Ultimate Automotive Computer Installation

ErnstKompressor writes "I came across a story detailing an awesome car mod out of the Czech Republic. The author undertook what must be the most impressive exercise in computer integration I have ever seen, installing an extensive Mac system with custom Cocoa software controlling nearly every aspect of a 1993 Tatra 613. On-board systems monitoring, navigation, entertainment, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, plus much more, are all rolled into a tight, extensible, package. Check it out."

Comments

Cars pollute

[(1337) God]

We should get rid of them immediately and stop championing these hacks/mods.

Re:Cars pollute

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't you have some cocks to suck?

Re:Cars pollute

[Anonymous Coward]

Owner of a Linux company; MBA Harvard 2002; B.S. Comp Sci Dartmouth 1999

Looks like he's already sucked quite a few cocks...

Re:Cars pollute

[Anonymous Coward]

He's certainly proud of his academic and sodomite accomplishments.

Re:Cars pollute

[Anonymous Coward]

Moderators : when you see this poster (1337) God, do not Mod him up! If you've got mod points, go into his history and mod down his other posts which are +5. He's a power troll having fun with karma whoring.

Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

I doubt it, seeing as how he replaced his ENGINE with a POWERMAC! Is he planning to race on hopes and dreams? I mean, if he's a Mac user, why didn't he just stick it in the trunk of a Mazda MX-5 Miata or a Volkswagen Cabriolet?

Bill Gates, you are my friend!
Darl McBride, you are my friend!
Windows 2003 Server, you are my friend!
Active Directory, you are my friend!
Lotus Domino, you are my friend!

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[DZign]

I mean, if he's a Mac user, why didn't he just stick it in the trunk of a Mazda MX-5 Miata or a Volkswagen Cabriolet?

Because where the guy lives he probably can't afford a car like that even if he saves for the next 10 years ?

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[grub]

I had an '83 Subaru GL. My friends would laugh when the hood was opened and they saw the spare tire mounted above the motor. Not sure if that's where Subaru puts them nowadays..

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[rxd]

You do know that T613 has engine in the back, right?

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Michalson]

Then how exactly did he afford a Mac?

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[chunkwhite86]

I doubt it, seeing as how he replaced his ENGINE with a POWERMAC!

You DO know that this is a rear-engine car? Unless you live in the US in the deep south, rear engined cars are commonplace. VW Beetle, VW Bus, Porsche 911, most Ferraris...

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[wwest4]

oh yeah? then why do they always blow up when they nose dive off a cliff in james bond movies? ;)

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[kfg]

You do know that T613 has engine in the back, right?

If he's American it seems likely he's never even heard of Tatra before, let alone know where the engine is.

Having heard of Ledwinka is right out, even though he's without question one of the most brilliant automotive designers in history.

The article mentions the influence of Tatra on the VW, but rip all the plastic off the latest Corvette and what do you find?

Yep, that's right. Ledwinka's backbone chassis.

KFG

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe because movies aren't real?

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

rip all the plastic off the latest Corvette and what do you find

Airspace; it's all plastic. Well, plastic, and leaking oil.

American cars make great boat anchors, if even the sea will take them.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[mo^]

insightful???? get tae fuck!

funny, YES

]damn the dude even "winks" of course this aint insightful

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[74nova]

ill stick a disclaimer in here first, as i am usually misunderstood as being pissed off and flaming. im not. there.

just the deep south in the US? where are you from? not the US, i would guess.

mr2's, 911's, ferraris, old beatles, sure. however, how many of these exist in the US? i'd bet a very small amount. id be surprised if more than .5% of the cars in the US were rear/mid engined. the hondas, chevy's, fords, mopars, and all the other cars that comprise 90%+ are front engined.

i have no doubt that europe has much higher numbers for the cars with frunks(front trunk), but that is not the case in the US. oh, and the new beatle is front now, tho they hardly outnumber the old ones, yet, ill admit.

i woudl assume the parent was joking, as well.

but to move closer to the topic, thats pretty impressive stuff in that car. it never ceases to amaze me how geeks like i hope to be can interface with engines and computers like that. anybody know where i can learn more about it?

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[kfg]

Ummmmmmmm, yeah. I think of Holland and the first I think of is rampant poverty.

This particular Tatra is an ex-factory show car, super luxury executive model intended for someone with a professional driver that came "standard" wired for ethernet in the back seat.

The Miata is such a cheap little bugger you don't even get a back seat or a roof, let alone ethernet and WiFi.

KFG

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[FerociousFerret]

oh yeah? then why do they always blow up when they nose dive off a cliff in james bond movies? ;)

It's all that C4 in the trunk!

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[chunkwhite86]

Because where the guy lives he probably can't afford a car like that even if he saves for the next 10 years ?

I don't think so pal. Tatras were competition for Mercedes, Jaguar, Bentley, and Rolls Royce.

This car cost more than your house.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[kfg]

Airspace; it's all plastic.

Well, that and a couple pounds of graphite and a few scraps of balsawood, but then the same is true of every F1 car these days.

American cars make great boat anchors, if even the sea will take them.

Well, we haven't done so well lately. I've actually owned two Fords, but then they were both German. I'd take a Cord L-29 in a heartbeat though if someone would be so kind as to bestow one upon me.

As for leaking oil I've always found that the British are the masters of getting cars to do that. As well as leaking tops.

For a long time I couldn't understand why my cars from sunny Italy all had tops that never leaked a drop that you could operate with one hand at a stoplight and had heaters that could give you heatstroke in the middle of a Canadian winter; but all my British cars had tops that took three men an hour to erect that then leaked like sieves and heat that only worked in July.

And then I had a revelation. The Italians are used to being warm and dry and take that state seriously, whereas being warm and dry is simply a concept that has never even occured to the British.

KFG

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[chunkwhite86]

but to move closer to the topic, thats pretty impressive stuff in that car. it never ceases to amaze me how geeks like i hope to be can interface with engines and computers like that. anybody know where i can learn more about it?

Easy: Buy a 1994 and up VW, Audi, Seat or Skoda. They all have a computer interface port where you can interface with all the electronic gadgets in the car. Everything from the airbags to the stereo, the transmission (if it's auto), tons of engine parameters... basically everything that runs on electricity is wired into the central system.

And VW (who owns Audi Seat Skoda and also Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and Bentley) has always openly published the communication protocols and specs to their interfaces - very Open Source like.

Read more Here. These guys make an interface cable and software to communicate with your car. It plugs into your PC or laptop using standard RS-232 serial port or USB. I have a Turbo diesel Jetta and I can put a laptop in the passenger seat and monitor turbo boost pressure, anti-lock brake status, and even radio station information from the laptop!! I've always wondered why more hackers haven't been interested in these car brands since they have such open communication specs.... MAybe someone here can start a project on sourceforge to create a Linux client program to talk to my car?? (It's Windows only right now)

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[zulux]

Unless you live in the US in the deep south, rear engined cars are commonplace

Ahem... Pontiac Fieros are pretty common. So are Toyota MR2.

I don't live in the south - but I'm pretty sure they sold a few Fieros down there.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Garion911]

MAybe someone here can start a project on sourceforge to create a Linux client program to talk to my car??

Give me a bit, I only got my vagcom Wednesday!

--2004 A4 3.0QM owner

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahem... Pontiac Fieros are pretty common. So are Toyota MR2.

Too bad both fo those are piecse ofd crap!!! They braeke down ALL THE TIME!!! The chicks think they are total SUCK ASS cars!!! hjahjahahahah

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[runenfool]

Technically the ferraris you are referring to are probably mid engined :)

(yea, you meant engine behind the driver .. I know I know .. damn slashdot nitpickers)

In that case lets not forget the MR2 Spyder, the Boxster and Boxster S, and a bunch of cars over 100k that I can't recall right now. Oh yea .. and how could you forget THE THING? (since you mentioned a few VWs)

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[chunkwhite86]

Oh yea .. and how could you forget THE THING? (since you mentioned a few VWs)

And don't forget the Karmann Ghia!!

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[djeez]

My '92 Subaru Loyal had it there too. I think they still mount the spare on the engine, since it's a boxer engine. They tend to be lower than other types of engines, which is good since it lowers the center of gravity too.

Your friends shouldn't laugh, you have a full-size spare tire (not one of those tiny spares you're only supposed to use to get to the nearest garage) and it doesn't take any space in the trunk!

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[theLOUDroom]

but rip all the plastic off the latest Corvette and what do you find?
Yep, that's right. Ledwinka's backbone chassis.

How about a link to back this up?

I smell BS.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[b0bby]

From the article it seems like he's Czech, but live/works in the Netherlands. The Tatra is a limo, and probably cost a lot more than a VW.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[lucifuge31337]

oh yeah? then why do they always blow up when they nose dive off a cliff in james bond movies? ;)

I know that was a joke, but rear engine == front fuel tank in most cars.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[kfg]

You may smell as you wish, but it's simple history.

http://www.lightauto.com/ledwinka.html

http://www.corvetteconti.com/C5-Backbone.htm

And of course VW, FIAT and even myself have designed and built backbone chassis well before the modern Corvette adopted it.

If you wish to do more in depth research on this you'll have to rely on these things called "books." Not everything is on the web. I can highly recommend "The Bosch Book of the Motor Car: Its Evolution" to the casual reader.

L.J.K. Setright's book "The Designers" also has a lovely little chapter on Ledwinka and his contributions although this title is now a bit scarce.

By the way, the four valve, double overhead cam engine was invented by Ernest Henry for Peugot in 1912. The "unibody" was pioneered by Lancia in the early 1920s, whose chief designer spent an evening drawing up plans for virually every independant suspension system known to man.

In fact the only really serious technical innovation in automotive technology since WWII has been the microprocessor. The rest of it has basically boiled down to the simple availability of better materials. Lancia didn't have the carbon fiber the modern F1 car is made out of, but the construction of the modern F1 is basically the same Lancia's 1922 Lambda.

KFG

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[theLOUDroom]

it's simple history.

You said that the Corvette had "Ledwinka's backbone chassis". Not a "Ledwinka-inspired chassis".
You should choose your words more carefully. Obviously, the C5 is based on other designs, just like every other modern car. Recognizing that hardly makes you clever.

If you wish to do more in depth research on this you'll have to rely on these things called "books."

Case in point. You learn just a little bit about something, and you think it gives you the right to belittle others. The C5 does not use a double overhead cam engine, for example, and lots of important changes have been made to automotive design since the 1920's. A good example would be crash safety. Another would be the rotary engine.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually...

The current Corvette is no longer on the C-5 platform. They're on C6 now.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

I am the AC to which you replied.

As for leaking oil I've always found that the British are the masters of getting cars to do that.

That is very true. Let us also not forget the wiring nightmares that the British have perfected. Based upon the remainder of your comment, you are obviously someone who has suffered the wrath of British car designers and, for that, I salute you. Salut!

Additionally, European Ford products are so vastly different than those of North America that they hardly even deserve the same name. The differences between European and North American Escorts (to name only one model) throughout its history is proof positive of this.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[Anonymous Coward]

Enjoy your Mustang, Cletus.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[kfg]

You came in belligerent. You are continuing in the same vein. Any particular reason?

Recognizing that hardly makes you clever.

It does, however, make me recognize my debt to those who were.

The C5 does not use a double overhead cam engine, for example. . .

I don't recall that I, or anyone else for that matter, ever said it did.

You should choose your words more carefully.

Et tu?

. . .and lots of important changes have been made to automotive design since the 1920's.

There has certainly been a lot of evolution of the ideas of the early pioneers. Yes. Materials techologies have made that possible. There has been refinement.

Another would be the rotary engine.

Whose priciples were first posited in the mid 1800s. Materials were lacking to build it, however. Wankel took those principles and built his first prototypes in. . . the 1920s.

