Thread: Infill G4 - Now Shipping

Originally Posted by johnk

Is there a general estimate of when this will ship? Not an exact day, but this week or in the next couple of weeks? I know you hate getting asked this... just anxious. Thanks.

We are working on our 3rd release canidate image. It will probably get distributed to the testers tomorrow. It will take another day to verify the problems were fixed. Assuming no more major issues are found, it could ship as early as this Friday.

Originally Posted by DAE51D

512MB is barely enough for XP and other programs. Is there another SODIMM empty slot? Or is there a 1GB upgrade? I would hate to just have to throw away the 512MB SODIMM that comes with it just to upgrade to more RAM.

Considering Windows has been optimized to run on this hadware, and considering what you will be doing with StreetDeck, it's more than enough. I have not noticed anything running slow on the G4 I have here.

What size is the HD (2.5" or 3.5")? I'm assuming it's a notebook drive?

Notebook.

Is it possible to get it without the HD? I want to put in a much bigger 160GB notebook drive (or even bigger if it's a 3.5" drive). I have almost 250GB of MP3s, that's not even counting the movies/videos I want to put on it.
Not a real big deal as long as I can swap out the stock drive with my own drive.

No, you cannot get it without the HDD. If you pull it apart to replace the HDD, you will void your warranty. You will also have to re-register your copy of StreetDeck, since the G4 is shipped as a unit that needs no configuration or install.

Can I get it without the ~$100 WindowsXP boxed version? I have an MSDN subscription and volume license -- don't need to buy another one.

No. Again, we have spent a lot of time and effort streamlining windows and applying licenses for many of the features that make the G4 what it is.

I'm assuming the 802.11b/g is a USB dongle? Does it happen to have an external antenna jack on it?

I don't believe so.

What is the BlueTooth/Microphone you offer?
I have a USB bluetooth dongle already -- will that work?

No - this has been discussed in detail elsewhere on these forums.

In order to use StreetDeck bluetooth features, you must use the MP3Car.com bluetooth dongle. The feature is only guaranteed to work with this dongle.

Since bluetooth stacks are not standard, we had to lock down the hardware to ensure the functionality.

Is the microphone noise cancelling and something that is mounted in the visor or something? Or is it a BT headset mic?

Yes, it is noise canceling. Again, this has been detailed elsewhere in this forum. It is a wired mic.

What is that Kyocera KR1 Mobile Router (box with antenna looking thing) shown in the picture?

As an upgrade. If you want to be able to use your EVDO card, you will want the KR1 router or the like.

Is there a way to (quickly) dim the contrast/brightness of the display, so when I'm driving at night, this thing isn't God's own flashlight shining on me and glaring out the corner of my eye.

There is an illumination wire in the harness out back. You would wire it up to the illumination lead behind your dash.

How does "power-down/hibernate" work? When I turn off the key on my car, what happens? I assume this has an intelligent shut-down sequence. Personally I'd like it to Hibernate.

It's just like any other power supply for a CarPC right now. It's intellegent. The PC will go into stand-by for 72 hours then will do a hard shut down. If it senses low voltage (not sure about the exact number) it will also auto shutdown.

I have a 2007 Scion tC -- I want to put it in that center console area, do you know if the Scion door will fold down over the G4? Do I need any sort of mounting kit for this -- I have the factory stereo in there now.

We have no way of knowing about every vehicle on the market.

Will the reverse camera work with my Scion tC?

Why wouldn't it? You buy the camera seperately, it's the same camera that's on the store.

How do I find out (before I buy the camera)?

Use these forums. That's what they are here for.

The specs say "Brown - Remocom - This is for steering wheel control"
[a] will this work with my Scion tC?
[b] what is actually controlled via the steering wheel?
Mine has Volume Up/Down, Mode, and another Up/Down button.

You will need an adapter for this to function correctly. You cannot just hook up the wire and expect it to work.

What about Linux drivers and such for this? Things like the display/video-card, USB, audio, etc? I would like to give some of the other Linux CarPC GUI's a try too. At least, can you provide more detail as to what chipsets they all are so I can look them up?

We do not support linux and there are no known drivers for it.

Someone answer me this...

The whole concept behind the Infill models (G4 & T3) is to have a consolidated all-in-one vehicle PC thgat's easy to install for the PC novice.
AS such, it delivers on that, and in spades.

Why bother tweaking it? If you want a system that you can tweak or build to your personal specifications, then just @#($*&#@$(*@!!!! build one! You'll save a lot of money in the process.

Big deal if you have a G4 w/ 1GB of RAM and a 16GB HDD. You still have an Infill G4.
Even if you run some other frontend on the unit, it's still a G4.

It's like taking a shiny new HP (or other brand) PC from Best Buy or whatever, then immediately upgrading the RAM and HDD on it. You still have the same base PC, only with more RAM & HDD. Whoop-dee-freaking-dee.

I guess I see it this way:
If you want to tweak and tinker and modify your setup, then build one so you can do that. If you want a clean all-in-one unit that's painless to install, then get an Infill model.

Sorry, but voiding the warranty on a $2000 piece of hardware just to add some gigabytes of storage space doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever.

The G4 has been designed as a solution for the mass consumer market. As such, it might not meet the needs of the usual hobbiest.

Originally Posted by spiro

find me a case/enclosure in that form factor and I will gladly buy it!

One of the reasons we have carputers is the fact that we can have more storage than a fn IPOD!

Maybe that's you. I never embarked on my project because I wanted to have something better than an iPod. I wanted more functionality than I could afford to buy gadgets for. Ultimately, I wanted a PC in my ride. Not an iPod. Not a TomTom. Not a bluetooth cellphone device. Not a headunit with USB or MP3 CD capability.

another reason for building or buying carputers is BEEN ABLE TO TWEAK THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See, I look at buying a computer for your car and building a computer for your car as two very different processes. Buying one is for people who don't want to **** with it at all. That's who the G4 is for. Frankly, it's too damned expensive to start disassembling and modifying it.
It's far cheaper to build one from parts you collect yourself and tweaking it to your heart's content.

$2200 Infill G4 = NO TWEAKING
$400 pile of PC parts = Tweak Central

As Red stated. The G4 isn't aimed at the hobbyist. Frankly, swapping a HDD or a RAM module in a tiny formfactor pre-assembled in-dash unit doesn't make for much of a hobby to me.

now, if I were to lay hands on a demo unit or something for free or very low cost, I would certainly crack one open to see what I can do to modify the thing. That's how I am.
But as a tinkerer, I'm not going to purchase one just to have something to tinker with. I've got a half-dozen other PCs here that I can tinker with.

Originally Posted by spiro

find me a case/enclosure in that form factor and I will gladly buy it!

The G4 is available from other places in barebones form. Knock yourself out dude.