MM: Is Microsoft committed to moving the Auto PC platform forward?

DW: Absolutely. The team has grown, the investment has grown, and the partners have grown. 1999 has been a successful year for us in terms of industry development, including across the automotive and PC industry. Because the industry is in its infancy, it takes longer to get a product to market. The year 2000 will show a lot more of what those activities have been. There is no longer a question about this marketplace, it's simply a matter of timing.

MM: Sales of the Auto PC have been very slow, and consumer awareness of the Auto PC is almost zero. What is Microsoft doing to rectify this?

DW: Microsoft's focus during 1999 has been on industry market building. The year 2000 will bring further market building. This will be done in conjunction with Auto PC hardware and software partners in places such as consumer electronics shows, auto shows, over the Internet, and in public markets.

MM: When will we see advertising by Microsoft for the Auto PC?

DW: Starting in calendar year 2000. The year 2000 will bring lots of activity in the Auto PC area. Our presence will be much broader and deals will be publicly discussed.

MM: Why isn't Microsoft developing applications for the Auto PC?

DW: We are in the market enabling stages. The market is growing very fast but Microsoft's focus is on enabling that market. Microsoft has historically focused on building a great platform before building applications.

MM: What is the status of application development interest from ISV's for doing software for the Auto PC?

DW: Amazingly high. There is a lot of interest from many different elements looking at in-car computing and bringing real time data, Internet content, safety, and entertainment applications to the automotive environment. Many different players in the automotive, PC computing, Internet, and entertainment industries are all interested.

MM: What is Microsoft doing to attract programmers to the Auto PC platform?

DW: Most of the work in this area has been with manufacturers of Auto PCs. We have been dealing with software vendors and content providers. Most of this has not been publicized. We have had a presence at the Windows CE developers conferences but there has been no big push to attract programmers. The Auto PC team's focus has been on automotive manufacturers, tier one suppliers, and systems integrators. Even though Microsoft has not spent a lot of resources attracting third-party ISV's, they have been coming on their own. Calendar year 2000 will show a lot of the development work people have been doing for the Auto PC.

MM: What avenues do the small development shops have, beyond the Auto PC SDK (Software Development Kit), for getting their questions answered?

DW: Microsoft is expending resources to create white papers and improve documentation on specific topics. The Auto PC team will be launching a developers' forum in the near future.

MM: Of all the companies listed on Microsoft's Web site, only one has shipped a product. What is delaying 14 of your 15 partners from shipping products?

DW: Clarion took a leadership stance and went to market really early. You will see many more of our listed partners, and others that are not listed, rolling out products in the year 2000. Most of the partners are from the automotive industry or are working with companies in the automotive industry. The product development cycle is very different than the PC market. The auto industry recognizes this and is trying to change their development cycles to be more in-line, time-wise, with the PC development cycle.

MM: There are five areas that are often sited as shortcomings of the Auto PC. They are: lack of continuous speech recognition; poor text to speech quality; too small a display; slow system operation; and no MP3 player. What is Microsoft doing to address those concerns in future Auto PC versions?

DW: We recognize the shortcomings in the version 1.0 product. We have worked on these issues and many more. Improvements in processors, speech technology, display technology, and software architecture will address these issues, and many more, in upcoming versions. A larger screen, continuous speech, and digital audio support (such as MP3) are just around the corner for the Auto PC.

MM: What is the message you would like Auto PC enthusiasts to take away?

DW: The activity happening in this industry is reaching unprecedented levels. Any question regarding the feasibility of this industry should be erased. Timing and driving great solutions to market are the only issues. People should fully expect great Auto PC's in their cars in the coming years for greater safety, communications, and information access of all types.