setting up a next bus/train display for my house
February 21, 2010 6:49 AM Subscribe
I'm in the DC area, and a block away from numerous bus lines (and a decent walk to a Metrorail line)I'd like to make a small heads-up display for us in my kitchen that will show me the next bus and metro arrival times.
I don't have any technical questions on how to do this (I used to do a lot of web development and database work) - what I wanted to ask the MeFi community for advice on was the display and device. I'm looking for a cheap, low-cost and quiet display to use. The particular device/display (with WiFi) would simply be scraping next bus and next train data for the stops I want.
I don't have any technical questions on how to do this (I used to do a lot of web development and database work) - what I wanted to ask the MeFi community for advice on was the display and device. I'm looking for a cheap, low-cost and quiet display to use. The particular device/display (with WiFi) would simply be scraping next bus and next train data for the stops I want.
Old laptop, modified into something resembling a digital photo frame?
Or alternatively, if you have a separate service that could present this information as an image (perhaps with ImageMagick), you could use an actual off-the-shelf WiFi digital photo frame.
posted by James Scott-Brown at 7:28 AM on February 21, 2010
Or alternatively, if you have a separate service that could present this information as an image (perhaps with ImageMagick), you could use an actual off-the-shelf WiFi digital photo frame.
posted by James Scott-Brown at 7:28 AM on February 21, 2010
Chumby is pretty much designed for this, though I don't particularly like the physical design of their product.
posted by fake at 9:16 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by fake at 9:16 AM on February 21, 2010
Depends how complex you want to get, but you can look at the iphone-inspired kitchen touchscreen project for ideas.
posted by CathyG at 9:49 AM on February 21, 2010
posted by CathyG at 9:49 AM on February 21, 2010
Actually, my boyfriend did exactly this, in DC! (he lives in the Convention Center area). He gave a presentation on the project at Dorkbot DC last year, and put all his slides and code and stuff online here. Maybe more technically complex then you're looking for, but perhaps it will help. Good luck!
posted by ethorson at 4:02 PM on February 21, 2010
posted by ethorson at 4:02 PM on February 21, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by tmcw at 7:01 AM on February 21, 2010