Although it didn't see production until 1957, what with the intervention of a world war and all.

And the Corvette's engine was considered tecnically obsolete before WWI.

KFG

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[sh2kwave]

oh yeah? then why do they always blow up when they nose dive off a cliff in james bond movies? ;)

thats cause the fuel tanks commonly in the front of rear engine vehicles

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[kfg]

What really got me was my Triumph GT6, a hard top, and yes, the top leaked.

And yes, when I turned on the windshield wipers the headlights liked to turn off.

Despite all of that I shall light a candle and hold vigil if Ford ever carries through with their threat to put Jaguar badges on a Taurus and make them in Dearborn.

KFG

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[davew666]

You DO know that this is a rear-engine car? Unless you live in the US in the deep south, rear engined cars are commonplace. VW Beetle, VW Bus, Porsche 911, most Ferraris...

Er, no.

You obviously do not know about engine layout, or about Ferraris. There has never been a rear engined Ferrari. You are getting confused with the mid engine layout, where the engine is in between the two axles. A true rear engined car has the engine behind the rear axle, like the Porsche 911 you mention. Just because the engine is behind the driver does not mean it is rear engined. The opposite example is the new Mercedes SLR McLaren, which is also mid engined, but the engine is in the front of the car.

You are also wrong about "most ferraris" being rear[mid] engined. Take the last 4 for example, only one is not front engined (456 front, 550 front, 360 mid, 612 front) Historically you will also find that the ratio of mid/front engined cars is not so high after all.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[chunkwhite86]

Er, yes.

I obviously know about engine layout. Whether the engine is mid or rear mounted, it doesn't matter when you look under the hood - there is a front trunk regardless - which is what the thread was about.

I'm well aware of the mid engine vs. rear engine layout as I am the proud owner of a fully restored 1974 Porsche 914, and also a '95 993 C2.

Have a look at the sales figures for Ferrari - You will obviously see that obviously there have been way more 360's sold than 456's, 550's, or 612's. Obviously. I regularly see 360's driving on the GW parkway near Wash DC where I live, but seldom see a 550. 456's and 612's are collector's items now. I also see a few testarosas here and there which are mid engined.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[davew666]

As an owner of a 993 I am very suprised that you have not made the distinction between a rear and mid engined car. Where the "trunk" is really has nothing to do with it. Ferrari has never made a rear engined car. Another pointer that you don't know what you are talking about - the 612 is not a collector's item, in fact it is only released in a few months. It is the replacemnt for the 456.

Re:Fastest Mac on four wheels?

[chunkwhite86]

As an owner of a 993 I am very suprised that you have not made the distinction between a rear and mid engined car. Where the "trunk" is really has nothing to do with it. Ferrari has never made a rear engined car.

The trunk has *everything* to do with it - that's what the thread was ABOUT. Someone started by saying that the car's engine was replaced with a Mac because there was not an engine under the hood. That's where this discussion began. I'm well aware that Ferrari has never sold a car with the engine behind the rear axle - but they have sold *many* cars with no engine under the hood which is the point I was making - that it is not unusual for a car to have a front trunk? Get it now?

Another pointer that you don't know what you are talking about - the 612 is not a collector's item, in fact it is only released in a few months. It is the replacemnt for the 456.

Ok, so you think I'm idiot and a retard. I get the point. I was thinking of the 412, not the 612. My bad.

Apparently...

[xaoslaad]

His Apple-Mobile was just /.'ed

Re:Apparently...

[Anonymous Coward]

His Apple-Mobile was just /.'ed

Make that all of the Czech Republic...

Re:Apparently...

[John Harrison]

Yeah, I clicked on the link when there were just two comments and so far nada.

This has got to be one of the fastest /.ings ever.

Re:Apparently...

[xaoslaad]

Uh first comment like this in the story; redundant fuck wad?

Wellll....

[Anonymous Coward]

It sure is much better looking thanany other carputer. It crashes less, and probably protects you in a bubble in the event of an accident.

A Czech site?

[E1ven]

I hope it has the bandwidth.... It seems to be fairly.. Crashed?

I threw a copy of my version of the images at
http://www.sq7.org/temp/mirror/www.mujmac.cz/image s/ if it won't load for you..

-Colin

Re:A Czech site?

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Oh yeah. A Tatra ...

Of course, you can integrate lots of hardware with those!
Why didn't I think of it myself?

Re:A Czech site?

[AmoebafromSweden]

>I threw a copy of my version of the images at

Ouch, you seem to be fairly masochistic. Do you like pain?

Re:A Czech site?

[fruey]

Even the mirror is Slashdotted. And this seems like a really cool mod.

Oh well, can anyone find a mirror of the mirror? The RearView version?

Re:A Czech site?

[Anonymous Coward]

But Tatra 613 os not a truck. It is 25 year old car, although fairly big.

Re:A Czech site?

[Anonymous Coward]

Try now? It should be working faster.

Re:A Czech site?

[dubiousmike]

Thanks for the mirror.

First, what a strange looking car. I like boxy looking cars, but there seems to be something disproportional about this one. I'm not sure I can put my finger on it.

Secondly, with all of the technology and money put inot this car, what's up with the car cell phone from the 80's? Where's the bluetooth integrated wireless mumbo jumbo?

Or is that cell phone modded to dispense Pez or joints or Jolt? That'd be cool...

Re:A Czech site?

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's a mirror.

I wonder

[somethinghollow]

I wonder at what point this becomes over-kill. I wonder was it worth all the work (e.g. is it that useful).

On the "bright side", however, I can purchase a Toyota Prius and get a lot of the same functionality without all the work (and with 60+ miles per gallon)... of course, then I can't brag I have a Mac in my car and can't add things to it... but you get the picture.

Re:I wonder

[dyte]

I wonder at what point this becomes over-kill.
When he started thinking about doing it, it became over-kill.

It's a hobby (very cool). Hobbies don't have to be practical or usefull.

Re:I wonder

[Anonymous Coward]

Imagine him explaining THAT to the cops...

Re:I wonder

[segmond]

You can purchase a Toyota Prius, good for you, I can't, he probably can't too. How much do you think he earns in his country? He didn't do this for bragging about a Mac in his car. This guy has a very neat hack, read the article, look at the pictures. He gave very smart reasons for why he did the things he did.

http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=93970& ci d=8066041

"First I wanted to completely seal the motherboard case, but later I found this was not really a good idea, particularly due to the changes in temperature and the air volume inside the case. To fix this, I have installed two Gore-Tex valves on the case. These valves are used in automotive industry to allow air circulation in the headlight units while keeping the water on the outside."

"All the custom software is written in Cocoa. The main application was designed and written by Ondra Eada, I have used this opportunity to learn Objective C from him and later written most of the plug-ins."

As you can seen, not another guy trying to get on slashdot, from the hacks, he is quite smarter than the average slashdot reader.

Re:I wonder

[Phrack]

Does it have to be? Sometimes the journey is the point...

Re:I wonder

[Anonymous Coward]

Nobody needs those things. This isn't a practical fix. This would be, for anyone who didn't get enjoyment out of doing this and/or value the uniqueness of his car enough.

Don't even bother trying to rationalize this as anything more than a hobby (all coolness aside).

Re:I wonder

[sebi]

How much do you think he earns in his country?

Since he is actually working in the Netherlands my guess is quite a bit. I read the article yesterday (it was linked from macslash) and he stated that he got the Tatra because of a lifelong fascination for the maker. Apparently his father was a driver for the leading class during communist years and took his little boy along in a Tatra.

What I really liked about the article that there was no justification for using a Mac. Seems like he is simply a fan who never even considered using anything else. That should set an example for many past and future flamewars on Slashdot.

Re:I wonder

[Anonymous Coward]

its sad whne people question other's projects and their reasoning for even bothering.

one of the single greatest reasons for human drive is simply "because i can"

Re:I wonder

[chunkwhite86]

I wonder at what point this becomes over-kill. I wonder was it worth all the work (e.g. is it that useful).

Seeing as this is a Russian car, I was hoping I had some witty In Soviet Russia joke handy... but I dont. Anyhow, This car was a creme de la creme top of the line luxury automobile. Modding a car is only worth it if (1) the mods are tasteful (i.e. not rice-boy) and (2) if the car is worth it. Is it worth it to spend $5000 modifying a '94 Honda Civic that's only worth $3k? No. Is it worth it to spend $5000 modifying a '94 Mercedes S600 (still sells for >$30k today). Absolutely.

On the "bright side", however, I can purchase a Toyota Prius and get a lot of the same functionality without all the work (and with 60+ miles per gallon)... of course, then I can't brag I have a Mac in my car and can't add things to it... but you get the picture.

Yes, but a Toyota Prius is a tin can, waiting to be squished by the nearest Ford SUV that feels like flipping over that day. This Tatra is a LARGE very substantial V8 powered luxury car. Tatra originally made cars targeted towards Soviet Russia's ruling elite. Not even close to the same category as a Prius.

Re:I wonder

[cayenne8]

The one thing I was wondering from the article, was, he said he did this to save money on manufactured items (mp3 head unit, navigation, etc.). Unless Apple computers are MUCH cheaper over there than here...its hard for me to imagine that he saved money by doing this. I mean, I think its cool, and very interesting. But, hard to believe it was a money saver...

Re:I wonder

[martingunnarsson]

I think the parent has missed the whole concept of, well, hack-value. If you have a lot of money, you can buy almost anything. But what's that worth compared to actually building the stuff yourself? Kudos to this guy and all the other "hackers" out there.

Re:I wonder

[Bedouin X]

It's a G4 450. Not exactly cutting edge.

Re:I wonder

[Anonymous Coward]

Exactly. The LCDs and video cards probably cost more than the computer.

Re:I wonder

[jdray]

You can find Macs of this class for around US$250 on eBay, about the same price as a low end iPod purchased new.

Re:I wonder

[timeOday]

This is a terrific piece of work. I hope you enjoy your Prius, but you should be comparing this guy to a Toyota research engineer, not yourself.

Hewlett Packard likes to talk about how they started in a garage. It's people like this who carry on that spirit and who own the future, not consumers or the HP of today.

Re:I wonder

[humina]

Better than a prius is just get a diesel car and convert it to a biodiesel(SVO). Then you can run your car on grease. You can get a good diesel for much less than the prius and use the extra cash to mod the car up. Plus biodiesels are not burning a gas that is harmful to the enviornment and can be refueled at any fast food resuraunt around. There are more of those than gas stations. Or you can run on an unmodified diesel car and make biodiesel. More about running a car on cleaner burning straight vegtable oil at Greaseworks .

Re:I wonder

[neko9]

tatra is not russian car. soviet elite was driving zil, volga and chaika. more info - Cars from East

Re:I wonder

[milkman_matt]

I think the parent has missed the whole concept of, well, hack-value. If you have a lot of money, you can buy almost anything. But what's that worth compared to actually building the stuff yourself? Kudos to this guy and all the other "hackers" out there.

Too true, Yeah, i've got a custom, stock looking TV and DVD in my truck(Please be gentle with my server, also, the DVD player has been upgraded and moved, that part was cheesy :( ) However, a tv/dvd in a car/truck these days is a nickle a dozen, it's standard equipment almost, true mine's custom and I did it myself, so I am kinda proud, but shit, mine didn't require a fraction of the effort or work or knowledge that this guy put in. My tv doesn't show the temperature in various parts of my car, it doesn't show gas consumption, it doesn't do GPS, have a clock, tell me how many more miles I can go on the amount of gas I have, or have trip-o-meters, it's not customizable to that degree.. I hear the new BMWs have pretty advanced computers, but I doubt they can do this... This is an extremely cool hack, it looks totally custom, and it's more powerful than any computer system you can buy as an option as your car. I agree, Kudos to this guy, shit i'm jealous.

