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In-Dash DIN-form-factor Car PC

kraksmokr writes "Xenarc Technologies have introduced a cool new in-dash DIN-form-factor Car PC. It features built in hard drive, audio/video, and GPS, among other things. Estimated price will be about $1200. I can't even begin to list the possibilities for mobile computing bliss." I'm even more impressed that they can fit it into the dash than I am with in-dash CD changers. If you buy this thing, use it safely. None of us want auto PC users to end up in the same category as annoying cell phone users.

13 of 322 comments (clear)

  1. Divx on the Freeway by eaglebtc · · Score: 5, Funny

    Officer: "Driver's License and Registr.... say, is that Beverly Hills Cop you're watching there? Mind if I jump in?"

    --
    Homestarrunner.net -- It's Dot Com!
  2. Re:Great.. by mirko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    DivX ?
    With a Pentium 266 MMX ?
    I hope you're not expecting all the FPS.

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
  3. With apologies to Dom Joly by chrisbtoo · · Score: 5, Funny
    None of us want auto PC users to end up in the same category as annoying cell phone users.


    <chrisbtoo> HELLO!
    <chrisbtoo> I'M IN THE CAR!
    <chrisbtoo> THE CAR!
    <chrisbtoo> NO, IT'S SHIT!

    --
    Registering accounts later than some other chrisb since 1997
  4. Weapons of Mass Destruction by TheMidget · · Score: 5, Funny
    This PC even has two PCMCIA sockets good for wireless communication.

    Hey, it's a wardriving machine!

  5. interface, interface, interface by RMH101 · · Score: 5, Informative

    this is all very well but is a pc what you want in your car? keyboard, mouse, tiny icons due to running on a small LCD? unless someone's released "Windows XP Car edition" or similar I really don't see this as all that useful - compared to say a navigation unit and an in car MP3 player. Or a PDA based system that has an OS that's in ROM and can be
    Ubiquitous computing doesn't necesarily mean a *PC* is the best tool for the job. I don't fancy driving into the back of someone because I was trying to click on the MSN messenger icon...

  6. Hmm. by sekzscripting · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Is it just me, or does the damn thing look ugly? I personally wouldn't sport that 'thing' in my car.

  7. Not A Good Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I ride a motorcycle. The three times that I have come closest to death in my life were on the freeway when someone with a cell phone held to their left ear did not bother to do a head check before moving left into me. I started coding on PDP-8s and Alpha Micros and I'm all for CPUs everywhere, but I don't like this thing one bit.

    If you wouldn't use it while riding a motorcycle, paying attention to the road and to other things around you with both hands on the steering mechanism, then you shouldn't use it in a car.

  8. Poorly designed power supply by ortholattice · · Score: 5, Informative
    The input rating of 10V to 26V may cause the computer to die when starting the engine, so don't depend on this to run anything critical. Do these guys even understand car battery specs? A good design should work at least down to 7.2V: "Today's batteries are rated in cold cranking amps. This represents the current that the battery can produce for 30 seconds at 0 degrees before the battery voltage drops below 7.2 volts." Better designs such as the power supply in this ECU device will work down to 6.5V.

    This design error seems to be common. Out of three laptop 12V adapters I've purchased, only one worked with an old battery (that was still good enough to start the car). The worst is my most recent Xtend PowerXtender, which is rated 12-16V and often refuses to work unless the engine is running - very annoying when I'm waiting in the car and want to use my laptop.

  9. Page not done by a sales expert by fireman+sam · · Score: 5, Funny

    Quote: "We are currently working on a version with faster processor speed. Please check back with us in a couple of months for more information."

    In other words: Don't buy our current product. We will use the non-existant money we make from not selling version one to make version two.

    Didn't other companies go broke due to similar statements?

    --
    it is only after a long journey that you know the strength of the horse.
  10. Traffic information: by Spam.B.gone · · Score: 5, Funny

    On the A2 there is a 12 kilometer beowulf cluster.

  11. OLED by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Combined with OLED (organic light emitting diode) technology, this could be a killer app. OLED displays are a bit like LCD displays, except that they emit light rather than reflect it. They can be transparent in the areas they are not lit, and come in green and orange currently.

    Imagine a head up display for your radio/cd/mp3... you could even move your speed- and odo-meters to the windscreen. Thinking further ahead, augmented reality displays will eventually be possible. I'd like to see a kind of mini-radar, that shows other cars near yours (a bit like on Daytona USA, the Sega arcade game). No more blind spots etc.

    MoJo

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  12. where's the radio? by Wing_Zero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    we're paying $1200 for this device that fits into the same space as our radio, so where do we put our radio? I don't know about you, but sometimes I jsut want to hear my favorite station and laugh at the morning show personality.

  13. Wow... what a blunder. by tlianza · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Check out this message at the bottom of the page:
    We are currently working on a version with faster processor speed. Please check back with us in a couple of months for more information.
    These people should have learned the lesson Intel (coincidentally) learned. Don't announce faster products before they're released! All that does is cut into the sales of your current products. Why would I drop $1200 on this machine when I know it's faster successor will be out "in a couple of months"?