I Need Creative Help
<div class="IPBDescription">Designing a new computer.</div> I am big into the modding scene. Specifically when it comes to electronics. I am not talking about installing a window into my computer case so I can see some dusty electronics but rather more unique but useful modifications. I try to do this at a minimal cost and prefer to use recycled equipment rather than purchase new hardware.
I have put high end machines into briefcases with an integrated VGA. Built a computer with a satellite uplink into my dad's bass boat so I can reach him when he is out.
My most recent project was building a computer with no moving parts inside of a sealable steel container. I even found some miniature shock absorbers to steady the electronics inside. Combined with a folding keyboard and recycled display that could fit inside the result was a near indestructible machine that worked great as a server at LANS or wherever I needed a computer I could literally throw into the back of a truck and take somewhere.
I was just given about 5-6 older computers (500-600Mhz range) and 10 monitors. They work fine. However I really have no use for them at the moment. I was thinking of starting some new project. This project could be anything from building a large artsy display to show pretty colors to just fixing up the computers and donating them to my local schools. I need your help in coming up with ideas for what I should do with this equipment. I don't care if it is off the wall or very simple. I just wondered what kind of ideas could pop into your heads.
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I have put high end machines into briefcases with an integrated VGA. Built a computer with a satellite uplink into my dad's bass boat so I can reach him when he is out.
My most recent project was building a computer with no moving parts inside of a sealable steel container. I even found some miniature shock absorbers to steady the electronics inside. Combined with a folding keyboard and recycled display that could fit inside the result was a near indestructible machine that worked great as a server at LANS or wherever I needed a computer I could literally throw into the back of a truck and take somewhere.
I was just given about 5-6 older computers (500-600Mhz range) and 10 monitors. They work fine. However I really have no use for them at the moment. I was thinking of starting some new project. This project could be anything from building a large artsy display to show pretty colors to just fixing up the computers and donating them to my local schools. I need your help in coming up with ideas for what I should do with this equipment. I don't care if it is off the wall or very simple. I just wondered what kind of ideas could pop into your heads.
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Comments
too bad you still need cables for the screen and power. Else you could kick your unit around while playing <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Try making a computer in a wall <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> Ooh a wall, you say? hahah! *presses button* It's not JUST a wall <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Put your computer integrated to a chair.
Do a fridge/computer/restroom combos. (The geek's dream)
Do a fridge/computer/restroom combos. (The geek's dream)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
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too bad you still need cables for the screen and power. Else you could kick your unit around while playing <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I tried to come up with a solution for that. Unfortunately I didn't think of that at the beginning and used standard PC hardware rather than low power versions. However if I did that I could have put a wireless network interface into it and had a computer with no wires at all.
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Try making a computer in a wall Ooh a wall, you say? hahah! *presses button* It's not JUST a wall
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I was thinking of building a computer on a 2 dimensional plane and putting it in a picture frame. This might be an idea.
<!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Put your computer integrated to a chair.
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Very good idea. I like this one.
see if you can do one cheaper
my monitor was dieing from overheating, so i flushmounted a fan on the inside ceiling with a power switch on the rear, looks rather professional if unorthodox. another useless suggestion.
as a slightly less useless suggestion, my next project i intend to be a low power/heat machine mounted to a drawer in a wooden desk. it's not hard to put fan holes on the rear and sides of an old wooden desk, and i may re-route the ports so that they are stationary (to the desk) while the motherboard is mobile as attached to the drawer.
if you sacrifice an additional top drawer it is possible to mount a popup flatpanel screen with all the wires internal to the desk, and you have a transforming desk with maybe two wires out the back and integrated workstation. Ive seen professionally made desks of this nature selling for several thousand dollars. (they would look a lot nicer than the junky desk i would be cutting up anyway)
for a series of meager fullsize machines as you have now however, the best idea may be to clean them, upgrade something very cheap (sdram to 512), then donate them around. it may be fun to choose where to donate them based on scholarships, contact a charity organization and with their help you can run a scholarship for underprivlidged students, free workstations (fresh installs of knoppix if you want it to work perfectly forever, or fresh installs of whatever windows the machines have liscence stickers for)
guaranteed to make people like you.
make one part of the entry system into your home (an alternative, you don't want to be stuck outside your home because the power's out)
coffee maker
wearable
back of car movie system
that's all for now
edit: 10 monitors: surround simulator
Of course, donating em to people would be the much nicer thing to do.
