Scion xB '06, in-dash Atom 330, Lilliput 889GL; details, pictures, links. Index: pg 1

**HiJackZX1** · 02-27-2009, 02:00 AM

Originally Posted by rdholtz

I suspect a lot of issues crop up no matter what we do. That's the part of the "fun" of being out on the bleeding edge of technology. Getting all this stuff to work together is like battling Medusa -- cut one head off, and more grow in its place. Adding the phone into the mix adds yet another source of problems, but solving problems is what this sport is all about.

In the long run, I'd like to use carPC and phone concurrently. I want the systems to cooperate. Each has good features and specific best uses, and I'd like to take advantage of both of them. The carPC will be there to link all the car-specific stuff (screens, OBDII, sound system), and the phone will bring portability, navigation input, and the 3G connection.

When I'm traveling, I like the idea of running mapping software -- Google Maps, or Streets and Trips, or Yahoo Maps -- on the PC's larger display, and running point-to-point nav software on the phone's smaller display. The nav software presents a much-less detailed view, so a smaller screen is fine.

For me, the ideal would be a dock I can plug my phone into, and then I'd let Centrafuse control both carPC and phone. I'd especially like it if Centrafuse would take the nav input from the phone, but I guess I can run the phone's nav software, and let Centrafuse run mapping software on the PC, even though I have the Nav edition of Centrafuse. It might be very interesting to let them both run their nav software and see how they compare.

Im glad to see you've decided to integrate the technologies together, rather then choose one over the other. I have started to think whether I should go that route also. Currently I am using my air card to get Sling Box in my car. I have a Merlin Card and it gets good connectivity, but there are buffering periods that can last up to a minute. The PPC version of slingbox doesn't seem to have these issues at all, buffering is almost nonexistent. I was thinking of connecting my phone to the rear screen system which already has the connections in place (for the Playstation 2) so all I would need is the cable. This is at the very bottom of my list though.

**rdholtz** · 02-28-2009, 07:42 AM

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

I'm glad to see you've decided to integrate the technologies together, rather then choose one over the other. I have started to think whether I should go that route also. Currently I am using my air card to get Sling Box in my car. I have a Merlin Card and it gets good connectivity, but there are buffering periods that can last up to a minute. The PPC version of slingbox doesn't seem to have these issues at all, buffering is almost nonexistent. I was thinking of connecting my phone to the rear screen system which already has the connections in place (for the Playstation 2) so all I would need is the cable. This is at the very bottom of my list though.

Other than audio, I don't have any plans to accommodate passengers' entertainment needs, since I rarely have passengers. It's mostly me in the car, so I have no spare screens for other viewers, and no plans for movies or gaming in the vehicle. For gaming and movies, the seats in my house are much more comfortable than the seats in my car.

My daily commute is going to average an hour or more each way, so I'll want music and Bob and Tom mp3s. Atlanta is a high-traffic area, so audio is all I want; I can't imagine trying to divide my attention between traffic and a video. Even on the occasional long trip I take, I'll probably be alone, so it's the same situation -- not much need for video.

Despite my very driver-focused approach, I'll have two available USB ports, and I think I'll keep an inverter handy in case someone is riding with me and they need to use their laptop. I plan to have a small inkjet printer under the passenger seat. If I attached that printer to a wireless hub/print router, my occasional passenger could have Internet and printing access, as well.

**HiJackZX1** · 02-28-2009, 08:53 AM

Originally Posted by rdholtz

Other than audio, I don't have any plans to accommodate passengers' entertainment needs, since I rarely have passengers. It's mostly me in the car, so I have no spare screens for other viewers, and no plans for movies or gaming in the vehicle. For gaming and movies, the seats in my house are much more comfortable than the seats in my car.

My daily commute is going to average an hour or more each way, so I'll want music and Bob and Tom mp3s. Atlanta is a high-traffic area, so audio is all I want; I can't imagine trying to divide my attention between traffic and a video. Even on the occasional long trip I take, I'll probably be alone, so it's the same situation -- not much need for video.

Despite my very driver-focused approach, I'll have two available USB ports, and I think I'll keep an inverter handy in case someone is riding with me and they need to use their laptop. I plan to have a small inkjet printer under the passenger seat. If I attached that printer to a wireless hub/print router, my occasional passenger could have Internet and printing access, as well.

LOL, Well as you know, I'm trying to build a rolling home theater setup. I also built the system in a way that I cant view video through the main screen, it only goes to the others so it doesn't distract me. You seem to be more work orientated (the printer in the car), that to me should be kept in a office, not in a car, but thats why their are preferences.

I do want to ask, what do you think about the wireless screen concept FiberOptic came up with? I have greatly become interested. I am actually selling my 3rd row EBY701 to replace it with a MIMO USB. This little screen has VGA, WEBCAM, and TOUCHSCREEN, all through one USB Cable. I think combined with a wireless USB Hub, OPUS DC-DC 15watt PSU, and a laptop battery, this could be the coolest idea. What do you think about it?

**rdholtz** · 03-01-2009, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

I do want to ask, what do you think about the wireless screen concept FiberOptic came up with? I have greatly become interested. I am actually selling my 3rd row EBY701 to replace it with a MIMO USB. This little screen has VGA, WEBCAM, and TOUCHSCREEN, all through one USB Cable. I think combined with a wireless USB Hub, OPUS DC-DC 15watt PSU, and a laptop battery, this could be the coolest idea. What do you think about it?

Well, I think it's really interesting, but I don't know what I'd use it for. I can have a USB connection everywhere I'd need it in the car. So, while the portable wireless screen is ingenious, the battery idea solves a problem I don't have. I do like the idea of the MiMo auxiliary screen, and that's something I expect to get later on.

I love the idea that FiberOptic and BugByte and others are thinking well beyond the conventional stuff. The wireless screen may not be something I need or want, but the kind of thinking that brought it to us is likely to result in new toys and tools I do want. I'll just do the cheering as they keep on going. They're bound to come up with something I need, or something I simply have to make for myself.

**HiJackZX1** · 03-01-2009, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by rdholtz

Well, I think it's really interesting, but I don't know what I'd use it for. I can have a USB connection everywhere I'd need it in the car. So, while the portable wireless screen is ingenious, the battery idea solves a problem I don't have. I do like the idea of the MiMo auxiliary screen, and that's something I expect to get later on.

I love the idea that FiberOptic and BugByte and others are thinking well beyond the conventional stuff. The wireless screen may not be something I need or want, but the kind of thinking that brought it to us is likely to result in new toys and tools I do want. I'll just do the cheering as they keep on going. They're bound to come up with something I need, or something I simply have to make for myself.

Well I was starting to think.... this screen is not limited to the car, IOGEAR actually sells the dongle and the hub can connect to different dongles. So you could take it in the house and use it on a media center PC.

**rdholtz** · 03-01-2009, 08:37 PM

Moving Sucks.

I've been slow in posting -- and in getting much done on the car -- because I'm busy moving. I went over Thursday morning and picked up a 6-ft x 12-ft enclosed U-Haul rental trailer, and towed it home empty with the Scion. The trailer is longer, wider and higher than the Scion, so it was quite a sight. Here's the way it looked after I backed it into the driveway and had just unhitched:

Click image to enlarge.

Thursday and Friday, we boxed and labeled, and I got some of the load into the trailer. Mostly it was my bed and the bulk of my shop (you can see what my priorities are). Saturday, Josh and our friend (and co-worker), Rob, came in and helped finish the packing of the trailer; then they towed it up to Atlanta with Josh's Toyota Sequoia -- thanks, guys!

I'll keep packing and loading my smaller trailer, and I'll tow it up on Tuesday; it looks like I may have to come back down this weekend for a final load.

Moving is just no fun. Sure, it's a chance to clear the decks of all the excess baggage, all the "stuff" we think we'll use and then just hang on to. It lets us get rid of the things we don't need and pass them on to others who need them -- or think they need them.

But this is hard. Yes, I'm going to a good place; I'm going to be closer to my family, and I'll get more time with them, and especially more time to be a Grampa. Yes, I'll be working for a terrific company alongside people I like and respect. Yes, I'll make new friends.

But it's still a time of loss. I'm shedding furniture and the good memories attached. I'm giving up "stuff" I'd like to use, but just don't have room for (and may never use, anyway). I'm dumping or giving away a lot of spare parts. I'm taking boxes and boxes of books to the VA Hospital, where the library always needs new material. I'm giving away part of my almost completely-summer wardrobe to make room for winter wear. I'm even giving up the house I've lived in for several years.

That still isn't the hardest part. The really tough stuff is putting closure on friendships that are, in some cases, as much as 20 years long. Oh, we'll still be friends, but now it's going to be by long distance, and the weekly gatherings with my combat veteran friends will be no more.

The little kid in me wants to throw a hell of a temper tantrum. A couple of times, I've found myself raw and sad and close to tears. But I don't force it all back down. I do what I've learned from the other guys at the Vet Center: I just stop and acknowledge the sadness, agree with myself that this completely sucks, and let the hurt wash through me. It doesn't take much time . . . and then I can get back to work, feeling a little lighter.

This still sucks. Yeah, I know it'll be better when I get to Atlanta, but right now I'm still here, and the idea that I'll be in "a better place" sounds a bit too much like what I've heard at funerals.

I'll get through it.

It will be nice to be up there, to get the shop set up in its new home, and to be back scribbling plans and bending metal and plastic. It'll be good to be back reading what y'all write, learning from what you're doing, and passing on what I've learned over the years.

It'll be good to be back "doing" instead of just moving things around.

Moving sucks.

**freeflashstuff** · 03-01-2009, 09:10 PM

Good luck buddy. I know it sucks losing stuff and friends to a move, I bounce back and forth between houses during the summer, and it sucks losing friends then, it must be 100x worse for you.

**rdholtz** · 03-03-2009, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by freeflashstuff

Good luck buddy. I know it sucks losing stuff and friends to a move, I bounce back and forth between houses during the summer, and it sucks losing friends then, it must be 100x worse for you.

Thanks for getting it.

No, it's not 100x worse. Just lousy.

It's hard to compare losses between people; they're individual things and we all respond differently. We hurt different ways and get through it different ways.

The crucial thing to remember is that we don't "get over it". We can't ignore it, or stuff it, because it will keep at us until we acknowledge it.

We can "get through it" by owning it, maybe saying out loud to ourselves how this hurts, and letting the hurt roll through us. We can go outside and scream at the woods. We can talk with friends -- well, some friends -- or family. But we can't ignore it. It'll be there 'til we get through it.

We get through it. And it still sucks.

And then life goes on, and later we look back and wonder what all the fuss was about . . .

**rdholtz** · 03-03-2009, 07:55 AM

Nifty New Phone: Could it be a CarPC, Too?

One of the reported biggest hits at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was Toshiba's TG01 Windows Mobile touchscreen smartphone. But it isn't scheduled to hit the USA (yet).

Look at the resolution here -- this is a phone screen?

The TG01 has a 4.1-inch, 800 x 480 display. Yes, 800 x 480 -- the same as a lot of carPC screens. It runs a 1GHz processor and adds Wi-Fi, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, HSDPA, and support for DivX video and Adobe Flash. It will run Windows Mobile 6.1 out of the box, and will be able to run Windows Mobile 6.5. The TG01 is expected to ship in Europe in the summer; no word on USA availability.

There's a YouTube video on it. I'm not all that dazzled by the striped interface, but there's some interesting potential in it. I think the iPhone has the interface to beat.

Apple may answer this with an 800 x 480 screen, as well, which means 800 x 480 would become the new benchmark for phone screens.

Now for three important questions about the TG01:

How much will it cost?
What ports does it have?
Could Centrafuse run on Windows Mobile 6.5?

If the answer to the last question is anywhere near "yes", that's a huge step toward a highly mobile carPC. It could mean that building a carPC with this device is three operations:

Install the docking station and make the proper connections to the vehicle's systems.
Load the software we want.
Plug 'er in and drive.

It would all be so easy if automotive manufacturers could agree on a common interface, like OBD-II, or even a more advanced version; we could call it, um, "OBD Plus". Is that far too much to hope for?

(I also posted this in the phone/PC meshing forum under Windows Mobile Phones)

**rdholtz** · 03-04-2009, 07:27 AM

More on the Toshiba TG01

Slashgear has a review of the Toshiba TG01 with lots of photos. They report that it has a micro-USB port, and that performance is pretty snappy. They do complain that the touchscreen is resistive rather than capacitive, so it's less sensitive.

Sadly, Slashgear also reports that an exclusivity deal with a European carrier is apparently in the works. We may have to wait a while before theTG01 gets to the US of A.