Ok be honest how is my music taste Oh also go buy a printer pls(fr tho their deals are really good): shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=2485357&u=4441918&m=138211&urllink=&afftrack=
@@epicgaming11195 they only do that when the company decides to be petty and reinforces the hinges though, either way you cant stop modders from achieving their goals.... once a company makes a product that contains computer components off sale and completely discontinues it the product belongs to the modders domain now, regardless if the company wants it to be or not.
There needs to be a legislation that bans turning functional products into e-waste. Bricking the hardware is brutal, people should just class action sue them. Refunds are an acceptable solution, companies should be forced to open source it.
Nothing like a company just choosing to brick something to create e-waste for NO reason... other than they can. I HATE this. Love that you got it working- and hope others can, too.
Yep, disgusting. Then the same companies have the audacity to greenwash everything and talk about giving a fuck about the environment. Glad people like this exist to unfuck the things they do for profit.
I hate it too, to the point where I've dumped Spotify. Been with them for a long time and STILL waiting for HiFi, first mooted in 2017 and announced about three years ago. This was the last straw for me, switched to Tidal and the improvement in sound quality was tangible. Wish I had made the switch before I bought the Cr Thing, I live in the UK so had to import mine via a third party seller. Not happy, there's no way I'm giving any more money to a company who treats their customers like this
I actually have a lot of respect for companies that drop support for hardware and then fully open source the code the community would need to keep supporting it themselves. Many companies just kill a product and that's that.
Dude I had the same f*chin thing happen. I don’t even own one. I just randomly googled it last night, when this video didn’t exist, to see if it was bricked yet
I didn’t even know this device existed until they announced they were discontinuing it. They did a better job at announcing the end of this awesome product than the release of it.
To be fair it became news because of the outrage it caused among customers and tech nerds, it wasn't because Spotify wanted it. If they tried to bury the announcement they would've gotten even more bad press. You're right they could've done more marketing at launch though.
same. in the uk. there £200, if you want one off ebay... but by the time i found out. it was announce to be discontuined, and there wasnt alot of stockist to begin with
Oh man no wonder! I have a brand new sealed Spotify Car Thing that I've been trying to get rid of on FB Marketplace for months...no takers! But all of a sudden yesterday, I get like 50 people all messaging me to buy it! Thanks for letting me know about the modding capabilities!
250-300 even more saw one on mercari for 500 prices are insane but damn if its still sealed you got double or triple your money back so not bad good luck
bought mine for 30 bucks when it first came out, then it jumped to 90 dollars then it was cancelled with a "your device will get brick" notification and now it's hacked.... what a roller coaster.
It should be illegal for companies to "brick" items that customers bought. I understand no longer releasing software updates and no longer supporting the device. But making the decision to essentially make a device no longer work that consumers have purchased should be ILLEGAL. That sounds tantamount to theft to me.
Within reason i agree this makes sense - but there are so many great reasons for a company having to brick a piece of hardware due to not supporting the software it runs on that this could not and SHOULD NOT be an actual law.
I discontinued my Spotify premium about a month ago when my student discount expired, I had no idea Spotify premium got so expensive.. My car thing’s been just sitting off since. I’ve been waiting for this video to come out so I could use it again, thank you
its actually incredible how not even a year ago when Spotify announced that they are going to brick and kill all of the car things the aftermarket prices of the carthing plummeted back down to around 30-40$, but in recent months the prices again began to skyrocket. you can't even find a carthing for under 200$ nowadays. which brings a question - since most people got the carthing to use it as a desktop spotify music controller then why no company ever tried creating a product dedicated exactly for that?
That tends to happen with obsolete (but usable) devices. They start out being dirt cheap when official support for them ends, then they go back up when the retro/modder community gives them new life and demand goes up. CRT televisions and monitors, for example. Ten years ago they couldn't even be given away for free because nobody wanted them, now they are being resold at a premium.
I bought one of these shortly before they announced they were discontinuing it and ended up never using it. I'm now going to set it up on my home PC. Thank you for tickling the youtube algorithm just right that it ended up on my feed!
Don’t see how it’s that crazy though? Initially I thought it has a built in speaker but no its literally just an Apple TV remote for your Spotify. (I still want one so bad)
@@zanderpicon the spotify API also needs a premium account, the device use the same API to so they have the same requirements, i dont see why its crazy
i have a car thing, and was a q1 buyer, got mine about a week after they dropped. my cars a 2013 and has no infotainment and have gotten basically my fair worth out of the car thing. but its become part of my car, and after following the modding community for a bit, this video is a godsend! it compiles basically everything i need to know to finally get mine updated. hoping its a smooth ride!
Fun thing about the iPod support on that model of Nissan Car Stereo: it still works if you use Apple Music and the right adapter. The iPhone presents Apple Music tracks as iTunes-synced songs so it’s fully-featured.
Spotify has to have the worst marketiing department EVER because I've never heard of this - yet I'd buy one right now to use in my old truck. Glad to see someone is hacking on it and will monitor these projects!
It's so dumb. I'd love one of these for an older car. And many, many people would love it. They just needed to market to an audience of car guys and I feel like it would have been a hit
Remember when everyone was yelling "there is no use to hack this thing because it's so underpowered i's useless?" Great job my dude, I wished I had bought one.
@@izRiprod It was such a dumb thing for people to say as unless it was so underpowered it was unusable for its original task, then it can be repurposed. A wireless screen alone has its uses.
To be fair at the 90 bucks pricepoint it was useless pricepoint wise compared to a 90 bucks smartphone. Or any cheaper used phone. In a desert where you just have this sure, but in an abundance of devices to hack for same uses it is pretty useless.
It’s sad and actually pathetic of them that they had all the funding resources and manpower of a huge company and they can’t even make it a good device and it always glitched and had connection issues.. then chose to kill it for everyone… and all it takes to make something great is just one genius like you.. your awesome I wish companies hired people like you and I wish there were more brains like you out there.. we would have so much more cool tech, keep it up !!
