200hp/V6/G3 600MHz "iCar"

bloodline555 writes "What do you get when you cross a Saab 95 with an iBook? You get the iCar. It's my latest project in a series of ways to void your AppleCare warranty. I have totally torn apart my iBook, folded it in half and mounted it inside of my car. It makes a great mp3 jukebox and DVD player. Any comments/ suggestions would be wonderful."

Comments

is it legal?

[I_am_Rambi]

I know in most states (if not all) it is illegal to have a tv infront of the drivers seat. Would this be something similar that you could get a ticket for having too much of a distraction infront of you? I think that is more of the question that how cool it seems to be.

Re:is it legal?

[gl4ss]

well.. i don't know spesifically, but in most places it's quite legal to add those things to the car, it's just illegal to use them while driving. much like it is illegal to read a newspaper, do your makeup, play with your laptop or do ANYTHING that (even potentially) distracts you from driving.

(though, afaik at least most of the sets that are mounted at the factory and visible to the driver don't work as video players while driving)
-

Re:is it legal?

[rowanxmas]

Go look at a modern police cruiser. You will see something very similar.....

Re:is it legal?

[gsdali]

In Europe any screen has to turn off automatically if the car's speed gets above 5km/h, if it's in the driver's field of vision. The sound stays but the picture goes.

Seems perfectly sensible to me.

Even if it wasn't specifically legislated for it would be covered by the 'driving without due care and attention' law which basically is a catchall that can pick up people eating a mars bar at the wheel if it causes them to drive unsafely.

See?

[greenhide]

Next time you see someone swerving around madly in traffic, it might be for some other reason.

Love,

The cellular phone industry.

I have one

[NanoGator]

" Any comments/ suggestions would be wonderful"

Yeah, don't put it in the front seat.

If you get into any sort of accident in your car, no matter the circumstances, it'll be assumed it distracted you. As a result, Slashdot'll pitchfork it no matter how cool it is. Sorta like cell phones.

Re:*Any* Comments...?

[OECD]

"Any comments/ suggestions would be wonderful."

OK: Don't park in my neighborhood. Or, alternately, hook up a webcam and wirelessly upload images to a server, so you can see who stole your iBook.

seriously OT, but anyways ...

[Triumph The Insult C]

what kind of wax do you use?

please say meguiars ...

Re:seriously OT, but anyways ...

[PrintError]

Bah, mine's shinier, I use Zaino.

My iTruck is smaller too. I'd post pix, but I fear the health of my poor little server in the hands of the /. addicted. I hook my iPod to the Line-In on my head-unit and the sound quality is perfect. A lot of head units have RCA inputs on the backside for CD-changers. I routed the RCA cables to a small stereo plug next to my cup-holder, and I plug my iPod in that way. It sits in perfect arm's reach as well.

The sound out of the RCA-Inputs is no comparison to the tape adapters. The bass is sharper, the sound is definitely clearer, and I don't have a tape player anyways, so yeah.

And don't even get me on the topic of those FM transmitters... BARF!

There is no sig.

Can we see where you are going?

[G4from128k]

If you add iSight, Airport and a bit of scripting to automatically connect to a dynamic URL service, you could have a mobile webcam. That way we can see where you are going.

Or you could point it backwards. Not only would it be a cool rear-vision monitor, but you could have a bumper sticker that reads "You're on the web right now."

cool idea, been done, and better too.

[Anonymous Coward]

Google 'pathintosh' -

Macintosh 'pismo ( or was it lombard?)' g3 laptop in a Pathfinder.

Guy picked up an lcd screen added touchpanel to it, and mounted it NEATLY in his dash - about where the stereo would go. Ran cabling back to a 'dock' in the back where he slides the laptop into - allows him to remove it and take it with him still. He also hacked up a usb keyboard, and tied the buttons on his steering wheel - which are supposed to hook up to the normal stereo - to the hacked up keyboard, so he can control iTunes from the steering wheel :)

That said, I kinda like the stand which you have the screen on - neat trick extenging the lcd that far ;)

Re:cool idea, been done, and better too.

