Help Needed: Mac Mini Carputer

dazuck · 02-27-2005, 10:54 PM

First, I'm a newbie to this board (although I've been reading posts for a while), and am not a programmer or a computer expert. I am generally an XP guy, but I have a lot of interest in the Mac mini as a carputer. If anyone is generous enough to help me out I really appreciate it. My problem is there are so many different threads working on differnt "iDash" (that's what i'll call the mac mini carptuer in this thread) that I'm a little turned around. This, preferably, is what I'd want in a carputer, so if you want to make a suggestion about what my next step should be (I don't even know if i should be using a mac at all), i appreciate it. O yah, and I realize I'll have to buy a lot of accessories and stuff, which is fine, I just don't know what, how, etc. And I'm really confused on the basic frontend stuff for a carputer using mac mini:

All of the below controlled by a touchscreen
GPS navigation
CD/DVD/mp3 player
am/fm radio and possibly xm
Directly control Ipod
Voice control
Bluetooth connectivity to phone w/ voice commands (hang up, dial, view contacts, ignore, etc). I think there is a decent software for macs and bluetooth coming out.
WiFi to connect wirelessly to internet
So obvisouly internet browser
Possibly run some form of outlook or other organizer (not necessary, though)
Ability to sync with certain apps on home computer wirelessly (for instance, sync itunes or calender or email, etc.
Ability to power a decent stere system.
Anything else (I feel like I missed something).

Thanks for any advice/help.

rinconj · 03-08-2005, 12:50 PM

Since Mac mini is pretty new and is the first mac small enough to fit everywhere in your car, the development of iDash like software is probably still under development. If you go through the past discussions of this forum or do a search on google, you can find related posts.

Most of the features you mentioned are already supported by OS X or 3rd party software. The only missing link is iDash. I also want to put a Mac mini in my car and have been using T-mobile's GPRS service and an old Garmin eMap with my iBook. Garmin eMap is pretty ancient now and uploading maps is still a headache on both a pc and a mac, so if I manage to put a mac mini in my car, I'll just reuse the eMap as a receiver.

To do everything you mentioned, I'll need

1. my eMap and the USB-to-serial cable
2. power source, either a dc-to-ac inverter or dc-to-dc transformer. I have an iGo jiuce and I'm trying to see if it works with Mac mini.
3. a touch screen
4. a good bluetooth headset for voice command
5. Mac mini with built-in wi-fi and bluetooth

Quote: Originally Posted by dazuck

All of the below controlled by a touchscreen
GPS navigation
CD/DVD/mp3 player
am/fm radio and possibly xm
Directly control Ipod
Voice control
Bluetooth connectivity to phone w/ voice commands (hang up, dial, view contacts, ignore, etc). I think there is a decent software for macs and bluetooth coming out.
WiFi to connect wirelessly to internet
So obvisouly internet browser
Possibly run some form of outlook or other organizer (not necessary, though)
Ability to sync with certain apps on home computer wirelessly (for instance, sync itunes or calender or email, etc.
Ability to power a decent stere system.
Anything else (I feel like I missed something).

Thanks for any advice/help.

Bugbyte · 03-08-2005, 05:31 PM

Weakest link is GPS nav. Route 66 exists for the Mac and apparently works fine but the Windows products are more advanced. Google Route 66 software and take a look for yourself.

A frontend application is best for controlling the various media on the Mac. While there isn't any at the moment, MMC is under development and should fulfill that need in the very near future.

Everything else works on the Mac, no problem. MacXM for XM radio, built in DVD player, built in iTunes for mp3's and the Griffin Radioshark for AM/FM. Mind you, the XM and Radio Shark aren't integrated into the front end but the Mac does come with speech recognition and you can likely control the apps using that.

Come over to the dark side....once you go Mac, you can never go back [he says wistfully while typing this message on his company's Dell Latitude]

dazuck · 03-08-2005, 09:53 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Bugbyte

Weakest link is GPS nav. Route 66 exists for the Mac and apparently works fine but the Windows products are more advanced. Google Route 66 software and take a look for yourself.

