Thread: New Project - Toshiba Satellite

Hello everyone,

i just registered and it is my first post, i have been lurking before though.
I have been wanting to do this for a while but lack of time and money prevented me, now i am ready to do it and i will need your help.
I have read about the importance of good plans and write ups before starting the project so i will be doing that, but i need your help to get started.
I am a software person, so i have a hard time identifying all my hardware needs, and i am not very savvy with electrical stuff, although it is more a confidence problen than knowledge.
Anyway, i will be using a Toshiba Satellite 6100 from a couple of years back. I am not sure about the specific specs, but i think it has a P3 processor and a 256 RAM although it cold be more since it was top of the line when we got it.
I need some help with listing out all the harware i need to get this project going. I would also like to hear opinions on why this laptop is not a good component or not the best for the stuff i want to do.

I understand this may be annoying to some members here so i would like to keep it simple, i dont need you to do the work for me but to point me in the right direction. I know i will need a PSU and wires, etc, but i have not been able to get my head around it. If i could see a good simple diagram it would probably be easier to understand.

This is what I would like to have in my car.
-Car PC
-7" touch screen
-BT/WIFI/GPS
-Sound control (be able to play mp3s nd videos on the stock speakers)

Stage2:
-Be able to use steering wheel controls.
-Be able to plug in guest iPod into sound system independent form CarPc
-Rear mini camera to assist with parking, etc.
-OBDII readings
-Trip Computer
-Climate control.

Obviously i dont know if some of the stuff i would like to have is possible in my car, like climate control and trip computer, and other stuff i would like to add slowly.

Sorry for the length of this post. thanks for taking the time to read it and thanks for the imput and comments.

PS. I am in VT so i may have to adjust for extreme climate changes in the winter. Anyobdy else in VT? I havent seen anyobody with a CarPc in VT so i may be the first one.