[djwu]

Has anybody heard of the Bluetooth option for the 2004 Toyota Prius? Supposedly, it's for a bluetooth cell to work with the car's speakers so it's hands free. But I'm wondering if it's possible to use say a bluetooth Powerbook + iTunes to the car speakers? Perhaps it's even possible to control different car functions with bluetooth too (ie, starting up the a/c and rolling down the windows when I get within a certain distance?).

Countdown to your iAccident

[Zhe Mappel]

"Officer, the fact that I have a computer monitor right next to the steering wheel shouldn't be a mitigating factor in this crash."

"I mean, it's not like I'm running Windoze, which is known to crash."

Yeah, but does it FLY?

[netringer]

Burt Rutan's Boomerang twin-engine airplane has always used a PowerBook for instrumentation and navigation although the Boomerang's PowerBook installation is more functional than as pretty as the one in the iCar.

We use tablets

[drfrank]

I mount my tablet to my dashboard, and when I get where I'm going, I can take it with me. Others are doing the same thing: Some pictures in this thread.

Good Proof-of-Concept... but not quite finished!

[quakeslut]

First: you've done the hard part, and done it well.

But...You could really stand to clean the project up and take it to the "next-level."

Thoughts:
* There are an awful lot of wires running around. See: (here and here)
You could do away with the tape adapter by going with one of those short-range radio transmitters and hooking that into the audio-out of the laptop. This would clean up the cassette wire that pops out and then runs back inside the stereo housing.

It would also be nice if you could run the video wires in through the PVC tubing and then under the floor or inside of the paneling on the left-side of the passenger's foot. Wires are ugly, do whatever you can to hide them.

* The actual monitor housing unit needs to be polished.
OK, you posted asking for feedback, so here's some: clean up the monitor display. The black duct-tape and white-PVC tubing just isn't going to cut it.

Thoughts: Instead of cheap, white, bulk PVC how about getting some brushed metal tubing? It will do the job just as well, but look more professional. I mean... it is a Mac, right? You gotta tie in the brushed metal.

Also, the duct-tape reeks of a DIY (do-it-yourself) hack. I'm not sure what options you have here, but you simply gotta clean this up.

All-in-all, good proof-of-concept job! Now get back out there and put the finishing touches on it!

Re:GPS on a iBook?

[skeeter17]

I know that it is possible, however, most setups that i have seen use some sort of USB to Serial converter or similar between the GPS and the computer. my dad uses a Garmin (i believe) navigator and has hooked it up to his TiBook for a surveying project of his, but i don't know about navigational software...

Gee, what effort..

[evel aka matt]

Let's see...tape adapter, exposed wires, PVC monitor support...can we say "half-assed"?

Eww

[Anonymous Coward]

it's an automatic. gross.

Re:Eww

[bloodline555]

Anonymous Coward+ Ignorent comment+ Homophobia+ I would like to see you do better= I think you are the flamer here!

Re:Yuck.

[commodoresloat]

It keeps the iTerrorists away.

Getting i in the air

[moredetails]

I am used to tie my telescope on my bike (not the motorized version, the legs-powered). And guess what, I am also used to tie my ibook G3 with starry night pro started with night vision enabled. I suppose I could wire up my techno mp3. But I like silence and the long lasting night on one eco battery. Isn't the idea more airy ?

Re:First Post?

[azav]

Sooo, you're calling enclosing an iBook in a Saab a "case mod"?

Mp3 VW - A source of inspiration

[Militant Libertarian]

One of my friends put a computer in his VW Passat.. He's a big mac user, but he couldn't bring himself, or his paycheck to accept the defiling of a perfectly good mac for the task. So he used a 933mhz PC.

I think the fact that he used cheap parts allowed him much more freedom to really customize the thing, and he used no PVC!

Uhhhh

[fsbilly]

So elegant. I love the pressboard, conduit clamps, and the PVC! It really sets of the fine leather interior and other creature comforts of the Saab.

Too bad your taste in music sux....

[dnahelix]

Don't play any of that John Mayer shit while I'M in the car.

I know, flamebait, go ahead and waste your mod points....


Note to editors: Notice the correct usage of the word 'too.'