that would be incredible if you could post a parts list and walkthrough for that install.. that is incredible... i tried hard to figure something like that out, but i got like.. 0 creativity :P

i ended up just mounting my xenarc universal adapter to the cubby hole.. it works ok.. but its not even close to yours... that stealth factor is awesome.. keep us updated

 

Heres a very rough draft of the how to document... http://filebox.vt.edu/users/cholbroo...%20Housing.doc

I don't recommend using it yet until i add pictures to it.

I got caught up building my computer case this weekend and I didn't have time to take apart the screen to take pictures for the install process, but I will update the document in the next week or two with lots of pictures.

 

Nice! that looks like a very good How-To!
can't wait til you include the pictures...

what are you making your computer case out of? I was considering buying a shuttle myself, but I would like to make one even smaller. (atleast much shorter since we won't need DVD drive in there)

1/4" plexiglass?

 

Sorry - but I'm new here and have a question - why in the crap do you need a computer/touch screen in your car? You don't have internet access (though you could via satellite), but what does the actual computer part do for you since it's not an actual navi? Do you need it for games when you're parked at McDonalds??? Seriously, I just want to know.

 

you can buy a gps receiver to plus into a usb port of your computer... and there you have navi. Costs $100-300, depending on what you want.

for internet access... cell phone. Free nights/weekends is a blessing for this.

MP3's..

DVD's

For selecting the next mp3, etc, touchscreen is helpful.

Twlight blue/Willow 6mt.
It's here

 

Cool. I guess my idea of doing things took another route since I'm putting in an aftermarket multi-CD/mp3 player and gutting out the entire audio system. As far as the navi goes, I have never needed one - just a toy to me. lol The only thing I'm losing is the DVD player part and it seems like you can do less work if you just get a portable DVD player and hook it up in the outlet. I know - it's all about "style" - I DO like it, but I probably wouldn't use it much. Great job though - it does look great!

 

Ok, for all you non-believers, heres my carputer rant. I have been using carputers for about 4 years now, got my CS Master's degree with a thesis on in-vehicle input methods and couldn't see owning a car without a carputer.

Theres just nothing else out there that can get anywhere close to the functionality of a carputer. At least not anything that could be done for anywhere near the cost of computer. Theres a big initial investment, but after that you can add functionality very cheaply, although at this point in time you have to have some amount of computer skills to do it.

No, I will not be playing games or really even DVDs on it, although, i very easily could. I am a Human Computer Interaction person, I strongly believe, if done right, a computer will vastly improve the safety and enjoyment level of the drving experience. I am not one of those people who would ever put a PS/2 or front seat dvd player in my car. Computers should help us drive not take away from it, they should tell us where we are going, how to get there, keep us from having accidents and from doing stupid things, and entertain us to keep the drivng experience enjoyable. This is what car companies do, but they do so about 5-10 years behind the technology curve. I'll admit carputers are not for everyone, but if your the kind of person who wants to be on the cutting edge of technology and make the most of your time driving, then a carputer is the best way.

I think the g35 is a fantastic car, but it terms of technology its lacking a bit. I want all the new things on my car and for them to work the best they possibly can. I would never own a toyota prius, but I think it has some incredible built in features like built in bluetooth cellphone adaptor or the rear view camera on the fx.
These things can be added through regular aftermarket parts, but with a carputer, you can do it for a fraction of the cost and you can get it with much better features then you could find in these addon systems. I'll be adding 4 cameras to my car, one facing each direction that will let me pan around my car seamlessly when parking, yeah, this feature is a bit over the top, but it's hella cool and its typical of the kinds of things you can do once you have a computer installed that would be virtually impossible with any type of other aftermarket hardware.

