Aqua-Soft ForumsI've been thinking about this lately. After watching "the Screensavers" today and watching and finding out how to upgrade my Mac Mini, I've decided to save up for one. Now, my question is, would any of you use it as a portable computer as well as a normal computer? I would like to put it in my jeep and use it to play DVDs, and generally entertain the passengers whilst driving on long trips. (College next year is about 300+ miles away...)Probably the correct term is car entertainment system. So, what I'm thinking is, would this be a good thing to put in a Jeep Wrangler, provided all the proper precautions are taken regarding thieves, taking it out when not using it, etc... I'm thinking about putting it in a bolt down/in security console in my trunk thing, and locking it and the trunk. Would that be acceptable? Plus no one but my friends would know its there, and it would not be in there except for long trips and the like. I am also going to put an LCD screen in there somewhere abouts, just gotta find the right spot. And with the integrated blue tooth, they wouldn't have to worry about cords anywhere. Any thoughts or ideas? Constructive criticism? On another note, when the top is not on, the mac would by no means be in the vehicle, and it is a hard top with the full steel doors so its pretty secure. {note to mods: not really sure where this belongs as it has to do with apple and vehicles, a wrangler in this case.}
[question] Mac Mini as a portable computer & as in car entertainment system
My question is whether or not a Mac mini would be able to sustain the vibrations involved in being bolted to a car.
As for the car type thing with a dvd player, just buy one of those 200$ portable dvd players, that is what they are made for, I won't even dare to try having the mini in a car, vibrations as gnome stated, aswell as heat if its a hot day, plus, if I saw a mac in your car, I'd steal it 
hehe. like gnome said, get a tough mini. i think it's a pretty good idea if you can get good ventalations and keeping the case in a very cushioned area, like a pillow. but, that would affect heating performance too. i have seen many people use notebooks, so i think it would be possible. but it's not going to be easy........
uh... where would you plug it in? Would you use some kida powerpoint plug to cigerette lighter hole converter thing?
I think that it would be esier just to use an iBook. Cheap, all-in-one, will last you the trip (hopefully) and you wont have to plug it in.
You'd be better of with one of the Windows MCE 2005 media boxes you can now buy for cars as they are designed for the shocks and temperatures sometimes involved. That and you can have it professionally fitted.
If you really need a computer in your car, have a look at www.mini-itx.com.
These midgets can about play DVDs (but not DivXs), feature a very low power
consumption, lots of 12V DC/AC PSUs available and whatnot.
i remember that this guy installed the pc case in his car (forgot where) and got his power supply from his car batteries which required a lot of modding and tweeks. your car batteries are going to be drained quite quickly. just to let you know, a normal mid-tower pc was installed before. i have to search for more information
It sounds like a neat idea, though it could be tricky with fans, power etc.
you need a rather complicated contraption to convert 12V AC into 220/110V DC (using 12V AC directly from the car's electrical system is not possible due to voltage fluctuations), and car LCD monitors are rare and expensive. in the end it's smarter to go with a specialized system.
I can get ahold of an LCD monitor. I was thinking of putting the Mac in the back on a soft surface of some kind , but one that does not cover up the ventilation ports. (plus it uses a standard laptop hdd) Would it be possible to use a power converter from the cigarette lighter? I've seen that done before with notebooks, TVs, PS2s and the like. And of course, it wouldn't be in there all the time, just on longer trips, or when someone else is driving and I need to get some work done fast. (So, heat from hot days is not an issue. It also wouldn't be in plain view as that is just stupid and asking for it. Wranglers have a add-a-trunk thing that fits behind the back seat, so it would be in there, and a bolt down console would be inside that, so it would be rather hard to steal, as the only way to get to even those is through the tail gate. About the power, I'm sure I can think of something. They make dual battery systems for them anyway, so I could just use one as an accessory only one, and charge it when not using the Mac as that should hypothetically make the power fluctuations nonexistent. Just a thought I had. Any more ideas?
edit: 
That's kind of what the security box it would be in is like. Except it would be smaller. Heat is not an issue with these as they have about 4 fans in them, and if worse comes to worse, I can add more fans. Its a really secure thing that bolts to the body, but the padding will be an issue.