Even Google made the Stadia Controllers work over normal Bluetooth once they discontinued Stadia so people could still use the controllers for PC or mobile gaming , Spotify not even opening the Car Thing is pure scummy
@@SmitePlayz1they only open sourced the OS which is just Linux so basically they just published some modifications they did to run the OS in it. But they didn't publish the codes that made the thing to connect with Spotify in phone and communicate
Love how excited you were when you managed to code it yourself, I also only had knowledge of design, but I wanted to execute an idea from my mind, and that ended up being my reaction after every programming session, it's a really cool feeling
Just found this video in my recommended. Easily my favorite project of the year. Thank you for all of your work on this one!! I was certainly disappointed when I saw the announcement from Spotify.
a friend sent me your video, and I thank both of you. I use mine consistently in the car, so them bricking it is quite annoying. I'll be following your steps this weekend.
yeah i have a 2007 mini van and even im like well shit... lol
Месяц назад+4
I had a 2002 Mitsubishi Carisma with a bluetooth car radio in it. Just used the buttons on that to change the songs. Wanted to change the playlist? Maybe on highways without much traffic I would do that while driving, otherwise I looked for a place to stop.
this is the first time I've come across your videos and I gotta say I really enjoyed how you've structured it. It was very calming and I instantly subscribed. Good work!
@@KarminsLynn Here everybody acts like you HAVE to go buy a new one every 2 years wether you want one or can afford one or not. People care SO much about what cars look like its ridiculous. But you cant argue with it. drive a brand new car or else enjoy having no date or social life because nobody wants to come near your 15 year old car.
Where I live, you can get a "Horseless Carriage" license plate of the vehicle is 30+ years old. This means a vehicle from 1994 is considered "classic" or "vintage"
I drive a 2011 Mini Cooper which has previous and fast forward buttons on the wheel but only for cd playback no aux support. I don’t like having to look at my phone (which I have on a mount) to hit the tiny skip button so I got a used Car Thing for like $90 and zero regrets. Even before Spotify announced its discontinuation I wanted custom firmware to exist for the thing, the possibility of actually being able to run something like this in my car is very exciting can’t wait !
Absolutely insane that Spotify, a company didn't think about the device being able to be used in places other then the car.. If they had they could have made more money advertising it as that.
@@DecibelAlex Like a standalone device that can be used on your desk or in the kitchen, which he mentions some people did. My mom likes to listen to instrumental music in the kitchen through a speaker and this would be great. Though price would have to be lower for it to work and be able to play other stuff like RUclips Music.
@@ninjaredfirehot Sony still makes the Walkman. How often do you see or hear about those? Everyone already has a device in their pocket that does everything
@@DecibelAlex I'm still using a device with 1TB of storage. I don’t use any streaming services and prefer to have my stuff with me. Why should I pay 10+ dollars when I mostly listen to the same music anyway?
Let me tell you, I used the CarThing for YEARS and absolutely loved it. The software was very buggy at first but they continued to update it pretty frequently and led consistently better feedback on the unit. I’ve since got a newer vehicle so no longer use it; this however makes me want to do something with it. Thank you for sharing!
as one of the people who contributed to the initial hacking efforts a few years ago (i reverse engineered the stock webapp and modded it), it's been super cool to see how much this community has grown and how far people have pushed this little device :) awesome video, long live the car thing ❤️
4:07 same issue with the HP printers which are part of the subscription cartridges (Instant Ink service). Printer has to be connected to internet 24/7 to function and detect low levels of ink, the send you cartridges charging you on bill. If you want to cancel the subscription your printer will be no longer functional to print. Basically they can transform your printer in a brick. And the biggest problem many people bought didn't know of this feature or problem and the found out when they unplug from wifi.
Where is this guy from? I've never heard anyone pronounce computer, communicate, community, etc, that way. Is it a thing somewhere in Canada or what? Very interesting.
I’ve tracked this thing since it released to a small group of people, to now it being killed off. It’s nice to know that this device will continue living on, and in an arguably more functional form. On another note, this is the first video of yours that I have watched and in the first five minutes you earn my sub. Also, the ad read for the 3-D printer is making me think about getting into 3-D printing again after a three year hiatus fantastic presentation, and I will now begin to watch your back catalogue.
I bought one of these these things for like $20 right before they discontinued them specifically because I knew a video like this would eventually pop up. Thanks!
Man, your video was extremely helpful for me! I thought I was the only one who would end up with this equipment sitting here unused! Seriously, now I’ll use it daily on my PC! Really good stuff, greetings from Brazil!😅
I bought a Car Thing earlier this year knowing the community would be jumping on this - sure the specs aren't great, but the potential for a customisable touch screen with good physical controls is out of this world. Really looking forward to how the community grows :D
I don't have a car thing and I have little interest in coding. But this video showed me what happens when you push through and *try*-- eventually you can find solutions and solve problems. I would have given up at the first couple of setbacks, but in every aspect of this video the struggle points were an aside and just part of the journey to the solution you came to. That alone is such an incredible skill, and I hope to take this inspiration to help push me through my next dilemma and help me come out, not only on the other side, but across the finish line, like you. Great video :)
So basically Spotify made a device that requires you to have a subscription to Spotify in order to use it and then decide years later that this was a absolute failure and break it instead of just making it open source
I remember I signed up for the test for the car thing. I had a 2006 car and it would have been great. I didn't get it, but noticed they were on ebay within a week for $120. So cool!
It has 0.5GiB of RAM, and a good enough CPU, so I bet it can, easily. The Corporeal Being That Holds This World Together John Carmack made it jun on a 80386 w/ 4MiB of RAM, and we had 30 years to git gud
@@elevatorcentral probably not on those two, you need at least SNES-tier hardware plus the SuperFX chip. And even the SNES port had some stuff cut or simplified to make DOOM work decently well. I mean, some madman can probably do it today, but there isn’t much point to do it, other than to make a statement
gist.github.com/blatayue/740c4ed5687c3e2e47163339531d55fe Unfortunately couldn't get it running in time for the vid, I might make a YT short on it or something though. It really is cool though, uses the top buttons to move forward/back, and the scroll wheel too
man, you're extremely talented! glad to see more people in the world doing stuff. and extra props on the good taste (music, design, filming and visuals in general)
a key aspect to think about why this is a thing spotify made is that Sweden has the oldest car fleet in Europe. people here have Volvo 240, 740, 850, 940 and S70/V70 in massive volumes that are well maintained and if maintained those cars are immortal and at this point people like me go "i will replace it once it dies" but it is never going to die. in that world this thing makes sense.
