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My computer system is setup as a true multi-function system in my truck. I drive truck (18-wheeler) over-the-road for a living. I use it for my routing, entertainment (movies, games, internet), bookkeeping, etc. Pretty much whatever I want to do with it, I do. I use the portable USB drive to transfer movies and tv episodes which I download on my home PC, giving me basically an endless supply of something to watch while on those long waits.

I have the laptop attached to a shelf in the sleeper of the truck. The shelf is mounted at the foot of the bed. With the 17" widescreen monitor, it's soooo much better than the standard 13" tv you'll find in most drivers trucks. The Media Center portion of Windows XP is controlled completely with a wireless remote that resembles just about any standard remote control you'd use to control your tv at home.

I use ALK's CoPilot Truck for my trip planning, routing and navigation. If need be, I also use Microsoft Streets & Trips and/or Google Maps for more detail. Even though in the software list below, you'll see that I have CoPilot 11. Well, technically I do. However, because ALK put out what I can call nothing more than a steaming pile of crap, I still use the previous version - CoPilot 9. They're talking about having a patch out in mid-May, so I'll re-evaluate it then.

I have a 7" touchscreen monitor which I mounted on a custom-built plate which is attached to my sun-visor with Velcro straps. The monitor comes with a dashboard mount but I didn't like blocking any of my view. CoPilot works great with the touchscreen. Almost everything is really easy to read while using it. Version 11 is better for the touchscreen than version 9, also.

 I also added a feature, GooPS, which allows people to track me. They can see exactly where I'm at, the route I took to get there, etc. GooPS is a free add-on for Google Earth. I have to use Franson GPSGate to allow the GPS signal to be "shared" between multiple applications.

I also use a Sprint aircard for my internet connection. With this, I pretty much have internet access anywhere. Sure, some places I go may not have a high speed connection, but any connection is better than none. Also, even if I'm sitting in a truckstop, I don't have to pay to use their over-crowded connection. I pay $49.95/month for unlimited service. And, yes, it truly is unlimited. I've downloaded over 10gigs in a months time with no extra fees, letters from Sprint, etc. It's money well spent.

A lot of people have asked me how much money I've got in my current setup. To be perfectly honest - I don't know. This system is a culmination of years of adding/removing/changing/upgrading. I started out with an OLD IBM ThinkPad that sat on the floor of my truck and Microsoft Streets & Trips (without GPS). When that laptop died, I bought my current one, which, by the way, has been running absolutely perfect (except for the dead battery) for over 2 years now. The hardware itself has NEVER given me any problems. Software, on the other hand, is very stable unless I do something stupid (which is all my fault). 

Below you'll find links to everything that I use in my system, from hardware to software. I think I've remembered everything. 

Laptop: HP Pavilion DV-8113cl

Printer:  HP Deskjet D1455

Rear USB Hub: Belkin Hi-Speed USB 2.0 7-Port Hub

Thumbdrive: SanDisk 4GB Cruzer Micro

Portable Hard Drive: Western Digital Black Passport 160GB 2.5" External Hard Drive

Front Monitor: Xenarc 700tsv 7" Touchscreen Monitor

Front Keyboard:  Adesso MiniTouch PS/2 Keyboard with Touchpad (Black)

GPS Receiver: USB GPS RECEIVER, BU-353

Front USB Hub: Ultra ULT31804 USB Hub - 4-Port, Black

Monitor Extension Cable: Cables To Go 15-Foot HD15 Male/Female SVGA (800x600) Monitor Extension Cable

USB  Extension Cable: Sabrent 16-Foot USB 2.0 Active Extension Cable A-Male to A-Female

TV Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-USB2

Wireless Remote: Microsoft Media Center IR Remote and Receiver

Sprint Aircard: Aircard® 595 by Sierra Wireless

Power Inverter (currently using): Cobra CPI1550 DC to Dual-Outlet AC Power Inverter

Power Inverter (system will run with no problem on this): Cobra CPI450 DC to Dual-Outlet AC Power Inverters

Battery backup (I didn't need this until the battery died in my laptop - $80 cheaper than a new battery): APC ES / 8-Outlet / 350VA / 200Watt / UPS 

XM Radio (XMPCR): XMPCR XM Radio for your PC (Receiver Only) XM PCR

Operating system: Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

Front End Software: Centrafuse

GPS Routing: ALK CoPilot Truck 11 Laptop (no longer using) 

Addtional Mapping Software: Microsoft Streets & Trips  Google Maps

Logbook: Drivers Daily Log with DDL GPS ADD ON (covers only USA right now)

GPS Sharing (allows GPS signal to be used by more than one program): GpsGate for Windows

GPS Tracking (for others to track me): GooPS

Monitor Control (controls the screen saver - screen saver is disabled automatically while running the gps software) : Softany Monitor Control™ 2.06 (no longer using)

Monitor Mirroring (allows same display on both monitors): UltraMon

Personal bookkeeping: Quicken Deluxe 2008

Web Browser: Mozilla FireFox 2 with AdBlock Plus

More Coming soon

Using these 2 items, you could theoretically run your front usb hub and front monitor without using the 2 15' extension cables from the rear of the truck to the front. I've never seen either in action, but it looks promising. 

• Wireless USB Hub: Iogear 4-Port Wireless USB 2.0 Hub with Adapter

• USB VGA Adapter: Sabrent USB-VGA6 Multi Display USB 2.0 to VGA Adapter

If you wish to contact me with questions, comments, suggestions, opinions, whatever, you can reach me here.