What's a carputer? Well, if you haven't figured it out, you're not too bright. Here I'll be documenting the process in which I'll turn my ordinary 2004 Subaru WRX into a multimedia paradise.

THE HARDWARE:
- some sort of laptop that I have laying around
- Lilliput 7" LCD Touchscreen
- 400W Power Inverter
- Delorme Earthmate GPS
- Mini Keyboard
- Trackball Mouse
- miscellaneous wires and other audio equipment

THE SOFTWARE:
- MediaCar, FrodoPlayer, or Media Engine
- Windows XP Pro
- whatever other software I'll need
- Street Atlas 2004

THE CONCEPT:
In my previous car, I had a aftermarket CD player that read mp3s which was great, because you could stuff like 10 hours of music on it and just cruise without changing CDs. Unfortunately, there are people in this world that think it's cool to break into a car and steal stereos, so that CD player is now gone (which is ok because I sold the car too). Now I have a brand new car, a 2004 Subaru WRX, and I love it. Plus I think I'm really cool since I have an STi spoiler, which I snagged for free at the dealership. Anwyays, the WRX comes stock with a 6 disc CD changer, which is nice since you don't have to be switching CDs out all the time. But I did miss those mp3s of mine. Option 1 was to buy a new CD player that reads mp3s, but for a decent head unit it's like $200 - $300, and besides I like my CD changer. Option 2 was to put a computer into my car that could play mp3s, videos, act as a nagivation system, and do whatever else you'd want a computer in your car to do. So I went with the obvious choice, and started planning out my carputer.