Reality: talk to me
Nothing has been done here outside of the AutoPC wireless messaging application that's capable of reading the news, traffic and email it receives via the wireless link. However, to date, the wireless link has not yet been shipped.

Vision: flexible hardware interface
It should be easy to add new hardware to the device such as CD changers, tape player, DVD player, MP3 decoder, game controllers, radar detectors, wireless transceivers, rear view cameras, or proximity sensors. Really, there should be no limit to what can be attached. A standardized interface should be provided for this such as the Universal Serial Bus.

Reality: be more flexible
This can be done today but only a few hardware manufacturers are working on such products and the special in-vehicle USB connector has not been made widely available by Clarion. There are serious opportunities here to integrate with the AutoPC if someone is willing to take them.

Vision: traffic information integration
The system should be able to integrate any available traffic data from local municipalities into its navigation system or information reporting tools. Imagine being able to know, in real time, where the slowdowns were on your route home and have the navigation system dynamically reroute you around the problem. It would also be useful to have vehicles anonymously post their direction, speed, and location and this would dynamically update a database of road conditions for other AutoPC users in the area to use.

Reality: more info needed
There is lots of talking going on in the Intelligent Transportation Systems groups and some experimentation. However, nothing is available yet to consumers.

Vision: entertainment software
It would be fun if the AutoPC could play games with the user. Specifically, games that can be done using only spoken information. Games such as poker, blackjack, Adventure, or memory games are examples but there are many more. The text based adventure games of the 70's and 80's, such as Zork, could have a revival deployed as games on the AutoPC.

Reality: entertaining thoughts
Entertainment software is available from a few companies for the AutoPC. OmegaOne, at http://www.omegaone.com, is one such company. They sell a dominos program and also have a free GPS clock program. Another interesting tool they have is something called Active Volume which automatically adjusts the volume on the AutoPC based on the speed of the vehicle to help keep the audio clear over the road noise.

More thoughts
These are only some of the many ideas I had in mind for the AutoPC and they primarily deal with the vehicle operator while the vehicle is in motion. There are vast numbers possibilities if one begins to consider passenger entertainment, mobile office, recreational vehicles, or vertical market applications. There are great opportunities here for a creative entrepreneur to come up with some great new tool for the motor vehicle that is primarily software or a new accessory for the vehicle.