..::New life to an old box::..

[valhallen]

Whilst very bored in work a couple of days ago I came up with an idea that a few of you maybe intrested in....

I know alot of us will have old machines lying about gathering dust that we don't use anymore but I intend to put one of mine back into active service as a security watchdog

My linking a we cheap web-cam to it and setting up a small script that takes a screen shot from the cam - changes its resolution | color depth | size so that it can be viewed on a wap phone - then uploads it to a wap server I can view my room from anywhere in the world where I can get a mobile signal

I ain't implemented it yet but I think I might soon just for the hell of it....

v_Ln

[a)sna]

No offense, but you seriously have too much time on your hands!

Its a pretty cool idea, but i have nowhere near enough time to configure somethign like that... good luck tho'

[the_adairs]

Ive thought about doing something similarly with a webcam and a light sensor, in my mailbox so that when the postman comes to drop a letter, it takes a pic of him, the comp inside would then display the picture and I would know I would have mail. Although, not sure on the range of the wireless, but just a thought.

[the_JinX]

most webcams also work great together with IR leds...

you just make a ring of IR leds around the webcam... and you can film in the dark..

there is also software (GNU gpl) that checks for movement on ur webcam..
that software sends an email with date time and the pic
you could change it to WAP u with it..

just my € 0.02

[Terr]

Earlier I was tinkering with the idea of Radio-Shack-ing a small circuit for case intrustion detection. It wouldn't be worth much in terms of telling if someone bypassed your BIOS password, because you'd notice a new or gone password the next time you used the computer...

But anyway, it consisted of detecting when a circuit was broken (by someone opening the side panel) and would have to be 'armed' after the panel was closed by sticking a paperclip into a very tiny hole in the case in order to touch some contacts together... and a small LED so you could check status...

But I'm going ahead on my plan to mod a heaphone jack into the front of my new computer (when/if I get it all the parts ordered and with up-to-date-selections). I'm planning to have a jack at the front for Mic, Headphones, and then a small switch so that I can change the 'preferential order' of the heaphone and back speaker jack. (In other words, the switch will determine which jack gets precedence for the audio signal if both are plugged in.)

[rcgreen]

What I want is a PC coffee maker. You could connect it to your usb
port and have a nice graphical interface of a picture of a coffee maker
and gurgling sounds and all...