Don’t ever plan on owning a car thing but love the overview, all of the 3d printed things, the Google browser hack, and how it the video flows, great work
One can only claim they have jailbroken a random low power device if, and only if, one runs doom on it. Now for a useful tip: whenever you buy a small, lightweight desktop thing, like a DAC or maybe even an action figure, just strap VHB tape to the bottom of it so it doesn't slide around when you interact with it. Another great option is slef adhesive velcro straps, this will allow you to more easily remove them for cleaning or whatever reason you might want to remove them.
Honestly, shit like this will continue to happen unless governing bodies decide to penalise companies for creating massive amounts of waste and cheating consumers out of their purchase
@@daidalosczalmost as if spotify could have made a lot of money and units sold if they opened them up in the first place.. companies just don't get open hardware platforms sadly..
I'd love someone to make a standalone product called the 'desk thing' that supports the software created for the car thing, that'd be really neat and would be something I'd personally buy
@@jdmjavin fair, but the stream deck is too expensive in my opinion, and you could probably cobble a device together that's able to support the software being created for cheaper, especially if it's open source. Think a SlimeVR type situation where there's a small group that make official devices, you have smaller groups making devices based on the provided blueprints or you could make yourself.
I’m a newcomer, and now subscriber. I’m not programmer just curious geek. Love your production quality, your humor and the song you used. I stay tuned for more ❤
Hello Jeff, the last video I've watched from you was the one when I upgraded my MB Pro 2015 to 1 TB and used your video "The Last Upgradable Macbook Pro". It was a great guidance, now this video came to my feed and I was like, wait a Minute, this pronunciation of computer... I've watched this guy before. Lo and behold, it is really you. Great to see that you where able to grow your channel so much. I wish you all the best and I hope that you continue the journey of giving tech a longer live :) I wish you all the best ✌
Is the pronunciation of computer/community an inside joke or just the way Jeff talks? Anyway, what a delightful video. I love projects like this to keep things alive and even make them better/more versatile than before.
This is awesome to see people making something of the carthing that spotify crapped out. I'd love to see more videos in the future about updates to carthing apps and new apps as well
Enjoyed seeing the incredibly basic car thing stand I designed still being used and (rightfully) hated on for its design flaws 2 years later 😂 Loved the video, glad to see some of these will be saved from landfills!
Thank you for doing this, instead of discouraging folks by saying "you need additional hardwear" or 'it's not worth the trouble", you made it work and work very well. Granted, I don't think I'd wanna use Spotify considering they cheat artist out of money and employ Joe Rogan but ya know
Me, with my 1980's Volvo 244 GLT. It has 475k km on the odometre. It's brand new and runs like a charm. A friend of mine did a million in a similar model.
okay some of the best music playing here ngl lmao i have like all this on mine too also sick chromakopia truck lol going chromakopia feb 14 bABYYYY love the MC tracks too lmao but great video just discovered you but got a new sub fs! super impressive printing and programming ! I don't even have a car thing but this is all really cool and good to know. I probably would get one of those printers eventually
I wish another company would just make their own Thing with a few QOL updates. One of those being a built-in DAC with a compound cable, type C out with USB and audio split at the other end for everything that still uses an AUX port. Part of me wants just a standalone media controller, another part of me also wants a media player built into it. Remember how we used to be able to drop iPods into a dock and it just worked, I want that but for a Thing ecosystem, controller when you have the rest of the setup figured out and player for when you need a source, but also a device that you can take from dock to dock with no issue. I also just really like the physical interface of the Car Thing, it's simple and elegant, and goes a long way for making a decent media controller; and even for something like a RPi project, I wish a manufacturer would make this kind of functional layout as a product.
This actually sounds amazing in concept, and I'm sure it would do great if it became a real thing! How is this not a thing in today's time? No idea, but we're sure as hell missing out.
Because everything modern is bluetooth with a cheap DAC in it; god, I've even seen 'wireless' home theater 5.1 and 7.1 products doing this. Bluetooth itself has its own slew of issues, everyone in the audio community seems to have the same complaints with it, but my main issue with it is that bluetooth products always have a 'good enough' approach when it comes to processing the signal, the chips are good enough to provide range and low noise but not good enough to provide resolution and richness, these chips just do not resolve well. This is why I'd prefer a high quality DSP on a Wi-Fi source if we're doing the whole IoT music player thing, otherwise hard wired internet player such as Spotify on a PC, or even a TV/HT setup, with the Thing being a controller would otherwise suffice. My other issue with bluetooth approaches is that it keeps you on your phone, this isn't great if you're in an environment where you otherwise need to be hands-free, hence why a physical control set is better, especially when it can provide all the same functions as your phone would for the purpose of controlling the music interface; and I can nearly guarantee this was the original intent of Car Thing and the original investor pitch for it, but then they realized that everyone has a phone clip that they already use for things like navigation and gig services such as delivery apps, where these people are already using their phone for music either wired or wireless, which would've lead to an ecosystem where Car Thing doesn't make sense and why the product was discontinued, plus on the software side Spotify was wanting to get rid of the CT API among other API changes. I just want something that doesn't take up a ton of room, has quality chips in it, fits the usability and aesthetic I'm looking for, that universally integrates into any audio setup whether its a source or not; again going back to the iPod dock argument, something I can just plop down and it works, with a universal approach to how it works, with a universal size to the product.
@@xaytanaif you're looking for a DAP or just a receiver/portable amplifier with quality chips in it, you should check out the FiiO product line if you aren't already familiar with them.
9:12 the weaher app was way better before your redesign. Weather is not just temperature. Where's humidity and rain? Might look nicer but more data is more better, you have the screen space and you should use it.
This is AWESOME! I love people who bust open stuff like this and make it do things that it was never designed to do. This makes me want to get a car thing, just for all the cool stuff it can do now, and it is only going to get better. I like to mod stuff, but more hardware related, like adding touch id to my desktop pc for example, yes, it works with windows hello. I've build my own gaming console, in an old wifi modem. I am thinking about learn how to program, but it is really intimidating and i don't really know where to start, i own a mac and a pc, so i could technically get into it. This Thing is the Thing of things, or something like that :p
0:38 That can't be true. I had mine glued to my monitor at the bottom corner and used it just fine plugged into a regular charger. At least until I quit using Spotify and moved to Apple Music for higher quality music.
