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A Big-Screen Mobile MP3 Console

Posted by timothy on from the time-value-of-fiberglass dept.

psymaster writes: "I found the link to this mod over at hardocp.com; it's a car MP3 player mod, the guy ripped apart the whole center panel of the car to install it and did it all over again in fiberglass." This is dedication.

42 of 196 comments (clear)

  1. And you thought cell phone users were bad by dreamt · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oh, joy. Now we have some idiot with a touch screen panel in his car running Winamp. Like this guy won't cause an accident.

    1. Re:And you thought cell phone users were bad by dreamt · · Score: 4, Informative

      Actually, not even close. I have a built-in GPS in my car. You enter in your destination before starting and it speaks instructions to you. All you do is listen to it. If you make a mistake or go off their recommended path, it automatically recalculates its directions, all with no user intervention.

    2. Re:And you thought cell phone users were bad by Andrewkov · · Score: 2

      I wonder if Windows will crash before his car does? I hope he posts pictures when it BSOD's!

    3. Re:And you thought cell phone users were bad by Soko · · Score: 2

      Winamp nothing. If you look carefully in the fourth picture, you'll see he has Quake installed too. Road rage indeed!

      Soko

      --
      "Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm." - Anonymous
    4. Re:And you thought cell phone users were bad by 2sheds · · Score: 2

      Well, left or right - depends which side the pedestrians are on :-)

      james

      --

      Absit Invidia
  2. RIAA Illegal Car? by maynard-lag · · Score: 3, Funny

    So when he gets pulled over do they call the RIAA for not purchasing his music in each format he plays it in? Policeman into radio: Uh dispatch.. we need a tow truck, code napster. MP3 owner: What did I do officer? Policeman: Just wait here a minute, the nice folks at the RIAA are here to help.

    --
    Have you hugged your Karma Whore today?
  3. Talk about distraction by serutan · · Score: 2

    Jesus Christ! Look at the amount of information on that screen. I hope I never run into this guy in heavy traffic while he's talking on his cell phone and scrolling through his Jimmy Eat World tracks.

  4. Let me just find... by Q2Serpent · · Score: 5, Funny

    that one song that I heard the other week...

    i think it was after this one...

    no no, about 200 back from here (scroll...)

    was it around here? maybe down a few... (tap tap tap)...

    *incoming telephone pole*

    1. Re:Let me just find... by tedDancin · · Score: 3, Funny

      The more worrying aspect in all of this is the Q3 icon on his desktop (:

      .. now where did that rail gun go? ..

      --

      Ladies, form queue here -->
  5. Re:Insurance Company by acceleriter · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The same way you tell them you killed a family of 4 in a minivan when you were swapping files with the guy in the lane next to you with your bluetooth MP3 player.

    --

    CEE5210S The signal SIGHUP was received.

  6. Re:yes, dedication *sigh* by Cheeko · · Score: 3

    Did you look at ALL the pictures. I dunno, personally in the finished pictures on the bottom row, I don't think it looks half bad. Better than the beat up AM/FM tape decks in most of the 10 year old used cars my friends have. This isn't something I'd do in a nice new car, but it looks like a decent enough job.

  7. Another story - another unreachable site by Sanity · · Score: 3, Offtopic

    It is getting rediculous - what use is Slashdot if 50% of the stories link to slashdotted sites? Many people have proposed potential solutions for this (such as /. providing a Google-like cache), but the editors always come up with lame excuses.

    1. Re:Another story - another unreachable site by Peyna · · Score: 2

      It's simple. Smart web admins will start denying referrers from slashdot. Then it will reduce the /. effect on their server. Many places already do this. An obligatory link to a google cache prior to posting would be good enough for me. Or maybe contact the person who runs the site and get approval first, as well as approval to borrow some pictures or whatnot, since that's what every wants to look at anyway.

      --
      What?
    2. Re:Another story - another unreachable site by NanoGator · · Score: 2

      "...but the editors always come up with lame excuses."

      Funny, I thought they fixed that by using the karma system. Why write extra code when people will do the work for you and get that +1 Interesting? heh.

      Besides, isn't that what Open Source is about? "If you're having a problem, YOU fix it."

      --
      "Derp de derp."
    3. Re:Another story - another unreachable site by Cryptnotic · · Score: 2
      /. providing a Google-like cache)

      But then Slashdot would Slashdot itself.

      --
      My other first post is car post.
    4. Re:Another story - another unreachable site by fmaxwell · · Score: 2

      But then Slashdot would Slashdot itself.

      You laugh, but I think there's more truth to that than you know. Slashdot creates a text-only story with a couple of links. The story is what? 500 bytes? Then Slashdot readers click on the links and each one downloads several hundred K of web site and images.

      For Slashdot to cache the sites that they now indiscriminately take down would require that they increase their bandwidth substantially -- maybe by an order of magnitude or more.

  8. Nissan Macfinder by superdan2k · · Score: 4, Informative

    There's a webpage here. He did it with a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder, an older Mac Powerbook (utilizing Airport for file transfer), and a lot of ingenuity. His page also goes into detail, instead of just photos.