-matt

Re:I wonder

[illcare]

I agree it is a cool hack, but why would you need an ethernet plug in the armrest if you have wi-fi and bluetooth?

ilker

Re:I wonder

[jcr]

In Soviet Russia, Mac installs YOU in car!

-jcr

Re:I wonder

[enigmals1]

...and would you really want to brag that you have a MAC in your car?! Would even want to brag that you're a MAC user at all? ;)

Re:I wonder

[Oliver Defacszio]

In Soviet Russia, Mac installs YOU in car!

Mac Dovoyenko, that is.

Re:I wonder

[C10H14N2]

Ah, yes, the "in his country" argument.

The per capita GNP of the Czech Republic is about US$15,000. It is NOT a third world country, no matter how much anyone who has experienced their public water system may try to tell you. The Czech economy is rather elitist, especially now that Vaclav Klaus is running the show--he has stated openly that he thinks that maybe ten percent of the population should have a tertiary education. Thus, if you are an engineer, you're probably doing fine by American standards. You probably won't be making $140,000/year (although that is not out of the question), but it is quite likely you would be making $30-50k just as in the United States the per capita GNP is about $36k and engineers routinely make $70-80k.

Besides, if the guy can afford four or five brand new Macintosh computers, he's pretty much bought a new Prius.

Re:I wonder

[BlameFate]

Nobody needs those things.

BMW think you do. Their iDrive system, although it sounds like it's a Mac app, is a Windows CE in-car computer system controlling all aspects of the vehicle.

This guy has effectively implimented his own version, from scratch, even down to replicating the rotary dial controller using a Griffin PowerMate - his achievement in doing so is brilliant. I wonder if any auto-makers are taking a look at this.

Re:I wonder

[FreeForm Response]

I think the parent has missed the whole concept of, well, hack-value.

I concur wholeheartedly. A year ago I built one of these (although I came up with the idea before I'd ever heard of this gentleman's project). It isn't very fast and it overheats sometimes, but you know what? I have a Nintendo Entertainment System with a fully functional computer inside of it, that I built with my own two hands and one brain. Maybe I could have bought one pre-built off eBay, but having my own is priceless to me.

This guy is my new hero. Not necessarily because he dumped a whole ton of kit into his car, but because he looked at a situation that most people would take for granted and thought, "how can I make this work better?" That's the spirit of a true hacker, if you ask me.

Re:I wonder

[roman_mir]

Yeah, I know, let this guy eat cake.

Slashdoted

[mgs1000]

Let's just hope he's not hosting his site on that computer.

we meet again...

[hustin]

Hello, Batman...

Re:we meet again...

[djdanlib]

Or, perhaps in another fantasy hero's life...

From an upcoming cancelled James Bond film:

007: What do you have for me today, Q?
Q: Well, I had a bugger of a time getting all the software mail-ordered, but I have finally finished this Macintosh powered car. It goes from zero to Sad Mac in under two seconds.
007: I think I'll stick with my Aston Martin, thanks.

Re:we meet again...

[AKAImBatman]

You rang?

To the Batmobile!

Steam coming out of...

[Anonymous Coward]

...the web server's radiator. Is there a AAA for Slashdotting?

Remote access

[cwernli]

Unfortunately the site's already /.ed, so I can't verify if it has remote access - I always wanted to ssh into a car and fire up my favourite text editor at 60 mph :-)

Re:Remote access

[awtbfb]

You need to hang around auto research labs more often. This is a common event when dealing with instrumented R&D cars. Of course, you have to be very careful since, unlike this car, many of these vehicles have data flowing in both directions. Accidentally spiking the steering actuator is bad. Very bad.

Was his car...?

[stubear]

...running his web server? I sure hope not or he really did crash. This would be a first, slashdotting a moving automobile.

I wonder

[joedames]

if the webserver is in his car??? Slashdotted him into a ditch, maybe??

Another reason Apple should let us change colors

[corebreech]

Sure, the Aqua interface is beautiful, but when mounted in a walnut panel?

What is the problem? Why can't they let us pick green, or pink, or what this car owner would probably like: some shade of brown.

(p.s. I love the picture of the four programmers entering Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Notice how the front door is even Aqua blue?)

His webserver must be running on it too.

[mesmartyoudumb]

Maybe he needs nitrous!

Re:His webserver must be running on it too.

[Anonymous Coward]

That stuff is fuckin awesome!

Shouldn't that be...

[imsmith]

Czech it out?

Re:Shouldn't that be...

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouldn't that be...Czech it out?

Hahahahaha good one! See, he's making a funny because of the similarity of the sounds of Czech and check. Woo hoo, hang on, let me catch my breath before I finish this post!
OK, there. Thanks. What makes this post so great is that Nobody Before in the History of the Planet has thought of that funny joke! Hahahahahaha oh man there I go again...

Re:Shouldn't that be...

[djdanlib]

Uh-oh, here comes your reward for noticing that... One day, a man from the Czech Republic came to visit his friend in New York. When asked what he wanted to see, the visitor replied, "I would like to see one of the zoos in America." To his delight, the New Yorker took him to the Bronx Zoo. They were touring the zoo, and standing in front of the gorilla cage, when one of the gorillas busted out of the cage and swallowed the Czech whole. Shocked, his friend from New York quickly called over the zoo keeper. He quickly explained the situation and the zoo keeper immediately took steps to save the man's friend. The zoo keeper got an axe and asked the man, "OK, which gorilla did it? Was it the male or the female?" The New Yorker pointed out the female as the culprit. Quickly, the zoo keeper split the female gorilla open and found nothing of the Czech. He looked at the man from New York, who shrugged and said, "Guess the Czech is in the male."

Re:Shouldn't that be...

[tbone1]

Shouldn't that be ... Czech it out?

No, then the RIAA would storm you for stealing from John Mellencamp. Only Springsteen is allowed to do that.

Re:Shouldn't that be...

[splattertrousers]

No, then the RIAA would storm you for stealing from John Mellencamp. Only Springsteen is allowed to do that.

But that's okay, because it's obvious that John Mellencamp stole all his stuff from Johnny Cougar anyway.

Powered by Mac software?

[djdanlib]

Sure, it drives, but can it run Windows? (ducks) Not to mention the potential driver conflicts resulting in fatal errors...

COPY OF TEXT : Before Slashdotting

[MountainMan101]

Few words about Tatra

Although not as known as many other car manufacturers, Tatra is actually the second oldest automobile company in the world (with only Daimler being older). It was established in 19th century and throughout the years came with many innovations, that helped to change many things in the industry. Just one example, probably quite surprising: the famous VW Beetle was "inspired" by certain streamline Tatra cars (V570, T97) so much, that Volkswagen had to pay few millions of D-Marks to Tatra as a compensation for patent violations. During 1930 and 1940, Tatra created several amazing cars, like T77, T87, T97 and trucks like T111. After the communist revolution in 1948, Tatra specialized mostly in truck production and the passenger cars were only manufactured in very limited numbers to be used by ruling elite. T603 was produced between 1958 and 1975 and the T613 (designed by Vignale) was produced between 1974 and 1996.

A picture for those who still think Jaguar is a big car :-) - Click on any photo to get hi-res in new window!

I must admit, I have loved Tatra's since I was a little boy. My father used to work as chaffeur for one of local bosses and I spent a lot of time on the rear seat of a T603 when I was three or four years old. Later, as a student I owned one of T603s myself. For few years I move to more practical cars for few years (Honda Civic and Volvo 480 to be exact), but what my Dutch friends call a Tatra-virus was still deep inside me. So when I stared to work in Holland and needed a comfortable car for almost-monthly trips to Czech republic, Tatra was very high on my list of choices. After two or three months I found one in good condition and I did not hesitate a minute.

Exterior picture of T613-4 Mi Long

My car is one of later T613s, produced in summer 1993 for Frankfurt auto show (and not actually used much after that). It is a T613-4Mi Long version (M=power steering, i=multi-point injection, long = wheelbase 3150mm instead of standard 3000mm). A sedan, larger than Mercedes Benz S-Klasse, with 3.5 litre V8 air cooled engine (200HP, 300 NM), mounted above the rear axle. It was originally an "Elektronik" version, which means all the controls were fully digital with several computers (including one for voice output) and parts communicating with each other using CAN-bus. (Hi, Volvo guys, your S80 was by far not the first one, would you correct your advertising materials please?) This equipment was later removed (by factory) and replaced by more traditional standard wiring, but at the moment I have decided to buy it, I was already sure that a computer must come back. And so it did - I started to work on my installation in summer 2002 and by Christmas, I had a working installation.

Why?

The basic two reasons that led me to the installation of the computer were the replacement of CD changer by an MP3 player and a navigation solution, based on Route 66 application. I am pretty sure anyone who needs to make 1000 km trips every month or has ever been lost in Copenhagen can understand these two reasons :-) During the installation, I also added some more functions (communication with engine controller, on-board micrcontroller for basic telemetric data). Of course I could simply buy a head unit that supports MP3 playback and a dedicated navigation hardware. However I was not very excited about the prospect of spending several thousands euro for a dedicated hardware and then wait for the manufacturer to release the maps I needed (Czech republic in particular). Use of standard computer gives me much more freedom in the configuration of the system and potential upgrades - both software and hardware.

First time in the Tatra - still in the original case (although without all the plastic)

The first idea was to use an LCD iMac, and built it into the original dashboard. The base unit was supposed to be placed within the dashboard and the display with its holder outside. This idea had two basic flaws: iMac's 1

Re:COPY OF TEXT : Before Slashdotting

[alfredo]

Thanks for the text.

here is another pioneer in aero design.

Voisin

Oh Well

[savagedome]

Looks like he is hosting his site on the same Mac system as his Mac-mobile. He hit the gas pedal 20 minutes ago and still waiting for his car to go ahead. The site is /.ed

A bientot, M. Server!

[American AC in Paris]

[mycar:~] bob% ignition
Connecting to ignition...Connection refused: too many users. Please try again later.
[mycar:~] bob% ignition
Connecting to ignition...Connection refused: too many users. Please try again later.
[mycar:~] bob% ignition
Connecting to ignition...Connection refused: too many users. Please try again later.

Damn you, Slashdot...

Re:A bientot, M. Server!

[deander2]

shouldn't that be:

bob% /etc/init.d/engine start
* Starting engined... [ ok ]

??? :-P

Re:A bientot, M. Server!

[cwernli]

It would probably be:

bob% /etc/init.d/engine start
engine: permission denied
bob%

Re:A bientot, M. Server!

[easter1916]

I'm amazed nobody has attacked you for using French in the subject of your post. I guess the "Freedom Fries" nonsense has finally lost its appeal. A la prochaine.

Re:A bientot, M. Server!

[Mr Guy]

That's FRENCH ?!?

GET HIM!

Re:A bientot, M. Server!

[Anonymous Coward]

Taunting the French got boring. Now we just ignore you retards.

Re:A bientot, M. Server!

[easter1916]

I'm not a Frenchman, although I used to play one on Slashdot to annoy fuckwits like you.

Ultimate Taxi

[stuffduff]

There's a taxi in Aspin Colorado called The Ultimate Taxi. He's been around for years and just keeps getting better.

Great for Traffic Jams

[zgwortz962]

Now *that* has got to be a great car to have in traffic jams. With just one click, Expose will move all the other cars out of your way...

Re:Great for Traffic Jams

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, it gives him a new reason to be late for work and miss meetings, on mornings such as this: "Sorry I'm late, you wouldn't believe the traffic.."

Re:Great for Traffic Jams

[zanderredux]

What about filesharing opportunities during traffic jams?

That would be awesome!

Re:Great for Traffic Jams

[NatasRevol]

Hell, share pr0n and create a traffic jam!

