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Uses for a laptop in a vehicle

cybrfire

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If a person were to permanently mount a laptop what uses are there for it?

GPS
music
cameras (thinking rearview kinda camera)
Maintenance records


What else is there?
 
Taping porn? :dunno:

Hey! Thats the first thing off the top of my head! :whistle:
 
Depends, some guys run tuners like EFI Live with a mounted laptop.
 
i have my laptop in my sonoma often for tbi tuning
 
tuning
megasquirt
data acquisition
solataire
CK5 surfing
 
Point Of Sale system if you sell items at car shows, swap meets, etc.

With a decent camera setup and GPS you could make a poor man's google style "street view" maps for trails and ORV parks.
 
I was thinking about a cheap mini laptop for the finer uses of a GPS system while out on the trail.
 
So lets assume a person has a laptop in their rig and they also have a GPS unit, is there a way to view the GPS on the laptop screen? I've thought I seen someone on here before say they've done this but if it's possible I want to know how.
 
i would think all ya need is a GPS antenna... we use the little hockeypuck ones on the boats... and the appropriate software...
 
allof the above, but i would do it differently if you were looking for a pernamently mounted computer. Laptop and mount would be large and bulky. A micro computer would probably hold up better wheeling and is designed for automotive uses and abuses . heat sinked etc

http://www.mo-co-so.com/Mini-ITX-Carputers-Car-PC-Mobile-Computing-s/3.htm

mount an in dash touch screen monitor
http://www.mo-co-so.com/category-s/26.htm
obdii support
http://www.mo-co-so.com/OBD-II-Scan-Tool-Interfaces-s/75.htm

rearview cameras. including nightvision
http://www.mo-co-so.com/Rearview-CMOS-CCD-Low-Light-IR-Camera-Carputer-Car-PC-s/43.htm

gps reciever

http://www.mo-co-so.com/Sirf-III-USB-GPS-Receiver-Carputer-Centrafuse-Navigation-s/36.htm
a cool gui interface that incorperates all those cool functions
http://www.mo-co-so.com/Centrafuse-Auto-Carputer-Mobile-Computing-Software-GPS-s/35.htm

http://www.centrafuse.com/Screenshots.aspx
 
Laptops are really clunky for trying to control music and such while driving. I had my incar computer in my truck at one point with a 7in touch screen. The **** was useless and dangerous to use. The windows software for offroad GPS is a pain in the dick to setup with maps.

Basically if your going to do it it needs to be touch screen and it needs to be running on some sort of large font, large button touch screen GUI system either replacing or running over windows.

Heres my advice. Go to archos.com. Either pick up an archos 5, archos 70, or archos 101. Or hell an over priced Ipad would work too. I'll be using my archos 5 for GPS on and off road, music, video, lite web browsing, and what ever else they have an android app for.

Hell the only thing missing would be the programs for data logging tunes.
 
Heres my advice. Go to archos.com. Either pick up an archos 5, archos 70, or archos 101. Or hell an over priced Ipad would work too. I'll be using my archos 5 for GPS on and off road, music, video, lite web browsing, and what ever else they have an android app for.

Hell the only thing missing would be the programs for data logging tunes.

x2 on the Archos...I've been eyeballing the 9 with Windows just so I could run WinALDL, TunerCat or CentraFuse. For $400, though, I don't think I could justify strapping it to the dash on the trail.:doah:

It would be sweet if somebody would develop a CentraFuse app or something similar for Android.:bow:
 
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Im Waiting for fordums replay explaining the use of plutonium and space time continuoms and flux capacitors in a vehicle mounted computer situation.
 
Touch screen would be really sweet. I have used a laptop in the truck and it is pretty much impossible to do anything while you're driving. I've always had a passenger along to struggle with the laptop while bobbling down the interstate.

So, with a touch screen...

Could you eliminate the need for a car stereo?

What about voice control?

I'll tell ya where I'm really going with this. At some point in the future i'll be building a dash for the crew cab. I'll also be building the console and possibly an overhead console.

I was considering the value of pulling the components from a computer(or buying specific pieces) and building them into the console or dash or both and having a built in on board computer.

I just don't know if its worth the hassle. Maybe someday the crew cab would be fuel injected and could take more advantage of it. At the same time, maybe it'll be a CTD rather than a gasser.
 
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