    (I'm thinking about trying the same thing with my 2001 XTerra.)

    --
    blog |
    1. Re:Nissan Macfinder by guttentag · · Score: 2

      I looked into doing this with an iMac and a GPS receiver (much safer than strapping my PowerBook into the passenger seat and turning my head 90 degrees to check the map), but ultimately I decided that would be like begging for someone to steal my car.

  9. in transit quake3 arena by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    i wonder how he manages to drive and play q3a too.
    (note the icon for it in the pictures).

  10. Lots more info for those that want to do it by TwoStep · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There is a lot more inf on this at MP3Car.com, the user sites are a bit out of date, but the forum is excelent.

    Also, it looks like Q-PC sells premade car computers, though I haven't seen any info about one.

    I am building a car computer myself, that will completely replace my radio with a 8.4" touchscreen, running a custom program that does Radio, MP3's, DVD and GPS navigation.

    Twostep

    --
    There are 10 different types of people in this world... those who understand binary, and those who don't.
  11. Re:Break out the champagne! by JesseL · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think I'd be a lot more interested in the girls that are impressed by the MP3 player that I put into my car than the girls that get impressed by a tan (not to mention that I go straight from fish-belly white to beet red after 15 minutes of solar exposure).

    --
    "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado!"
  12. Re:yes, dedication *sigh* by Cutriss · · Score: 2

    Pictures? There are pictures there? All I get is is "Cannot find server". :)

    6527 Total Impressions, 4923 Unique Impressions
    Stats from July 11, 2002, 15:00 until Present (July 11, 2002, 17:34)

    --
    "Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
  13. Why would you go to all that trouble... by anonymous+loser · · Score: 2

    and not add GPS capability to it? I mean, 90% of the work is already done.

  14. The MP3 player I installed in my center console by fmaxwell · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have a 2002 VW Golf TDi into which I installed an MP3 player. The player is mounted in the center console. It has an electroluminescent, multi-color display, infrared remote control, motorized, multi-angle display/control panel, and plays MP3s that I burn onto CD-R/RW media. That way I don't have to hook it up to my PC to put songs on it. And the CD-R/RW media holds probably 10 hours or more per CD, so it's a great way to have lots of music in a small space. That also freed me from having to worry about shock-mounting a hard drive, how the drive would deal with temperature extremes, etc.

    To see a picture of the unit, go to this web page.

    Total investment: Less than $400
    Installation time: Less than two hours
    Serviceability: Excellent
    Permanent modifications to car: None

    1. Re:The MP3 player I installed in my center console by fmaxwell · · Score: 2

      That's not the point.

      There is no single "point", but that's one valid point for anyone that wants to be able to resell their car, restore it to factory condition if the MP3 unit fails, etc.

      Any Joe Six Pack can go to Goodguys and pay someone else to put a MP3 stereo in their car.

      I installed the unit. I did a sano job creating a harness that was a plug-in, complete with soldered, shrink-wrapped connections. I also modified the unit, opening it up and removing the bundle of cables that hung out the back with RCA jacks for input and output (they plugged into connectors on the PC board internal to the unit). They interfered with the fit of the unit and got entangled with the ventilation controls.

      I got a good buddy who started making a MP3 for his car in early 1997. He got about halfway done but then got distracted with other projects.

      Sounds like a good argument for buying a professionally made unit and installing it. I have no desire to f*** up a 2002 model year car, leaving me with an ugly mess and no MP3 capability.

    2. Re:The MP3 player I installed in my center console by fmaxwell · · Score: 2

      Plus you have to know where on the CD is the mp3 you want to listen to.

      My CDs are organized as:

      root
      \____Artist
      \_____Album Title
      \Song 1
      \Song n

      Navigating is a simple matter of selecting the artist, album, and, if desired, song. There are buttons for next and prev directory and file. It's really pretty intuitive once you use it for a while -- although I can understand how it could be daunting at first.

    3. Re:The MP3 player I installed in my center console by fmaxwell · · Score: 2

      BUT, does it match the red/blue color scheme of your dash lights?

      Although not a motivating factor in the purchase, yes, it does. ;-)

  15. Fast mirror ... by zsazsa · · Score: 2

    Fast mirror here

  16. mirror by tedtimmons · · Score: 2
    Google caches are great for the HTML, but not the images.

    Here's my mirror.

    -ted

  17. When i get my 3L Toyota Supra Turbo... by The_Guv'na · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'm sticking in a phat I.C.E., laptop/desktop innards [shock dampened], fingerprint regognition [yeah I read the story], webcams, a G.P.S. thingy and an interface to several vital car components. A bit of UNIX Shell scripting/coding later, seeing as I'm doing it at college this year [hopefully]. I'll have the security system MMS me the coordinates, and mugshots of the "fucking stupid soon-to-be-dead" plonkers who think they can steal my motor, and de-activate the ignition, ready for me to pop a glock out the boot and teach them a lesson in Car Security they won't forget!