Requisite commentary...

[griffjon]

With wi-fi, does that mean you can see a beowulf cluster of these on any sufficiently packed freeway?

I'd post something of content, but the site is already severely /.ed...

Dude, where's my...

[Anonymous Coward]

...web server?

Re:Dude, where's my...

[infinite9]

Dude, you're getting Dell-orian

and finally

[b17bmbr]

where's the source tarball?

Clever, but...

[addie]

this kind of thing really frightens me. I play a game with my friends when we're driving down the local freeway... If a car is going slower than 100 km/h or is weaving a little bit, we bet on whether or not the driver is on a cell phone. The result? More often that not.

Do we need more distractions? Cars are for getting from A - B, and having the option to check email, the news, stock reports and hockey scores is just adding more distractions. Don't tell me that it's fine as long as the driver doesn't have access while the vehicle is in motion; the same dangers apply if a driver is distracted at a stop light. And kids watching SpongeBob in the back seat with the volume up, that's not distracting?

I just fear for my safety on the road is all. I can check my email when I get to work. Why is everyone in so much of a hurry?

Re:Clever, but...

[segmond]

Why does it frighten you? Did you even read the article? If you did, can you tell us what is so distracting? Everything there is an article about a car with a tech modification, someone like you is bound to post a lame reply like this just cuz you know that people who didn't read will bound to agree.

Go read the article.
http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?si d=93970&ci d=8066041

Re:Clever, but...

[entrigant]

BAH just spoil everybodies fun! :(

Re:Clever, but...

[addie]

No, I didn't read it because it was slashdotted. But regardless of the mod itself, I feel my point does stand on how cars are moving to more and more distracting features.

Thanks for the blunt, cold response.

Re:Clever, but...

[gl4ss]

If you're really driving for long stretches then something like that could be pretty good option to have. If your work is still 48hours of driving away are you really going to wait till then? using while driving of course hazardous as fuck, but you know, it's possible to have these 'pauses' when driving long distances(and then having some form of entertainment is really useful, you're not always sleepy - heck you might want to have more pauses just because you can watch that episode of buffy right there in the parking lot and don't need to hurry up home to see it).

you really can't make the car so that it would be impossible to have distractions, if nothing else then those assholes will read the newspaper while driving.

Re:Clever, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

> Cars are for getting from A - B

Where does it say that?

> I can check my email when I get to work.

And for people who live and work on the road?

> Why is everyone in so much of a hurry?

I've got a great 486 pc with a 200 mb hard drive I no longer need. Interested?

Re:Clever, but...

[dissy]

> No, I didn't read it because it was slashdotted. But regardless of the mod
> itself, I feel my point does stand on how cars are moving to more and more
> distracting features.

Assuming your car is newer than a 1920, or its not a VW, then you already HAVE a computer in your car that controls all of these things.
It's just as hidden away not in the pasenger compartment as this guys computer is.

If your going to blame this guy for being distracted, your equally as guilty for doing the same thing with the factory computer in your own car.

Re:Clever, but...

[kfg]

I've got a great 486 pc with a 200 mb hard drive I no longer need. Interested?

Shit yeah. Hand it over. I've got a Renault Dauphine that needs an upgrade.

KFG

Re:Clever, but...

[buttfuckinpimpnugget]

bullshit. How about a cop? My uncle is a Sherrif in Oregon. He has a laptop, cellphone (often nextel), handheld police band radio, pager, fire/ambulance radio, FM radio, lights, sirens, sometimes radar, and video camera's. That's not a distraction? A cellphone or laptop aint shit compared to all that. Point is, there are always distractions around us, video billboards, kids, food, an accident at the side of the road. Driving is dangerous, act accordingly.

Re:Clever, but...

[tsangc]

How about a cop?

A cop has a need for all these devices for his job, which is to protect the public. He needs the laptop to lookup potential criminals, the radios to keep in touch when a crime or accident is reported.

You on the other hand, are not a law enforcement officer or emergency worker.

Re:Clever, but...

[Monkelectric]

If your going to blame this guy for being distracted, your equally as guilty for doing the same thing with the factory computer in your own car.

Do you work for the bush administration? I swear I've hard this dogma before :)

Re:Clever, but...

[zzendpad]

What in god's holy name are you blathering about??

Except in some very, very rare instances, the vast majority of cars lacked an ECU until the late 70s or so. Only after the late 80s did the ECU really begin to commonly control timing and fuel delivery in the majority of vehicles. My dad's got a 1990 isuzu pickup, inline four, carburetted, points and condensors, manual tranny, what exactly is a computer controlling here? The only computer controlled system I know of on that vehicle is the ABS, and it hasn't worked since '93...

yes this is OT. i'm not anti in-dash computing or anything...

Re:Clever, but...

[Oliver Defacszio]

And, cops are taught how to drive in stressful situations and with a bunch of things happening at once.

I'd much, much rather have a cop beside me on the phone than some child-factory in Noah's Ark with wheels.

iCar

[postworek]

Apple wants to build with their new iCar his own car-imperium. As always - Apple is first in this kind of stuff.

Re:iCar

[DrLZRDMN]

they did, heres the pic
icar

Oh the joy of mashocistly slashdotting my own sight

how sad

[Anonymous Coward]

totally fucking lame

TOO FAST, TOO FURIOUS

[Anonymous Coward]

bum bum bum nigga whaaAAATT?! fo sho

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[TonyZahn]

I've heard of hacks to force the brushed metal or Aqua look onto certain apps, what this guys needs it a way to force the "wood" look in GarageBand onto everything (I wonder if that's a new OS interface option or just specific to GarageBand).

Time for some bad unix puns?

[Viol8]

I bet he really shelled out for that system. Mind you , all the software should help him thread his way through traffic driven by the usual zombies
and the GPS will help with those confusing forks() in the road which can be very awk-ward sometimes. I don't imagine his passengers will have normal regular expression when they get in the car for the first time
but I'm sure he'll mktime() to explain it all to them.

SLASHDOTTING MAKES BABY JESUS FUCK

[Anonymous Coward]

HERE'S THE FIRST PAGE, YOU SHIT EATING ASS GOBLINS:

.. / Informace / Poitae V edici MujMac vyslo: NOVINKA: MacOS X krok za krokemII Novy, rozsahlejsi, aktualnjsi a komplexnjsi pvodni esky manual pro Mac OS X. Naute se rozumt svemu operanimu systemu ve verzi Jaguar. MacOS X Shell krok za krokem Kniha je nepostradatelnou pirukou pro kazdeho uzivatele operaniho systemu Mac OS X, ktery chce svemu poitai adn porozumt a nauit se jej lepe vyuzivat. Digitalni video krok za krokem Mate kameru, nebo si ji chcete koupit? Samozejm ze ano, vzdy prace s videem je ohromna zabava. A mate Maca? A stihate video na nm? Pak pro vas bude tato kniha idealnim prvodcem. Objednejte si zasilani e-mailoveho zpravodajstvi o novinkach na nasem serveru - denn nebo tydn, podle toho co vam vyhovuje. Tatra Mac G4 - fastest Mac on the four wheels? Autor: Jii Jirout Publikovano: 22.01.2004 Rubrika: Poitae [Note from editor: this is first and only English article on our server - it's translation of article published in June 2003 with some updates. Feel free to ask your questions in discussion on the end of article.] eskou verzi lanku mzete nalezt zde. Few words about Tatra Although not as known as many other car manufacturers, Tatra is actually the second oldest automobile company in the world (with only Daimler being older). It was established in 19th century and throughout the years came with many innovations, that helped to change many things in the industry. Just one example, probably quite surprising: the famous VW Beetle was "inspired" by certain streamline Tatra cars (V570, T97) so much, that Volkswagen had to pay few millions of D-Marks to Tatra as a compensation for patent violations. During 1930 and 1940, Tatra created several amazing cars, like T77, T87, T97 and trucks like T111. After the communist revolution in 1948, Tatra specialized mostly in truck production and the passenger cars were only manufactured in very limited numbers to be used by ruling elite. T603 was produced between 1958 and 1975 and the T613 (designed by Vignale) was produced between 1974 and 1996. A picture for those who still think Jaguar is a big car :-) - Click on any photo to get hi-res in new window! I must admit, I have loved Tatra's since I was a little boy. My father used to work as chaffeur for one of local bosses and I spent a lot of time on the rear seat of a T603 when I was three or four years old. Later, as a student I owned one of T603s myself. For few years I move to more practical cars for few years (Honda Civic and Volvo 480 to be exact), but what my Dutch friends call a Tatra-virus was still deep inside me. So when I stared to work in Holland and needed a comfortable car for almost-monthly trips to Czech republic, Tatra was very high on my list of choices. After two or three months I found one in good condition and I did not hesitate a minute. Exterior picture of T613-4 Mi Long My car is one of later T613s, produced in summer 1993 for Frankfurt auto show (and not actually used much after that). It is a T613-4Mi Long version (M=power steering, i=multi-point injection, long = wheelbase 3150mm instead of standard 3000mm). A sedan, larger than Mercedes Benz S-Klasse, with 3.5 litre V8 air cooled engine (200HP, 300 NM), mounted above the rear axle. It was originally an "Elektronik" version, which means all the controls were fully digital with several computers (including one for voice output) and parts communicating with each other using CAN-bus. (Hi, Volvo guys, your S80 was by far not the first one, would you correct your advertising materials please?) This equipment was later removed (by factory) and replaced by more traditional standard wiring, but at the moment I have decided to buy it, I was already sure that a computer must come back. And so it did - I started to work on my installation in summer 2002 and by Christmas, I had a working installation. Why? The basic two reasons that led me to the installation of the computer were the replacement of CD changer by an MP3 player and a naviga

'carputer' in the states...

[Anonymous Coward]

My highschool buddy has been doing this for a while now to a couple different cars - check out http://ashleypowers.com/

hm,

[arabagast]

I wonder if he has some sort of speech synthesizing.. Then, if i painted it black, it would be the ultimate NightRider mod :P (He needs some flashing red leds to, to accompagny the voice) *metalic voice*:W h a t c a n I d o f o r y o u k i n d s i r ?
Dood: The shopping mall please.
*metalic voice*: I a m s o r r y, d a v....d o o d, I c a n n o t d o t h a t.

-D0h, where did I put my keyboard ?

New(Old) Meaning

[Manassas]

Gives a whole new(old) meaning to the term: "It crashed on me."

Re:New(Old) Meaning

[Manassas]

Of course, it IS a Mac and I've heard that they NEVER crash! Maybe that's really why he did it!

Slashdotting...

[Guano_Jim]

...czech.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Anonymous Coward]

man it must be major suckage to have the most expensive computer in the world, but you cannot change the fucking desktop colors hahahahahahaaha

Racing Sim

[PurdueGraphicsMan]

Now, the first thing I thought of when I heard this was Racing Simulation. If he could find an open field and put in his favorite racing sim he could actually drive his car around and use his steering wheel as the controller. That would be sweet. Of course you'd want to have a stationary mode as well. It'd probably be better than most of the force feedback wheels.

Re:Racing Sim

[WinterpegCanuck]

This might show my not so geeky origins (unlike some, I was not conceived at a star trek convention. . . actually, I don't think any one has) but have you ever tried flooring it on an open field of any sort? I was born in Manitoba (yes, we use TCP/OCP) and prairies is something we have plenty of. Unless it used to be an old airport (which makes a great drag strip) or you have a second mortgage to pay for your suspension, it would be a tough mimic of a race way, even baha. And besides, if you have found a place big enough to let you play the simulation, why not turn off the computer and use the realistically rendered graphics of the windshield. Hell, call up a couple friends and get some almost decent AI for the competitors.

Slashdotted, already?

[jabber01]

It seems his webserver has even less horsepower than that Tatra.

