Archive for the ‘microsoft’ Category

Tesla and its Roadster are a product of DIY ingenuity -- a perfect example of what can happen when a bunch of people come together and say, "Hey, no one else is doing this, so why don't we?" In that same the DIY spirit, game designers at Microsoft have cleverly recruited a Tesla roadster for their own purposes: recording road noise for driving games without interference from noisy combustion engines. Some groups are worried about how quiet EV's and hybrids can be, but in this case, that's exactly what was needed. Ain't ingenuity grand? [CrunchGear]

Microsoft has lost face in recent years -- both in court and in the marketplace -- but with the release of Windows 7, the folks from Redmond are working hard to restore the company's stature. One of the ways they're doing that is via strategic partnerships, including some targeted directly at auto enthusiasts. Example: a selection of Windows 7 theme galleries that allow users to customize their desktop environment with images and icons from Infiniti, Porsche, and Ferrari. (Sadly, the packs aren't backwards-compatible, so XP and Vista users are left out of the fun.) Even this simple move seems a sea-change for thoroughly proprietary...

If you're a fan of cars and have access to the Internet, you've no doubt heard of Google Street View, which lets you see the street-level image of many urban and suburban locations--hugely useful in finding your way with their mapping service. But now Microsoft is planning an over-the-top comeback in the form video-assisted directions that employ some of the same imaging techniques in a new way.

Both Google and Microsoft systems rely on panoramic images taken by vehicles traveling the routes covered. But rather than display still images as Google does, the not-yet-live Microsoft Videomap system uses smart cropping and animation to turn...