Bit-Shift.Net

Microsofts Automotive Business Unit announced the release of Windows Automotive 5.0 at The Microsoft Windows Automotive Conference 2005.

From the press release, "Windows Automotive 5.0 provides the automotive industry with a powerful, flexible software platform to create an array of cutting-edge in-vehicle solutions."

The system touts such features as an enhanced user interface toolkit and expanded virtual memory support for the creation of complex 3-D graphics and advanced navigational displays. Also mentioned are enhanced power management and faster cold boot times for increased performance.

"Based on the robust, real-time embedded operating system Windows CE 5.0, Windows Automotive 5.0 contains the building blocks necessary to integrate with off-board services, including those offering real-time traffic updates, directions to the cheapest gas in town, turn-by-turn navigation and more." And with support for 802.11, Bluetooth, USB and other common standards the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Being a software engineer and an auto enthusiast, designing an in-car system to play music, movies and other media all while making calls on my phone via bluetooth and following google maps directions to a car event, etc... has always been something I've wanted to do. Now with the new version of Windows Automotive and its ease of use I may finally be able to find the time to do just that.

Microsoft has release a few videos to demonstrate some of the possibilties. Watch them here.

I'm a HUGE music lover. Rock, rap, techno, classical and yes even some country (but not very much). I can't live with out music. So naturally I like to have my music with me whether I'm working out or just plain working. Unfortunately, taking my wide variety of music with me to work of the gym has always been a problem. At the gym I just put up with whatever they were playing over the PA, and at work I compensated by bringing in DVDs of music (I work in the security department of an internet banking company, so music on the computer is a BIG no no). Recently though I became fed up listening to the limited selection of tunes I had with me so I decided to finally break down and buy an iPod. And I haven't regretted it once.

I asked several friends and co-workers what their opinions were on the various models and the consensus was to buy an iPod nano. Uhh huh, I'd fill 4GB in about three minutes. So I decided to buy the 30GB iPod video. I went down to the local mall, got my iPod, an AC wall charger and a neoprene skin to protect my new investment, all said and done I spent about $350. At the time I thought "Damn, this thing had better be worth it." It was.

When I got it home I hooked it up to my desktop and tried to install the iTunes software. At which point I was greeted by a friend installshield error (another story all together). After lots of fiddling around, a system format and some colorful language I got the iPod all setup. I thought it would be easy to fill, I was wrong. It turns out I'm also very picky about what music I put on my iPod. While I may like a whole album while I'm driving, listening to said album while sitting on a chair lift at Mt. Hood doesn't appeal to me, probably because its so hard to change songs.

So what am I going to do with a very strict filter on musical selections and 30GB of space to fill you ask? Movies of course. This is the iPod "Video". I currently have Fight Club and Garden State residing on my iPod. The picture quality is amazing and at the small resolution they don't take up much space at all (the two movies currently on there take up about 1GB). The only downside is watching movies does eat the battery a bit faster, but thats to be expected.

Overall, I love my iPod. Two Thumbs Up.

This is so cool I have to share. My friend Jeff, who is by all accounts, way geekier than I sent me an email contact for MSN's encarta conversation agent. You add this contact to your MSN list and then ask it questions like you would a normal person and it responds with the information you requested. When you ask it questions it gives you a short synopsis for you to verify that is the actual information you requested, then asks you to accept an invitation. The invitation opens a separate window on your PC that displays text and pictures (as well as an banner ad or two). Man thats slick! To use this service add "encarta@conversagent.com" to your MSN contact list.

Brent, the QA engineer I work with and a pretty good friend, has started a blog discussing his experiences with testing techniques and various tools for software quality assurance testing. He is always on the lookout for tools and techniques to make his job easier and my code better. If QA is part of your job, keep an eye on this blog.

Read it here.

This past week has been a busy one. Thursday my boss was nice enough to give a co-worker, Philippe, and myself the afternoon off to enjoy some night skiing/snowboarding at Mt. Hood Meadows. Thanks Greg! When we arrived there was a light fog settled on the mountain and I experiened one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. I wish I had a picture, but if you can imagine a scene with clouds hovering in the valleys and Mt Bachelor above it all as clear as crystal, with the setting sun reflecting off the snow covered slopes. Absolutely Gorgeous!

Saturday I awoke at 5:15am to head up to the mountain, as the mountain gets busier you have to show up earlier and earlier to get a good parking spot. My roommate, Dan, and I arrived at the main parking lot around 7:30, by 8am the main lot was nearly full. My group and I jumped on our first lift ride at 8:45am. It was a beautiful day. There was hardly a cloud in the sky and thanks to the temperature inversion around 70 degrees. We rode until the sun started to set, about 4:30pm, when the snow conditions turned to sheets of ice and the temperature dropped to the low 30's. So our party headed home for some warmth and dinner. Nothing quite like grilled cheese and tomatoe soup after a long day at the mountain.

Sunday has been a day off, so to speak. I finally got around to washing my car after about a month. For those that don't know, I drive an 2001 Audi A6. When I first bought it, I washed it with religious conviction, so to go for this long without washing the car was almost painful. But this winter season it is usually dark by the time I get off work and I spend weekends snowboarding. To give you an idea of how dirty it was, it took almost an hour just to get the wheels clean. After a few other household chores I am enjoying dinner and a movie before this weekend comes to an end.

Snowboard Trips To Date: 11

Lessons Learned:

• Verizon has terrible converage at Mt Hood. Your better off with a service like Cingular or T-Mobile.
• Take time to enjoy the simple things in life.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

This is a pretty amusing flash video about one possibly way the world will end. *Warning* if you are easily offended, don't watch, it is not very PC.

Watch it here.

While my friends and I were having fun at the mountain Saturday my friend Meghann didn't realize her phone was not where it was supposed to be. When she returned to her car her phone was no where to be found. Now when she went into T-Mobile to inquire about a replacement phone they told her the only thing they could do was sell her a phone along with a nice new two year contract. Now Meghann has been with T-Mobile since they were Voicestream, a very long time to say the least. Its a sad state of affairs when customer loyalty doesn't mean anything anymore.

This past Saturday was amazing at the mountain. A few friends and I arrived around 9AM and both the main and annex parking lots were full and we were forced to park in the HRM (Hood River Meadows) lot. It actually worked out really well for my friends and I since we all had season passes and could avoid the incredibly long line to buy lift tickets.

The conditions could not have been better. It had been snowing for the past few days at the rate of two inches per hour and the ground was covered with the lightest powder I've ever experienced. On my first run down HRM, Geoff, one of guys I was with, decided to venture off the groomed path. About 10 feet off the path I got a bit too far forward on my board and fell face first into the snow. Normally this isn't a problem except when hard ground is two feet down. After a short hike back to the groomed I was on my way again. It was going to be a great day.

The fun part about the whole day was that the people I was boarding with had all been boarding for many years more than me, so it was a lot of fun trying to keep up with them over some terrain I have never been over before.

The worst part of the whole day was trying to board back to our car. To get back to the HRM lot you have to build up enough speed to make it past a long flat section of trail. Unfortunately we were on our way in that direction when ski patrol decided to close that route. After they stopped us, they said as long as we avoided going to the shooting star lift we could go in that direction. Nice, we had lost all our speed and had a long hike to the next hill. As if this wasn't bad enough, the snow had been heavily tracked and was ripe with mogals; it was going to be a rough ride down.

All things considered, I had an amazing day. I can't wait until next weekend, hopefully there will be some sunshine in the future. I had a disposable camera with me and took lots of pictures. When I get them developed and scanned I'll post them.