The DIY Car Computer vs. the iPad 202
Julie188 writes "Auto dealers are selling infotainment systems at a nice fat profit, but if you know your way around a motherboard and power supply you can rip out your car stereo and replace it with a do-it-yourself touchscreen PC, complete with DVD, GPS, TV, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, MP3, and Internet surfing. The question is, is that even worth the bother? Or is it better to bolt a mount into the car for an iPad or a Galaxy tablet and call it good?"
Fun? (Score:5, Interesting)
How clean does it look (Score:2, Interesting)
I think the biggest thing that would stop me from wanting to do a full car PC or not is simple aesthetics. Does it look right? Does it look clean and stock? Am I spending half my commute troubleshooting my radio?
obviously.... (Score:3, Interesting)
We still manage to keep our 9 yo sufficiently entertained or interested by talking, playing games, and looking out the window that we haven't felt the need to invest in any 'in-car video' gear... Our longest road trip has only been 8 hours though so who knows.
Add-ons (Score:3, Interesting)
"Auto dealers are selling infotainment systems at a nice fat profit"
You're not kidding. My girlfriend was test-driving a car last week and I asked the dealer how much it would cost to get the satnav option, Keep in mind that the screen is already there (used for the radio and air-conditioning controls) so we're talking about a software switch and possibly some kind of additional antenna. Price? £1,400. Hey Mr Rip-Off Car Dealer, you can: Go. To. Hell.
Re:there is something called voiding a warranty (Score:5, Interesting)
Article not answering the question presented (Score:4, Interesting)
This is not flaming or trolling, as if there is an article out there that gets posted can do it, I feel I should be able to do it through a comment: A fully automated, wireless house/apartment. I personally thought it was a cool idea to control absolutely everything in your house through a remote control (including turning on the shower to a temp you want and stuff). I personally know how to do most of this stuff. Do you want to know how to do it? Yeah, I'm sure you do, let me give you some links instead.
You see what I mean. I was amped up to find out what the dude did to make it happen, and was left with links to click on instead
Re:Add-ons (Score:1, Interesting)
Reminds me of something I heard some car manufacturers were thinking about implementing, performance "enhancements". The car would have a software limiter in it that limited it to say 200HP/75MPH, but if you payed them an extra few thousand they would remove it and the car would do 300HP/95MPH (both examples, not hard numbers). I'd rather drive a rustbucket then give into that kind of extortion.
Re:Add-ons (Score:2, Interesting)
having built these... (Score:3, Interesting)