here's life: Tablix

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Tablix

Thanks to a suggestion by the winner of the 41 Scholarship, and declaration of it's impossibility by aduma, I am attempting to make a table that runs linux. I have mounted the computer and monitor, and now I just need to wire it all up and get some cloth to put under the glass top. The next hard steps are picking out the cloth at walmart, and getting the computer to boot without a keyboard--I didn't make allowance for the cables.

But I don't think that now is the time to go to walmart, so I will go to bed.

Here is the monitor in the table, which is on a lazy-susan bearing thing, so the whole thing can rotate for flexibility in viewing direction.

# posted by abu : 1:55 AM

Comments:

how will you use the table without a keyboard?

# posted by

bajema : 11:34 PM, October 23, 2005

well, my plan is to just use it as a "point of information" and just have the weather, a clock, maybe a calendar on it. It may turn out that it would be more helpful for it to be interactive, but we will have to see. (to configure it, I'll just go over the network)

# posted by

abu : 11:49 PM, October 23, 2005

i see, if you do decide to make it interactive, i'd not use a traditional keyboard, but instead use some sort of coasters that either rotate or have buttons or something. or maybe just use a coffee mug to control it, that would go with the table theme...

# posted by

bajema : 10:52 AM, October 24, 2005

Per your idea, I am working on making so the mouse is controlled by moving a saucer, and I will attempt to make the mouse click by moving a cup over the saucer in a certain way. Magnets!

# posted by

abu : 9:16 PM, October 24, 2005

You could rig an optical mouse to shine thru the glass up from the bottom onto the bottom of a coaster, then you would have not wires to your "mouse."

# posted by

Pebble : 6:42 PM, October 25, 2005

hmm, optical mouse...good idea.
Maybe I'll try that if I can't get the magnetic linkage to move the mouse on the underside of the glass by moving a saucer on the top.

# posted by

abu : 6:47 PM, October 25, 2005

but how would you click?

# posted by

Anonymous : 11:06 PM, October 25, 2005

ahh, good question! my idea--which I will know if it works when I try it--is to attach magnets to little arms on the mouse buttons, and then since the mouse is "belly up" when I bring another magnet near the arms, the buttons will be pressed up, clicking. I will place this "clicking magnet" in the bottom of the coffee cup that goes with the mouse-moving saucer. If it works,...

# posted by

abu : 11:26 PM, October 25, 2005

this is quickly becoming very complicated...

# posted by

bajema : 9:13 AM, October 26, 2005