    Errrm, well, anyways, I've yet to see someone really combine a car and a computer. Ignitions on modern cars are usually computer controlled so it's possible, at lest in theory. How about a Tomorrow Never Dies stylee remote controll? I'd add some hidden internal fual pumps and lighters just in case the car was out of range [hell, insurance will cover it ;-] and a webserver, just to be 31337.

    Ah bollocks maybe I shouldn't post while drunk... but these are things I've seriously considered while Stone Cold Sober(tm)!

    When the world seems to shine like you've had too...*THUD*

    Ali

    --
    Ph33r m3!!!
  18. Re:I would buy such a thing... by fabiolrs · · Score: 2

    dude, i see two major problems with your solution:

    1 - would the rare event of a blue screen occur, you wouldnt be able to see a feet in front of you because your windshield would be totally blue.

    2 - would the rare event of a windows crash occur while the computer was steering your car, you might end up visiting god sooner than you expected! :)))

    --
    Fabio - Sumare/Sao Paulo/Brazil/South America/Earth/Solar System/Milky Way/Universe
    http://www.morroida.com.br
  19. Use Voice Control by Dr.+Bent · · Score: 2

    This solution to this is to use voice control instead, which is what I did in my car computer

    1. Re:Use Voice Control by DustMagnet · · Score: 2
      On you website you write, "I'm using custom written voice control software to control the system. Yes, it works well and No, you can't have a copy (yet). Check back later."

      I assume you didn't write your own voice recognition and O/S. I'm curious to hear what you used.

      --
      'SBEMAIL!' is better than a goat!!
  20. Re:Neo Car Jukebox by telstar · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...some people just don't get it.

    Yeah, and he could go hire an immigrant to sit in his back seat and change CDs whenever he wanted as well. It's the accomplishment of somebody busting their hump to create something that pretty much anybody on this site would love to have that makes it noteworthy. ...and I guess it's the dozen or so readers like you that knock down his creation that make it /.

  21. The Linux car by smammon · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Can't believe that no one has added this link yet (maybe I missed it eh) http://www.dashpc.com/ This guy rocks - besides mp3 he has a really nice tcl interface, plays movies on multiple screens - gps and 802.11 (bringing a new meaning to wardriving methinks)

    Even has a sourceforge project up for the code! Look and learn.

    --
    "Smile, listen, agree, and then do whatever the fuck you wanted to do anyway." ~Robert Downey Jr.
  22. Nah.. by Ogerman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is dedication.
    More like stupidity. This story is not news for nerds, it's news for rice boys. (you know.. the people who think their Honda will go faster if they lower the suspension and add a giant spoiler..) Car MP3 player "mods" are no longer cool nor original. Sorry. Many (most?) commercial CD decks now play MP3's. The ones that don't probably have a line-in for an external portable unit. And for crying out loud, this guy is using Windows--the world's worst 'embedded' OS.

    Now, on the other hand, if someone wants to show off a minimal-footprint Linux driven unit sporting gpsdrive, WAP scanning, police radar, clock sync via radio, cabin noise cancellation, speed/heading/mileage/odometer on a HUD, engine diagnostics, proximity sensors, and of course voice synth/recognition, THEN I might raise an eyebrow. So have at it fellow geeks. Oh, and you might as well make it play OGG/MP3/DIVX too. (-:

  23. I've been thinking about my own method of this. by TellarHK · · Score: 2

    Back when it looked like I was getting a job I applied for (sigh) I had thoughts of taking a wireless approach myself. Take a P166 or faster laptop (Cheap) with a CD-ROM drive and a WiFi card and an FM transmitter plugged into the headphone jack.

    Then I'd take another WiFi card, drop it into my Newton 2100, run a network from that to the laptop, VNC from the Newton to the PC and run control of things from there.

    Probably can be done for under $500 and could be set up to facilitate some pretty kickass wardriving with an antenna on the trunk.

    As far as I'm concerned, power is a minor concern and the bigger problem would be mounting the Newton to the dash properly.

    --
    My own pointless vanity vintage computing page
  24. why is he still running explorer? by edrugtrader · · Score: 2

    switching the shell to winamp would be much more intelligent.... unless he uses the system for anything else.

    --
    MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
  25. Not my preferred Interface by farrellj · · Score: 2

    In using a laptop to play MP3s in my car, I use a logitech Marble Mouse Track ball on the center console between the front two seats to control the system.

    ttyl
    Farrell

    --
    CAN-CON 2019 - Ottawa's only book oriented Science Fiction Convention! October 18-20, Sheraton Hotel, Ottawa, Canada h
  26. Lets hope by AnimeFreak · · Score: 2

    Lets hope he installed without AVS. The last thing we need is someone getting high off AVS while driving.

  27. Re:wow by Archfeld · · Score: 3, Funny

    yah but any manufacturer addition is SURE to have DRM built in :(

    Just imagine when your ignition is de-activated and the police given your GPS coordinates because you might possibly have an unlicensed MP3.

    PS. does this mean I can get a yellow triangle...

    MP3 on-board :)

    --
    errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
  28. Re:I would buy such a thing... by jms · · Score: 2

    On the other hand, he could play quake when you was stuck in stopped traffic