Computerize your car

Step 6: Boot it up

Windows XP looks great on a 17-inch monitor but can give you a case of the squints on a 7-inch screen. Add in some road vibration, and the icons can start to blend together. Quite a few other people noticed that same thing when putting computers in their cars and made their own touch-screen interfaces that install over Windows. Nearly 100 of these user interfaces (UIs) are floating around. Some are very straightforward and have set features, while others allow for plug-ins. As is the case with computer software, you are not required to pick one and stick to it. If you don't like your UI, install another, rinse, repeat.

Centrafuse, by Flux Media, covers most of the bases, with integrated GPS, DVD, FM, DivX, traffic, and Web right in the interface.

The RoadRunner UI goes the open-source route and has a strong following. It provides hooks into many peripherals, but with an open-source product, you're left to FAQs and message boards for support.

CNS Maestro's slick interface is worth looking into. You can change its skins to customize the look and feel.

Getting your software loaded, drivers installed, and operating system patched can be done through a direct-wired Ethernet connection snaked out from your router to the garage or through a wireless card. Systems without any kind of removable media or immediate network access can use a USB memory stick to shuttle device drivers around until networking is up and fully functional.

Tip: Before turning that ignition key, make sure you have a quick way to disconnect power in the event of a short. You don't want to destroy your new computer just after spending a weekend installing it. If the CPU power supply is properly connected to ground, 12V constant, and 12V switched, the computer should boot up when you turn the ignition key. If the system does not start its boot process, check the fuses, the continuity of connections to power sources and then, of course, the power button. It's often the simple thing that isn't working.