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If I only had the money

October 10th, 2005
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Finally got around to making some updates to my website today. I had been putting off working on the rest of the templates for WordPress, and finally fixed a couple of them today. I still have the archive pages to update to match my style, but the individual post pages work right now (for example, this one.) I like how the WP template system works, it’s a lot easier to deal with than MovableType’s, and you can use pretty much any PHP you want.

Also did some poking around to find a power and data cable for my GPS and found this site. They make and sell an alternative to the overpriced cables from Garmin, including the eMax cable. I think I’ll buy one once I have the money to spare. I figure it’d pay for itself after it takes the place of a few packs of AA’s that I usually go through on roadtrips with my GPS. I’ve also been thinking of starting to use the GPS with work, marking points for each dealership. I figure I could eventually make a map with all our customers marked on it, which would help out any new drivers that come along. At least, I would find such a map helpful.

And all that GPS thinking got me thinking about the Mobile PC project again. There’s a lot of slick hardware out there for the project now, including a Mini-ITX enclosure specifically designed for car PC’s. And I got to chatting with about it, and we got to thinking that having the box be able to participate in a mesh network with other car PC’s in the area would be pretty useful. Something like MeshAP would do nicely, then you could do all sorts of fun stuff like VoIP communication between vehicles and shared music collections and vehicle tracking information. The VoIP stuff got me thinking that using Bluetooth headsets connected to the Car PC would be pretty cool.

I think it’s something I should definitely spend some time on, especially if I can ever get the equipment together to actually implement such a setup.

Anyway, I think that’s enough rambling for now. I think my WoW addiction is fading, and my brain is starting to grind on all these ideas again.

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  1. chipsdad
    October 13th, 2005 at 18:09 | #1
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    I think we have talked before about developing a GPS based system that can be used like you are thinking. My idea was for school bus drivers learning a new route, or substituting for an absent driver, but the same basic system could be used for almost any delivery service - perhaps even taxis!

    The Car PC would be a great platform - but the display and operator interaction is still an issue. At $300 this one is a good price, but I think the screens are still expensive - any ideas?

    Using headphones to listen to music while you are driving is illegal in most states - just to let you know!

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