Comments on: Ford Tools-Up Computerized “Work Solutions” for F150, Vans

By: NICKNICK

NICKNICK — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 03:01:01 +0000

a 10-year-old-econoline is still a perfectly fine place for your new laptop.

a 10-year-old econoline with embedded computer hardware…is obsolete and a waste of money up front.

note to ford: build decent vehicles. period. that’s it. no joke.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:29:34 +0000

Been tried before, Ford working with some nice folks from a company called Stargate Mobile which, far as I can tell, no longer exists. Here’s something from my archives from 2005:

StreamerNet Corporation and Stargate Mobile LLC today announced an agreement under which mobile audio/video streaming technologies will be offered as a standard option for Ford Motor Company F-150 and F-250 trucks shipped with the FORDLINK™ Mobile Office package.

Ford Motor Company announced the Mobile Office package in November at the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas.

The essence of the Stargate Mobile Office initiative is to bring to market a system that features a rugged but lightweight, in-truck computer (Stargate) running Windows XP Professional with Microsoft Office capabilities, plus navigation with GPS, broadband/wireless Internet access, printing, along with order submission, payment processing capabilities, and a variety of other mobile computing applications such as StreamerNet audio/video solutions.

So whatever happened to that?

By: OverheadCam9000

OverheadCam9000 — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:41:41 +0000

Where’s Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) when you need him? Maybe he’s taking the Tool Link and/or Work Solutions keypads and dropping them in a septic tank. (To see if they meet durability standards : – )

By: guyincognito

guyincognito — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 17:19:14 +0000

‘”Think of Tool Link as no tool left behind,” jests Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas (a living, breathing example of the theory)’

That line cracked me up.

By: dwford

dwford — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:53:59 +0000

It’s this type of stuff that Ford and the dealers CAN make money on. I can sell a truck at invoice, but if I install the factory nav at the dealer, we make $$$ on it vs negotiating the profit away on a factory installed unit.

By: N85523

N85523 — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:44:01 +0000

With this and the MidBox, Ford is spending money it doesn’t have in territory usually made profitable only by aftermarket companies.

By: Orian

Orian — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:42:43 +0000

I wish they gave an option of carriers other than Sprint, but the integration with tool tracking is a rather nice feature…I’m guilty of leaving tools lay in places and forgetting them.