Project: Digital Picture Frame- Oct 1 (Version 2.0!) Complete

[mattthegamer463]

Ok, i got this idea from a modding book my dad got me for christmas, and now i finally have the means to build it. Ive got a laptop, here are specs

P1 133mhz
32mb ram
1.4gb hard drive
external cd rom
heres what it looks normally like:



heres a pic of it after i made it into a tablet pc, which is sort of the basis of the plan:



so im going to get a picture frame and make a box around the back of it, then tweak the windows 95 and make it run better, and automaticly load the slideshows and stuff. more pics soon!

[mattthegamer463]

Here is the discussion thread for my ongoing mini-project, making a digital picture frame, essentially a laptop behind a picture frame running a slideshow of pictures. Project log is below:

Project Log

so have a look at that and tell me what you think so far. ill post some more pics of it when i get home, ill also see if i can get a pic of the frame im planning on using.

[mattthegamer463]

Ok i scrounged up a image of what it will look similiar too.
picture frame pc

click this link to go to the discussion thread: discussion thread

[Shadowed_fury]

I've been wanting to do something similar for ages, will be watching

[MrWillyWonka]

A fair few people have done this, but haven't posted a guide, I want one of these to put on a noticeboard, so will be watching! How are you planning to mount this onto a wall?

[mattthegamer463]

Originally Posted by MrWillyWonka

A fair few people have done this, but haven't posted a guide, I want one of these to put on a noticeboard, so will be watching! How are you planning to mount this onto a wall?

either by screwing some picture frame wire onto the back or one of those little bracket type things you put over a nail in the wall. same way youd put up a normal picture frame, although a little more heavy duty.

[htm_elle]

Looking forward to seeing the final product.

Subscribed

[mattthegamer463]

ok, big update. Ive been working on the box that the parts go in, and its coming along quite well. heres a picture of the frame:



and the backing for it:



and the laptop in the right position with the screen spun around so that it fits into the frame:



and heres the laptop inside the frame.



the mouse in the picture hanging off the side will be in a hole cut in the frame. also, im going to buy a picture frame and glue it over the whole front of the frame, so it will look like a real picture frame, becasue it is a real frame. then to turn it on, to hook up a keyboard, or anything like that ill have to take the laptop out of the frame, which is very simple, and turn it on and put it back in running from battery until i plug it back in. this is only becasue the stupid slide on button cant be reached and i cant make a good way to turn it on. the mouse willb e stuck in the side of the frame, so only 2 buttons a and the ball on it will show, no circuitry. other than that, its finished! powerpoint automatically opens at startup, and it logs in automatically, all i have to do is click open presentation, select waht presentation, and click run show. then it goes for a day or so, and then i start it again. please comment in the discussion thread, a link to it is in the previous post.

[mattthegamer463]

ok i posted a nice big update for you guys, so click here to see it. i made the frame for the laptop. now all i need is to drill some holes and get a picture frame.

[mattthegamer463]

ok, ive continued working on this, and ive cut out the mouse spot that i am putting the mouse in on the side. now all thats left is to buy and glue on a picture frame. heres some pictures:











the back is held on by an elastic stretched over 2 screws. ill screw on one of those things from the back of a picture frame with the little teeth that go on a nail for hanging it on a wall. then its a simple case of running slideshows on a loop. please post feedback on the discussion thread, a link to it is 2 posts up. thanks for reading!

[The_Gimpy]

Do you think the power cable will reach it easily when its up on the wall? And won't it look slightly off having a power cable running down form a picture frame? Might be better off as a table top picture frame.

What kind of networknig capabilities does it have? If it can do wireless, you may be able to find some sort of slide show software that will just loop through all the pictures in a certain folder, then if you want to add new ones, you only have to log into the comptuer remotely and upload the pictures that way, you would never have to take it down to hook up a keyboard and such that way. And while your at it, maybe you could put a smoother running OS on it if your having problems with windows 95. Maybe a version of linux just running the bare necessities, those being the OS, the slideshow software and the networking software.

[mattthegamer463]

maybe, only problem is that a NIC card would create more wires, and a wireless card wont fit. also, im not really having trouble, except that i cant get more than 265 colour in 800 x 600 mode, so i dont think linux will help me there. i dont plan on updating the pictures very often, and when i do all im doing is pop the 'top out of the case, stick in a external cdrom, and transfer pics from a cdrw to the HDD in a premade powerpoint presentation. now, my only real problem is that if i loop the presentation i cant get out of it wihtout a keyboard to push escape on. unless you know of some slideshow software thatl let me stop the show with a mouse, i think ill have to keep setting presentations to show one pic per half hour, and after about a day restart it. it may get annoying, so ill probably bump it up to a few hours so itl run for a week or so and then ill restart it. if you know of some good slideshow software, please link me to it. my google scearches for software came up blank.

[MrWillyWonka]

Well, if you use the windows slideshow and get a registry hack, you could change the timings to 1 hour or so!

[Soncetina]

make a java script that counts down for an hour, then changes the registry so that the windows back ground changes? (im not good with java) or make a php that changes a picture after an hour or so and then maximise IE, that would require u putting php server on ur puter, which should be ok, its not exactly over taxing its self so far.....

Great idea tho, keep up the good work

[mattthegamer463]

Originally Posted by MrWillyWonka

Well, if you use the windows slideshow and get a registry hack, you could change the timings to 1 hour or so!

windows slideshow as in the screensaver? because windows 95 doesnt have that feature.

im not good with java

neither am i, so that is out of the possibilities.

[MrWillyWonka]

Originally Posted by mattthegamer463

windows slideshow as in the screensaver? because windows 95 doesnt have that feature.



neither am i, so that is out of the possibilities.

I meant the XP slideshow, not the screensaver. But as you're running windows 95... Hmm You won't find many programs that will run on 95 anymore, best bet is to first upgrade to W2000 if you can.

EDIT: Maybe I should've looked at the specs first. W2000 might not run properly, you could try a severly cut down version of linux.

[mattthegamer463]

Originally Posted by MrWillyWonka

best bet is to first upgrade to W2000 if you can.

i cant really install any OS because the cd rom drive ive got is external and the bios doesnt accept external drives to boot from.

[mattthegamer463]

ok, nearing completion of this mod, it will be essentially done as of 3 to 4 days from now. I took the box to a craft store to see what frame would work best. simple task turned into a big task real fast. I ended up with this shadowbox.





so im waiting for my custom matting to be made, then im going to put some L brackets on the sides of the shadowbox frame, and screw it to the main frame, then its all done! please post comments/suggestions/insults/threats on the discussion thread here .

[Shadowed_fury]

Wow - this is looking so good now! Nice work

[mattthegamer463]

Originally Posted by Shadowed_fury

Wow - this is looking so good now! Nice work

thanks! this is the only project ive ever done thats actually turning out professional, most of my other ones look like crap, lol.