[bluedog]

I have nearly completed my first modifications to a Powerbook Duo280. It is a conversion into a picture frame with internet access and wireless mouse!

The internet access comes from a microdock installed and the case opened to remove and shorten the depth of the picture as a whole. I can post more photos when I've had a better chance to put clearer instructions on how/what I did.

Basically, opened the Duo280 (a grayscale model) and put on a microdock for a keyboard if I need to do any real work with it, but otherwise just have a Logitech wireless mouse transmitter in the frame. Then I dropped everything into a shallow box and framed it with a hinge.

Here's the result:

To get internet access on a localtalk only machine, I have a machine I use as a webserver also set up with a software MacIP server using routing software such as IPNetRouter or Vicomsoft Internet Router. With either software package you can route TCPIP onto a localtalk connection.

For a peek at the inside which I plan on 'cleaning up' and fitting things in a bit better see the following image. (Hope you don't mind the two images in-line). I haven't compiled some pages with more photos yet. I'll get to that soon and tighten up this mod!



After this trial, I would really like to do this with my PPCduo! But maybe I should just find something else for that duo. The final placement will be in our kitchen where I can run an appletalk(localtalk) line down near the plumbing.

We'll have our own Photomac, running a slideshow of photos! When we want to point/click on the web we can do that. And I'd like to have it control the server MP3 player in the basement so I can advance/start/stop music and lastly have recipies available!

No more wet recipies or fumbling with open recipe books!

[ 07-10-2001: Message edited by: bluedog ]

[itomato]

That's really cool! Good idea!

Instead of ripping into the 2300, you could just get a color screen or lid for the 280. You've already got it that far apart..

That's one big mat job!

[pi]

Great job Bluedog! I've got an old PB that's entirely useless right now. Maybe this is just what it needs.

[Yuri1419]

That is just too darn cool. I love it.

Now if we could have an LCD touchscreen in there instead.... oh yeah!

I *wanted* a touchscreen. That would have been the tops! But the touch screen LCDs run about $200 for a 15 inch. The duo280 doesn't have a VGA out so I'd have to use another computer or find another microdock with vga out.

As it is, I'm happy. If I *did* get one of those touch screen LCDs, I think it would be great to just pack a whole computer into a cupboard or in a crate or drawer and then just have the video-cable connecting the LCD to the computer.

Putting the screen behind glass has a bit more reflection than I'd hoped for (in the photos) and a little distracting in actual use, but it looks more like a picture and is protected a bit from the cooking that will be going on in our kitchen (if you've ever seen a blender/food processor go mad you'll know its good to keep things 'cleanable').

I've thought with a touchscreen how cool it would be to mount it inside the wall and have a panel with some molding around the edge.

[zac4mac]

very cool hack.
thumbs up

Z

[COmie JOe]

I was thinking of doing the same thing on my 5300 hmm mabey just a picture slide show. if only I coudl get it to do the thing like in OS X with picture shows

[bluedog]

I can't remember any modules for After Dark that did the same cool cross-fading effect as the OSX screensaver. It would be really cool to do that.

I was just thinking of using AfterDark or some other older screensaver. I've still got to work on the inside enclosure and get it plugged in and hung. When I've got it finished I'll post a link to my website with the final project and how I went about putting it all together.

A 5300 would be great (it has a color screen) and more speed than my duo280.