@@Tomuxas1235 Yeah it's actually really nice if you have a decent to really good pair of headphones. I waited for years and clearly was hopeful that Spotify would add Hi-Fi since I bought a car thing. But it's been over a year since I switched and they still haven't done it.
Ok be honest how is my music taste
Oh also go buy a printer pls(fr tho their deals are really good): shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=2485357&u=4441918&m=138211&urllink=&afftrack=
you listen to some good shit
Tyler, the Creator is peak
emray nice
hi5 for the casiopeia and BH
Loved seeing Tyler throughout the video. Really excited to try modding mine tomorrow afternoon. Thoughts on the new album?
“When companies close the door, modders take off the hinges.”
and sometimes they tear down the whole wall
@@epicgaming11195 they only do that when the company decides to be petty and reinforces the hinges though, either way you cant stop modders from achieving their goals.... once a company makes a product that contains computer components off sale and completely discontinues it the product belongs to the modders domain now, regardless if the company wants it to be or not.
True.
My thoughts was
“When’s company closes the door molders will smash the eindow”
@@UserAccount-ThisOne then you whip out an angle grinder and just rip the entire thing away
Screw e-waste. We do what we want with our devices until they die.
sure this is great but how is it legal for Spotify to make the product you bought unusable lol
@@defense200x You own the device; they own the software on it and have the right to stop it from functioning remotely as part of the EULA.
@@defense200x Because they're offering refunds to people, dumdum.
There needs to be a legislation that bans turning functional products into e-waste.
Bricking the hardware is brutal, people should just class action sue them.
Refunds are an acceptable solution, companies should be forced to open source it.
@@3dkiwi920 AKA The EULA roofie.
Nothing like a company just choosing to brick something to create e-waste for NO reason... other than they can.
I HATE this. Love that you got it working- and hope others can, too.
Yep, disgusting. Then the same companies have the audacity to greenwash everything and talk about giving a fuck about the environment.
Glad people like this exist to unfuck the things they do for profit.
I hate it too, to the point where I've dumped Spotify. Been with them for a long time and STILL waiting for HiFi, first mooted in 2017 and announced about three years ago. This was the last straw for me, switched to Tidal and the improvement in sound quality was tangible. Wish I had made the switch before I bought the Cr Thing, I live in the UK so had to import mine via a third party seller. Not happy, there's no way I'm giving any more money to a company who treats their customers like this
I actually have a lot of respect for companies that drop support for hardware and then fully open source the code the community would need to keep supporting it themselves. Many companies just kill a product and that's that.
Bruh i was just chillin in the car driving home thinking "i wish that spotify car thingy gets hacked so i can use it" than this vid comes out same day
Then
@@DillerDallerDuller🤓
yall need to learn how to google.... it's been hacked since it came out basically 💀😭
Dude I had the same f*chin thing happen. I don’t even own one. I just randomly googled it last night, when this video didn’t exist, to see if it was bricked yet
you're lucky
I didn’t even know this device existed until they announced they were discontinuing it. They did a better job at announcing the end of this awesome product than the release of it.
To be fair it became news because of the outrage it caused among customers and tech nerds, it wasn't because Spotify wanted it. If they tried to bury the announcement they would've gotten even more bad press. You're right they could've done more marketing at launch though.
It's because they actively bricked it. Also because e-waste is a big thing nowadays.
Same
Fucking same!
same. in the uk. there £200, if you want one off ebay... but by the time i found out. it was announce to be discontuined, and there wasnt alot of stockist to begin with
thanks for featuring my track 'free spirit' !!
:) you're the best
Oh man no wonder! I have a brand new sealed Spotify Car Thing that I've been trying to get rid of on FB Marketplace for months...no takers! But all of a sudden yesterday, I get like 50 people all messaging me to buy it! Thanks for letting me know about the modding capabilities!
The prices on ebay are a bit insane at the moment. 😆
oh yeah? What are they going for on the secondary markets right now?
250-300 even more saw one on mercari for 500 prices are insane but damn if its still sealed you got double or triple your money back so not bad good luck
I still got one in the closet somewhere. Bought it for rideshare, but never opened it. Still wrapped in it's plastic.
@@alvink566 hope you get some good money for it go buy your self something nice or a nice dinner
bought mine for 30 bucks when it first came out, then it jumped to 90 dollars then it was cancelled with a "your device will get brick" notification and now it's hacked.... what a roller coaster.
got mine for free when they had that pre-release sign up 😮💨
They paid me 100 bucks to have mine
@@fairyboy444Sigh… I remember signing up for that and never hearing a word from them despite me being a heavy Spotify user at the time…
They gave me two
had to buy mine, but the car came with it for free
This would be so cool to see twitch chat working on it almost as a secondary monitor for streamers! Cant wait to see what else there is to offer!
This exactly! It would be so useful to streamers and other content creators as a tool on stream or video editing
I had to think about it and when I realized you meant not in a car then I agreed
Saying your device is gonna "still be working as intended" and then bricking said device should be grounds for a lawsuit.
It is, and there was one lol
@@parkerdavidson5868 is that why they refunded some people?
It is working as intended. The corporations intentions, not the consumers.
There was a class action lawsuit but I don't know if it got anywhere since Spotify started offering refunds to anyone who bought the Car Thing.
@@Tech_Otter where can I get my refund lol, first time I heard of this.
It should be illegal for companies to "brick" items that customers bought. I understand no longer releasing software updates and no longer supporting the device. But making the decision to essentially make a device no longer work that consumers have purchased should be ILLEGAL. That sounds tantamount to theft to me.
Within reason i agree this makes sense - but there are so many great reasons for a company having to brick a piece of hardware due to not supporting the software it runs on that this could not and SHOULD NOT be an actual law.
buddy you should be a politician, make a quick stupid law and dont think about the consequences and all the possible scenarios....
@@ZdendaTike and you should be in circus
Interestingly in Scotland if you deny somebody the use of their property you have committed theft. I wonder if this would apply?
@trollshavewings4572 Could you list some reasons please?
