Dashboard Monkey
13 October, 2009 - 20:02 Speed Up Your OS Boot Times
One of the draw backs of having a Car PC is your boot times. Unlike having a system in your home that you can put into sleep or stand by mode, you have to completely shut down a CarPC. If you don't, then you could be facing a dead battery when trying to start er' up.
So, you generally always have to deal with cold boots when starting up a CarPC. Here are some tips to shorten those times:
- Remove unnecessary features at startup which should free up space with the boot image and load faster.
- Make your boots for different drivers parallel so that they load all at once.
- Utilize a microcontroller so that you can run the current of your CarPC off a separate battery.
24 September, 2009 - 18:23 Soak Tests For Car PC Monitors
Would you like to know how companies test their products before sending them out for production. Well have a look at this video, as it goes behind the scenes of Car PC testing. They call it the 'Soak Test'.
15 September, 2009 - 20:21 Bang For Your Buck Touchscreen Monitor
If you have a good amount of money lying about and are looking for a high quality monitor then check out the Xenarc 805TSV Touchscreen Monitor.
Here are some specs for the device, which sells for $329
- Screen Size: Diagonal 8"
- Physical Resolution: 800 (H) x 600 (V) SVGA
Supported Resolution: 640 x 480 ~ 1024 x 768
- Contrast Ratio: 400:1
- Power Supply: DC 12V
- 18 Month Warranty
4 September, 2009 - 19:25 Ingenius Car Computer Installation Video
This is a video of a car computer installation, and it provides insight into the installation field. Notice the tight fit as it's built into the interior.
Skip to 1:34 to view installation:
AFKfest 2009 - Greg Planthaber Car Computer Installation from Robert Wray on Vimeo.
24 August, 2009 - 20:10 Intel PRO/Wireless Network Card 3945ABG
If you're looking to get your CarPC online, then MP3Car has a new wifi card you should take a look at.
They're selling it at an affordable price of $29.99. Here are some of the specs, and below a link to the purchase page.
Interface: Mini-PCI Express
Dimensions: 0.2 in x 1.2 in x 2 in
Data Link Protocol: IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11g
Data Transfer Rate: 54 Mbps
System Requirements: Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
11 August, 2009 - 19:47 New Fanless Micro Computer
This is a video over at MP3car.com, and it is a tour of the new Intel Micro computer. Wray walks you through all the various components of the system, and goes into detail about the function of the device.
Fanless Micro Intel Vehicle Computer (Built by Mp3car) from Robert Wray on Vimeo.
29 July, 2009 - 19:57 D945GSEJT Intel Mini-ITX Board
If you're looking for a computing solution for your car that won't break the bank, and look good at the same time then consider -- D945GSEJT Intel Mini-ITX board. It has a slim design that gives your some leeway with your installation, and can help prevent some problems.
Here are some of it's specs, and where you find it for a purchase.
Dimensions: 6.7 in x 6.7 in
Chipset Type: Intel 945GSE Express / Intel ICH7-M
Supported RAM: DDR2 SDRAM
7 USB Ports