The first thing that pops to mind

[Cleon]

"Holy sweltering penguins! Someone's using Windows!"

"To the Geekmobile!"

Cocoa in the "embedded" world?

[MurrayTodd]

It sounds like a brilliant idea. I'm almost surprised I'd never thought of that before. I'm always hearing discussion of which OS to use for "embedded" projects (in that I mean things outside the standard ordinary PC computer.)

Ever since coming out as the basis for the NeXT computer over 15 years ago, the objective-c based NeXTSTEP/OpenSTEP/Cocoa framework has been touted as one of the most amazingly powerful that a person can develop in. In the old NeXT days I remember hearing the [informal] statement that one programmer up to speed with NeXTSTEP could do the work of about 10 normal programmers. I took that with a grain of salt until I started trying to write some simple apps for the first time in OS X's cocoa.

It is so easy and refreshing in ways I couldn't express with worlds! Writing anything in C++ anymore makes me want to pull my hair out. Sadly, it [objective-c & Cocoa] is still rather obscure. But it would be such a wonderful world if we got to see a renaissance? FINALLY the GNUStep project is beginning to approach a level of usability. If embedded applications started to become a reality...

Oh, that's about as silly a pipe dream as hoping Howard Dean becomes President!

Re:Cocoa in the "embedded" world?

[Anonymous Meoward]

Actually, I've been thinking about this quite a bit recently, or at least a related topic: what object-oriented language works best in an embedded environment?

My first answer is "none", as embedded systems usually have more stringent requirements for speed and size. Also, most embedded programmers I know cannot do object-oriented programming well, even without the constraints I just described. (I could relate quite a few horror stories about that EE who just learned C++ and was let loose upon an unsuspecting source base. Nightmare for the brave, that.)

The top two choices are C++ and Java. I have bones to pick with each. C++ is ridiculously complex, and isn't even a real OO language, what with the crappy extensions provided for run-time type identification. At best, C++ is object-based, and tries to use very abstruse strategies (such as templating) for generic programming.

Furthermore, many of the language's idioms rely on exception handling. However, throwing an exception in an embedded system is usually a no-no due to speed constraints; embedded programmers prefer to have control over the flow of execution, and are loath to trusting opaque run-time management of any kind. And of course, exceptions are off-limits in device drivers.

Java has its own problems with the requirement of a virtual machine. The C++ run-time is too small to allow for rapid application development, but Java goes to the other extreme entirely. Admittedly, I know very little about Java's use in the embedded space, but how exactly is garbage collection controlled in the embedded world? How do Embedded Java systems avoid, for example, missing a device interrupt for the sake of cleaning house?

Objective-C seems to be just the right mix: real object-orientation, backwards compatibility with C, and a very small run-time library to support its extra functionality. And it's a breeze to learn, especially when compared to the other choices.

So has anyone thought of using Obj-C in an embedded system? Is it a viable, attractive alternative?

Re:Cocoa in the "embedded" world?

[Matthias Wiesmann]

Actually, there is some guy who forked out of the Gnustep project with the goal of building an embedded version of the OpenStep API, his project is called mGSTEP. Judging from the frequent updates on his project, it seems quite active.

Re:Cocoa in the "embedded" world?

[oaklybonn]

>> So has anyone thought of using Obj-C in an embedded system? Is it a viable, attractive alternative?

Objective-C would not be a good language for embedded development. Embedded applications need as much static type checking and validation as possible. Embedded developers don't even like using function pointers, let alone dynamic dispatching.

I agree that it is a nice language, but I wouldn't want to receive a selector not bound exception when I need to turn right in my car...

Re:Cocoa in the "embedded" world?

[HeyLaughingBoy]

Embedded developers don't even like using function pointers

Hmm????? What do you base this on? I'm a big believer in function pointers when polymorphism isn't appropriate and all my *professional* development is on embedded systems of one kind or another.
I'm really curious why you think that's the case.

Re:Cocoa in the "embedded" world?

[oaklybonn]

I basically agree that static polymorphism is OK (eg C++ classes) but dynamic function pointer assignment can be lead to programmers errors that can only be discovered at runtime. I'm trying to track down a copy of the MISRA C spec, which describes this some more, but not having much luck...

Been done.

[Corvus9]

Lots of techies have decked out their cars with computer-controlled GPS, audio, entertainment, trip planning, and such.

For example, some guy named Wally Rodriguez built a similar Mac-based system.

Re:Been done.

[joshmccormack]

I'd like to deck my car out with a computer driven dashboard, so I could get data like truckers or mechanics can get.

My AM radio tunes in NPR just fine. I don't need a jukebox or movies or what not. I want data on engine temperature (not that stupid dial), maybe even in different spots, fluid levels, maybe even ways of checking hose, belt and part functioning.

Of course, with modern cars (which for me means anything in the last 10 years or so!) you can do some of this with a palm pilot or pocket pc, the right cable, and software. Not sure to what extent, though.

I predict

[Anonymous Coward]

that someone will bitch and moan about the car only having one pedal, and someone else saying it doesn't matter, because its much easier for new drivers to use.

Slashdot effect

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot should really consider mirroring the sites.

Just like a Mac user....

[FatSean]

Adds nothing to actual funcioning of the car, save the stuff he added on.

Re:Just like a Mac user....

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe that's because most Mac users are more intelligent than you.

Adds nothing but what it adds?

That's just an assinine comment.

Slashdotted...

[PatrickThomson]

Oh great, now a slashdotting will take out a large section of highway

iPod

[dimer0]

I don't care about all this stuff.. I just want a real audio deck that you can plug your ipod into. (Sorta like inserting a cartridge, just slam the ipod into the device and have it 'dock' with the stereo)..

Now THAT is the ultimate car audio solution. Ahh

Re:iPod

[Anonymous Coward]

Alpine has announced they will have iPod-ready units this summer.

Re:iPod

[Raleel]

ya, but they will jsut have an external jack, not like he's talking about (i've wanted the same thing. It would effectively make the head unit worthless without the ipod)

Re:iPod

[tgd]

Alpine's coming out with one later this year. You don't slam it into the head unit, but when you plug the iPod in, its control and display get transferred to the head unit.

Re:iPod

[jhoffoss]

I want this paired with an LCD with an input for a kismet display, DVD capability, (either internal to the deck or with the PC) and GPS/nav support.

Good thing I just got a new [well-paying] job :)

Re:iPod

[debugdave]

Just run a headphone jack cable out of the aux jacks on the back of your deck and run it through the glove box or something. Im sure the Alpine deck will be kick ass, but you will still have a cord running from the iPod to your deck. I would rather it be coming out of the back of the deck personally.

Dave

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[smithsfan]

WTF?!?!? If I'm understanding this correctly, you people seem to think that one can only have a BLUE (Aqua) colored desktop on a MacOS X computer? That is f&%*ing ridiculous! Of course you can change the color of a Mac's desktop. Mine is currently grey, but lately it has been red, orange and green. Also, MacOS X has a pretty neat desktop slideshow feature that is a minor obsession of mine. You can rotate through all of the photos in a folder (well, they fade in and out) on your desktop over a specified time period. For me, it's every 5 seconds, and it's random. I find myself spending an alarmming amount of time on Google Image Search finding pics to add to my slideshow folder. (Can this be done in XP?)

tatra?

[Anonymous Coward]

WTF is a tatra?!?

-DB

Re:tatra?

[easter1916]

A make of car, obviously. Google for it.

Re:tatra?

[chunkwhite86]

WTF is a tatra?!?

You must live in Alabama or West Virginia.

A Tatra is a Czech car. They've been making cars for over 100 years.

Here are some production figures for the country's various auto brands. FYI Skoda is now owned by Volkswagen.

Re:tatra?

[Anonymous Coward]

You must live in Alabama or West Virginia.

Why would any American care to know about a Czech auto manufacturer that made 500 vehicles over the course of a decade? (per your link)

If it was a nice car, American's may notice. But that thing appears to have been styled by remedial Soviet industrial sheet metal fabricators.

Re:tatra?

[back_pages]

You must live in Alabama or West Virginia.

Or simply North America.

I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I honestly can't understand why people think that the rest of the world is so damn relevant to Americans. It's thousands of miles away, it has no industry that we don't do ourselves in some fashion, and for the last 50 years we've been exporting our culture, not importing theirs. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but the simple fact is that aside from personal curiosity, there isn't much reason for the typical American to have any idea what a Tatra is or keep up to date with the current events on the other side of the planet. I don't think it's a great situation, but there it is.

Re:tatra?

[kfg]

. . . it has no industry that we don't do ourselves in some fashion, and for the last 50 years we've been exporting our culture, not importing theirs.

Yeah, our Honda Civic (98% American made, and proud of it) is considered one of the finest small cars in the world.

KFG

Re:tatra?

[Anonymous Coward]

The smell of ignorance ...

Re:tatra?

[chunkwhite86]

I'm not trying to be arrogant, but I honestly can't understand why people think that the rest of the world is so damn relevant to Americans. It's thousands of miles away, it has no industry that we don't do ourselves in some fashion, and for the last 50 years we've been exporting our culture, not importing theirs. I'm not trying to be arrogant, but the simple fact is that aside from personal curiosity, there isn't much reason for the typical American to have any idea what a Tatra is or keep up to date with the current events on the other side of the planet. I don't think it's a great situation, but there it is.

Agreed that Americans don't need do keep up with foreign events/culture/industry because America is a large producer itself.

Some people do however choose to broaden their horizons and realize that Americans are less then 10% of the earth's human population, and there is a LOT more out there than can be found in the US.

In addition, the US does manufacture just about everything there is to make, however, much of it is not very high quality compared to what other nations can produce. Cars for example - The US has nothing that can even compete with a $140,000 Mercedes CL600 in the super-luxury class. Or a $200,000 Ferrari 360 in the sports car class. Food is another example. Have you ever eaten at a small town cafe in the south of France? The food is like heaven. The only places that produce exceptional meals in the US are $100 per plate uber expensive restaurants. Or how about clothing? No one will dispute that Italy is the king of clothing fashion and design.

The point is, that sure you can have an American made product for every good you desire - but it's probably something better to be had if you open your mind and venture outside your US "security blanket".

Re:tatra?

[chunkwhite86]

Oh yeah, and the Swiss. No one can argue that the Swiss aren't the best watch makers in the world.

Or that the Japanese aren't the best electronics manufacturers in the world.

So in conclusion, it is ignorant to think that just because it isn't made or sold in the US, that it is irrlevant.

Re:tatra?

[back_pages]

I'm not arguing with any of the great points about excellent goods and culture coming from outside the states - to do so would be absurd.

But to the vast, vast majority of Americans, it IS irrelevant. They aren't interested and they don't regret missing out on those things. Then when one of us does say, "WTF is a tatra?" (complete with implied arrogance/apathy toward the rest of the world) people act like you have to be a really dumb American to not know. No, you have to be a really interested American to know.

I happened to discover that my favorite food in the entire world is Shanghai dumplings, and my first experience with that style was in Shanghai. I'm always an advocate of exploring the world, but the fact remains that for most Americans, the rest of the world couldn't have a smaller direct impact on their lives.

Re:tatra?

[chunkwhite86]

But to the vast, vast majority of Americans, it IS irrelevant. They aren't interested and they don't regret missing out on those things. Then when one of us does say, "WTF is a tatra?" (complete with implied arrogance/apathy toward the rest of the world) people act like you have to be a really dumb American to not know. No, you have to be a really interested American to know.

Ok, That makes sense. I can agree with that.

From a purely pragmatic point of view though, it does seem pretty dumb to not know or care about what the other five billion humans on this planet are doing. I suppose that if someone finds a Big Mac to be acceptable as food, they wouldn't care one bit about Shanghai dumplings.

Re:tatra?

