Microsoft Siemens Partner on Auto Entertainment, Navigation

Microsoft and Siemens have teamed up to develop in-car entertainment and navigation products, a market expected to grow by about $16 billion by 2012, reports Reuters.

The companies said their first effort will be a multimedia platform to make it easier for consumers to connect devices such as mobile phones and music players. And they said they will deliver products faster than the normal product development cycle in the automotive industry, according to an Associated Press story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

In other Microsoft news:
The Redmond, Wash., software maker also is taking up residence in Seattle in a Paul Allen project on Lake Union. Frustrated with the area’s transportation woes, it’s also starting its own employee bus service, the Post-Intelligencer reports. Interestingly enough, the buses’ Wi-Fi system will feature Linux routers.
For its Patch Tuesday update, Microsoft will issue five bulletins to fix flaws in Windows Vista, MSN Messenger and Visual Studio, reports InformationWeek.
And the South African site IOL reports Microsoft has partnered with Japanese humanoid maker Tmsuk to develop cutting-edge robots. Originally focused on factory automation, Tmsuk also has developed robots for other uses, such as the disaster relief robot that helped clear rubble after a powerful earthquake hit Japan in July.