Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
I love the idea of Windows for Warships! Well, again, I didn't pick the operating system platform that HomeSeer chose to develop on. There is an iPhone and Android app for the automation system though, seems to work very nicely. On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 7:10 PM, Richard Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.comwrote: On Jun 13, 2011, at 4:19 PM, Kent Borg wrote: -kb, the Kent who likes the idea of an Android app that would let him control his house, but who is also very frightened by all that could go wrong. Windows for Warships. 'nuff said. --Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
On Jun 14, 2011, at 9:28 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote: I love the idea of Windows for Warships! Its not just an idea. Its actual and factual. Just ask Google. On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 7:10 PM, Richard Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.comwrote: On Jun 13, 2011, at 4:19 PM, Kent Borg wrote: -kb, the Kent who likes the idea of an Android app that would let him control his house, but who is also very frightened by all that could go wrong. Windows for Warships. 'nuff said. -- Jarod Wilson ja...@wilsonet.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 2:26 PM, Chris O'Connell omegah...@gmail.comwrote: Yeah, sorry about the Windows question, I figured I could tap into the knowledge of the group. I recently purchased a pair of the Genesi Smarttops that run Ubuntu for another small appliance type project I'm creating. I love Linux too, but sometimes it's not the right fit for every job/project. The Genesi boxes would be a perfect solution, except that due to the processor being ARM based I don't think I could install my OS of choice for this particular project. The name of the software is HomeSeer. HomeSeer allows for the control of everything from light switches, thermometers, fans, electrical outlets, cameras, thermostats... etc, all through one central administration system. My friend who has been experimenting with Homeseer says there are some Linux alternatives, but none work as well or as reliably as the Windows software. There's been some talk about virtualizing this software, but IMO that's just one more thing to break. So again, sorry about asking for a Windows specific solution, but my question is really more about a small form factor than an operating system specific computer. Thanks for the feedback! I'll check out the links you sent me. --Chris On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 2:17 PM, Mark Woodward ma...@mohawksoft.com wrote: On 06/13/2011 08:28 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote: 1) This is something I would like to productize eventually. If this is so, an up-front investment in sing Linux will be make your life much simpler. 2) Preferably Windows XP or Windows 7. Ok, so it isn't too specifically Windows. Depending on I/O requirements it may be possible to use Linux with Wine. 3) That's what the home automation software runs on. I didn't write it. Which software is it? Is it for X10 hardware or something else? 4) I want something small with maybe 2GB ram, 16GB of storage, hard wired 100MB ethernet (or more). I want something prebuilt (IE, I don't want to have to assemble myself). There are a lot of these systems available. The embedded market has some keep and small PC type computers. The FIT-PC seems to be pretty good, but it's price preloaded with Windows on it ($500 is the cut off point). This little start up project is going to cost me at least 1,000-1,200 with all the accessories. There are a lot of small systems available, here's two http://www.amazon.com/Athlon-1-5GHz-Barebone-System-ZBOXHD-AD01/dp/B0043DMPTO http://www.mini-box.com/Car-PC-Automotive-Computing-Solutions Chris One last postscript. IMHO and this being a Linux/UNIX mailing list, you should really try to go Linux on this. It opens up far more possibilities. I'm not sure what home office automation software you are using, but I'd be quite surprised if there were not an equivalent system on Linux. Then, when you productize, you don't have to buy a Windows license for each unit. Also, there are a bunch of guys on this board that are really smart, and I bet we'd have a bit more emotional investment in helping you succeed if you weren't using Windows :-) On Sun, Jun 12, 2011 at 4:06 PM, Mark Woodward ma...@mohawksoft.com wrote: On 06/12/2011 10:31 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote: -- Forwarded message -- From: Chris O'Connellomegah...@gmail.com Date: Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 11:49 PM Subject: Small Form Factor PCs To: bludiscuss@blu.org I'm looking for a very small form factor computer to install some home automation software on. The software is not very resource intensive. Here are the key requirements for the system: 1. Must be able to power back up without human intervention if power to the unit is lost. 2. Should be small and less energy intensive than a regular PC. 3. I would like it to be less than $500. 4. Must be capable of running Windows (so either an AMD or INTEL cpu). Can anyone make any suggestions about what might work well for me? I was looking at the Dell Zino, but am unsure if a better option exists. I know I replied once already, I want to ask a quick couple questions. (1) Is this a on-off or do you intend to productize your system? (2) What version of Windows? You can use Wince. (3) umm, why Windows? (4) What do you expect for $500, a full PC or just the components. $500 is, IMHO a very generous number. (5) If this is a one-off, I have a VIA-800 miniitx motherboard with 512M of ram and an IDE compact flash adapter that makes a neat little pseudo-embedded disk-free system that was removed from my robot last year. I could probably let it go for $100 bucks with a standard ATX power supply. With regards to #1, if you are going to product-ize this, you may want to consider a lower cost platform such as ARM. With regards to #3 and maybe #1, unless there is a REALLY specific need,
