MacVroom

I’d like to apologize to the readers of MacVroom.com for the lack of posts over the past couple months. The MacVroom team has been extremely busy with our new startup company - ContentRobot. Fear not, we have adjusted to our new work schedule and we are back! We even pulled out our Toyota MR2 and are excited to continue documenting our install. We also have plans for another detailed Mac mini install, and a couple other cool things up our sleeve, so stay tuned!

We’d also love to hear from our readers on the types of stories you’d like to see on MacVroom. Leave your requests over in our forums or shoot us an email.

Thanks,
Dana Rockel
Publisher, MacVroom.com

It’s hard to believe a year has passed since we launched MacVroom. What started as a little place to document our findings on installing Macs in cars, is now a well-trafficked site with a wealth of information.

We’d like to thank everyone that has participated in creating our stories and sharing in our forums. Our community is what makes MacVroom a success!

MacVroom would like to invite everyone to visit our sister site TuneVroom.com. This new site is a companion to MacVroom.com and focuses in installing iPods in your car. Like MacVroom, TuneVroom provides up-to-date information on iPod car integration news, new product releases, reviews, and user installs. The site also has a comprehensive product catalog and plenty of tips to help determine the best way to iPod your ride.

Take some time to check out the new site and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear any suggestions on the types of stories that our readers would be interested in.

We are happy to announce that the MacVroom crew will be at the Macworld Conference and Expo in San Francisco on January 10th through the 13th. We will be providing show coverage on all related Mac car integration news and products.

If you are heading to the show, make sure to check out the Macworld Auto Show that will be showcasing the latest in iPod integration as well as Mac mini installs.

If any of our readers are interested in meeting up to chat, feel free to drop us a line or use the uber-cool Jambo social networking tool to track us down at the show.

Visit MacVroom’s Jambo DiscoverMe Page

MacVroom is now selling t-shirts from CafePress! Help support MacVroom and show everyone that you love your Mac’d ride by sporting some MacVroom gear.

Click here to visit our store.

The October 2005 issue of MacFormat magazine (#160) includes an excellent feature on the Mac mini and car installs. MacVroom helped out on the article with our “10 Tips for a Successful Install.”

The story also profiles the Mac’d Rides of Dennis Monckton (2000 Land Rover Discovery), Mario Echeverria (Lexus 2002 IS300), Matt Turner (VW GTI), Tom Berry (2001 VW Beetle) and details how they did it and how you can do it too.

The MacFormat October issue (#160) is available now in the United Kingdom and should be available to US readers next month. The article, called Mac mini motors, can be found on pages 22-25. To subscribe to MacFormat please click here.

Here are a few previews of the article…

Article copyright MacFormat and used with permission. MacFormat (www.macformat.co.uk) magazine is full of practical, authoritative and passionate advice for Mac enthusiasts. Every month the MacFormat experts set you on the right course with the best tutorials on Mac hardware and software and reviews of the latest Mac kit. Each issue features a packed Q&A section full of answers to our readers’ Mac questions, useful Mac OS X hints and more. To make sure you get more from your Mac, MacFormat brings you two CDs packed with full programs, the latest demos and updates each month.

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The September 2005 issue of MacWorld magazine includes a “Hot Mods” article on Mac mini auto installs and also mentions MacVroom.com. The article highlights a couple of the excellent Mac’d Rides that we have reported on here - Mike Feidler’s Mac mini Mini Cooper and Matt Turner’s VW GTI. If you subscribe to MacWorld magazine or are near a newsstand, check out the article. It is titled “Hot Mods” and is located in the “Mobile Mac” section on page 78.

Congrats to Mike and Matt - it sure is nice to get some recognition for hard work!

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Have you spent countless hours installing a Mac in your vehicle? Would you like to get some exposure and have it featured on MacVroom.com? If so, we would like to hear more about it. The “Mac’d Rides” section is one of the most popular areas on our site. Get your install in front of hundreds of interested viewers today!

Shoot us an email with details about your project via this link. Please include…

• Year, make and model of the auto
• Mac mini configuration
• Display type
• Input devices
• Other peripherals
• Software that you are using to control the system
• Audio and Powering specs
• Project photos
• Any other unique details about your install

The June 2005 issue of Popular Science includes an article on the Mac mini and its various uses. The story covers using the Mac mini in the living room and in the car, as well as setting it up as a web server and phone switch box. The article mentions some of the items that we have reported on here, such as the Xenarc and Lilliput displays, the Carnetix P1900 and the i3 software. We particularly enjoyed the closing sentence for the in-car section that reads “Be inspired by other people’s installations and learn more at macvroom.com.”

The article also contains links to some of the popular Mac mini sites and projects like 123Macmini.com, modmini.com, and centerstageproject.com. If you subscribe to Popular Science or are near a newsstand, check out the article. It is titled “Mac of All Trades” and is located on pages 87 and 88 in the “How 2.0: Geek Guide.”

Update: The full article is available here.

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Do you have a question about installing a Mac mini in your ride? Can’t seem to find the nugget of information you need? Use our forums to ask us, and our team of experts will do their best to quickly help you out.