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« Podcasters Skeptical About iPod Shuffle | Main | eM² - Carrying Case for Mac mini »Custom Mac Mini Auto InstallationsJanuary 14, 2005Cooper Minis are no longer the only Minis on wheels. Classic Restorations is offering customized design and installation of the Mac Mini in the car stereo or other single-DIN slot. Melvin Benzaquen, president of Classic Restorations, notes that “For around the price of mounting an iPod in your car, you get a whole Macintosh computer.” Benzaquen realized that, at 2 X 6.5 inches, the Mac Mini could easily fit into a car stereo compartment, creating a powerful “brain” for any car. He’s convinced the new Mac Mini could be one of the hottest innovations the car enthusiast market has seen in years. “We had been completing the design and prototypes of our modified iBook and PowerBook car installs when rumors of the Mac Mini began to circulate earlier this month,” said Benzaquen. “We immediately began working on a new design and plan for car conversions on the new Mac Mini platform. We are pleased to be the first to offer the exciting Mac Mini conversion at a price far more accessible than any mobile PC alternative.” Classic Restorations’ exclusive Mac Mini Auto designs provide for touch screen or conventional LCD display options. Although the the Mac Mini mounts in a single-DIN slot in dash, Classic Restorations can customize installation to fit under the seat, in the glove box or any other location in the car. The Mac Mini supports voice recognition and voice response, allowing for handsfree operation while driving. It also supports Bluetooth, allowing for the use of a wide array of wireless peripherals such as keyboards and cell phones. Drivers can use the customized Mac Mini Auto to log into home networks to transfer flies, such as your favorite music, video and photos, wirelessly from computers and home media devices directly to the car. The Mac Mini platform supports virtually all home media formats (MP3, DVD, CD, WMA, etc.) and the 40 GB storage allows for onboard selection of thousands of songs. Of course, Mac games can be played on the Mac Mini to provide hours of entertainment for passengers. Classic Restorations is now taking reservations for installations starting on Jan. 22, the day Apple announced as the release date for the hardware. Customers can provide their own Mac Mini or Classic Restorations will arrange to purchase the computer (based on hardware availability). More information is available at the Classic Restorations site. CommentsHey, this is really cool! I'd seen people do this with older macs, and of course there's that G4 in a Eastern European car that was on slashdot a while back. And it's a perfect compliment to my project of turning a Mac mini into a Media Center PC. I guess the only problem is that whole DRM thing... Once you put your music on one machine, you'll have to copy it over to your car computer. Too bad the ipod doesn't have 802.11 yet, as it would be perfect to carry all your stuff. I'm sure Apple is working on putting all your Home directory files on the iPod tho... Posted by: superpixel This looks very cool, in concept. How about putting a wifi adapter in it and configuring to sync with a home server/hub? While your car is parked, it could be downloading the latest podcasts for the morning drive! Posted by: jlewin Post a comment |
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