A frontend application is best for controlling the various media on the Mac. While there isn't any at the moment, MMC is under development and should fulfill that need in the very near future.

Everything else works on the Mac, no problem. MacXM for XM radio, built in DVD player, built in iTunes for mp3's and the Griffin Radioshark for AM/FM. Mind you, the XM and Radio Shark aren't integrated into the front end but the Mac does come with speech recognition and you can likely control the apps using that.

Come over to the dark side....once you go Mac, you can never go back [he says wistfully while typing this message on his company's Dell Latitude]

What about running virtual PC with a pc gps app? Can you integrate that into a frontend like MMC? I assume MMC will integrate WiFi (although I have just been informed that a new technology called "mesh" will be easily taking over wifi with its T3 speed and multiple mile radius.) and bluetooth to connect to hotspots, home networks and cellphones? Will all these things be controllable by voice? Thanks.

Tuckie · 03-08-2005, 09:59 PM

mesh is a type of network, not a new wireless standard. What i believe you are refering to is WiMax.

Bugbyte · 03-08-2005, 10:11 PM

Yes, you can run Virtual PC and a Windows GPS program. I've only seen one post on this and that person said it worked fine. VPC obviously runs much slower on the Mac but I've used it before and it's not like its completely unusable. Just slow.

WiFi works just fine on the Mac and is no more difficult to configure than on a PC. If you go with the Apple hardware, it's quite easy to set up.

dazuck · 03-09-2005, 12:00 PM

Thanks. Just one more question for now: Right now my family is on a network of PC's with a wifi network, and my school is mac oriented also with a wifi network (not yet in place). Will the frontends being released allow me to sync, communicate, etc. over wifi to both the pc network and the mac network when in range? So I could sync my itunes playlists everytime I turned the car on or pulled into the driveway? Or download my emails when I head out and use text to speech software or something to have my emails read in the car?

NickFury · 03-09-2005, 12:18 PM

Sure, all that stuff you want to do is built into osX, you may have to do a little scripting, but its not very hard to do..

Bugbyte · 03-09-2005, 12:29 PM

No problem on the WiFi. I have my mac on one port, my Windows laptop on the wireless and my car PC on the wireless. Works fine.

Labop · 03-10-2005, 05:42 PM

They just did a review of Route 2004 (no longer route 66) in last month's Macworld. It only got 3 mice. Also they complained about it's interface and the fact that it uses a cumbersome four screen display. Which I take it would look pretty small on a 7" (the map would only be 1/4 or the 7").

They said it had other features that were really good. But for me that interface is still a prob. I don't want to squint to look at a small map. A possible solution is that accesability tool for the visually impaired that zooms a portion of the screen...

Bugbyte · 03-10-2005, 06:12 PM

Yeah, it's not the best but I don't think the map is that tiny. Here's a screenshot:

thecapitalizt · 03-10-2005, 07:23 PM

i'll post a screengrab of it at 800x480 when I get to my desktop, but it works fine. Just turn off the dock.

Labop · 03-11-2005, 10:50 AM

Cool thanks, I'd appreciate it. I've attached the pic they had in the magazine that sparked my question/concern (not sure what resolution it's at). But you can see that the map looks smaller in proportion than the one Bugbyte posted. My other beef is that it's the only gps/nav software for the mac and it only 3 mice.

Here's what they said:

Route USA 2004 3.6
Rating:

Pros: Extensive, detailed maps; works well with a GPS unit; loaded with reference points for route planning; estimates travel time and costs.
Cons: Sluggish performance; dosen't always choose the best routes; somewhat unintuitive interface; must load all data to your hard drive.

Grimey · 03-11-2005, 11:18 AM

Well just because it's the only for the Mac doesn't mean they should score it higher. Although from what they are saying in the Cons I don't know how they justify 3 mice due to the fact they are basically describing almost all GPS software out there. There are very few that are developed enough to pick great routes, and that doesn't have "somewhat unintuitive interface".

thecapitalizt · 03-11-2005, 08:59 PM

Here's a quick screengrab at a bit larger than 800x480. You will probably wind up with something a bit smaller. I changed the toolbar to small icons for this. Looks pretty usable.