I've had a carputer in my previous car, just for MP3's and for just that feature I will NEVER go back to having a car without one. Yeah you could get the same amount of functionality with an MP3 cd player, but I have yet to see one that works nearly as well. A lot of this has to do with the custom software that I wrote. In terms of interfaces, it just blows anything found in an aftermarket stereo out of the water. I implemented a voice recognition system that lets you perform any basic function of the system by voice or play any song just by saying the artist and song name and yes, with a powerful computer it works really well, unlike many aftermarket systems that try real hard, but just dont have the power to handle even simple voice commands well. I have character and symbol recognition for the touchscreen that recognizes gestures drawn on the screen either characters to look up songs by name or symbols to perform actions. You can just do cool things that make your life easier with a computer. Alot of this is about extreme adaptability and programmability to do any task you could possibly concieve of with a little software knowledge and standard and cheap computer hardware.

In my final system for the G35 i plan on having:
-MP3/Digital Audio
-GPS nav system
-OBD II connection to give me real time 0-60 and 1/4 mile times, dynometer, and diagnotic readings
-side/rear view cameras
-bluetooth cellphone capability with hands free cellphone and through my AT&T wireless plan, internet access for very little additional cost and no need for a satellite.
-Relay board to control the doors, trunk, lights, etc.

The real deal maker here though is that all this will be integrated into a single seamless system that works together. Everything will have voice control, touch screen character recognition, and be aware of what everything else is doing and do all this for slightly less then the cost of just the NAV system alone. All this is also wirelessly connected to my regular computer system so every mp3 I have is always in my car without ever having to use a cd again.

Ok, I am a software developer and that allows me to do some of the stuff here that the average person isn't going to be able to make work with a computer in the same way. Please feel free to give your side, but I doubt you could ever convice me that I could have a better system by going with any existing hardware out there.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

Sorry - but I'm new here and have a question - why in the crap do you need a computer/touch screen in your car? You don't have internet access (though you could via satellite), but what does the actual computer part do for you since it's not an actual navi? Do you need it for games when you're parked at McDonalds??? Seriously, I just want to know.[\QUOTE]

 

god_of_cpu,
Keep us updated on your status. It sound like you have some exciting things planned for your G! ;-)

blksnake - '04 G35 (<Carputer. ...for now...)

 

God of Cpu

Im thinking if you make a system like that for sale all ready to go a lot of ppl would buy it. That is great stuff you are talking about.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2003 CB Coupe 6MT
Z-tube
Stillen Hi-flow

 

Rob,

I agree, this is great stuff, hopefully others will too! I've been doing research and working on the software for the past 3 years and plan on releasing something stable and convienent enough for the commecial market as early as this summer.

 

wow thats great.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2003 CB Coupe 6MT
Z-tube
Stillen Hi-flow

 

BTW are you going to do a write up on this when you are done?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

2003 CB Coupe 6MT
Z-tube
Stillen Hi-flow

 

If any of you carputer types are looking for a reasonable "cheap and small" GPS USB pod , I have been using a device from Rayming with good success on my homebuilt G35 PC. Here's the link, prcie is good price is good plug and play and WAS enabled. Only downside is it has no integrated battery so, if you don't keep the PC in sleep mode when ign off, you need to wait ~5min for the antennae to lock for the first time after ign => on.

http://rayming.com/products/tripnav_tn200.htm

 

Of course... eventually... I have a old domain at http://www.digitalwheelz.com thats still just hosting my old car, but I'm going to update it as soon as I get something more then just a proof of concept finished.

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

BTW are you going to do a write up on this when you are done?

 

Hey G.O.C.
I'll be following your idea for mounting the Xenarc screen. I ordered my Dell 600 and I'll be purchasing the Xenarc and Delorme software w/ USB GPS as soon as the computer arrives.
About your camera idea. I've been toying with the idea of adding a camera to my car that would take a digital photo triggered by a motion sensor and send it to a database via the internet. That way if someone runs into my car in the parking lot or if my car gets stolen I'll have a photo of the bastard. Let me know how the camera install goes.
-gmen

04 Sedan. Desert Platinum, Premi Pkg, sport tuned.
Racing and pacing and plotting the course.