So can it run doom?
Ahhh a man of class 👌🏾
I discontinued my Spotify premium about a month ago when my student discount expired, I had no idea Spotify premium got so expensive.. My car thing’s been just sitting off since. I’ve been waiting for this video to come out so I could use it again, thank you
I think youtube music is the best option. Or if you want free streaming, use deezer
Screw Spot.
Streaming music sucks omg
its actually incredible how not even a year ago when Spotify announced that they are going to brick and kill all of the car things the aftermarket prices of the carthing plummeted back down to around 30-40$, but in recent months the prices again began to skyrocket.
you can't even find a carthing for under 200$ nowadays.
which brings a question - since most people got the carthing to use it as a desktop spotify music controller then why no company ever tried creating a product dedicated exactly for that?
That tends to happen with obsolete (but usable) devices. They start out being dirt cheap when official support for them ends, then they go back up when the retro/modder community gives them new life and demand goes up.
CRT televisions and monitors, for example. Ten years ago they couldn't even be given away for free because nobody wanted them, now they are being resold at a premium.
Makes me wanna design one, maybe with a Pi Zero W or something
FIIO R9, you won't like the price tho.
@@FelipeBudinich yikes 1500$?
but i see its actually a portable DAP, not quite a dedicated media player display tbh.
I can get that functionality and more with my Lenovo Smart Clock. It also comes with speakers too and works with more than just Spotify
I bought one of these shortly before they announced they were discontinuing it and ended up never using it. I'm now going to set it up on my home PC. Thank you for tickling the youtube algorithm just right that it ended up on my feed!
“You need premium for this?”
My thoughts exactly 😆
I mean if you spent 90 dollars on it you probably buy premium, but I can't really be speaking since I do have premium
@@ELEC7ROit was less than $50 and free at one point during the early stages
I have both premium and a car thing, too.. I just think it’s crazy they require it
Don’t see how it’s that crazy though? Initially I thought it has a built in speaker but no its literally just an Apple TV remote for your Spotify. (I still want one so bad)
@@zanderpicon the spotify API also needs a premium account, the device use the same API to so they have the same requirements, i dont see why its crazy
i have a car thing, and was a q1 buyer, got mine about a week after they dropped. my cars a 2013 and has no infotainment and have gotten basically my fair worth out of the car thing. but its become part of my car, and after following the modding community for a bit, this video is a godsend! it compiles basically everything i need to know to finally get mine updated. hoping its a smooth ride!
Hey @crispybits2074 👋 drop us some updates as you progress if you could. I know I'll be watching!
Fun thing about the iPod support on that model of Nissan Car Stereo: it still works if you use Apple Music and the right adapter. The iPhone presents Apple Music tracks as iTunes-synced songs so it’s fully-featured.
Spotify has to have the worst marketiing department EVER because I've never heard of this - yet I'd buy one right now to use in my old truck. Glad to see someone is hacking on it and will monitor these projects!
Exactly! This is the first time I heard of it.
I have one I dont need and dont use. Wouldnt mind parting with it
It is super cool. Unfortunately now that Spotify has discontinued it, it's like $200 on eBay.
They only really advertised it in their Spotify app
It's so dumb. I'd love one of these for an older car. And many, many people would love it. They just needed to market to an audience of car guys and I feel like it would have been a hit
Remember when everyone was yelling "there is no use to hack this thing because it's so underpowered i's useless?"
Great job my dude, I wished I had bought one.
I took them yelling that personally ngl
Helped drive the development of DeskThing
I fully expected this to happen as soon as the shutdown was announced, now I'm even saltier that Spotify never sold the CarThing in the UK lol
you might be able to get one cheap 2nd hand now
@@izRiprod It was such a dumb thing for people to say as unless it was so underpowered it was unusable for its original task, then it can be repurposed. A wireless screen alone has its uses.
To be fair at the 90 bucks pricepoint it was useless pricepoint wise compared to a 90 bucks smartphone. Or any cheaper used phone.
In a desert where you just have this sure, but in an abundance of devices to hack for same uses it is pretty useless.
I noticed you had Her’s on one of your playlists, the lead singer was a really good friend of mine. May he rest in peace
Honestly, this could be a really great, cheap macro pad or something similar. Buttons, touch screen and dial. It's perfect!
do I have a car thing? no.
did I watch this whole video? yes.
Do I want to buy one? Yes
Can I afford something that's 200 Dollars for some reason now? No 😂
Do I want a car thing? Yes.
@@ChrisBeames same
Real
@@ChrisBeames i want one mainly for the whole analog aspect, they might become rare and even might have a demand solely due to spotify's nonsense...
It’s sad and actually pathetic of them that they had all the funding resources and manpower of a huge company and they can’t even make it a good device and it always glitched and had connection issues.. then chose to kill it for everyone… and all it takes to make something great is just one genius like you.. your awesome I wish companies hired people like you and I wish there were more brains like you out there.. we would have so much more cool tech, keep it up !!
Even Google made the Stadia Controllers work over normal Bluetooth once they discontinued Stadia so people could still use the controllers for PC or mobile gaming , Spotify not even opening the Car Thing is pure scummy
Did you watch the complete video though? It's open source
@@toetie2019 not entirely open source, and the part that is is intentionally as hidden as possible, its still really scummy
@@SamiTheAnxiousBean the thing that lets it connect to your phone?
@@SmitePlayz1they only open sourced the OS which is just Linux so basically they just published some modifications they did to run the OS in it.
But they didn't publish the codes that made the thing to connect with Spotify in phone and communicate
did they completely brick the devices or i can somehow get my hands on one and do this..
Love how excited you were when you managed to code it yourself, I also only had knowledge of design, but I wanted to execute an idea from my mind, and that ended up being my reaction after every programming session, it's a really cool feeling
Just found this video in my recommended. Easily my favorite project of the year. Thank you for all of your work on this one!! I was certainly disappointed when I saw the announcement from Spotify.
a friend sent me your video, and I thank both of you.
I use mine consistently in the car, so them bricking it is quite annoying. I'll be following your steps this weekend.
Bro said his 2010 car is old to my face, while I'm sitting in my 2002 VW Lupo watching his video.
for shame!!! 2002 bro, damn. I've got a 2006 Toyota Run-X.
