Car PC Hacks

Car PC
  - Hacks

Chapter 1. Car Power Basics
Section 1.1. - Hacks 1-11: Introduction
  - Hack 1. Understand Car Electrical Systems
  - Hack 2. Prevent Electrical Fires
  - Hack 3. Gauge Your Wires
  - Hack 4. Connect Your Wires
  - Hack 5. Calculate Your Car's Battery Life
  - Hack 6. Upgrade Your Car Battery
  - Hack 7. Add New Power Connectors Throughout Your Car
  - Hack 8. Use a Huge Capacitor to Sustain Power
  - Hack 9. Upgrade Your Car's Alternator
  - Hack 10. Add a Second Car Battery
  - Hack 11. Put Home Power Outlets in Your Car

Chapter 2. Automotive Audio Entertainment
Section 2.1. - Hacks 12-22: Introduction
  - Hack 12. Get a Headful About Your Car Audio
  - Hack 13. Install a New Head Unit
  - Hack 14. Get Computer Audio into Your Head Unit
  - Hack 15. Amp Up Your Computer Audio
  - Hack 16. Make a Very Cheap AUX-in
  - Hack 17. Reduce Your Audio System's Noise
  - Hack 18. Control Your iPod with Your Car Stereo Knobs
  - Hack 19. Tune Your PC for Radio Reception
  - Hack 20. Record Radio Shows
  - Hack 21. Listen to Email, Weblogs, and RSS Feeds on the Road
  - Hack 22. Find Out What Was Playing on the Radio

Chapter 3. Automotive Video Entertainment
Section 3.1. - Hacks 23-40: Introduction
  - Hack 23. Understand Video Connectors
  - Hack 24. Choose Your Screens
  - Hack 25. Install a Headrest Screen
  - Hack 26. Install a VGA Touchscreen in Your Dashboard
  - Hack 27. Install a Sun Visor Screen
  - Hack 28. Install a Motorized Fold-out Screen
  - Hack 29. Install a Fold-Down Ceiling-Mounted Screen
  - Hack 30. Supersize Your Fold-Down LCD Screen
  - Hack 31. Turn Your Laptop into a Fold-Down or Dashboard Screen
  - Hack 32. Connect a Car PC to Your Factory Screen
  - Hack 33. Install a Rearview Mirror Screen and Camera
  - Hack 34. Boost Your Video Signal for Multiple Screens
  - Hack 35. Customize Each Passenger's Video
  - Hack 36. Tune in TV in the Car
  - Hack 37. Receive Satellite TV While Driving
  - Hack 38. Play DVDs with Your in-Car Computer
  - Hack 39. Put Multi-Channel DVD Surround Sound in Your Car
  - Hack 40. Install a Video Game Console Computer in Your Car

Chapter 4. In-Car Computers
Section 4.1. - Hacks 41-54: Introduction
  - Hack 41. Choose an in-Car PC Hardware Platform
  - Hack 42. Power Your Car PC
  - Hack 43. Start Up and Shut Down Your Car PC
  - Hack 44. Reduce the Boot Time of Your in-Car Computer
  - Hack 45. Keep Your Computer on During Engine Cranking
  - Hack 46. Turn On Your Car Computer Before You Start Your Car
  - Hack 47. Boot Your Car Computer on a Schedule
  - Hack 48. Choose an in-Car PC Software Platform
  - Hack 49. Install Windows on a CompactFlash Card
  - Hack 50. Power Your Portable Devices in the Car
  - Hack 51. Install USB Ports in Your Car
  - Hack 52. Build an in-Car PC
  - Hack 53. Build an in-Car Macintosh
  - Hack 54. Install a Mac Mini in Your Car