Or how about you get a relatively large picture frame, then lay out all of the components inside it, in some sort of artsy manner, keeping the components connected to each other of course. Then you could have a PC that you could hang up somewhere like an art piece. Would be a fun conversation piece for the living room too, extra bonus points if you can hook it up to the TV and then you could use a wireless keyboard and mouse to work it.
Close. I forget where, but I saw a PC with a coffee maker built in. Oh, and by the same guy, one with a fridge build in (stored 4 cans of coke/beer). I think the absolute nerdiest though was a Lazy Boy armchair with, in one arm, a retractable keyboard/mouse (just a normal wireless keyboard/mouse on a retractable university-style tray), in the other arm a DVD-ROM and a DVD+/-RW, wireless connections to the TV, Cable, Stereo, keyboard, mouse, network, and the actual computer mounted under the seat. Sweetest. Chair. Ever. Oh, and it had the requisite minifridge under the footrest.
Close. I forget where, but I saw a PC with a coffee maker built in. Oh, and by the same guy, one with a fridge build in (stored 4 cans of coke/beer). I think the absolute nerdiest though was a Lazy Boy armchair with, in one arm, a retractable keyboard/mouse (just a normal wireless keyboard/mouse on a retractable university-style tray), in the other arm a DVD-ROM and a DVD+/-RW, wireless connections to the TV, Cable, Stereo, keyboard, mouse, network, and the actual computer mounted under the seat. Sweetest. Chair. Ever. Oh, and it had the requisite minifridge under the footrest. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
If I used my roommates minifridge (which he definately wouldn't like) I could fit a full case of coke at least, and still have about two radiator units in it (one for the GPU and one for the CPU), assuming I used <a href='http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Radiators/bi_main.htm' target='_blank'>these</a> relitively small radiators.
add Thermite to a drive bay for a secured data server, someone tries physically going for your sensitive data... boom
make a PC case out of a toy maybe, go check a framer's markjet for a mid 80's GI Joe vehicle and mount everything in that.
Ghostbuster Firehouse case maybe?
I'm really curious how you did the sat uplink, sounds really cool and would help me <span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>contact UFOs</span> cough Cough
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except if this is a Via solution, without graphics, and those hugely expensive glasses for a screen, this is going to be hard.
not to mention the Power gen unit.
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except if this is a Via solution, without graphics, and those hugely expensive glasses for a screen, this is going to be hard.
not to mention the Power gen unit. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
How about one of those bicycle generator things, whatever they're called <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Oh yeah, about putting the radiators into a mine-fridge, that's kind of a waste. Just mount a giant resevoir inthere, so you can save money on the rads AND get better cooling. Though I wouldn't reccomend that in general, because you will get huge condensation problems.
I will let you know what the next project will be (I like the bicycle one) and I will be sure to document it and post pictures.
BTW: my postcount feels like an omen.
I liked the art frame one. Heh, that would be sweet.
As for my suggestion, build it into a big padded seat (aka lazyboy <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->) with the monitor that swings round (if its a tft) infront of you then back out of the way once your done.
The radiators-in-a-fridge thing wouldnt really work for cooling your pc, a fridge works by cooling the insides down to a certain point, then turning itself off, and letting the insulation keep the thing cold. If your constantly pumping heat in there, it will need to run hard all the time, which they aint designed to do. It'll kill it off real fast.
Tho the idea of a fridge built in to cool beers is a good one <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> wouldnt mind that myself.
I liked the art frame one. Heh, that would be sweet.
As for my suggestion, build it into a big padded seat (aka lazyboy <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->) with the monitor that swings round (if its a tft) infront of you then back out of the way once your done.
The radiators-in-a-fridge thing wouldnt really work for cooling your pc, a fridge works by cooling the insides down to a certain point, then turning itself off, and letting the insulation keep the thing cold. If your constantly pumping heat in there, it will need to run hard all the time, which they aint designed to do. It'll kill it off real fast.
Tho the idea of a fridge built in to cool beers is a good one <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> wouldnt mind that myself. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Alternitively I could attach them to a small air conditioning unit of some sort, although it would be somewhat dissapointing to be unable to store cokes <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->