Five years ago I had a 2003 Chevy Cavalier, and I was bound and determined to stuff a PC in it. The first incarnation was beautiful in function, not in form. I had a 7" in-dash motorized touchscreen LCD (that didn't quite fit in the console) and a Compaq E-42 mini PC (now being used in Project Musicbox) stuffed in the glove compartment (the door didn't shut, so the door had to go). It worked beautifully, but eventually the LCD went out and the PC was never nearly powerful enough to do what I wanted it to. It was around that time that we got a new car, and after the damage I did to the cavalier it took quite a bit of convincing for the wife to let me do it again. The rules for the 2nd installation were simple:
1) Has to look like it belongs in the car.
2) Has to be quickly removable
3) Has to not look 'geeky'
So by the time I got around to this project my wife and I brought our little bundle of joy into the world. With that, I had to add a forth condition to the list.
4) Cheap!!!
I easily spent over $600 on my last CarPC endeavor and now I had to try to cram function, form, and financial responsibility into an '02 Acura RSX
The Solution:
A quickly removable, simply controlled, fewest cords as possible CarPC (otherwise known as DeepThought). This knob controlled system can play video, music, and launch external programs (such as GPS, SNES emulator, internet browser, etc).
(more after the break)
