I have an old laptop that I'm thinking of mounting in my E to play my mp3's and a couple of other things :?: . I don't want to spend a lot on LCD screens, etc. ('cause then I'd just get an IPOD and be done with it. I already have a RIO and a Walkman CD/MP3).

Can anyone contrib ideas to this plan?

i have given this some thought myself and there are several difficulties with this plan.

mounting
the pocket behind the passenger seat is a pretty good place to stuff a laptop

control
external numeric keypads that connect to the ps2 port or usb port (if your old laptop has such new fangled widgets) are a pretty good choice for a control panel.

power
you can get power from the element via numerous adapters available all over the web and on ebay.

batteries
the laptop's battery (already old right?) not to mention the laptop itself will not be too happy in extreme temperatures.

the difficulty i see is (at least for my laptop) is getting it to stay on when the lid is closed and remembering to shut it off when you are out of your element (sorry about the pun)

consider buying the exact same laptop you already have but with a broken display from ebay. that way you can get it working on the good laptop and drop the hard drive into the one with the busted display so it is not a big deal if it dies or is stolen.

this is almost certainly a job for linux or some other similar open operating system since you are going to want to control your mp3/ogg player with non standard controls on the external keypad. also you may need to tweak the power settings so that a controlled shutdown or hibernation takes place automatically when power from the element is shut off.

just my $0.02 worth

cryptozoologist

Since it's a 133 (don't laugh) running 98 (or Linux) I could plug in a folding or rollup keyboard and a pcmcia usb car as needed. I would just run the power cord to one of the aux jacks. I could set the mp3 player to start on boot. Thanks for some of the feedback, maybe this weekend I'll play around with it.

Here's a link to some photos of a keyboard integrated into a visor: http://www.trip23.com/gl/carcomputer/keyboard.shtml

And here's a link to the MP3Car site (the essential resource): http://www.mp3car.com/

And last but not least: http://www.carplayer.com/2003/

Enjoy! :D

www.trumanmobile.com/homepage.asp

www.casetronic.com/Product/Barebone/Mini-Checkercube/minicheck.html

www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/technology/personal_technology/5519955.htm

www.xenarc.com/product/cp1000.html

I think it'll be pretty awesome to see where all of this automotive / computing / media convergence takes us in another 8-12 months...

Although, most of this can be accomplished with an iPaq or Axim PocketPC w/ GPS card. Granted, you don't get big screen video, but you do get a very compact and mobile solution that offers full functionality beyond the car as well.

Although, most of this can be accomplished with an iPaq or Axim PocketPC w/ GPS card.

I don't suppose this can be done for less than 50 bucks?

:lol: :lol: :lol:

For $50, you get a year's supply of Big Chief tablets and #2 pencils. :P

Yeah,

But Big Chief doesn't scan very well, and I want to play mp3's not midi's. :wink: