In-Car MP3 Project (Not what you're probably thinking!)

[Guest arhodes16]

Hi all, hopefully this is the correct forum to post this in :)

I'm currently considering restarting a project I started some time ago. It's not something that will be of much use to most people here, although it may interest the odd person, but I'm posting anyway as it's interesting and I could definately do with some help/ideas.

Essentially, I want to install a cut-down low spec PC/laptop into the boot of my car, with a fairly huge hard disk and a sound card, and use it to play MP3s through the line-in input of my current CD player. I understand I could just play via the Smartphone directly, but I'm talking about Gigabytes of storage here, hence the need for something a bit bigger.

I have already achieved this previously (but never got round to installing it into the car) using an old PC, and a cheap black & white Casio handheld PDA, and the two communicating over a serial link with software at both ends that I wrote myself. It was extremely simple - the PC did all of the actual processing, and simply sent codes to and from the PDA over a serial cable to receive input (what song to play, start/stop etc.) . The PDA then just displayed the relevant info on it's screen, and waited for some kind of input which was then sent back to the PC for processing. Basically my new idea for restarting the project invovles doing exactly the same, but with the SPV, and over USB if possible.

Essentially I'm wondering how simple it is to get basic communication going over the USB cable between software on the SPV and the PC in 'real time' if at all possible. If this isn't possible, would it help at all to use the serial version of the cradle? Unfortunately I am not a Windows programmer, although I do program (I use Linux as my OS, and have done for some time, other than for moving files to the SPV). If anyone has any example code, or links to tutorials that may help me, I would greatly appreciate it. Or any ideas on how I may get data going to the SPV and back in as simple a way as possible (any more would be a waste - it's extremely low volume!)

It's also worth noting that if it is possible to get this going - it can also work as a way of controlling winamp etc (or whatever I decide to use) from your SPV even just by your computer. So you could be playing a game, with winamp playing music in the background (probably a bad example) - and control the MP3s without leaving the game.

So basically, if anyone has any tips, links, or suggestions, please reply to this thread ;) If this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move wherever it should be :D

(And as a really long shot - what are the chances of me getting a linux app talking to an SPV app over either USB or Serial? Pushing my luck? :D I think I'm right in saying the machine in the boot will have to be Windows)

[Guest awarner [MVP]]

(And as a really long shot - what are the chances of me getting a linux app talking to an SPV app over either USB or Serial? Pushing my luck? :) I think I'm right in saying the machine in the boot will have to be Windows)

There is only one person who has managed to get a form of linux on the phone and that was Florin_m but how useable it was is another matter.

[Guest awarner [MVP]]

(And as a really long shot - what are the chances of me getting a linux app talking to an SPV app over either USB or Serial? Pushing my luck? :) I think I'm right in saying the machine in the boot will have to be Windows)

There is only one person who has managed to get a form of linux on the phone and that was Florin_m but how useable it was is another matter.

[Guest arhodes16]

There is only one person who has managed to get a form of linux on the phone and that was Florin_m but how useable it was is another matter.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply :) I'm not really interested in running linux on the phone, but more being able to communicate to an app on the phone (running it's normal OS) from a linux PC over USB. However, I'm also having trouble finding any info on using USB to transfer data to/from the phone even using Windows, so if anyone has any links they would like to share I'd be grateful :o

[Guest cpt_andy]

This article may be of some use. While it uses eVB .NET, which we don't have, there may be something of interest there, as it sounds very much like what you want to do, and it uses .NET Compact Framework, which I believe is on it's way with Smartphone 2003.

Cpt. Andy

ETA: Heh, forget the link :roll: