acura ITX

expeditions in mobile computing

12 September 2007

Acura ITX Front-End Design for Roadrunner in Green

Written by Yours Truly ( Contact the author of this post )
Published on September 12th, 2007 @ 12:37:35 pm, using 645 words, 5923 views

I redesigned the original Acura ITX blue skin in a green version for night driving. I’m still not quite sure about the exact shade of green and might, in the coming weeks and as time permits, attempt to shift the green to approximate a more striking neon shade of green, as well as increase the saturation of the shadowed areas so that they approach black, providing a higher contrast to the overall design.

The following screens were taken directly from the Photoshop master file for this skin layout, and not from a running copy of Roadrunner. Hence, no in-action text or album art can be seen in these screens. I hope to have some photos up in the next few days which will show the Acura ITX skin running in the car PC environment.

For a different view of this skin, in its active context, feel free to take a look at the original Acura ITX front-end design for Roadrunner post, which displays the same screens (among others) in the original blue version, captured from a running copy of Roadrunner, and which show such things as music playlists, GPS maps, album art and embedded PowerDVD software as it is displayed while the skin is running.

1. The splash/loading screen:

Acura ITX splash/loading screen for RoadRunner, green version

[Continued...]

2. The main screen, with sections reserved for currently playing music, gps heading, # of satellites locked, altitude, time and date, etc… The lozenge buttons at the top give access to (from left to right) Music Player, Music Browser, GPS, External Applications:

Acura ITX main menu screen, green version

3. This is the secondary menu screen which displays after hitting either LEFT or RIGHT arrow buttons in the top menu… The lozenge buttons at the top provide touchscreen (or mouse access) to (from left to right) Movies, Phone Control, Games, OBD Diagnostics:

Acura ITX secondary menu screen, green version

4. The Audio Player screen. The dark field on the left side displays, toward the top, the artist name, album name, and track name. Beneath that that album is displayed. The right side field shows the current playlist. The dark field across the top displays the currently playing track name, along with the artist name in larger, more at-a-glance legible text. (To see the screen in action, complete with album art display, please see the original Acura ITX front-end design post):

Acura ITX audio player screen, green version

5. The Audio Browser screen. Clicking the “System List” or “Playlist” text switches the navigation cross to control that particular list. The alphabet across the top is a quick-search to jump through the list:

Acura ITX audio browser screen, green version

6. Clicking the GPS lozenge in the main screen brings up this menu, which gives access to MS Streets & Trips, iGuidance, or an exit back to the Main/Application screen:

Acura ITX GPS selection menu screen, green version

7. The Equalizer. Since this is a photoshop screen-capture, none of the sliders are visible on the individual equalizer bars. To see the equalizer in context, please see the original Acura ITX front-end post displaying the running screens:

Acura ITX equalizer screen, green version

8. The OSK, which is accessed from any screen by clicking the ‘ITX’ text in the banner at the top of the screen:

Acura ITX on-screen keyboard and text input, green version

9. Clicking the ACURA text in the banner in any screen brings up what I call the “Blind Man’s Screen” (aka Boss Key, Kill Switch, etc). When driving in areas where law enforcement doesn’t take kindly to video screens on the dashboard, and law enforcement happens to pull out right behind you, hitting the ACURA text in the top-left of the screen will bring up this screen, which attempts to be as dark as possible while maintaining a certain sense of humor ;) Clicking anywhere on this screen will restore whatever screen was being displayed prior to entering it:

Acura ITX boss key, blind man's screen, green version

10. The EXIT MENU screen. The options should be self-explanatory, representing the standard MS-Windows functions such as hibernate, stand-by, and shutdown:

Acura ITX EXIT menu selection screen, green version

Contemporaneous Auditory Narcotics:
or, What my speakers are currently pumping…
Bad Company - BCRUK001 Repress Vinyl

Creative Commons LicenseThis post is the creative work of Yours Truly and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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acura ITX

A journal outlining my project to hard-wire a mini-ITX car computer into the ignition of a 2001 Acura 3.2CL. The site covers such topics as wiring and power, touch screens, navigation and GPS, embedded applications, etc...


Mobile Computing Highlights

  • 2001 Acura CL dashboard removal and stock stereo replacement
  • Initial stages of installation of the Acura-ITX mini-ITX carputer system
  • Acura car computer front-end design for RoadRunner
  • Building on-the-fly music playlists in RoadRunner
  • Custom mini-itx car computer mounted in Acura CL dashboard
  • Acura mini-ITX touch screen interface design
  • Fabricating a dashboard chassis for a mini-itx carPC
  • iGuidance embedded for carputer navigation
  • Car computer system testing in open testbed

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