Geek My Ride: Build the Ultimate Tech Rod (ExtremeTech) [Paperback]

Auri Rahimzadeh (Author), Steve Wozniak (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0764578766 | ISBN-13: 978-0764578762 | Publication Date: May 6, 2005 | Edition: 1

Roll up your sleeves and get ready to totally tech-out your ride!  Geek My Ride is the first do-it-yourself guide to installing a variety of awesome projects that will turn your ordinary vehicle into the ultimate tech rod!  Car hacker Auri Rahimzadeh guides readers through 15 cool projects, complete with tools, skills and step-by-step instructions.

Geek My Ride goes way beyond factory options and teaches readers how to install a custom car PC, with Wi-Fi, Internet access, and more. Dive into installing video gaming systems, video surveillance, LED message boards, and more. You'll even learn to how get your car's new MP3 player to sync with your home music collection wirelessly when you pull into the garage!

Foreword by Steve "Woz" Wozniak.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Not your father's idea of cool wheels

Your definition of automotive high tech goes far beyond a backseat DVD player with a drop-down screen. How about a gaming PC? Internet access? Satellite TV? Maybe videoconferencing? Oh yeah—now that's more like it.

Add those and half a dozen other geek toys to your ride with these step-by-step instructions, complete lists of tools and equipment, advice on handling power and temperature issues, even essential physics. So what are you waiting for?

Install them all

Everything you need to know to tech out your ride

1. Single-source A/V system
2. Game console
3. General-purpose PC
4. Multimedia PC
5. Gaming PC
6. Internet access
7. In-car networking
8. TV access
9. Syncing your music
10. Videoconferencing
11. Video surveillance
12. LED displays
13. Wireless headphones
14. Car computer interface

About the Author

Auri Rahimzadeh has been tinkering with computers ever since he was six years old and loves all technology. Auri collects computers and has been involved with many computer projects, including teaching computers alongside Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer. Auri has written hundreds of articles on various computer technologies, has contributed to many standards including HDTV, DVD, and interactive television. Auri has also contributed to computer education for students across the country and has promoted technology awareness through the Indianapolis Computer Society, where he has served as president for three years. Currently, Auri runs his own IT consulting firm, The Auri Group (TAG), and spends his free time programming, chatting in Starbucks, and going to Pacers games.

Product Details

• Paperback: 455 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 6, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764578766
• ISBN-13: 978-0764578762
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,078,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Auri Rahimzadeh is an accomplished technophile writer and book author. He has written three books: Hacking the PSP, Geek My Ride, and co-authored Hacking Digital Cameras. Rahimzadeh has contributed to many digital entertainment technology standards, including HDTV and DVD, and is former west coast research director at The Envisioneering Group, a prominent consumer electronics research firm. Having taught side by side with Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, Auri continues to share a passion for technology education which he furthers as president of the Indianapolis Computer Society, the largest computer user group in the Midwest. Currently Mr. Rahimzadeh is president of TAG, an Indianapolis-based technology think tank and consulting firm. He spends his free time programming, watching movies, and hanging out at Starbucks :)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Making a 400 page book from 75 pages of content, October 3, 2005

By 

Michael D. Hiscox - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Geek My Ride: Build the Ultimate Tech Rod (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

I won't argue that there is some worthwhile stuff in here, and there are mentions of product names and websites that may prove useful. Many will even find the information presented worth the purchase price.

However, don't purchase this book thinking you are getting anything close to 400 pages of content. To begin with, there are many pictures, each using up half a page. That sounds good, right? Nope, the pictures show such things as an ethernet cable, a Dremel sanding bit, a picture of an extension cord and a pcture of how to use a measuring tape to measure a piece of Velcro.

More depressing, you get to look at these pictures several times, as well as read much of the content over and over. Each chapter is written as if there were no preceeding information, so you'll get to read the same information about the same products and techniques multiple times.

You know those little plastic plugs that go into A/C outlets to keep toddlers from poking pins in them? Did you need a description of them? How about a half-page picture of 4 of them artfully scattered on a table? How about multiple half-page pictures of them? How about for the extension cords, the sanding bits, etc.

I was expecting to get a 400 page book with 400 pages of information. It's nowhere near that. You may still find it worthwhile, but I found the repetition lame and unprecedented and personally resented being hoodwinked.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great step-by-step coverage, May 24, 2005

By 

TechGeek (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Geek My Ride: Build the Ultimate Tech Rod (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

This is a great guide to installing all sorts of cool technology in your vehicle. In particular, I was interested in integrating a game console into the back seat for those long trips out east, so the Game Cube example was what drew me to the book.

I have been pleasantly suprised to find all my questions answered here, and have come to realize that there is more than I was expecting in terms of getting the power requirements right. Regardless, it was all covered, and written in a very friendly and easy to understand manner.

I agree with another reviewer's comments about using velcro as one of the primary ways of securing things in the car, although that is certainly not the only method covered. For me, the use of velcro is a sound, inexpensive method for getting the job done, and I don't have to worry about ripping everything out when the time comes to sell the car, when we want to move the Xbox easily to and from the car and into the house, or if I simply want to move it to the trunk when I am parked somewhere where I dont necessarily want to "advertise" my high-tech gear.

The author does make some assumptions about potential readers, so if you have never built a PC before, you may want to tackle that before you dive into some of these projects. A little experience with basic wireless networking will help too, although the steps are outlined fairly well in the text.

All in all, this is a great solution for the do-it-yourself reader who wants to add these sorts of projects to his or her vehicle. I imagine there are certainly more ellaborate (and expensive) solutions, and if I wanted to go that way I would heed the author's advice to stick with the pros. Even if you don't like the author's particular example or method, he generally gives you the right approach to take if you are a little more adventurous and want to take things a step further.

Bottom line: If you have a screw driver, some extra time, and have always wanted to add these sorts of projects to your vehicle, this is the perfect guide.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exactly what I needed to know., June 6, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Geek My Ride: Build the Ultimate Tech Rod (ExtremeTech) (Paperback)

I don't want all this stuff in my car. So why did I get this book? Because I want a lot of this stuff in my delivery vehicles.

I don't much care about a game console. Not true, I do care, I don't want it there. But a PC, a GPS, internet connection, and a printer make good sense. This would make a lot more sense than simply having people calling in all the time on their cell phones.

One I liked about this book, was that it had all the information I needed from the technology, through installation, through the actual use. While I'm not going to do the installation myself, now I have a feeling of what the technician has to go through and I'm a lot less likely to get snowed by what he says.

The first guy I talked to about doing this wanted to sell me an industrial grade PC for several thousand dollars. Instead the cases and other components discussed here tell me how to get the job done with a small fraction of the cost.

The other thing that I liked about this book is that each project or device is separate and free standing. I didn't need to read about the audio visual system to find out what I needed to know about putting the PC in the vehicle.

For me this book did exactly what I wanted. That's all you can ask of a book.