Mac mini in a Volkswagen

pyramis writes "Matt Turner has installed a Mac mini into his Volkswagen as an integrated audio/video system. He's distributed the I/O ports around the cab for convenient access and installed a remote power button right into the dashboard. Cool pics of all of this, plus a detailed article on that cool power button."

It isn't the hardware.

[Zugot]

What is needed is some decent car computer software. Stuff to manage the AC and the radio. I'll try it out when someone manages that.

Re:Hard drive problems?

[Twid]

Well, there is a fan here [mac.com]. And it runs very quiet. So, almost fanless.

I don't see the grammar foul here. If I had ten cents in my pocket, could I be "almost penniless"? If I spent too much time on slashdot analyzing grammar and my wife started packing her bags, could I be "almost spouseless"?

The mini has a single fan and it is very quiet. Happy now? :)

Re:Oh no...

[ender-]

...although the media ports in the center console are a bit much.

Actually the main problem that he's going to discover is that if he allows anyone to eat in the vehicle, the media ports are going to get full of crumbs.

Even if he doesn't allow eating, having the ports facing up like that is just going to get them clogged with dust or cleaning fluids. They need to be put in horizontally somewhere, or at least have a cover put over them.

Otherwise it looks like a nice job.

ender-

Re:LOL WHAT A CROCK

[Dixie_Flatline]

I'd like to understand where your vehemence is coming from.

Was your mother an Apple Lisa, and didn't give you enough love as a child?

Did a Powerbook kill your father?

Did you have an untimely breakup with an iMac?

Did Steve Jobs come to your house, kick you down the stairs, pee in the corner, and then burn all your childhood toys?

I mean, really. Apple is just a company and the Mac is just another computer. It works well for a lot of people, myself included. Why go insane over it?

Re:WiFi @ 70mph and iChat AV...

[YrWrstNtmr]

Imagine having an iChat icon pop-up while driving, let's ignore the immidiate safety risks and think about the "cool factor,"

Let's not. Instead, let's remember that this is a car we're driving, and not a mobile party room. A car with more kinetic energy than a bullet.

I know this sounds boring and pedestrian, but not everything that has a high 'cool factor' is a good idea to put into practice.

For your alarm idea, we already have LoJack [lojack.com].

I shall pass on this until...

[RotateLeftByte]

We get a viable HUD (Head Up Display) system. Military pilots have had these for over 20 years so it is about time this bit of military technology percolated down into civvi-street. A HUD would allow the use of such a system without taking your eyes off the road ahead.

I would like to see legislators try to ban this though. After all how could they ban devices that are ok for the military while flying at up to Mach-2? but I am sure some politician will try to make a name for himself.

Actually, HUD displays in general for vehicles make a lot of sense. Projecting your speed onto the windscreen would solve a lot of problems where you are more intent in keeping your speed down to avoid speed cameras than watching the road ahead. Just my 0.02zloty worth.

Re:I can't wait for these things to get smaller

[Ohreally_factor]

You kids today and your newfangled forehead mounted IO ports. Back in my day, we used the butt port, and we liked it that way. Also, we used to have real sex with people, by typing to them. None of this perverted direct-connect wlan group sex with anonymous strangers every time you step out of your faraday cage.

Re:I shall pass on this until...

[Legion303]

"After all how could they ban devices that are ok for the military while flying at up to Mach-2?"

I'm no pilot, but if you take your attention off the clouds for a couple of seconds at mach 2, you risk running into more clouds. If you take your attention off the road for a couple of seconds, you risk running into a suddenly braking car, or a pedestrian.

Even if there are factors I haven't considered, pilots are slightly better trained than licensed drivers.

Hardly

[SuperKendall]

That would make more sense if it were not a lot of people buying them who are not, in fact, baby boomers - might as well call the Scion a Baby Boomer piece of shit while you're at it.

With the beetle there's definitely a "old-time hippie" appeal built in for all those that used to own beetles. But how many people in the US ever owned an original Mini Cooper? Not many. So it would be more like the british ex-pat baby boomer market, which seems like it would be much smaller than the demand they've actually had.

At least MINI's are not everywhere like the new beetles or PT Cruisers.

Or, perhaps you've gone and bought a Counterfeit MINI [counterfeitmini.com] and now you're wondering what the big deal is. :-)

Let me assure the the real thing is much more fun.

Re:the only crock is the mac mini

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah yes. Let's read this post again.

"I spent 150$ on parts for my 1.0ghz flex PC. It is not quite as small, and it is not quite as fast. Nor is it as -ahem- hip. But it was a fraction ov the cost."

So, let's see. You have a PC that's not quite as small or as a fast as a Mac mini. But you didn't pay that much for it?

I could get an old G3 iMac motherboard for $75.00. It wouldn't be as small and it wouldn't be as fast. It wouldn't have as much memory or anything like that. But it would be cheaper.

So I'm a little lost. Are you saying that you can get less machine for less money? I think the proper response, in that case, is "Duh."

"It is a fanless mobo design and boots a flash drive - cant get much quieter then silent."

True. But the cheapest Mac mini comes with a 40GB drive. Are you implying that your $150 PC has a 40GB flash drive? I doubt it. So your machine doesn't have as much storage, I don't know what it has for memory, it's not quite as small, it's not quite as fast, but it was cheaper.

"Yes, it runs linux."

So does the Mac mini.

Did you manage to fit KDE or GNOME or X-Windows or something that gives you a graphical interface on your flash card to go along with linux? Does it even have a graphics card? Or do you have a computer which doesn't have the same graphics capability, doesn't have as much storage, is not quite as small, is not quite as fast, but is cheaper than the Mac mini?

Heck, I have an old HP41C calculator that I picked up at a swap meet for $5. I guess that beats out the $150 flex PC, except for the running linux part.