[sreid]

But that thing appears to have been styled by remedial Soviet industrial sheet metal fabricators.

and the k car would be?

Re:tatra?

[hurfy]

hehe, thousands of miles away from america? Heck most people dont know what the car in my driveway is because they were only imported for a while :( Opel Manta (A for you euros, we only got one model) btw I would be shocked if ANYONE here knew what Tatra was... on the other hand it is fairly easy to check nowdays.

Re:tatra?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ferrari 360?

I think Saleen would probably disagree regarding our inability to compete with that...

Re:tatra?

[Anonymous Coward]

Welp, I guess I won't be buying any more Civics, now that Clem has got his chaw-stained fingers into them. With all the 'Murcan influence in foreign cars these days, it's no wonder that the days of Volvo 240 or 70s Toyota Corolla reliability are long passed.

This is depressing -- it's like hearing that your sister is a whore.

Re:tatra?

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean the same Saleen that whored itself out to the "Fucking 'Stang" crowd?

Ferrari is doing no boot-shaking, I'm sure.

Re:tatra?

[Oliver Defacszio]

The main problem I, and many other non-Americans, have with this shortsightedness that you're discussing is this -- the same Americans who care the least about looking past the tip of their noses are the ones who tend to be the most egotistical about their country. The fact is this -- America is certainly an economic superpower, but has never been known for producing "The Best" of anything (for a whole host of reasons). Need examples? Sure --

Let's go buy a sports car!
You want performance? You'll buy a Mustang.
You want the best performance? You'll buy a Ferrari or a Porsche.

Let's go buy some home theater speakers!
You want performance? You'll buy Bose.
You want the best performance? You'll buy B&W.

No, I want a luxury car.
You want performance? You'll buy a Cadillac.
You want the best performance? You'll buy a Benz or a BMW.

There are countless others.

Basically, those Americans who don't care to look outside that box should, logically, keep their mouths shut because they are woefully uninformed to what's actually out there. Instead, I get to hear about how "NASCAR is the most demanding auto-sport in the world," because the gum-flapper in question has never heard of Dakar, LeMans or WRC.

Frankly, I really believe that this is what gives rise to much of the US bashing that goes on in every country but the US. It's not the ego, it's the uninformed ego. In situations where the US has legitimately developed "The Best" of something (space exploration machines, for example), then, please, brag until the cows come home. Otherwise, have a look around before making any claims.

Now, since this comment is admittedly uncomplimentary to the US, despite being very honestly written, flame on.

Re:tatra?

[Anonymous Coward]

>>Have you ever eaten at a small town cafe in the south of France? The food is like heaven. The only places that produce exceptional meals in the US are $100 per plate uber expensive restaurants.

Yes and I can tell you the food in the south of Spain is head and shoulders above it. And further south in Morocco is even better, for quite a bit less. But you wouldn't know because you apparently have all kinds of preconceived notions about which countries produce which 'best' products.

BTW there are plenty of great places to eat in the US that compare with south of France quality, for similar prices. You just have to search for them someplace other than a bunch of tired, recycled cliches.

Re:tatra?

[betis70]

>>he fact is this -- America is certainly an economic superpower, but has never been known for producing "The Best" of anything (for a whole host of reasons).

and then later

>> In situations where the US has legitimately developed "The Best" of something (space exploration machines, for example), then, please, brag until the cows come home.

So, which is it?

Completely agree about your car info, though Mustangs have never been considered sports cars by anyone. Every car magazine calls the Corvette "America's Only sports car" and I agree.

Not sure which is the best auto-sport in the world, but WRC makes my top 5 for driver skill. NASCAR takes a different kind of skill, one which I find rather boring, so I don't watch. Still hard to believe Petter came back to win.

Don't know anything about stereos.

Re:tatra?

[back_pages]

Blues, jazz, hip hop, rap. Independent Film. Western genre of the lone hero. The Boeing 747. The stealth bomber and both stealth fighters. Californian wine. Disney World. Hundreds of world class universities that educate huge numbers of foreign students. IBM, Sun, Intel, AMD, Microsoft (for better or for worse, but hey world domination is world domination), Google, eBay, Amazon. Horse breeding. Harley-Davidson. Fender, Gibson, and Marshall. Customized automobiles of Southern California. Baseball. Players from the Russian Super League typically come to the NHL, not the other way around. No shortage of Olympic gold. Saved France's ass in WW2. Gave huge assistance to England during the same. Played a major role in saving Berlin from starvation post-WW2. Bled in Serbia and Somalia trying to end violence in civil wars. Space exploration experience, space telescope, Mars rover, lunar landings, every Voyager, every Viking, every Pioneer. Palo Alto Research Center.

And really, that took about 5 minutes. What bothers the rest of the world is that there has never been a super power in history with more independence than America. We've had a relatively isolated cultural experience over the last 400 years and we've done a hell of a lot of "impossible" tasks while the rest of the world ranted about how important it is. If it's so important, why are American people more and more ignorant about it while our country grows more and more influential? America started out as colonies meant for exploitation and now the Old World is increasingly frightened of being exploited at the hands of the United States.

The United States is one of the youngest countries on the face of the planet. If we're so second rate, what the HELL has the rest of the world been doing for the last 400-4000 years? North Korea can barely feed its own people, China is struggling to avoid ending up like the Soviet Union, and all I hear from Europe is how America is a bad influence. I can't even fathom how that makes sense to the speaker - America is the epitome of a success story.

And we're not popular because nobody likes a show off. It's like that, ya'll.

It's not Slashdotted

[MattGWU]

He just drove into a tunnel.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Anonymous Coward]

ain't talking about the desktop, sport, we be talking about the theme color, you know, the way the buttons are blue and the scroll bars are blue and all that

What's the point?

[spidergoat2]

Any computer installed in a car that doesn't access the cars onboard diagnostic computer seems like a waste. Realtime data from the car should be available to the operator.

Re:What's the point?

[fodder69]

Uh, isn't that what the dashboard with all the gauges is for?

But yes, it should which is why my VW Passat wagon with a PC in the trunk playing oggs through the head unit does connect to the VW diagnostic port(kinda inelegant hanging out of the dash but). Of course since the software for it only runs on windows (my car runs linux, of course) I haven't got it to really do anything yet. One of these days I'll add that in, but debugging my custom mp3 playing software (using mpd as the player) and internet connection is taking all my time.

For what it's worth, I have run a USB cable up to the front to connect my pda which I can use to access video files and such I have copied over the 802.11 connection from my car to my home network.

So yes, I can ssh to my car from my desk, MUHAHAHAHA........

Re:What's the point?

[spidergoat2]

Interesting. I have a Passat Wagon as well, (er, wifes car). I noticed that when the emmissions test was done, the tech just plugged into the port under the dash. I know that it's possible to get that data, and you make my point. This guy was playing MP3s with his computer. Why wasn't he collecting diagnostic data as well? I just don't have the time to cobble together a collection device. As many cars as are out there, the stuff should be off the shelf by now.

Re:What's the point?

[fodder69]

A little off topic, but you can buy a tool from ross-tech.com and other places to connect to the serial port on a laptop to do your own diagnostic checking. In the DC area it saves me a whole lot of time and money waiting on appointments at the mechanics...

Fizzzz....

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope he's not hosting this site out of his car...

Resale value...

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder what the blue book value will be in 2 year...

The ultimate?

[jon3k]

Not even close ...

Megacar

All that work...

[karmaflux]

...and you still can't right-click.

New modus operandi for thieves?

[djeaux]

Does this mean that a smart thief no longer needs to smash in a window? Will they now be able to wirelessly hack the Mac & have the car just unlock its doors?

Speaking of hacking automobile computers, my lowly 2003 GMC SLE pickup has an "entertainment center" that has some Driver Information Center functions that I can't display, because I didn't pay extra for the deluxe SLT package (which has the control buttons). I think it would be cool if someone fixed up a "hardware hack" that would let me add a keypad so I could call up all the additional data on the dashboard display...

Re:New modus operandi for thieves?

[lucifuge31337]

I think it would be cool if someone fixed up a "hardware hack" that would let me add a keypad so I could call up all the additional data on the dashboard display...

I hardware hack can be found ni places called junk yards. While the bulk of /. wouldn't even know where to start looking form something like this, you can find them most everywhere. Start calling and looked for a wrecked SLT, wipe the blood off the control buttons, remove, install in your truck.

There are even sites where you can request a search for the parts you are looking for from many participating junkyards.

Re:New modus operandi for thieves?

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem with the junkyard solution is that the airbag, being in the middle of the steering wheel, tends to destroy the buttons. At least, if you have to wipe the blood off the buttons, there's a high probability that the buttons aren't very firmly attached to the wheel any more...

One of my vehicles was totalled by the insurance adjuster based largely on the damage done to the dash, windshield & electronics when the airbags deployed.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[someonehasmyname]

You can easily change the aqua buttons, tabs, scroll bars, etc. to what ever color you'd like.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, yes, you can change that to grey, and if you download shapeshifter, you can use all sorts of themes.

Colors?

[Anonymous Coward]

What is this, Trading Spaces?

One minor problem, in my eyes...

[Luckboy]

Did anyone else notice that it takes 1 minute 20 seconds to boot his car? Granted there are cities where you can get booted in under a minute for illegal parking, but I digress...

Total time for me to plug in my iPod and hit play: 10 secs. In-dash GPS? Turns on with the car.

I know that this is a minor nitpick, and it's truly an admirable geek project. He may have even saved a couple bucks from buying off the shelf. Does this really work any better than the store bought equivalents?

Re:One minor problem, in my eyes...

[cloudmaster]

I've got a linux powered (cyrix 6x86 on a fic va-503+) computer in my Caprice that goes from power off to playing mp3s (and displaying on a Matrix Orbital vacuum-fluorescent display) in about 17 seconds (and it's been in there for over 4 years now). I imagine it'd take longer to load up a GUI, but it seems that it might have been worth learning some other language and programming toolkit rather than the MacOS just for the bootup speed increase alone...

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Anonymous Coward]

aren't you the idiot? we're talking about widget colors here. That's pretty fucking pathetic that you can't change the widget set.

And sure, you can do a slideshow with the wallpaper in Windows, selecting how often you want the pic to change. I did that when I was using Win98, using some software. You might be able to do it with Active Desktop or something.

With X you can do whatever you want with the wallpaper. Back in 1995 people were running programs that have animated graphics (starfield simulation, rotating globe, etc) as their background (not as a screensaver).

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[sammy baby]

The grandparent post is correct, up to a point. Although you can obviously change the desktop background image, the colors of interface elements (the brushed-metal apperance of Safari or iTunes, or the plain white of most other applications like Mail.app), along with other UI chrome (like the color of hilited buttons) is not available for change by the user.

Of course, using a basic install of WinXP, it's not particularly changeable either, barring downloading third party tools.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[gorfie]

Gotta love the slideshow functionality. A good one for PC is ACDSee. You can have multiple instances so you can view $x slideshows at once, it's great for... um... yeah, you know. :D

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Pope]

http://swizcore.com/SS/macOSX.php

Looks like themes to me, boss.

wow!

[deviantonline]

wow, that is one neat setup! i can only imagine how much time he devoted to that!

never heard of those cars before either - the things that one can learn from slashdot!

Branch it out

[sharkey]

Hopefully, this will benefit more than just cars. Strides in automotive technology have improved many other aspects of our lives.

And with a single blow...

[EmagGeek]

The entire country of The Czech Republic disappears from the Internet completely...

If ever the US wanted to start a Cyber Attack, they would certainly know what to do.. post it on Slashdot!

I think you are thinking of 'Xgrid-lock'...

[ErnstKompressor]

...and don't get me started on the potential problems of 'threading' through traffic and the ever-present danger of 'race conditions'...

