I know there has been some discussion on this, but I thought I’d throw it out for all ya’ll with much more computer knowledge than me (because I have virutally none). I’m looking at putting together a laptop pc system to incorporate mp3, gps, and dvd into the X. I don’t want to spend very much so here’s where I need advice (or for someone to tell me "you're crazy - drop it"):

I figure I could find a "beater" laptop on eBay or pawn shop, either with a dvd drive, or that could accept one. What should I look for/stay away from? Realistically, how cheap could I get one that works?

I have my Garmin eTrex, so if I get a pc data cord, I should be able to submit information, plot coordinates, etc. into a navigation program on the laptop, right?

I have a ton of mp3’s and with a mp3 player program on the laptop with a cassette adapter (from my discman) from the speaker out slot, I should get the same quality of sound out of my stereo, correct?

The dvd drive would be an added option. I know there are dvd-drive laptops with the ability to connect to a external TV, so I could use that in the house as well, since I currently don’t have a dvd. Plus, if I get bored on a long trip… (for all you safety-mongers, that is a joke)

I know this sounds like a Frankenstein project, and I have no idea whether or not it would work, so if any of you have opinions on this (and I’m sure some of you do), any suggestions or advice would be great! Feel free to email me or post here. Thanks in advance.

1. Any laptop w/ DVD capabilites will be around $700. Or you can get a slim notebook w/external DVD option (Sony) to avoid the extra bulk and use only when necessary.

2. Sound output via the tape converter is an excellent idea! the sound quality is based on the quality of the tape head, so if it sounds good to you, use it.

3. Your GPS system would work just fine, as long as the maps are from CD, resident on the laptop, anything that doesn't require internet connectivity.

4. Lastly, you can probably find a body shop that outfits police cars for the laptop stand. Something within reasonable view (or you can build one yourself) and collapsable (do you have passengers)?

5. Outfit the car with power inverter, or get a DC charger version for the laptop. Used laptops generally have a horrible battery and/or the DVDs suck it dry real fast (2 hours).

Piece of cake project (less than a day) once all of the materials are in.

Hope I didn't forget anything.

Hell, to make things more interesting, put in some speech recognition, write some automation scripts, and mount a mic to the laptop for verbose control of the laptop.

oh yeah...i found this on ebay for you.
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1293141556

thanks, ansonovich!

yeah, $700+ is WAY more than I was looking at (i was thinking around $200-350 tops for the laptop)

looks like I could buy the dvd drive separately and install it - they are going for about $30-100 on ebay - and that could save a lot. I'm not too sure how the TV out option would work on that.

Just something I found, expensive, but maybe an idea to copy http://www.officeorganix.com/jotto.htm

Someone a couple months ago posted the website for the "pathintosh" A guy took a Pathfinder and put and Macintosh docking bay in the cargo area just for playing MP3s, had a wireless system to transfer the sound file s from inside his house to the truck and an external remote for the thing for tailgating. among other things. not sure if he had DVD or GPS though. Was a neat setup though I prpbly spent half an hour looking at his pics and reading his write up.

I have been pondering the thought of trying to incorporate one of these into the X. Black DVD Book PC We use the non-dvd non-wireless keyboard version of these for desktops at our office and they work great. They have S-Video out on the back to go out to a TV. All you need to buy additional is your own hard drive, ram, and CPU or buy the extra components from them and they will put them in for you.

That may not be a bad place to start. It looks like it would be small enough to fit inconspicuously in the truck, and be able to be removed easily to take in the house. Thanks for the link!

Sorry about the crude picture, but here are some measurements of the computer.

get this 7"x5" bares bones PC and build it out with the drive and DVD you want, hide it in the back somewhere and then run wires to it.

http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/doc2/a15841.html


then get a 3com Audrey for the flat panel and wire it to the monitor port.

http://audreyhacking.com/index.php

and get yourself a mini-keyboard that has a track ball included. a little more work, but a LOT less in the front and a very slick install would look REAL nice.

If you got yourself an aftermarket stereo with inputs instead of using the crappy tape interface you could hardwire that too. why use a tape interface with digital music? your passing decent quality sound through a vastly inferior media, tape input.

if you read the audrey hacking site above and know your way around *nix, they have the workings for mp3 players on that site. Audreys cost about $99 tops.

[ 11-08-2001: Message edited by: Synchro ]

GO to Fry's. Everything is cheaper. I did my DVD setup for $300.