My car is 10 years older than his.
yeah i have a 2007 mini van and even im like well shit... lol
I had a 2002 Mitsubishi Carisma with a bluetooth car radio in it.
Just used the buttons on that to change the songs.
Wanted to change the playlist? Maybe on highways without much traffic I would do that while driving, otherwise I looked for a place to stop.
'98 Toyota Camry gang here. Only 160,000 miles at this point.
this is the first time I've come across your videos and I gotta say I really enjoyed how you've structured it. It was very calming and I instantly subscribed. Good work!
Now make it run DOOM.
Easier than making it run all that other crap
"Older" and "2010" sounded so painful to hear 😂
REAL. In third world countries, 25 years old cars are everywhere
@KarminsLynn here in the Philippines, we have the classic ww2 style jeeps working as buses 😂 it's like steampunk in here
@@KarminsLynn Here everybody acts like you HAVE to go buy a new one every 2 years wether you want one or can afford one or not. People care SO much about what cars look like its ridiculous. But you cant argue with it. drive a brand new car or else enjoy having no date or social life because nobody wants to come near your 15 year old car.
@@VioFax Consumerism fueled with social pressure... American dream, for the companies.
Where I live, you can get a "Horseless Carriage" license plate of the vehicle is 30+ years old. This means a vehicle from 1994 is considered "classic" or "vintage"
i can't wait for Bringus Studios to install steam os on this thing
I drive a 2011 Mini Cooper which has previous and fast forward buttons on the wheel but only for cd playback no aux support. I don’t like having to look at my phone (which I have on a mount) to hit the tiny skip button so I got a used Car Thing for like $90 and zero regrets. Even before Spotify announced its discontinuation I wanted custom firmware to exist for the thing, the possibility of actually being able to run something like this in my car is very exciting can’t wait !
Absolutely insane that Spotify, a company didn't think about the device being able to be used in places other then the car.. If they had they could have made more money advertising it as that.
@@ninjaredfirehot you mean like an mp3 player or a phone?..
@@DecibelAlex Like a standalone device that can be used on your desk or in the kitchen, which he mentions some people did. My mom likes to listen to instrumental music in the kitchen through a speaker and this would be great. Though price would have to be lower for it to work and be able to play other stuff like RUclips Music.
@@ninjaredfirehot Sony still makes the Walkman. How often do you see or hear about those? Everyone already has a device in their pocket that does everything
@@DecibelAlex Very true but Spotify is just a music company. I think re-purposing then would have been 100% better then bricking them.
@@DecibelAlex I'm still using a device with 1TB of storage. I don’t use any streaming services and prefer to have my stuff with me. Why should I pay 10+ dollars when I mostly listen to the same music anyway?
Let me tell you, I used the CarThing for YEARS and absolutely loved it. The software was very buggy at first but they continued to update it pretty frequently and led consistently better feedback on the unit. I’ve since got a newer vehicle so no longer use it; this however makes me want to do something with it. Thank you for sharing!
as one of the people who contributed to the initial hacking efforts a few years ago (i reverse engineered the stock webapp and modded it), it's been super cool to see how much this community has grown and how far people have pushed this little device :) awesome video, long live the car thing ❤️
4:07 same issue with the HP printers which are part of the subscription cartridges (Instant Ink service). Printer has to be connected to internet 24/7 to function and detect low levels of ink, the send you cartridges charging you on bill. If you want to cancel the subscription your printer will be no longer functional to print. Basically they can transform your printer in a brick. And the biggest problem many people bought didn't know of this feature or problem and the found out when they unplug from wifi.
Spotify: We don't care about about the car thing anymore. What do we do?
Nothing ❌
Property damage✅
"much much older"
"2010 car"
Well guess I'll die then.
Yeah mine and my roommate's cars are freaking from 1996, 2003, 2003, and 2005
@@KJMcLaws 2011 still its new for me
Lets get you to bed, grandpa...
Mine's like 2012 and has a simpler radio setup
Pretty sure the oldest car I've owned was a 1983 build. I've owned too many cars to remember the build dates, most modern thing I have is a 2008
Y'all put so much work in to it that I'd love to use the software on a custom hardware device. I'd never even HEARD of DeskThing 'til I watched this.
0:14 LETS GO GAMBLING
✖️✖️✖️
Aw dang it!
❌❌❌
Aw dang it
❎️❎️❎️
Aw dang it
All in $1000!!!!
[🔻|🔺|🔺]
AHH FVCK!
yesssss it's a breakcore/hyperpop track by FEM&M! i am so surprised to see it here along with Imma Be The Best!
Shout out to the compooter comoonity
Ikr 😂
yeah it really comoonicates
Yeah I noticed this... but didn't want to be rude leaving a compooter comment.
Where is this guy from? I've never heard anyone pronounce computer, communicate, community, etc, that way. Is it a thing somewhere in Canada or what? Very interesting.
@@NickPuentes really, somewhere in Canada? Do you know anyone else in Canada who speaks like this? He's American.
Jeff! This is an awesome channel!! Just watching my first video here! And I am really enjoying it! Thank you for these!
I’ve tracked this thing since it released to a small group of people, to now it being killed off. It’s nice to know that this device will continue living on, and in an arguably more functional form.
On another note, this is the first video of yours that I have watched and in the first five minutes you earn my sub. Also, the ad read for the 3-D printer is making me think about getting into 3-D printing again after a three year hiatus fantastic presentation, and I will now begin to watch your back catalogue.
I bought one of these these things for like $20 right before they discontinued them specifically because I knew a video like this would eventually pop up. Thanks!
Man, your video was extremely helpful for me! I thought I was the only one who would end up with this equipment sitting here unused! Seriously, now I’ll use it daily on my PC! Really good stuff, greetings from Brazil!😅
I bought a Car Thing earlier this year knowing the community would be jumping on this - sure the specs aren't great, but the potential for a customisable touch screen with good physical controls is out of this world. Really looking forward to how the community grows :D
Music taste is beyond goated. Tyler the Creator to Kaytranada to Sonic Adventure 2!?!?
Incredible.
