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Voice Activation Lameness is All Too Real
Posted by Charlie White at 1:15 AM on November 17, 2007
We don't care about the Ford Sync car this commercial's trying to sell you, but we find its depiction of balky voice-activated devices all too realistic. Knowingly chuckle along with us as these tools/fools who think they've mastered voice commands get their comeuppance. If this Ford Sync is like our Honda Civic Hybrid, its voice activation might still suck. It's just too noisy in a car environment to work well. Anyway, the idea of telling machines what to do and actually having them carry out your orders is compelling, but we've noticed far more situations where those systems don't want to do what you say. Maybe someday. Open the pod bay doors, Hal. [bb Gadgets]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
johnnyabnormal
Posted 2:23 PM 16/11/07
They should have shot it so the guy gets in the car and says "Play: Music that nobody listens to anymore."
johnnyabnormal
scotth0
Posted 1:02 PM 16/11/07
Microsoft Car. When someone hits you head on, a little window pops up on the dashboard that says, "Are you sure you want the airbags to deploy? Yes/No"
scotth0
Mike626
Posted 11:46 AM 16/11/07
@UNNDUN: Yeah, every time she tries to say the word 'Genre' I want to throttle her.
Mike626
kaylix
Posted 11:44 AM 16/11/07
@bluetoothguy:
I agree with you!
We all love gadgets but if it has Apple or Microsoft in the article some members get on the prepubey short bus to annoying joke city.
If you don't like the tech ignore it and move on.
Bottom line, integration of technologies has to start somewhere (1.0) and it will never be perfect on the first try.
kaylix
Mike626
Posted 11:42 AM 16/11/07
None-the-less, it's available only on domestic cars, which appeal to me just as much as Ebola pancakes.
Mike626
UnnDunn
Posted 11:37 AM 16/11/07
How Sync really works.
To be fair, the woman doing the demo really had no idea wtf she was doing...
UnnDunn
bluetoothguy
Posted 11:33 AM 16/11/07
@aec007: Agreed.
Don't these jokes get old to anyone else?
The Sync is a good product for a good price. I commend Microsoft and Ford for bringing it to the market.
bluetoothguy
NNTPgrip
Posted 10:59 AM 16/11/07
Ballmer-era Microsoft software on a Ford?
Can I drive on different roads than these people? Please?
NNTPgrip
thirdchild
Posted 10:57 AM 16/11/07
Microsoft+Car=dissaster
thirdchild
aec007
Posted 10:56 AM 16/11/07
et al:
Yeah, yeah, yeah... all the BSOD jokes you want...
For what I read from automotive correspondents that were very skeptical at first, the system works flawlessly.
Too bad for fanboys, it's not an Apple product - get over it...
Too bad for GM, it's on Ford vehicles.
Microsoft Auto runs on 400 Mhz CPU's running a modified Windows kernel and 256 MB rom... Now the possibilities are endless.
aec007
Empire
Posted 10:31 AM 16/11/07
@AhnyerKeester: I don't know, it might be kind of cool to control hundreds (I was going to say thousands, but they won't sell thousands of these) of cars from an IRC channel.
Empire
rednecktech
Posted 10:19 AM 16/11/07
If it crashes you would have to close all the windows and then restart the car.
rednecktech
thm73
Posted 10:14 AM 16/11/07
Anyone recall the Microsoft V.S. GM 'argument' some years ago?
Something about Bill Gates touting the achievements of computers, and GM saying if Cars were like Windows computers, every time you turn left, you'd have to reboot /restart the car.
The future is now!
thm73
WorkingOnYourInvoice
Posted 10:09 AM 16/11/07
Yeah you park, turn off the key, and the display shows "shutting down". Next morning you get up to go to work and the car's out of gas from being on all night.
WorkingOnYourInvoice
mirolator
Posted 9:48 AM 16/11/07
What happens if your car "crashes"?
mirolator
emanresu
Posted 9:46 AM 16/11/07
@@AhnyerKeester: "car on" "sorry microsoft car is downloading an update" or "Microsoft car cannot find driver driver, please insert microsoft car driver driver cd"
emanresu
Pope John Peeps II
Posted 9:32 AM 16/11/07
Man I know. I was sitting at my computer, and I just said "Make retarded commercial" and suddenly it pieces together this ad.
Pope John Peeps II
AhnyerKeester
Posted 9:31 AM 16/11/07
I don't know, doesn't the "Powered by Microsoft" tag worry anyone? It's in a car for heaven's sake!
AhnyerKeester
sumocat
Posted 9:28 AM 16/11/07
@fastm3driver: I've seen it. In my car, voice command "play artist Michael Bolton" would call up "'PC Load Letter'? What the fuck does that mean?"
sumocat
fastm3driver
Posted 9:20 AM 16/11/07
These commercials are very funny. Seen the one where the guy says Micheal Bolton? Office Space 2 anyone?
fastm3driver
Oz
Posted 8:17 PM 17/11/07
funny everyone but so far Microsoft has done the best speech recognition IMO.
Oz