MacVroom

Contrary to some reports of the Mac mini’s demise, Apple updated our little buddy with 1.83 GHz and 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo processors. The upgraded Mac mini includes up to 2GB of RAM, integrated GMA 950 graphics, gigabit ethernet, 802.11g wireless and bluetooth 2.0. You can also upgrade to a 160GB hard drive for all your music and video needs.

Here are the two updated configurations…

1.83GHz: Combo Drive Model

• 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 1GB memory
• 80GB hard drive
• $599.

2.0GHz: SuperDrive Model

• 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 1GB memory
• 120GB hard drive
• $799.

Both models are available now.

The Mac mini comes bundled with the amazing new iLife ‘08, Front Row and includes the Apple Remote (a nice little companion for controlling a Mac’d Ride). Another sweet accessory, just announced by Apple is the new ultra-slim, anodized aluminum wireless bluetooth keyboard. The keyboard features special function keys for one-touch access to Mac features like play/pause, volume, etc. The keyboard looks sleek and compact for stashing away under a car seat when not in use. The new wireless keyboard retails for $79.

One of our forum members just posted an interesting hack to attach a Mac to their Prius in-dash touch screen…

So my goal was to get a mac working on my Prius’s MFD display, and be able to use it’s touch screen to control the front end (currently Front Row)

I don’t have audio hooked up, figured the video would be the hardest part.

I’m going through a Can-View which normally is just used for display the car’s CAN data http://hybridinterfaces.ca/, but has RGB+S in and outputs the MFD’s touchscreen through a serial cable.

I tried using SwitchResX to output the 640×480 at 15.75khz with no luck (got it working with powerstrip on a pc) Ended up buying a used scan converter off of ebay that outputs RGB+S.

Wrote a perl script to listen to the serial port (keyspan USB->serial converter) and sends Front Row commands through apple script. Broke the screen up into a 3×3 grid (9 boxes) Up, Down, Left, Right, center for enter/play/pause, and left top for menu/escape.

Here is what I have so far. This is just the prototype phase. I need to figure out audio, and then I’ll actually get a mac mini and try to hide all the components.

You can see additional pictures and a video of the system in action here.

MacVroom was lucky enough to score the last 4GB iPod nano in-stock at our local Apple Store. We are planning on integrating the iPod nano into our Mac mini MR2 install. For those of you that have not experienced the nano in person, it is an amazing must-have (and hold) gadget. We have been previously toting a 60GB iPod, but the diminutive size of the nano drove us to test it out as a pocket-friendly replacement.

Our only disappointment with the iPod nano was that Apple chose not to include any type of case to tote it around. Additionally, because the nano is so new, no other third-party cases are available yet for it. Like other iPods, the nano has a shiny chrome back and the face is a high-gloss white or black plastic, which are both fairly easily marred.

We decided to take matters into our own hands and make a simple protective sleeve for our new nano…

We started with something that would be both protective and useful to shine up the iPod nano - a soft chamois cloth. Chamois is also fairly thin and will not add much bulk. Lucky for us, Apple includes one of these cloths with their Cinema Displays, so we had one on hand.

If you don’t have a chamois, we recommend picking up the iKlear Apple Polish Kit (available online or at your local Apple Store). The kit includes a bottle of the iKlear spray polish (which is great for cleaning all kinds of computer surfaces), a large chamois and a small travel micro-chamois which is a perfect size for using as an iPod nano case.

We simply folded the chamois around the nano and cut it slightly larger (roughly 4 1/2″ wide by 3 3/4″ high).

Next we took the cut chamois, folded it in half and sewed a simple overlock stitch along the two cut edges. The finished edge is left open and allows for inserting the nano into the sleeve.

To finish the sleeve, simply turn it inside-out and slide in the nano. Voilà! Now our beautiful little nano will be nicely protected in our pocket and also ready for a nice shining!

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This AppleScript is for use with the Xenarc 700TSV LCD display. It allows you to easily change your Mac mini’s resolution to 800 x 480 upon startup. The script requires the cscreen application (see instructions below). Additionally, an 800 x 480 resolution must also be already configured via DisplayConfigX - see this post for more info on how to do this.

Instructions…

1. Download the cscreen application here
2. Mount the cscreen disk image by double-clicking on the “cscreen.dmg” file that you just downloaded
3. Open the Terminal (located in Applications/Utilities) and enter the following command:
   sudo cp /Volumes/cscreen/cscreen /usr/local/bin/
   then hit return
   (you will be prompted for the administrators password)
   If you get the message “directory /usr/local/bin does not exist” enter the following commands:
   sudo mkdir /usr/local/bin/
   then…
   sudo cp /Volumes/cscreen/cscreen /usr/local/bin/
4. Download the “chres800×480.sit” StuffIt file here
5. Expand the Stuffit file and copy the “chres800×480″ AppleScript file into your Applications folder
6. Open the System Preferences and choose “Accounts”
7. Select the “Startup Items” tab and then hit the “+” button
8. Locate and highlight the chres800×480 AppleScript located in the Applications folder, then hit the “Add” button.
9. Quit out of System Preferences

Everything should be installed now. The next time you reboot your computer the chres800×480 AppleScript will run, and your monitor will be automatically set to 800 x 480!

If you are comfortable using the Script Editor, you can easily create other resolutions. Here’s the single line of AppleScript code….
do shell script “/usr/local/bin/cscreen -x 800 -y 480″

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