Seeing Kay at camp flog gnaw in a few weeks I can’t wait AHHH
Haircut
I don't have a car thing and I have little interest in coding. But this video showed me what happens when you push through and *try*-- eventually you can find solutions and solve problems. I would have given up at the first couple of setbacks, but in every aspect of this video the struggle points were an aside and just part of the journey to the solution you came to. That alone is such an incredible skill, and I hope to take this inspiration to help push me through my next dilemma and help me come out, not only on the other side, but across the finish line, like you. Great video :)
So basically Spotify made a device that requires you to have a subscription to Spotify in order to use it and then decide years later that this was a absolute failure and break it instead of just making it open source
it... is open source
who could hate on lenny? thats sad we love lenny
Not us ❤
SHOUTOUT LENNY!!!
LENNNYYYYYYYY MY BOAHHHH 🤠
Whoever has been driving it hates on Lenny, poor thing has dents all over
i'd never even heard of the car thing before this, now i want one and it's not even available anymore
I remember I signed up for the test for the car thing. I had a 2006 car and it would have been great. I didn't get it, but noticed they were on ebay within a week for $120. So cool!
But does it run doom?
It has 0.5GiB of RAM, and a good enough CPU, so I bet it can, easily. The Corporeal Being That Holds This World Together John Carmack made it jun on a 80386 w/ 4MiB of RAM, and we had 30 years to git gud
@@zeekaa12 you can run it on almost anything even the gameboy and a graphing calculator
@@elevatorcentral probably not on those two, you need at least SNES-tier hardware plus the SuperFX chip. And even the SNES port had some stuff cut or simplified to make DOOM work decently well.
I mean, some madman can probably do it today, but there isn’t much point to do it, other than to make a statement
It does
gist.github.com/blatayue/740c4ed5687c3e2e47163339531d55fe
Unfortunately couldn't get it running in time for the vid, I might make a YT short on it or something though. It really is cool though, uses the top buttons to move forward/back, and the scroll wheel too
man, you're extremely talented! glad to see more people in the world doing stuff. and extra props on the good taste (music, design, filming and visuals in general)
a key aspect to think about why this is a thing spotify made is that Sweden has the oldest car fleet in Europe. people here have Volvo 240, 740, 850, 940 and S70/V70 in massive volumes that are well maintained and if maintained those cars are immortal and at this point people like me go "i will replace it once it dies" but it is never going to die. in that world this thing makes sense.
Thanks
yeah, its a either the car dies or i die thing...
Also some people just don't want a more modern car, there's maybe a handfull of models built in the last 10 years I'd want to buy for myself
240 owner here! (Not from Sweden) And this would have been so nice in my old car looks so clean
9:44 mew, unmew
Don’t ever plan on owning a car thing but love the overview, all of the 3d printed things, the Google browser hack, and how it the video flows, great work
One can only claim they have jailbroken a random low power device if, and only if, one runs doom on it.
Now for a useful tip: whenever you buy a small, lightweight desktop thing, like a DAC or maybe even an action figure, just strap VHB tape to the bottom of it so it doesn't slide around when you interact with it. Another great option is slef adhesive velcro straps, this will allow you to more easily remove them for cleaning or whatever reason you might want to remove them.
This thing could make an amazing Motorcycle Navigation unit if that is even possible.
The EPA needs to charge companies for practices like this that lead to thousands of tons of E-Waste
Honestly, shit like this will continue to happen unless governing bodies decide to penalise companies for creating massive amounts of waste and cheating consumers out of their purchase
This should be a very compelling smarthome display
👀
Home Assistant DeskThing app when?
Exactly the reason I'm looking for one, but eBay is wild with the prices...
@@daidalosczalmost as if spotify could have made a lot of money and units sold if they opened them up in the first place.. companies just don't get open hardware platforms sadly..
@@izRiprodgood question one same usecase
I'd love someone to make a standalone product called the 'desk thing' that supports the software created for the car thing, that'd be really neat and would be something I'd personally buy
the stream deck does alot of the same stuff that desk thing is trying to do
They want to make the desk thing compatible with Android phones, you could then buy a cheap phone and use it as a car thing
@@jdmjavin fair, but the stream deck is too expensive in my opinion, and you could probably cobble a device together that's able to support the software being created for cheaper, especially if it's open source. Think a SlimeVR type situation where there's a small group that make official devices, you have smaller groups making devices based on the provided blueprints or you could make yourself.
@@Keso_Cheddar thats a great info, hope that becomes a thing
Yeah, but it should be cheap (
Came for news on the car thing, stayed for the great video. Well done mate, nice production and great content 🎉
I’m a newcomer, and now subscriber. I’m not programmer just curious geek.
Love your production quality, your humor and the song you used.
I stay tuned for more ❤
Honestly, that was the slickest ad placement I’ve seen. I didn’t know I was watching an ad! Good one Jeff lol
i like how the 3d printer segment where you were advertising the a1 wasn't really ad-like? it still fit with the rest of the video so that was nice :3
3:20 your like Louis Rossman with luscious locks
and with more compooter and coomoonuty
HE DOES
i love this
Would be a nice desktop HW stats screen.
Yeah, but if you want one, they cost like 20$ for 3.5"
i love how much you show off your music taste in the video, i love all of these
Omg the DeskThing UI you showed is SO PRETTY. I am addicted to high contrast, high readable software.
Hello Jeff, the last video I've watched from you was the one when I upgraded my MB Pro 2015 to 1 TB and used your video "The Last Upgradable Macbook Pro". It was a great guidance, now this video came to my feed and I was like, wait a Minute, this pronunciation of computer... I've watched this guy before. Lo and behold, it is really you. Great to see that you where able to grow your channel so much. I wish you all the best and I hope that you continue the journey of giving tech a longer live :) I wish you all the best ✌
Is the pronunciation of computer/community an inside joke or just the way Jeff talks? Anyway, what a delightful video. I love projects like this to keep things alive and even make them better/more versatile than before.
damn it jeff !! i was bitter first and thought u were dull.. but after 3 videos, i had to sub, good content man, im now a fan
This is awesome to see people making something of the carthing that spotify crapped out. I'd love to see more videos in the future about updates to carthing apps and new apps as well
10:40 " when companies close the door modders open the window." DammitJeff
Ive been wanting this since it was first released. I even bought 5 of them when they were only $4 on their site. Thanks so much for this!
