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A PC in Your Car: Why Didn't I Think Of That?
Many of today's new cars come with all the in-car entertainment options we demand: Navigation, Backup Cameras, MP3 player interfaces, Bluetooth, Rear seat DVD/TV, Satellite and HD Radio, etc.
For those of us with older cars, those integrated features are a pipe dream and we're left with a cluttered dash of power cords, stick-on gadgets, and compromising features.
Unless you go the route of a custom PC install in your vehicle. when we think of PCs in cars the image that comes to mind is the state trooper with a laptop bolted to the console, but there's actually a growing subculture of people using common PC and Mac computers to achieve the same goals.
I had an opportunity to look at one such installation and I was blown away. In addition to a sizable MP3 collection, decent Nav system, XM and HD radio tuners, bluetooth integration and video capability, Eric Mindte's Honda Prelude also has access to full on-board diagnostics, wi-fi internet and anything else you want to run in Windows XP™!
So what do you need to get a PC setup going in your dash? A 7" touch screen is a good place to start, as is a Micro-ATX PC case that looks like an amplifier with big heat sinks. Then you'll need a motherboard, processor and memory. A hard drive, a radio tuner card, and then pretty much everything else is plug and play USB componentry. The Logitech diNovo Bluetooth Mini-keyboard is a necessity, as is the Griffin PowerMate remote volume knob. Centrafuse software is the best of the available offerings that I've tested, and all told Eric's project ran him around $1000. That's not bad considering the price of a navigation system in most vehicles, especially at the lower end.
Intrigued? There is a wealth of information on the subject at http://www.mp3car.com
in | by Kyle Pike | In Car Entertainment | Permalink |
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