Chapter 5. Car PC Interface Options
Section 5.1. - Hacks 55-61: Introduction
  - Hack 55. Control Your Car PC with a Keyboard and Mouse
  - Hack 56. Control Your Car PC with a Handheld Remote
  - Hack 57. Control Your Car PC with a Touchscreen
  - Hack 58. Car-Enable Clunky Applications
  - Hack 59. Listen to What Your Car Computer Is Saying
  - Hack 60. Control Your Car PC with Voice Recognition
  - Hack 61. Find More Ways to Control Your in-Car Computer

Chapter 6. Wireless Connectivity and in-Car Internet
Section 6.1. - Hacks 62-68: Introduction
  - Hack 62. Get Online in Your Car
  - Hack 63. Make Your Mobile Phone Hands-Free with Your Car PC
  - Hack 64. Transfer Data to and from Your Car PC
  - Hack 65. View Real-Time Traffic Data on the Road
  - Hack 66. Videoconference from Your Car
  - Hack 67. Use GPS on Your Car PC
  - Hack 68. Find WiFi Hotspots on the Road

Chapter 7. In-Car Applications
Section 7.1. - Hacks 69-75: Introduction
  - Hack 69. Plug into Your Car's Built-in Computer
  - Hack 70. Put a Video Jukebox in Your Car Theater
  - Hack 71. Choose Your in-Car Navigation Software
  - Hack 72. Play Thousands of Games by Emulating Video Game Consoles
  - Hack 73. Use CENTRAFUSE as Your Car PC Frontend
  - Hack 74. Use Neocar Media Center as Your Car PC Frontend
  - Hack 75. Use FrodoPlayer as Your Car PC Frontend

How This Book Is Organized

Chapter 1, Car Power Basics
This chapter goes over the basics of 12-volt power in the car. Its goal is to help you get rid of any myths you have about hacking into your car's electrical system and show you what you should look out for. It also shows you the similarities between computer and car power systems. When you're done with this chapter, you'll fear no outlet or wire.

Chapter 2, Automotive Audio Entertainment
Your car PC isn't very entertaining if it isn't connected to your car's stereo system. This chapter's hacks show you how to get any device connected to a car's audio system, be it an iPod or a car PC. It also covers how to get the best sound over this connection and how to eliminate buzzes, hisses, and hums. Finally, it covers a few of the audio applications that only a car PC can deliver.

Chapter 3, Automotive Video Entertainment
This chapter covers almost every option for getting video into your car. From touchscreens to rearview cameras to HDTV, every popular installation of in-car video is covered in detail. It also helps you understand the various video formats (car, home, and computer), how they differ, and how to get them into your car despite these differences. You're sure to come up with new ideas for your car after reading this chapter.

Chapter 4, In-Car Computers
This chapter gets to the heart of the matter: installing a PC in your car. It covers choosing the hardware components that work best for car PCs, power supplies, and the other gadgets necessary to make your car PC work like it came with your car. It also covers operating system options and the trade-offs between them, including hints on how to speed up boot time. The chapter ends with three detailed car PC installation case studies.

Chapter 5, Car PC Interface Options
The biggest challenge in car computing is safe operation for the driver. Keyboards and mice are useless in a vehicle, yet they are the primary forms of communication between humans and computers. This chapter covers the popular man/machine interfaces that do work in a car, such as touchscreens, remote controls, and even voice recognition. It also contains some hacks to force unruly desktop applications to behave in a vehicle.

Chapter 6, Wireless Connectivity and in-Car Internet
Wireless Internet and network connectivity are key ingredients in many of the cleverest hacks for car PCs. WiFi and 3G mobile phones make absurdly cool features possible. This chapter will help you figure out how to get your car online and how to transfer all of your audio and video media to your car seamlessly.

Chapter 7, In-Car Applications
To take advantage of the wide range of entertainment and productivity options available on your car PC, you need the right applications. This chapter highlights the leading car PC frontends and navigation programs for driver use. It also covers rear-seat entertainment options, such as video games and in-car theater. It even shows you how to link your car PC and the internal computers that make your car run.