14:38 To covertly steal a copy of the computer's ghost drive for Tony Stark, duh.
Yeah, Tony's new screensavers look real nice I bet
8:25 I don't see what was wrong with his design
Enjoyed seeing the incredibly basic car thing stand I designed still being used and (rightfully) hated on for its design flaws 2 years later 😂
Loved the video, glad to see some of these will be saved from landfills!
Thank you for doing this, instead of discouraging folks by saying "you need additional hardwear" or 'it's not worth the trouble", you made it work and work very well. Granted, I don't think I'd wanna use Spotify considering they cheat artist out of money and employ Joe Rogan but ya know
Absolute legend of a video as usual, Jeff! Can’t wait to check out the Weather integration. Project Nocturne has me hyped as well 😮
Dude you're amazing! You just gained a new sub! Keep up the great vids man!
"He's an older 2010 model" and "He outlived 3 other family cars." Fucking killed me, that's a brand new car to me.
Me, with my 1980's Volvo 244 GLT. It has 475k km on the odometre. It's brand new and runs like a charm. A friend of mine did a million in a similar model.
@@hyperturbotechnomikeNorth Korea has a bunch of those cars and theyre still going today
compooter
i heard that too
compooter
my competeer has wirus
skamtebord
Why does he pronounce computer, communicate, and community like that?
okay some of the best music playing here ngl lmao i have like all this on mine too also sick chromakopia truck lol going chromakopia feb 14 bABYYYY love the MC tracks too lmao but great video just discovered you but got a new sub fs! super impressive printing and programming ! I don't even have a car thing but this is all really cool and good to know. I probably would get one of those printers eventually
I wish another company would just make their own Thing with a few QOL updates. One of those being a built-in DAC with a compound cable, type C out with USB and audio split at the other end for everything that still uses an AUX port. Part of me wants just a standalone media controller, another part of me also wants a media player built into it. Remember how we used to be able to drop iPods into a dock and it just worked, I want that but for a Thing ecosystem, controller when you have the rest of the setup figured out and player for when you need a source, but also a device that you can take from dock to dock with no issue. I also just really like the physical interface of the Car Thing, it's simple and elegant, and goes a long way for making a decent media controller; and even for something like a RPi project, I wish a manufacturer would make this kind of functional layout as a product.
This actually sounds amazing in concept, and I'm sure it would do great if it became a real thing!
How is this not a thing in today's time? No idea, but we're sure as hell missing out.
Because everything modern is bluetooth with a cheap DAC in it; god, I've even seen 'wireless' home theater 5.1 and 7.1 products doing this. Bluetooth itself has its own slew of issues, everyone in the audio community seems to have the same complaints with it, but my main issue with it is that bluetooth products always have a 'good enough' approach when it comes to processing the signal, the chips are good enough to provide range and low noise but not good enough to provide resolution and richness, these chips just do not resolve well. This is why I'd prefer a high quality DSP on a Wi-Fi source if we're doing the whole IoT music player thing, otherwise hard wired internet player such as Spotify on a PC, or even a TV/HT setup, with the Thing being a controller would otherwise suffice. My other issue with bluetooth approaches is that it keeps you on your phone, this isn't great if you're in an environment where you otherwise need to be hands-free, hence why a physical control set is better, especially when it can provide all the same functions as your phone would for the purpose of controlling the music interface; and I can nearly guarantee this was the original intent of Car Thing and the original investor pitch for it, but then they realized that everyone has a phone clip that they already use for things like navigation and gig services such as delivery apps, where these people are already using their phone for music either wired or wireless, which would've lead to an ecosystem where Car Thing doesn't make sense and why the product was discontinued, plus on the software side Spotify was wanting to get rid of the CT API among other API changes. I just want something that doesn't take up a ton of room, has quality chips in it, fits the usability and aesthetic I'm looking for, that universally integrates into any audio setup whether its a source or not; again going back to the iPod dock argument, something I can just plop down and it works, with a universal approach to how it works, with a universal size to the product.
@@xaytanaif you're looking for a DAP or just a receiver/portable amplifier with quality chips in it, you should check out the FiiO product line if you aren't already familiar with them.
Thank you so much for sharing, from the Thing Labs Community
Heck yeah!
It's cool what can happen when people come together and find ways to keep things working.
9:12 the weaher app was way better before your redesign. Weather is not just temperature. Where's humidity and rain? Might look nicer but more data is more better, you have the screen space and you should use it.
that's what I was thinking
This is basically saying if apple kills the vision pro and gives no refunds but you paid more for this.
Hadn’t even thought about using mine at a desk! Definitely stoked to get this working again!
This is AWESOME! I love people who bust open stuff like this and make it do things that it was never designed to do. This makes me want to get a car thing, just for all the cool stuff it can do now, and it is only going to get better. I like to mod stuff, but more hardware related, like adding touch id to my desktop pc for example, yes, it works with windows hello. I've build my own gaming console, in an old wifi modem. I am thinking about learn how to program, but it is really intimidating and i don't really know where to start, i own a mac and a pc, so i could technically get into it. This Thing is the Thing of things, or something like that :p
1:36 *laughs in degenerocity*
This was really enlightening to watch, thank you Jeff.
Awesome video!! Thanks so much for reviewing Nocturne!
0:38 That can't be true. I had mine glued to my monitor at the bottom corner and used it just fine plugged into a regular charger. At least until I quit using Spotify and moved to Apple Music for higher quality music.
8:02 I might mess around with mine just for some Apple Music controls. Good to know.
Apple has higher quality nusic? Apple music has 192 kbps and spotify if you turn on high quality setting has 320 kbps.
@@Tomuxas1235Apple Music has lossless audio, while Spotify doesn’t. Apple Music is generally regarded to have higher quality music.
@prxdavert okey i will look in to that and read more about it thanks;)
@@Tomuxas1235 Yeah it's actually really nice if you have a decent to really good pair of headphones. I waited for years and clearly was hopeful that Spotify would add Hi-Fi since I bought a car thing. But it's been over a year since I switched and they still haven't done it.
This is the kind of community development that gives me hope for the future.
3:01 you are a legend. You are an absolutely legend. First time see someone listening to my favourite band’s new album