*bows*

Re:I think you are thinking of 'Xgrid-lock'...

[Anonymous Coward]

Shit, you owe me a new monitor (my Model M survived)! 17", generic brand (RIC, I think), capable of 1280x1024@60Hz (and I'm running at that, and it hurts my eyes!)

creative

[nizz]

now make a car out of a mac =X

California?

[q-the-impaler]

Better not drive this car in California. It's a ticket waiting to happen!

Re:California?

[ayahner]

1) it's not a notebook 2) it's not in america 3) it can be used in the backseat 4) in california, knowing all that doesn't help when you have to give half of it to your wife in a divorce.

Re:California?

[joke-boy]

"It's not a notebook" doesn't matter, nor does "it can be used in the backseat". The California law prohibits any display screen forward of the driver (even if only visible to the passenger-side) capable of showing a television signal, a video signal, or another signal for entertainment purposes (including DVD players). His system would only be legal in California if it automatically turned off whenever the ignition was started.

But points 2 and 4 are still valid...

Re:California?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you RTFA you would know that the law excepts navagational aids.

Housing

[Midnight Thunder]

Must admit that I find that the motherboard housing is done with more taste than some of the PC mods I have seen around recently. - Just my 5c

See More @ mp3car.com

[GoRK]

This guy's setup is pretty nicely done. It's the first decent Macintosh one I've seen -- it's all in the software, and this fellow has done a quality job.

There are some really impressive installations out there. You can see a lot of them on the mp3car.com finished project board. In case anyone is curious, this is my installation.

~GoRK

Re:See More @ mp3car.com

[srvivn21]

From your link:

2) Replace the GAIN/Xenarc panel with a Lilliput screen. 250 nits is absolutely not bright enough in the daytime even with tinted windows no matter what anyone tells you -- unless you live in Alaska where there are many months of darkness.

Don't forget, this means several months of light in the summers. :o) They don't call it the "Land of the Midnight Sun" for nothing...

Nice install BTW.

Re:See More @ mp3car.com

[GoRK]

Yeah I thought about that when I wrote it, but felt that deleting the lame joke would have been too much effort. Thanks for the compliment on the installation -- it was a lot of work :)

A reply to all atheists!

[djeaux]

If a car is going slower than 100 km/h or is weaving a little bit, we bet on whether or not the driver is on a cell phone. The result? More often that not.

Picture this: You're cruising down the interstate, doing maybe 5 over the limit when a school bus sized SUV blasts by you. There is a woman in the driver's seat -- almost invariably these ought-to-require-commercial-licenses vehicles are driven by females -- and she's holding a cellphone to her ear with one hand & is facing backwards slapping the mucus out of a rugrat with the other hand.

You drive for miles down the road, expecting to see the burnt-out hulk of that SUV in the median, but you never see any evidence of a wreck.

I take this as proof that there is a higher power that looks out for fools...

Re:A reply to all atheists!

[Monkeybaister]

Nah, I just think it's everyone else looking out for themselves. Not everyone drives so badly and those people are looking out for someone who is.

Does he park his car in an airport??

[Botchka]

gah...i got nuttin..

I said it before...

[BeProf]

I'll say it again.

Am I the only person left in the world who:

• uses his cell-phone just for talking to people?
• uses his car just to get from A to B?

Re:I said it before...

[notbob]

Yes... thats soo 1998.

Cars are more then transport, trains are transport.

Cars are death traps and financial revenue generators for the government and drainers for the owner.

Talk about a great idea, its the perfect money funnel and it can even kill you!

Proud owner of 5 money suckers + 1 wife.

Re:I said it before...

[Anonymous Coward]

YES! Now fuck off!

Re:I said it before...

[zaren]

I've got you one better, Prof:

I don't have a cell-phone, so I don't even use one to talk to people.

My car is strictly a "get from point A to point B" device, though. Just me, my car, and a pile of old cassette tapes. No CD, no DVD, no XM, no GPS, just AM/FM/cassette goodness.

Re:I said it before...

[corsec67]

Yeah?
Well, I don't even have a radio in my car. Just me and the Engine, and I like it that way.

reset button positioning

[webdev]

Great install. I give this carmac project 9 out of 10.

only -1 for the position of the reset buttons (upper left towards the open space in the trunk). They need to be on the dash, or enclosed in the trunk.

-brady

Re:reset button positioning

[Contact]

-1 for the position of the reset buttons (upper left towards the open space in the trunk). They need to be on the dash, or enclosed in the trunk.

Nah... modern macs are close to bulletproof. I'm running 10.2.6 on a G4/400 (similar to this guy) and I honestly don't think I've hit the reset button since I installed, despite the machine being on 24/7, usually running a good dozen apps.

Re:reset button positioning

[Contact]

Doh - just realised, your point about putting them on the dash was about not hitting them accidentally, not "ease of access"... my apologies. Although I'd still say that on these machines the best solution would probably be to disconnect the reset buttons entirely.

ATI Remote Wonder Mac Edition

[CaptCanuk]

I'd have suggested mounting the Remote Wonder instead of those other buttons. It's RF based with amazing range and the Mac Software is excellent and customizable down to the app. Plus, if he had made a small mount for it on the dashboard, it could be passed around to the people in the backseats to control the audio as well.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Anonymous Coward]

(p.s. I love the picture of the four programmers entering Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Notice how the front door is even Aqua blue?)

huh? The doors at Apple are glass.

WTF is your problem

[Anonymous Coward]

You must live in Alabama or West Virginia.

Yeah, everyone in the south is ignorant about foreign car manufacturers, so parent poster must be somewhere from the south. Stuck up yankee dumb ass.

Re:WTF is your problem

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, everyone in the south is ignorant about foreign car manufacturers

No - theyre ignorant about EVERYTHING. The deep south is the great white trash wasteland where the town scholar is the guy who actually completed his GED.

Are you that guy?

Re:WTF is your problem

[Anonymous Coward]

No - theyre ignorant about EVERYTHING. The deep south is the great white trash wasteland where the town scholar is the guy who actually completed his GED.

I take it you don't travel very much, there are some very successful and intelligent people in the south, and while I agree there's a lot of white trash people in the south, there's also a hell of a lot of other places in the US that are "white trash wastelands" (certain parts of Detroit and Philadelphia come to mind).

Get out of your mother's basement and see the world for your self, instead of from TV and /. Are you that guy?

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Anonymous Coward]

Have you ever heard the term "Active Desktop"? Resoundingly despised, it is. Most people hate shit like that on the desktop.

Well, if he can afford a Mac....

[Anonymous Coward]

'nuff said.

Not this cleanly

[tiktokfx]

This Czech has done something similar, but approximately 10x more elegant and well-thought-out.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[rocket97]

You can rotate through all of the photos in a folder (well, they fade in and out) on your desktop over a specified time period. For me, it's every 5 seconds, and it's random. I find myself spending an alarmming amount of time on Google Image Search finding pics to add to my slideshow folder. (Can this be done in XP?)

ummmm yes

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/experiences/dow nloads/create_powertoy.asp

stoeled!?

[neko9]

oh my gosh! did that guy noticed that his engine is stoeled?!!

You are not a parent

[PetoskeyGuy]

Ha! Compare the distractions of kids in the back watching SpongeBob to kids in the back who are *NOT* watching SpongeBob.

You should get a tinge of fear every time you get close to a mini-van and realize how much the driver may be distracted in a car people can stand up and walk around in. I never used to until I owned one. I'm back to a station wagon now where people stay where you put them.

Re:You are not a parent

[Anonymous Coward]

>>I'm back to a station wagon now where people stay where you put them.

Isn't that what chains and Guantanamo are for?

Prius can't do that

[Mr. Underbridge]

On the "bright side", however, I can purchase a Toyota Prius and get a lot of the same functionality without all the work (and with 60+ miles per gallon)... of course, then I can't brag I have a Mac in my car and can't add things to it

What that this thing did could a prius do? Is GPS optional on a prius? Even then, that option costs a *significant* fraction of his project costs. Does it have ethernet ports? No? Thought not.

All in all, this is probably the best mod I've seen in a long time. And no, I'm not a mac fiend, but a good hack is a good hack.

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[Anonymous Coward]

white goes with everything!

Big deal

[Animats]

I refuse to take seriously any car computer system that doesn't drive the car.

Gives new meaning to the phrase

[MattGWU]

"'Mac-ing' out one's car"

Linux-based similar setup in Jetta

[mikl]

Chris Bergeron did very much the same thing in his VW Jetta. He lives in Georgia, US. He's shown it at several southeast-area cons.

http://www.dashpc.com/

Re:Linux-based similar setup in Jetta

[mikl]

Correction -- he's in Florida.

It's not about being useful!

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder was it worth all the work (e.g. is it that useful).

If you read the article, you'll realize that usefulness wasn't his goal. He clearly has a passion for his vehicle that goes beyond utility. It's not a transportation appliance.

Evaluating things by how useful they are could be a sign that you are not and may never be a hacker. But there is hope!

Consider doing things the hard way to learn, to do it differently, or simply because the opportunity is there.

At then end of a crazy project, do -not- ask yourself if the end result was cheaper than buying something. Do -not- ask yourself if you have created something useful. Just see if there's a shit-eating-grin on your face. If there is, chances are, you are a hacker.

Obligatory Joke

[Papatoast]

Does this add new meaning to the word "crash"?

Re:Clever, but...did you RTFA?

[Zeppelingb]

He specifically mentions instances where he changed his plans to make paying attention to the road easier. One part in particular stood out... he used the griffin powermate instead of touch recognition because he doesn't think it was safe to take his eyes off the road.

News to me

[Jukashi]

"The native resolution of this LCD is 640x480 pixels, but its controller can interpolate various other resolutions. I have chosen 800x600 pixels, which is the minimal resolution, required by Route 66."

since when can you interpolate an lcd higher than its native res?

Re:News to me

[Anonymous Coward]

He's using a LCD TV panel, it takes the input (probably composite) signal and puts it out on the screen much like other LCD TVs.

However, while the panel he's using might be 640x480 or something bigger or smaller, it's taking in a TV signal which is much smaller like 512x384 and then enlarging it, much like a resize filter in Photoshop.

Now, for the other side. Many TV outputs, say, like a ATI Radeon, will output at 640X480, 512X384, or 800X600. All it does is take that resolution and then resample that down to the TV signal.

So in effect, the image he's getting is considered 800x600 by the computer, and shown at 640x480. The effect he gets is the equivalent of taking a screenshot of your PC, resizing it to 512x384 in GIMP/Photoshop/etc, and then resizing that to 800x600.......and then zooming out yet again just to see what it looks like on a tiny screen.

Re:News to me

[Anonymous Coward]

It means the LCD will take the higher resolution and selectively drop pixels or otherwise process it to make it fit into a 640x480 screen area.

Re:News to me

[JirkaJirout]

I am not using LCD TV panel, but rather an industrial VGA LCD panels. Both front and rear LCD's are connected using high-quality VGA cable.

