Ford's Mulally to headline CES 2010
Steve Ballmer and Alan Mulally at CES 2009.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)Ford Chairman and CEO Alan Mulally will be the featured speaker on the opening day of the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show, the Consumer Electronics Association announced Monday.
His keynote address will open the show the morning of Thursday, January 7. Although it's not Mulally's first time at the Las Vegas event--he also spoke last year--it will be his debut as the main keynote speaker. Recent opening keynotes have been given by Sony's Sir Howard Stringer and Comcast's Brian Roberts.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will speak the night before, as he did last year, taking over the slot traditionally given to Bill Gates.
Although he's not a technology executive, per se, Ford has made it a point to come to CES with lots of gadgets in the past. This year looks to be no different, as Mulally is scheduled talk up in-car tech like GPS navigation, location-based services, and video, according to the CEA.
Corrected on 9/22/09: This post initially had the day of the week on which Mulally will be speaking wrong. January 7 falls on a Thursday, not Friday.
Erica Ogg is a CNET News reporter who covers Apple, HP, Dell, and other PC makers, as well as the consumer electronics industry. She's also one of the hosts of CNET News' Daily Podcast. In her non-work life, she's a history geek, a loyal Dodgers fan, and a mac-and-cheese connoisseur. E-mail Erica. 
- by kamiller42 September 21, 2009 2:55 PM PDT
- Ford and all auto makers, please let me or my passenger enter address destinations into my built-in GPS while the car is motion. PLEASE. The other option, scrolling around a map with my finger, is not safer.
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- by Seaspray0 September 21, 2009 3:34 PM PDT
- I haven't used a "built-in" GPS but... I would have to ask how you would enter an address destination when GPS traditionally doesn't come with a keyboard. Does it come with a virtual keyboard? In any event, the driver should not be entering any information into an electronic device while the vehicle is in motion. I like the game idea.
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- by wcunning September 21, 2009 6:07 PM PDT
- Seaspray0: For touchscreens, there is a virtual keyboard on the LCD. Other cars, with some form of hardware controller, make you use a knob or joystick to select letters/numbers on the screen. It's not safe for the driver to input a destination, but it is safe for the passenger to use. I think those automakers that disable when in motion don't want the liability.
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(3 Comments)Ford & MS, love Ford Sync. Loaded with goodies. A couple of requests: Allow copying music files off of a USB. Ripping using the built-in CD is waaaaayyy too slow. Second, add a top 10 score board to hybrid vehicles. Turn saving gas into a game. Bonus if you can upload your "scores" to syncmyride.com. Each driver/player can be identified with a unique code of the key he/she carries.