Computers in your car? Anyone else have one?

[Scott Greczkowski]

Besides satellites another technology I love is mobile computing!

I find it amazing that I can do things in my truck such as check email, talk on Skype, Surf the web, listen to my music collection and even watch Slingbox in my truck! (I should note that I don't watch TV, or check email etc while I am driving... DRIVE SAFE!)

You can see my full setup at http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21500

Last year I purchased a complete Car PC for my 2008 Honda Ridgeline, and I love it! While you can make your own, I purchased mine from a company called Mobile Computer Solutions. (www.mo-co-so.com)

This was a complete turnkey setup from them and gave me everything I needed to get rolling. The unit came with a USB GPS, external WIFI antenna, External slot loaded DVD Drive etc.

But you don't need to buy one of these, you can make one of your own easily. There are lots of sites around that can help you with building your ow Car computer, such as mp3car.com

There is one thing that every Car computer needs and that is some kind of front end software. Software that makes it easy to use your car computer as your driving.

I use an amazing piece of software called CentraFuse from a company called FluxMedia.

This software lets me do things on my PC easily and ties everything together.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFdfwRitmJ0"]YouTube - Centrafuse - Getting Started: Playing Media[/ame]

I have tried other front end software and nothing has been as good and as stable as Centrafuse.

You can download a free trial of Centrafuse at http://www.fluxmedia.net/downloads.aspx

The good news is if you like this software you can buy it for 50% off from now until April 15th at Mobile Computer Solutions website http://store.mo-co-so.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=28

This is an amazing deal. I am using Centrafuse Navigation: North American Edition and it works very well.

Now a lot of you might be wondering how I am getting internet in my truck. While I could use WIFI, that wouldn't be practical with the wife in the passengers seat watching live satellite tv from home via the slingbox going 65 down the highway... I use a Sprint Wireless card which works really well!

Using Centrafuse I have been able to load some new Plugins which really help when driving, one lets you find the cheapest gas prices in the area your in. Another one displays traffic cameras in the area your driving in. 2 very cool additions.

I am wondering how many other SatelliteGuys members are interested in this and have installed their own Carputer?

If you have any Carputer questions post them here and I will be happy to help out.

 

[JamesJ]

wow, I dont have one, but have always wanted one, my jealousy is through the roof! by the way I have to say nice clean install Scott, When I am making a little more I will look into a carputer and maybe do a mac.

 

[Ramy]

I have my laptop in my car sometimes, but nothing like what you have.

 

[rad]

As a techie, nice. But guess I'm getting old and think that when you're driving you should be driving, not playing around with a computer, putting on your makeup, reading the paper, shaving, etc.

 

[Pepper]

This is a bit over the top. If I have my iphone with me it's enough.

 

[scottbakertemp]

Is it possible to use the Navigation System LCD instead of a secondary one?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Some people have been able to do it, but I dont want to get in and try soldering it and actually prefer a second screen, as this way when driving my wife can turn the screen twards her and watch the Slingbox.

 

[RandallA]

and my friends and family call me a geek? Geesh, I think that's just over the top. My wife would divorce me if I did that.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

My wife don't mind.

Although sometimes I think she hates when I sit in my truck working on the system when I could be doing other things.

 

[snathanb]

There reaches a point where just because a person can do a thing doesn't mean they should do a thing. I'll third or fourth the "over the top" opinion.

 

[TheForce]

I once thought of doing that for my van since it has just about every amenity including a porta potty for travel. But I decided I could get by with the XV6800 tied to the sound system for audio. Plus it's EVDO Rev A gives me sling box too as well as a special feature that allows me to look ahead to DOT cameras for traffic and highway delays. This is great in DC and NYC. For more serious computing, I simply switch to my Dell laptop which has a built in EVDO Rev A card and I have watched sling content for hours on the road.
I do surf the web and do lookups from the XV6800 since it has a Sedio mount right at the steering wheel. But I don't answer e-mails while driving. Reading is another story. There is also software I have tried that reads the e-mail for me and puts the voice over the sound system.

