Microsoft to supply Formula 1 ECUs

[SpookTheHamster]

From speedtv.com:

"Bridgestone and Microsoft have been granted exclusive contracts to be the sole suppliers, of tires and ECUs respectively, of Formula 1 beginning in 2008.

The announcement was made following this Wednesday's meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Paris.

The move to a single tire supplier and standardized ECUs (Electronic Control Units, responsible for a car's engine management) is part of the FIA's radical cost-saving package announced earlier this year for introduction in '08. Both Bridgestone and Microsoft will supply F1 through 2010.

In the specific case of the Japanese tire company, its monopoly will go in effect already next year, as rivals Michelin are set to pull out of the sport by this season's end.

In addition, the WMSC also announced that due to a significant increase in cornering speeds in F1 this season, the sport's Technical Working Group will be consulted regarding possible measures to slow the cars down."

Wait, you're letting MICROSOFT make your ECU?! Would you trust windows to control your car at 200mph? "Cannot find brakes; Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

 

[benthewraith]

Wait, you're letting MICROSOFT make your ECU?! Would you trust windows to control your car at 200mph? "Cannot find brakes; Abort, Retry, Ignore?"

OMG!!! HELL NO!!!!

 

[iTwitch]

The cars will probably have to pull over and reboot every other lap.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

As you're going around a corner:

"Microsoft Update has just finished installing an update to your system. The system will restart in 60 seconds..."

 

[kahos]

I thought microsoft was a software company... why would they want to get in the car ECU business? I guess they're only doing this for the media exposure and will use 3rd party hardware as usual

 

[JFreak]

I thought microsoft was a software company... why would they want to get in the car ECU business? I guess they're only doing this for the media exposure and will use 3rd party hardware as usual

Probably FIA has contracted some other company to make the ECU hardware, and this Microsoft contract is only for making the software to FIA specification. In other words, FIA has stepped in as a middleman between the teams and manufacturing -- all change proposals are approved or declined by FIA and naturally all teams have the latest version at the same time.

(FIA will have to have a test car of their own for this reason. It will become interesting. They try to reduce costs of the teams by spending more money themselves...)

 

[lamina]

I can see it now, tires locking, brakes smoking. 175mph - 0 in 2 seconds.

Let's just hope they're not running Windows ME. Also, be sure to download all the updates before the big race.

 

[link92]

Probably FIA has contracted some other company to make the ECU hardware, and this Microsoft contract is only for making the software to FIA specification. In other words, FIA has stepped in as a middleman between the teams and manufacturing -- all change proposals are approved or declined by FIA and naturally all teams have the latest version at the same time.

(FIA will have to have a test car of their own for this reason. It will become interesting. They try to reduce costs of the teams by spending more money themselves...)

MES (McLaren Electronic Systems) are making the actual hardware, also, it'll be the same as it currently is: the FIA must be given a copy of the source, which they can keep indefinitely, and check that nothing is being given an advantage.

 

[yg17]

Microsoft ECU Assistant has detected that you're trying to drive a car, would you like to......

 

[Sesshi]

I'm sure all jokes would follow but I had a funny situation where I was sitting in one of the brand-new trains that was being rolled out on London commuter lines, and it was stuck at Waterloo (one of the major stations in London). The train driver came on the intercom and said "We have a few problems so we're going to reset everything on the train, Please don't be alarmed if the doors don't open for a while. If you like you can step outside until we finish this".

So about a minute later, everything goes dark in the train. And about half a minute after that, everything comes back on and the train driver comes back on saying "OK ladies and gentlemen, we're ready to go". Whereupon someone in the carriage shouts "Oh my God, this train's running Windows!".

How we laughed... albeit somewhat ruefully.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

I'm sure all jokes would follow but I had a funny situation where I was sitting in one of the brand-new trains that was being rolled out on London commuter lines, and it was stuck at Waterloo (one of the major stations in London). The train driver came on the intercom and said "We have a few problems so we're going to reset everything on the train, Please don't be alarmed if the doors don't open for a while. If you like you can step outside until we finish this".

So about a minute later, everything goes dark in the train. And about half a minute after that, everything comes back on and the train driver comes back on saying "OK ladies and gentlemen, we're ready to go". Whereupon someone in the carriage shouts "Oh my God, this train's running Windows!".

How we laughed... albeit somewhat ruefully.

I had a similar situation on one of the new "Desiro" South West Trains, the train had to be reset because the doors kept randomly opening and closing (while the train was going 70mph+)

 

[Sesshi]

I had a similar situation on one of the new "Desiro" South West Trains, the train had to be reset because the doors kept randomly opening and closing (while the train was going 70mph+)

Having Googled "Desiro" trains, actually it was the same type I was on. Guess they must have been troublesome at start. I notice getting on the trains this summer that the air-con on these trains doesn't seem to be working anywhere near as well as it seemed to be last year. Are they falling apart already I wonder?

 

[SpookTheHamster]

Having Googled "Desiro" trains, actually it was the same type I was on. Guess they must have been troublesome at start. I notice getting on the trains this summer that the air-con on these trains doesn't seem to be working anywhere near as well as it seemed to be last year. Are they falling apart already I wonder?

I haven't been on many trains this summer, but they were so cold last year I could imagine that a little less air-con would be a blessing. I hate how they keep the air-con on all the way through winter, they get freezing!

 

[Counterfit]

Someone NEEDS to make a picture with the LCD from a steering wheel having the BSOD.

 

[yg17]

It looks like your brakes have failed. Would you like to....

....Deploy parachute?
....Accelrate?
....Crash into a wall?
....Sh*t yourself?

 

[xPismo]

So should we expect to see control alt delete on the steering wheels in 08?

 

[netdog]

Sort of redefines the term computer crash.

 

[OutThere]

Watch out for ripoff ECUs. Only trust the Microsoft Genuine Advantage. It promises not to phone home during races.

 

[MacsRgr8]

"A new device has been detected"....
"This steering wheel is not Microsoft Certified. Do you want to use present drivers, or search internet for new ones?"

"<OK> / <CANCEL>"

 

[BoyBach]

This should put an end to Renaults amazing reliability over the past two seasons

 

[yg17]

"The steering wheel has commited an illegal operation and will shut down"

 

[Abstract]

So is there gonna be an Alt-Ctrl-Del button on the steering wheel?

 

[Chundles]

They've been trialing them all season in Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber's cars.

"...it looks like you're trying to pull the steering wheel off in anger, would you like to: hurl it into the crowd? belt the car with it? throw it at the pit crew?"

 

[yg17]

So, who wants to guess how many times this software will be pushed back

 

[xPismo]

So is there gonna be an Alt-Ctrl-Del button on the steering wheel?

I hear an echo.