The resizing (I agree interpolation was a bad word) is a simple calculation and dropping of some pixels. The quality is of course worse, than on a true 800x600 display, but I do not need to see each pixel on the Route 66 interface.

not too shabby, but not good either

[nxs212]

All of the components are just way too big. If you use similar hardware, you'll waste all your cargo space.
Instead, use the following PC components:
1. mini pc, based on VIA's epia mini-itx motherboard. The best one to use is from http://www.mini-box.com - m-100 comes with a text LCD display and buttons that can be programmed. It runs on 12V DC and can be mounted in-dash or in the trunk where your cd changer would normally go.
2. Xenarc or Lilliput touch-screen 7" lcd monitor with SVGA and composite inputs. This is more important than big HD or faster pc. If you can't see text and maps clearly while you drive, what's the point of building one of these car pcs? Get all-in-one package from Alpine instead.
3. 20 or 40 HD 2.5" laptop hard drive. (#1 doesn't come with anything, not even a cf card)
4. 2.5" to 3.5" IDE adapter - #1 above won't let you connect a laptop hard drive to it w/o an adapter. compusa.com has them for $7.
5. Bluetooth usb adapter. I bought Belkin.
6. Bluetooth GPS receiver - no messy wires and you can take it with you (and use it with your PDA if it supports bt) I bought Belkin GPS receiver, you can get something else.
7. Blitzsafe adapter to connect #1 to your OEM HU (head unit/stereo) You didn't really think you could just plug your line out to your car's extra AUX IN port, did you? Mounts in the trunk right into where the changer plug went or behind your HU
Elfig.com is one of the resellers, esp for VW.
8. Wires to connect it all - RatShack

9. Windows XP, Winamp 5, one of front-end GUI for easy navigation. Look at carpc.com forums.
10. Linux (Gentoo, or another fine distro) put it on a separate partition. It's fast for playing movies, music, etc. However, it lacks bluetooth support and GPS navigation packages for it suck.
11. USB hub for other gadgets, like portable HDs, scanners, webcams, etc.
12. RAM - pc doesn't come with any.

How much does it cost???
#1 minibox m-100 - $400.
#2 Xenarc $500
#3 HD $100 to $300
#4 adapter $7
#5 bluetooth adapter $30 to $60
#6 gps receiver $300 to $400
#7 audio adapter $65
#8 varies
#9 $0 to $250
#10 FREE FREE FREE (+ many hours of linux guru's help)
#11 gadgets $20 to sky is the limit
#12 RAM $50 to $100

If you really hate M$ and don't want Windows on your car pc, look at dashpc.com
If you are going to get off your lazy ass and actually build and install this in a VW Passat, let me know.

Re:not too shabby, but not good either

[kylegordon]

Point 10...
"However, it lacks bluetooth support and GPS navigation packages for it suck."
I think the authors of the bluez stack would take issue with this comment, along with the authors of all the other stacks and applications for bluetooth on Linux.
I don't suppose you've tried gpsdrive either?

Re:not too shabby, but not good either

[NerveGas]

You didn't really think you could just plug your line out to your car's extra AUX IN port, did you?

Umm... actually, I did think that. My Honda Element has a nice 1/8" stereo plug that says "AUX" on it, right up on the dash. : )

steve

Re:not too shabby, but not good either

[nxs212]

argh, damn rice burners :)
I wish VW would listen to their customers more.
People have been asking VW for years to bring gps navigation otion to USA. It's available in Germany but not USA. I guess I could get it on ebay from Europe and have it installed for me but that's not the point. They just want to sell more Audi A6s than Passats.

Re:not too shabby, but not good either

[Caseyscrib]

If you are going to get off your lazy ass and actually build and install this in a VW Passat, let me know.

... I know, all that could be done in what, 2 hours? God damn i'm lazy for not wanting to setup an elaborate computer system which reports the same data as $10 gauges.

... but it is kind of cool. :p

OOOH not AUTOMATIC computer installation

[Oriumpor]

And I thought there was something on slashdot that would make my job easier... not just waste my time... Then i remembered where I was.

US Arrogance? (was:tatra?)

[TimTheFoolMan]

Food is another example. Have you ever eaten at a small town cafe in the south of France? The food is like heaven. The only places that produce exceptional meals in the US are $100 per plate uber expensive restaurants.

Isn't that rather like me telling you, "Have you ever eaten at any of the thousands of small-town shops sprinkled around the US?" To assume that the only "exceptional meals in the US" are those found at $100/plate restaurants is being just as arrogant and uninformed. Isn't it? The sheer geographic size of the US makes it unlikely that the average person could name some a specific culinary delights from each of the 50 states, though there's no doubt that each one has it's own specialties.

Likewise, have you eaten in one of the thousands of small places in Asia that serve a wide variety of different styles of food? You may have, but I haven't. Does that mean I dismiss it out of hand as bad? No, but for me, it certainly ranks as "irrelevant," because I'll probably never have the opportunity to eat there.

Same with the small cafes in France. I'm glad they're judged to be better than anywhere else on the planet, but until I travel to France, knowing that it's so great doesn't really affect me any more than your lack of knowledge about how good (or bad) a "Hot Brown" is when prepared in a small cafe in KY.

Contrary to popular belief, even though there are McDonald's covering much of this nation, there are other places to eat. Also, you should realize that the culture of the US is such that many people know little about what goes on in other states, much less in other nations.

You may think that's arrogant or self-centered, but for many US citizens, spending a bunch of time considering the nuances of culture outside of my back yard is just as important as French cuisine is to someone starving in an impoverished nation.

Tim

Walnut panel? Try shapeshifer.

[MacDork]

Shapeshifter is kinda like Kaleidoscope, but for OS X. You might need to build your own walnut panel theme though, since it's fairly new.

Litres/Hour?

[Anonymous Coward]

That is very cool. I must build one.

Is it just me, or was the Litres/Hour guage a little odd? Is that the standard unit of measure for consumption overseas?

-Another Stupid American.

Re:Litres/Hour?

[JirkaJirout]

Yes, the gauge is a bit odd :-) And no, it is not a standard unit of measure overseas :-) The module shows consumption in litres/100 km when the car is moving and only switches to litres/hour when the car does not move.

As far as I know, original on-board computers (for example in VW) work exactly like this...

HOW IS THIS FLAMEBAIT???

[Anonymous Coward]

What tender egos Mac users have.

It must really suck to be so insecure.

There's also the Pathintosh...

[the JoshMeister]

My personal favorite Mac-in-car mod is the Pathintosh (which looks much better than the Tatra Mac G4, IMHO).

http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=3111

It appears that the official Pathintosh page is down, but the specs can be found here.

While it's only a G3, it's plenty powerful for its purpose. It has plenty of RAM and is capable of running Mac OS X. A Pismo PowerBook might be the better option for those looking to do this for themselves.

All the same

[ZxCv]

Proud owner of 5 money suckers + 1 wife.

Wouldn't that be 6 money suckers?

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[ALpaca2500]

with quartz extreme in mac os x 10.2 and up, you can set a screensaver as the background, similar to what you're describing. (FYI)

Something disproportional...

[jlockard]

The rear doors are full sized and not wrapped around the rear wheels, add to that the shape of the trunk and you have a car that is extrodinarily long with seemingly no trunk.

Re:Something disproportional...

[lowtekneq]

Actually the trunk is in the front and the engine in the back. http://www.sq7.org/temp/mirror/www.mujmac.cz/image s/t613_basicscreen.jpg

case mod?

[theCat]

So does this qualify as a modded car, or as a masterful case mod? As a car, it's a great hack, Detroit should steal it. But if this is a case mod it shows l33t m4d skilz. Drive this baby to the next LAN party, watch the gurls got nuts; "Hey baby, let's do some lagers in the back of my computer."

Inverter Noise

[Powercntrl]

From the article (Yes, I actually RTFA), this guy mentions he had to use a DC to DC power supply instead of an inverter.

The second idea was an inverter and the original 220V power supply. This almost worked. "Almost" because there was a 50Hz noise on the audio output of the computer, that I could not manage to eliminate. Fortunately the third idea - the 12V ATX power supply did work perfectly.

Way back in the day when the Diamond Rio was a rumor and MP3-CD players didn't exist, I had a computer in my car to play MP3s. I'm surprised this guy didn't search more for the solution to using an inverter - it's really quite simple.

You first have to make sure the inverter's ground prong on the outlet is actually grounded. A lot of cheap inverters don't connect it to anything so ground "floats". Open up the inverter and connect ground to the incoming 12v NEGATIVE line.

The next thing you need to do is make sure the computers's power supply and motherboard are also grounded to the vehicle frame. If you've got the system in a metal case, it's a simple matter of running a wire from a screw on the case to screw or bolt on a metal portion of the vehicle's body.

Even with all this grounding, you'll still probably get a bit of hum from a ground loop due to poor conductivity along the vehicle's body. Radio Shack sells an inexpensive (about $10 or so) ground loop isolator that will work perfect to get rid of the rest of the noise.

See, you don't have to buy an expensive dc to dc power supply afterall.

Re:Inverter Noise

[JirkaJirout]

Well, I trid three different inverters and of course I tried grounding everything (including the head unit) as well as filtering capacitors, different cables, ground loop isolator etc. I know that inverters work for other people so I was probably just extremely unlucky with my selection of the three inverters.

NOT the best mod

[feelyoda]

Clearly what everyone is missing is to have the car drive itself!

see here and here

that seems to be the point

[djupedal]

It's a G4 450. Not exactly cutting edge.

Yet it still works wonders...what a testament to the bloodline :)

Re:GPS Drive doesn't give turn by turn directions

[nxs212]

I am so bad with directions, that I need computer to yell at me when to turn. Streets and highways in NJ are so screwed up, that I actually spent an hour once trying to get out of Jersey City.

from FAQ http://www.kraftvoll.at/software/faq.shtml

Q: Why is there no street navigation which gives turn by turn
directions?

A: Turn by turn directions are not possible with GpsDrive at the present
because no opensource data is available which represents the street
coordinates in a form usable for that purpose. GpsDrive currently
works with bitmap images rather than vector data.

Look at the context

[phriedom]

This fellow specifically states that he uses buttons instead of a touch-screen because it didn't want to have to look away from the road to operate the computer.

He also says he spends a great deal of time in the car traveling across Europe for work. The two places he mentions are Copenhagen and the Czech Republic.

Reading between the lines, I'd say that everything but the GPS and the music player are for when the car is parked. He may not be near his office for a week at a time, perhaps. Being able to check email from his parked car may be more than just convenient.

engine

[phriedom]

Didn't anyone else notice he said the car had an air-cooled V8 over the rear wheels?

I couldn't believe I was reading that correctly, and had to re-read it 4 times. That is far more strange than his custom computer.

Re:engine

[JirkaJirout]

Yeah, the engine is quite weird, but I really like it and the strange placement (gearbox stretches under the middle rear seat) actually results in very good handling charcteristics of the car. Here are few pictures of T613 engine (not mine)

http://aek4470.finalnet.cz/pics/jjopr/P1010066.J PG
http://aek4470.finalnet.cz/pics/oprava/P1010006. JP G
http://aek4470.finalnet.cz/pics/bylo/P1010025.J PG

Wrong.

[daviddennis]

Tatras were designed for the Czech elite, sort of like an Eastern European Porsche.

There is a cult following around the make that celebrates its engineering quality.

This is no Trabant or Lada, in other words, but a vehicle with genuine appeal.

D

mp3car.com

[goofballs]

lots of much more impressive installs at mp3car.com

From SOHO to SOMO?

[MMHere]

(Small Office / Mobile Office)

even more interesting

[CAIMLAS]

BFD. I've got a beowulf of Mexican Rolex pocket watches in my trunk. Want to see?

Re:Another reason Apple should let us change color

[DAldredge]

I would like to thank you for you nice, even headed response. You make apple owners everywhere proud!

And how you gonna write the software?

[caveat]

The kicker with this project (for me) was the custom software package developed with ObjC and Cocoa...feel free to suggest alternative development suites for Windows, if you can find any.

Let me dumb it down for you...

[FatSean]

He added all these gadgets to the car that the Mac can communicate with. Great. But all the Mac can do to the cars systems is monitor them! Big fucking deal.

The best Czech joke

[ccmay]

The best one of these was the advertisement for Shiner Bock beer, made in a part of Texas that was settled by Czech immigrants: "Our beer goes through thousands of quality Czechs every day."

That is the canonical Check/Czech joke in my opinion. As for the others, yes, hahaha very funny...

-ccm