car posts

Weird Wednesday: how to make a font with your car

by Lee Mathews Jul 22nd 2009

Ok, so maybe you don't have access to all the necessary equipment to pull this off, but if you did...It would look a lot like the contents of this Flickr gallery.

Professional race driver Stef van Campenhoudt, typographers Pierre and Damien of PleaseLetMeDesign, and interactive artist Zachary Lieberman collaborated to create iQ font using a compact Toyota hatchback and an array of computer and video hardware. You can watch things unfold in a Vimeo clip after the break.

The resulting font is actually quite good, with a hand-drawn, script look to it. You can view sample images of iQ font and download it from Toyota Belgium's web site.

Scriptiness is fine and dandy, but let's see if they can pull off something with a nice, scholarly feel to it like Book Antiqua.

Thanks for the tip, Ramin!

Tags: car, crazy, font, typography, weird

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Productivity, Web services, Social Software, web 2.0

Simple but powerful Drivepricing helps calculate gas costs

by Drew Olanoff Jul 9th 2008

Sometimes the best web services are the simplest ones. Drivepricing lets you calculate the cost of gas for your road trip.

With gas prices so high its nice to be able to know how much to put in the piggy bank to save up for the trips you have coming up this summer.

So when you're going to visit grandma in Albany from Philly, you can drop your gas mileage in there and get an estimated cost of what you're going to have to beg her for so you can get home.

Even if you don't know your gas mileage they have a link to FuelEconomy.gov for you. Drop your zipcode in there, start address, end address, the type of gas you use (which is a great feature) and whether its a round trip or not.

After a few seconds of loading, booya there you have it. Price per gallon and cost for trip.

Tags: car, drivepricing, gas, prices

Filed under: Games, Time-Wasters

Riding the bus but miss driving your car to work?

by Ted Wallingford Aug 30th 2007

Just when you thought you were going to get away from the rat race of a freeway commute and take the train, Nokia and EA have found a way to get you back into the driver's seat. A version of Need For Speed: Carbon has been released for Java-supporting mobile phones such as the excellent N73. On Nokia N-series phones, you can grab the racer by launching the Download! option. Then strap in and hit the gas. Just be careful not to lean too hard into the passenger next to you on the subway as you drift around all those tight virtual curves.

And while you're checking out Carbon, you might want to sneak a peek at Need For Speed: Pro Street, which will be available for your mobile on October 31.

Tags: car, carbon, ea, mobile, nfs, nokia, racing

Filed under: OS Updates

Japanese auto makers to develop a standard car OS

by Brad Linder Jul 30th 2007

The Japanese government is working with 10 major Japenese auto makers to develop a standardized automobile operating system. While we're tempted to make jokes about blue screens of death and unexpected errors, the truth is many cars now include complex electronics and require a computer system to coordinate all those newfangled parts. And developing a uniform operating system is going to make life a lot easier on your poor neighborhood mechanic.

JasPar, or the Japan Automotive Software Platform Architecture group will be responsible for developing the platform. JasPar is a joint venture that includes the cooperation of Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Toshiba, and other auto and electronics makers. Many of those companies are currently developing their own operating systems.

The goal is to have a prototype available in 2009, with a final version on the market in 5 to 10 years.

[via TechMeme]

Tags: auto, automobile, car, Japan, JasPar, operating system, OperatingSystem

Filed under: Security, News, Windows, Windows Mobile, Microsoft

Microsoft invades the car

by Ryan Carter Dec 26th 2006

Many people have built their own car PC and installed their rig into their autos, but now Microsoft feels that they must partner with Ford to put Windows into your car. Why? Microsoft really doesn't want to take over the world you know, just your desktop, living room, workplace, car, plane, tricycle, government, oh yeah and they want to be in charge of how much filling goes into Twinkies too. Despite the megalomaniacal leanings of good ol' MS, Ford is going yo go along with it anyway. The system will have some form of Windows (if we're lucky it will be Windows Mobile), bluetooth, SmartPhone support, probably GPS support and who knows what else. Honestly I would rather put together my own PC than let Microsoft norse it up by putting together their own idea of what I need in a car PC, but hey, that's just me. I am a bit skeptical about the idea, and will remain so until I see how viable and useful the Windows-Powered car PC really is. First the PC is integrated with Ford cars in a non-threatening "just-for-fun" way, but soon, the car PC will want to run everything. I can't wait to hear the Microsoft Agent voice say, "you should pull over to the side of the road before your car loses power. Your fuel is severely depleted." That will be the day.

Tags: CAR, Fiat, Ford, Microsoft, PC

Filed under: Fun, Hardware, Open Source

OSCar - the open source car

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Apr 12th 2006

An open source car? This one's a little different. It's hardware, but applying the principles of open source software. I've seen this before (there are a few robotics projects), but never with an object so pervasive, and so complex. Unless anyone knows of an open source rocket to Mars... The OScar (man I hope they don't get sued over that name) is ambitious, yes, but slowly moving forward. It took me about an hour just to wrap my mind around the forums, and all the little fiddly bits that need to go into just starting a project this size. OScar has been around for a while, but they need your help. Check out the forums and see if you or someone you know can help. For instance, it looks like they're still in the market for decent project management software (I can only assume they prefer an OSS solution). Any suggestions?

Tags: autoblog, automobile, car, oscar

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