I think a dedicated car computer is a waste of money unless you use the car computer for car friendly applications, like the traffic and DOT cameras etc. Other stuff like editing video while I drive is not a very smart idea. I'd rather spend more for a good GPS with internet features. That I have with the XV6800 and TomTom GPS software plus plugins.

 

[Timothykirkpatrick]

Hey u have provide nice information here so anybody can get idea relate to it. But sometimes there may be some problem in internet connectivity during travel so what should do for perventing these types of problems?

 

[Claude Greiner]

Little too extreme for me. I got a little portable laptop with a 9 inch screen and a sprint card if I want to go online while in the car.

 

[Zellio2008]

Hey Scott...

I have a 10 inch touch screen but I don't know the best method to go about this.

What cpu would you suggest for the carputer?

 

[kenny911]

I have to go with "over the top".

 

[Van]

Pretty nice set up and a good idea for the hour+ commuter to work and the traveling salesman or even contractors and engineers on job sites but over the top for the rest of us. I can see this fitting into what Scott does both at work and off. This could also help with cross country road trips with the kids and the bored spouse but I can see it taking away from camping trips. Still its a good idea and I'd like one if things go the way that I'm hoping they will here shortly.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I worked today and added in the ability to send the video to the back seat screens which up until now could only watch DvD's or Sirius Backseat TV.

What I did was read the manual for the Jetway mother board and noticed that the SPDIF could be converted into a TV out jack. I then hooked up the RCA out to a 3 way AV switcher which fits PERFECTLTY between the passenger and center console. So now for back seat television we can flip easily between Sirius Backseat TV and the Carputer screen.

We tested it out today as we had about an hour drive, so we were able to watch the Slingbox from home for the hour drive with only one minor breakup the entire drive. Both screens were able to watch with good quality (the touchscreen looked better since it was able to lock into the HD stream from my HD slingbox at home... the overhead TV for the backseat however looked as good as it could with just a standard composite output.

 

[Sadoun]

Scott, very nice setup. I am glad you are able to monitor the forums and do all these things with your carputer. I know a guy who did a similar thing in his truck because of his job. He is a computer network LAN manager.

He is responsible for the network, even when he is on the road or away from the office. He uses his carputer to connect with his company LAN and diagnose any issues with any of the computers. Very neat setup just like yours, but for a different application.

 

[Agonizing Fury]

Scott, my jealousy meter is through the roof right now. I've been thinking about doing this for quite some time, but never been able to find all the parts I really want in it. Then there's the whole cost/income factor as well . If I ever get to install mine, I'll make sure to post some pictures here for everyone to see.

I just have a few questions I've always wondered about:
Is there a centrafuse plug-in for sling, or do you have to exit to windows first, and launch the sling player?
Does centrafuse support being a bluetooth headset for a cell phone?
What video formats is centrafuse compatible with?
When you turn off your truck, does the carputer hibernate, sleep or completely shutdown?

I think that's it for now. I appreciate you being willing to help us out with our questions. hopefully I'll start buying pieces for mine soon.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I just have a few questions I've always wondered about:
Is there a centrafuse plug-in for sling, or do you have to exit to windows first, and launch the sling player?

It dont need a plugin. Just create a button and its there.

Does centrafuse support being a bluetooth headset for a cell phone?

Yes it does. Although I haven't found a good a good mic to prevent echos. However there is a plugin which also works with Skype and that works well. If I am going to be on a call or on skype, I have a USB headset that covers only one ear, then I can talk and drive hands free.

What video formats is centrafuse compatible with?

Anything Windows Media Player can play Centrafuse can play.

When you turn off your truck, does the carputer hibernate, sleep or completely shutdown?

I use to have it hibernate then when I turned the truck back on it would be ready to use in about 15 seconds. However one problem with this would be that it would not always reconnect to the internet. So now I have it shut down. The PC boots in less then 60 seconds so its not that bad.