On Sat, Feb 09, 2002 at 10:39:34AM -0800, Keith Christopher wrote:
> >
> > Mine takes 40 seconds to boot, waits 10 minutes when
> > the car is shut
> > offbefore powering down gracefully(the 10 minutes is
> > to let you buy a
> > pack of smokes or get gas without rebooting).
> >
>
> Ok this is a microcontroller list, and you're not using embedded linux ?
> Boots in 30sec's

If you turn off the massive testing in the BIOS, normal Linux boots in about
the same amount of time to a virtual terminal. And who needs X when the device
has no monitor?

>
>
> I still think the PC in a car version (PC104 or singleboard) is a bit
> overkill to get MP3's to play. With the hardware out there to play MP3's
> (STA or Micronas) and the DAC's, simply outputting from a PIC or SX to the
> MP3 decoder, well that's fashionable small, low power and fast booting.

The only problem is that you've turned it from a systems integration job
with commodity components into a systems development job. On the PC side all
of the hardware is built and tested, and all of the software is developed and
tested. It's little more than integrating in a smaller case and providing
power. Building from scratch is much tougher. The publicMP3 that was metioned
in this thread is a great help, because all the development has been done.
But frankly if one is willing to live with an inverter/regular power supply
to power the beast, it's a weekend job.

>
>
> And if you put a smart media or CF device on the other side WOW. lite,
> tight and outta site.

Only problem is that it isn't enought media. I finally figured out that a music
collection is like the Internet: it reaches it ultimate capability when it
becomes ubiquitous. My current ripped collection is about 8.5GB and I have
another 30-35 CD's to do. And it is a nonnegotioable requirement for me that
I'm able to carry the entire collection. It's not a requirement that my
unit be portable from the vechicle, only that it fits in the vechicle. So
a 20-30GB HD, even in a 3.5in form factor, works fine for me.

As for overkill, I'm now thinking ahead to adding an LCD screen and Tivo/DVD
functionality. Again it's only a systems integration issue since all the
software and hardware componenets are commodity.

Personally I don't think that a PC is overkill. It's not only the correct and
most cost effective unit for this task, but has natural expansion capabilities.

BAJ

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