check this carputer out....

[e46sg]

HI All,

before you invest in ICE... check this out...started out originally as a personal project...there has been many enquires since to commercialize...

Will try to get the owner down to this weekend's gathering and let him tell you more.. called mobyCar.

PS: Not my car

 

[oneHeadlight]

What the ?!! Brilliant !!
How's the SQ and functions ?

 

[littleblackalfa]

er... what does this do in effect? play my powerpoint presentations for rehearsal prior to my meetings?

 

[ferd]

Let's see, what can I do with it....

currently it does the following:

1. Compatible with my e46 steering wheel controls
2. Play Audio CD, MP3, DVD, etc.
3. Radio Tuner includes Time Shifting ... no more missing those important 4D numbers... rewind and playback live radio?
4. Er access internet & email on the go... Wifi, GPRS or 3G ....
5. If someone calls you, it can display the caller ID on the screen, tab screen to answer ... even automatically display SMS on screen all with your phone in the pocket.
6. I've got 4.1 surround setup now, but the system do go up to 7.1 ...just need to add more speakers and amps.
7. Auto dimmer ? ... when i switch on my headlines ...
8. Instant messenger
9. Weather info
10. Stock counter info
11. Display some of my photos... photo frame....

Other possibilities that I have planned:

1. GPS (location display) routing
2. Get live traffic info displayed. (congestions, roadworks, etc)
3. Get live traffic cam images displayed on the screen.
4. Display engine info... RPM, O2 levels, Engine load, fault codes ????
5. Reverse camera
6. Camera recording each journey ... in case of accidents ... (touch wood!)

I'm still getting a lot of suggestions as I go.

Oh, i don't run powerpoints on my system in the car... I do that in the office... with the Mac Mini in the car... I'm just extending my iLife coz I spend quite a lot of time on the road....

BMW is a wonderful car.... so much info and possibilities when you plug a computer to it and hack it... :>

 

[gwumpkus]

*prostrates and bow*..o we are not worthy...*prostrates and bow*

brilliant!!...hehh... i mean..seriously...u're only that far short of making the computer open the car doors, boot doors for u, do the grocery shopping etc....seriously...this is way cool...

 

[jaskin]

Wow, that's awesome. Tell us more. Costs, parts, OS?

 

[ryan]

That is absolutely cool.

Props for the work man!!!

 

[calvin]

BMW is a wonderful car.... so much info and possibilities when you plug a computer to it and hack it... :>

I can't stop myself to ask you this, HOW MUCH ? get from ? if within my budget, i m keen to invest on it. btw, i just need few functions
it's soooo COOL

 

[Wayansurfer]

Wayyy coool man

 

[ferd]

Guys,

Bear with me, I'm doing up a webby to show more pics and write out the features and possibilities....

Now before you run off to the stores and grab parts... there are lots of stuff to consider...

Here's a little more technical details about the my install.

1. Special power supply unit, to monitor battery level and automatically turn on and off the computer when you start & stop your car.

2. Delayed startup of Amps to reduce the "thomp" sound when the power on the computer comes on.

3. I modified a perfectly new Mac Mini ... and voided my warranty. Good news is I'm working out with Apple to allow the warranty to be kept valid after I mod it.... afterall I work for a company that is developing solutions for Apple too.

4. Voided the warranty of my brand new 7" touch screen. No biggie, I'm working the same arrangement with them too.

5. Ripped out my CD Changer and have the Mac Mini placed in there.

6. I got 2 USB hubs in the car. One in the glove box and one at the back.

7. I'm doing a lot of overtime with the software programming to make it more intelligent and hacking the damn car to gather more info to display.

8. Calculation of current consumption on the various add ons, hardware compatibility, etc.

9. Its currently running Mac OS 10.3 (panther) ... the kind folks at Apple just sent me some DVDs for Mac OS 10.4 (tiger) pre-release version, I did promise I'll make mobyCar work with Tiger...

10. Custom made frame to make the screen look like an original factory fitted system.

The list gones on... I'm not sure how much exactly I spent on it yet... I still have parts coming in from overseas, until I get my credit car bills checked ... its a few grand i guess...

Here are the cars that will be fitted in the weeks (or months) to come:

1. FL e46 (318i) ... mine (already installed)
2. pre-FL e46 (318i)
3. e39 (520i)
4. Toyota Picnic
5. Nissan X-Trail

anyone with a e60 or e90 wanna try? that car is even cooler! its got fiber optics for communication bus instead of wires! if you're daring (or desperate) enough ... talk to me... i can't wait to see what else i can do with the newer generation bimmers...

oh, i've registered the domain mobycar.com ... i've not had time to setup the web server... i'll drop a post in here again once its up... i'll post more info and pictures there...

(Ryan (or moderators, if the last para is inappropriate feel free to edit it. thanks!)

Cheers!

 

[Nuke]

Thanks for sharing ferd. Way way cool setup man...

 

[bugaboo]

ferd. thats way cool. can't wait to see it.
have you checked this out? http://www.i3team.com/

 

[ferd]

bugaboo, nice find... i have never seen that... seems like it just launches the software... i wanted something with basic controls... so you don't need to be a computer expert to use it...

here's a concept i've put together... i'm having a lot of trouble deciding... let me know what you guys think...

i wanted the buttons to look similar with the aircon controls... and the display to look closer to the original HU.

 

[emiffy]

ferd,

excellent!!! I'll willingly put in the mac mini.

Seems you have gotten a lot further than me; I just managed to get the 110V DC-AC inverter, and an extra wiring harness. Still waiting for the part to relocate the AC control to the lower part of the console. Got the LCD ordered, waiting for my colleague to collect from the US.

For the mobycar interface, suggest that the last row also be single button. This way, you can keep the aspect ratio of the screen. Also, I believe the buttons can be "soft" configured, i.e., press "Music" and the bottom row only shows the relevant functions.

I kow-tow to you

Let me know if you want to install for me...

 

[ferd]

emiffy,

dont put an AC inverter in your car!!! it will generates a lot of electrical interferences... and you might have to deal with the "aeroplane" sound on your speakers later... SQ is might not be desirable...

plus, you have to manually shutdown and power up...

...

i've had the thing in my car for 2 weeks of alpha testing, now its another week for beta testing in the CD changer slot ... so first look my car looks as original as hell... but when you start probing around... u'll see the usual stuff are all missing...

btw, how are you planning to mount your screen?

 

[ferd]

hi all,

since i've gotten so many requests... i've spent about 4-5k or so in total...

largely due to forex and priority shipping and custom makes....

i now have a bezel .. like the frame you see in the pics earlier.... if a lot of you with the e46 are interested i will probably round everyone up and make a mould for it so we can make more pieces without having to wait and refit ... took me about 2 weeks to have that custom done...

its still back in the shop for a touchup and will proably be finally finished on monday...

if anyone is interested in having me install it... just drop me a PM with your

- make and model of car
- current sound configuration (amps, HU, speakers - how many, etc)
- if its a BMW, and you want steering wheel controls or not...
- name and contact info too

i'll probably arrange for you guys (any gals?) to see it this week ... prob mid week or so...

finally, if we can have a mac mini in our car... why would we want an iPod? Anyone who agrees say YEAH!


cheers!

 

[ferd]

oops, let me qualify that above figure...

i still have my bills for my audio installer and fabricator that is not included in that above figure....

software development for the various aspects and other petty cash purchases like toroid coils, connectors, antenna extension wires, RCA interjoins, etc.

realistically, i think 6k would be a closer estimate...

oh, i do have a sup'ed up Mac Mini coming my way this week ...

later today i'll go shopping for some other mods i feel needs to be done to handle the heat and keep the mac mini at an optimum operating temperature...

 

[spyder766]

ferd, that is really very impressive, are u going for today meetup, i am drving a z4, would not mind having it in my car if u can find space to squeeze it in, looking forward to have a look at your machine this evening \

 

[ferd]

very challenging offer... i've never seen a Z4 mod this way yet... does your car have a flip screen already ? if you're successful, you'll probably be maybe the first in the world or one of the few in the world...

pm me your contact ... let's chat more if you want to see mine i'm working on the west side...

 

[netracer]

ferd, what a fabulous project! One quick query - can the hard drive stand the vibration apart from higher operating temperature?