This has been done before, but I just completed my install.

A demo video is available (high-quality, 153mb for 5 minutes) from here:
http://beta.superimposable.org/nbb-demo2.m4v

 

Hmm...very slick. I've got a Mac Mini that I'd consider using for this.

What'd it end up costing you?

 

Nothing by text/code.

 

What do you use to play that? Real player needed something to play it but said it was not available on their website

 

Quicktime worked for me.

 

iTunes or VLC should play this without issue.

Here is a full cost breakdown:

Apple Mac Mini - $799
BU-353 Weather-proof GPS Receiver - $54.95
Carnetix CNX-P2140 Power Supply - $135.00
MacPac Power Cable Kit - $29.99
CCD Infrared 'night vision' Camera - $154.99
2008 Lilliput 629 7" Touchscreen - $299.99
Huaweii 3.5g USB Card - approx. $90 (monthly 100gb approx. $120)
Assorted Cabling / Connectors - ~$40
Cup Holder - $68.95 at OutMotoring.com

Arguably, I could have saved $200 if I'd used the 1.8ghz Mac Mini, which should have been sufficient, but at the time there were none available locally and I was a bit impatient.

I could also save money on the aircard with a cheaper data plan, but I also use this outside of the car, so it's warranted.

For the curious, I never had the "rear fog lamp" in my MINI. I cut a hole in the black rubber place holder and mounted the rear-view camera (it's a wide angle lens, so it works perfectly mounted that low).

I did have a cup-holder (that I promptly removed when I realized how much I hated it), but it's somewhere in storage back in the US, so I needed to order another one. (Ouch I might add)

The install is not as 'clean' as I might like, simply because I refused to cut or drill anything, my intent was to have a removable "like it was never there" system.

In order to get the Mac to fit correctly, I needed to take out the coin-tray under the center console. Fortunately, it's about 120 degrees outside on any given day here, so with one screw out, the warm plastic was easy enough to slip out without damage.

 

I'm not quite following you...

 

he probably has the same problem i do. when i log on all there is is a bunch of code on the page.

 

Ah, that's odd.

Sounds like your browser isn't quite "understanding" the MIME type of the file, and is trying to display rather than download.

To over-come this, simply right-click on that link and choose "Save As.."

 

VLC worked fine for me. Great quality video, btw!

hanzov69, got any pics of the install? Do you just shut the Mac down when you stop the car and then boot it back up when you start it again? How long does it take to get music etc?

Looks like I might be able to do this for about $500 (a bit more if I use the camera). I don't want/need internets in my car, so that'd save a bit. Might make a good winter project.

 

Yeah, I shot that with my Sony HDR-SR11, takes amazing video. It's actually scaled down a bit, at full res it would have been a monster file..

Pics of the install are forth-coming, the computer (and car) are going to be featured in an Apple Magazine here in the Middle East (Shuffle). I took about a million photos of the install, but I haven't had a chance to sort through them yet (and in a few hours I am off for vacation..finally).

As for the Mac, I am using the Carnetix 2140 power supply, which uses a lead connected to an ignition wire to determine when the car is "off". When it gets the signal, it sends a momentary relay to the computers power switch, telling it to go into "deep sleep" (Hibernate for those familiar with Windows). After a pre-set time, the power supply then shuts off, so the PC isn't drawing any power and is safely "off".

From "deep sleep", the mac is able to resume to the desktop very quickly (in fact, in the beginning of the video, when the screen is grey, it's resuming, fast!).

Conveniently enough, I am grabbing the ignition wire from the cigarette lighter in the boot, which is also powering a small USB hub with my 3.5g card and GPS. Car goes off, lighter goes off, power supply sends signal, waits, then turns off completely. Automagic.

If you are contemplating using a Mac, you can get away with an older Mac Mini (PowerPC), provided you install Leopard. Can be found quite cheaply on eBay.

 

Very nicely done. I would love to do something like this myself; being the gadget guy that I am. What program is that used to switch between the functions on the touch screen?

 

Awesome, please do post pics when you have them.

I think I may end up doing this, provided it's not too much above my skill level. My Mac Mini is begging to find a good use.

 

Nicely done!

I have plans for a similar setup, but unfortunately, wireless data isn't plentiful in the states like it is elsewhere in the world (most of the carriers here just recently moved from unlimited plans to "5GB" plans, because no one should be using more than that per month. ).

Any issues with rough roads affecting the system?

 

Sorry All, I've been on vacation (uploading Pic right now in fact).

Rough Roads:
Frankly, there aren't any rough roads in the UAE, so I can't really speak to this. That said, the Mac Mini uses a fairly low RPM drive, and I am not doing intensive R/W to the hard-disk, so it should be a non-issue.

I can't attest to the Optical drive performance, because I've never bothered to use it..

Regarding the data package, well, 5gb a month for some basic wikipedia fact checking (on behalf of my girlfriend...during "discussions") and pulling down images for Google Earth is still pretty bountiful.

The program used to switch between functions: This was actually a surprise to me, a very pleasant one. I was trying to use OS X 10.5s "Spaces" feature (with hot corners) to switch between spaces, but I couldn't get it to work very well with the touch screen.
Turns out, when you switch from the PC input to AV on the Lilliput touchscreen, it interrupts the Display. When you switch back, OS X basically offers up both Spaces to allow you to pick. In short, I can switch between desktops by switching to my back-up camera and then back to PC.

Not elegant..but it works!

People elsewhere have asked about heat, so I figured I would share that as well.

Let me start by saying: The desert gets hot. I mean really hot. We've had days that run around 132 degrees, and early evening is easily 80-90% humidity. I'm a smoker (a terrible vice), and there are times when it's virtually impossible to keep my cigarette lit.

At 132 degrees, it gets even hotter in my MINI. When I did my install, I made dead certain that the carnetix PSU and the underside of the Mac Mini had ample ventilation, because I knew startups in the middle of the day would be intense.

For about a week I checked the hard drive temps (no internal temp sensor per se, HDD is best I could do) and the PSU temps. Turns out that if you crank on the AC when you start mid-day, it takes only a few minutes to get down to nominal temps.

In short, no worries from heat. Cold, I couldn't say. But heat, no problem.

 

SWEET setup!

i just downloaded the boombox just for the fun of it cause it looks so cool!

Where did you get your other modules from? like to watch videos and what not? Does it have to read it from itunes?

As you can tell i havent researched much into it yet.

Anyways, Damn it gets hot there. Thats nasty hot haha. 90-100 here is terrible enough.

I wonder how hot your mini gets? they get hot enough in normal temps already

 

It will read from your iTunes library. We are a Strictly Mac household, and all our media (Music, Movies, TV Shows) is already in iTunes (on one computer or another..or AppleTV).

Basically anything in iTunes should be playable by NBB (Neon BoomBox).

There is also an XM radio module, but I don't use (don't have XM, don't think it would work here anyways).

The developer is working on GPS and OBD-II currently, so hopefully we will see those modules in the near future.