GPS and Tom Tom seems to be coming up with software for them, I have my doubts I'll ever buy a stand alone unit now.
Yeah that's all good and well, but who the heck needs the iPhone for TomTom when TomTom has already been out for years on WM devices.
You can sit there waiting for God knows how long until you get your TomTom, I've already been using mine, free of charge, for the last 1+ year.
Eric:
That would be a valid criticism if this were actually MS's first attempt at doing a GPS OS. It isn't. My Magellan PND is powered by Windows CE and it works fine. As others have pointed out, more than 50% of the current market is also Windows CE-based.
The GPS application that runs on top of Windows CE is another matter. You along with a lot of other people here are confusing the two. It's no different than any other computer (a PND is just a tiny computer with a touch-screen). Windows runs in the background, the GPS application runs on top of it. Typically the GPS applications are designed by the various hardware manufacturers, and nothing's going to change there.
In other words, this is simply an upgrade to the current OS many PND's already use, and nothing much is going to change here.
Thats good MS !
But GPS OS X is going to be released soon !!! :D
Apple doesn't have the resources to compete with Microsoft on the GPS front.
Its a futile effot.
resistance is futile
Oh, and for those of you who haven't used Microsoft Live Search, you are really missing out.
It's a voice recognition based yellow pages / GPS / bargain hunter / web browser / etc all wrapped into one very clever package.
Sucks to be a Mac fan since you will be missing out on it.
Its an embedded system, meaning its designed, setup, and rigorously tested to work on a specific platform for a specific purpose. This makes it inherently more stable then general purpose devices.
Think of how much better Windows would be if Microsoft only sold it as an embedded system that would only easily work on Microsoft hardware. Then again that's not a very realistic model since everything would be proprietary and more expensive due to economies of scale. That and it probably wouldn't be well accepted in the corporate world because of that proprietary architecture and added cost. Though you could probably hammer out a niche market, maybe 5% or so of total market.
Sounds kind of Apple-ish, too bad that Apple's still have even more inherent security flaws, still crash like nobody's business, and still require 3rd party hardware solutions to complete their setup.
Not worth trying to carve out a niche when that niche is only 5% of a market. There's a reason why Apple will *NEVER* become number 1.
Amen to that Hamidxa.
You mean like Windows Mobile phones? The OS is built specifically for the device by the OEM. Now I can't speak for all WM phones, but the two I've owned (WM6 + 6.1) were/are LOADED with bugs and often behave in unexpected ways. As an embedded developer myself, I don't think WM is in any way a release worthy product. Honestly, if I tried to release a product that had as many problems, I'd lose my job and that's why so many people hate Microsoft products.
@Hamidxa - umm, you must be a hardcore Apple hater, that's fine, I used to be one too. Nevertheless, to suggest OS X is less secure and less stable than CE is just ignorant. Not saying OS X is the greatest either, but CE really is a crap embedded OS; its only benefit is it shortens time to market for OEMs. In the end, neither Microsoft or Apple will be anywhere close to number one in the embedded market.
can i haz viruses on my gps???
Has your X360 gotten viruses?
Wow hamidxa, never thought about this one.
You won an internet man!
Will it come with Ctr, Alt & delete keys?
No.
Microsoft live search on mobile is very good at finding places ive always taken the details from it and put it into tomtom this would be pretty good!
cool, IN THEORY
in the real world: bad idea.
Imagine doing 75+ mph on the highway and then getting lost or in an accident because you bumped into this....
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j75/lgt13/DSC04155.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j75/lgt13/DSC04160.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j75/lgt13/DSC04165.jpg
No i think i will pass...
If you get lost or into an accident because of anything that pops up on your GPS you should probably just die in the inferno and spare the world your stupidity.
Uhh guys, this is nothing new. Windows Automotive has been on the market for years and is currently used in most, if not all of Pioneer's navigation systems. I personally have a Z1 and have had absolutely no problems with it.
Hey, let's bash Micro$oft because it's cool!
(Not a fanboy, you guys are just being idiots. Sorry)
When the GPS crashes, your car crashes as well.
Unless your car happens to have the engine or steering wheel directly manipulated by your GPS, I don't think so.
There's already a lot of GPS systems that run on Windows CE. It's just now they're making a specific version targetted at GPS devices.
Windows CE is actually modular in design, and device manufacturers in the past have just picked and chosen which modules/components of Windows CE to load onto their device.
BSOD jokes stopped being funny quite a few years ago.
It was fun laughing at the people who made the jokes though. Do you guys have no knowledge of GPS units, or are you running a GPS on Windows already and didn't even know it?