LAS VEGAS (AP) — The latest developments surrounding the consumer-electronics show in Las Vegas known as CES (all times local):
8:45 a.m.
Microsoft says Windows 10 is now running on more than 200 million computers and other devices, five months after the new software was released.
The company says Windows 10 is seeing faster adoption than earlier Windows versions, with 40 percent of Windows 10 devices activated since the holiday shopping season started after Thanksgiving.
Microsoft made the announcement in a blog post as PC makers prepare to unveil new Windows 10 products at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week.
Microsoft is hoping the new software — which runs on personal computers, tablets, game consoles and other gadgets — will help it regain ground as it battles Apple and Google for consumer loyalty. It hopes to have Windows 10 on a billion devices in three years.
But it has a way to go. Analysts say the most common PC operating system is still Windows 7, which was released more than six years ago and lacks capabilities of newer releases.
— Brandon Bailey, AP Technology Writer
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8:20 a.m.
Ford is joining several other automakers and adding Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto to its Sync touch-screen infotainment system.
The automaker also plans to install a 4G LTE wireless connection to its vehicles starting with the 2017 model year.
The familiar Apple and Google systems will be mimicked on the car's screen, with voice commands available. Ford said Monday that owners of Sync 3-equipped 2016 models in North America will get a chance to update software later this year, and the systems will appear on all Sync-equipped 2017 models.
Initially the wireless modem will let drivers find their cars in parking lots, unlock and start them from smart phones, and check the gas level and tire pressure. While the car is moving, smartphones will still be needed for Internet access. But spokesman Alan Hall says eventually the modems will be available for use as wireless hot spots. He says there won't be any recurring service fee for the first five years.
Ford also will announce additional apps that will be compatible with Sync.
Hall wouldn't comment on reports that Ford and Google will announce an autonomous car partnership at the gadget show. But he says Ford will have an autonomous car announcement.
— Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer
