Anyone planning to use the new eee box as a carputer in our box? The Dimensions are 8.5" x 7" x 1" seems like a pretty good idea for just $350.

 

Do you have a link to what you are talking about?

 

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Intel-Pro...9540098&sr=8-1[/url]

 

ive seen those and they are sweet, but you'd want to get it with windows to be able to use it in a car

 

It comes preinstalled with the Microsoft Windows XP Home operating system

 

I would rather have a mac mini but that thing doesn't seem to bad.

 

The mac mini starts at $599 a bit over my budget

 

so.................... thats just a hard drive?

 

no, its a whole computer (so to speak) with the new Intel Atom processor

 

this is a new idea to me.
what would it be doing in the car, diagnostic, data loger, store music, GPS?

 

Carputers are sweet. I'd love to put one in my box. You can set up GPS, music collection, video library, car diagnostics... You can learn more about carputer stuff at http://mp3car.com/. Wander around their forums when you get a chance.

That Asus Eee might be the perfect thing for a lot of people! Pretty cool looking unit.

 

There's someone in the forum that put a mac mini in their xB. It sits in front of the passenger on the small shelf and they have a double din touch screen in place of the stock radio. If you look around you might find it.

 

Wow, that thing looks like it will burn up. "It has only crashed twice in 6 months of testing" I wonder if that was a heat issue. As everyone knows, computers get hot, and that has poor looking ventilation, one tiny fan on the back that looks like all it will do is turn into a heater for the inside of your dash. The price is supposed to be under $3,500........ I'd rather get a mac mini or that small PC.

 

$3,500? I saw $349 on the Amazon link.

Good point on the heat issue though. I haven't looked at any reviews on the unit, but the Amazon description says it's got low power consumption and "innovative ASUS heat dissipation design."

It's so dang small!! I just went back and noticed it hanging on the back of an LCD monitor... that rocks! Easily mountable somewhere in the box.

 

If you're going the route of a carPC, the Asus will work, but you'd be better off building your own setup. $349 may seem cheap, but it really doesn't provide you with much in the way of a usable carPC.
With the Asus Eee, you still need a DC-DC power supply or an inverter to run power to it, some sort of startup/shutdown control, which is typical of many DC-DC power supplies, interfaces for your intended use, such as touchscreens, keyboard/mouse combos, and then you have to consider the add-ons for whatever you want to accomplish, such as GPS, navigation software, operable front-end, wireless, OBDII scanning/datalogging, etc., etc..
CarPC setups are not cheap. A good setup requires MUCH more than just a small-form-factor PC.
If you have any questions related to CarPC systems, shoot me a PM. I've been building carPCs for quite a while and can help you with any questions you might have.

 

I started gathering parts for my future carputer awhile back. Like he said^, do the research, do it right, dont waste ur $