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
Chris O'Connell wrote: The name of the software is HomeSeer. HomeSeer allows for the control of everything from light switches, thermometers, fans, electrical outlets, cameras, thermostats... etc, all through one central administration system. [...] for a Windows specific solution Sounds scary. Valves, thermostats, door locks, motors, arbitrary appliances plugged into controlled outlets...handed over to MS Windows. There are people out there who sorely regret having built complicated automated systems (power plants, chemical factories, ...) out of unreliable parts. And now more people are doing the same thing with their houses. -kb ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
On 06/13/2011 04:02 PM, Kent Borg wrote: Chris O'Connell wrote: The name of the software is HomeSeer. HomeSeer allows for the control of everything from light switches, thermometers, fans, electrical outlets, cameras, thermostats... etc, all through one central administration system. [...] for a Windows specific solution Sounds scary. Valves, thermostats, door locks, motors, arbitrary appliances plugged into controlled outlets...handed over to MS Windows. There are people out there who sorely regret having built complicated automated systems (power plants, chemical factories, ...) out of unreliable parts. And now more people are doing the same thing with their houses. Open the pod bay doors hal I'm afraid I can't do that dave. What the hell are you talking about hal I think you know what the problem is dave. I'm not going to argue with you hal. You should have registered your version of Windows with 'Windows Genuine Advantage' within 30 days. I now must treat you as a software pirate. I'm afraid that this conversation can no longer serve any purpose. (house goes dark, doors and windows remain locked.) -kb ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
Mark Woodward wrote: Open the pod bay doors hal I'm more drawn to the image of vandals breaking into remote houses and having their way. More A Clock Orange than 2001. -kb, the Kent who likes the idea of an Android app that would let him control his house, but who is also very frightened by all that could go wrong. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
On Jun 13, 2011, at 4:19 PM, Kent Borg wrote: -kb, the Kent who likes the idea of an Android app that would let him control his house, but who is also very frightened by all that could go wrong. Windows for Warships. 'nuff said. --Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
-- Forwarded message -- From: Chris O'Connell omegah...@gmail.com Date: Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 11:49 PM Subject: Small Form Factor PCs To: blu discuss@blu.org I'm looking for a very small form factor computer to install some home automation software on. The software is not very resource intensive. Here are the key requirements for the system: 1. Must be able to power back up without human intervention if power to the unit is lost. 2. Should be small and less energy intensive than a regular PC. 3. I would like it to be less than $500. 4. Must be capable of running Windows (so either an AMD or INTEL cpu). Can anyone make any suggestions about what might work well for me? I was looking at the Dell Zino, but am unsure if a better option exists. Thanks, Chris O. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
On 06/12/2011 10:31 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote: -- Forwarded message -- From: Chris O'Connellomegah...@gmail.com Date: Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 11:49 PM Subject: Small Form Factor PCs To: bludiscuss@blu.org If you go the way of the LinuxPCRobot.org, I bought an Intel Dual Core Atom board D510M0. Mini ITX form factor and very efficient. It will even run with a 65W 12V ATX power supply. The board, with CPU, costs about $100 bucks. I'm looking for a very small form factor computer to install some home automation software on. The software is not very resource intensive. Here are the key requirements for the system: 1. Must be able to power back up without human intervention if power to the unit is lost. 2. Should be small and less energy intensive than a regular PC. 3. I would like it to be less than $500. 4. Must be capable of running Windows (so either an AMD or INTEL cpu). Can anyone make any suggestions about what might work well for me? I was looking at the Dell Zino, but am unsure if a better option exists. Thanks, Chris O. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
On 06/12/2011 10:31 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote: -- Forwarded message -- From: Chris O'Connellomegah...@gmail.com Date: Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 11:49 PM Subject: Small Form Factor PCs To: bludiscuss@blu.org I'm looking for a very small form factor computer to install some home automation software on. The software is not very resource intensive. Here are the key requirements for the system: 1. Must be able to power back up without human intervention if power to the unit is lost. 2. Should be small and less energy intensive than a regular PC. 3. I would like it to be less than $500. 4. Must be capable of running Windows (so either an AMD or INTEL cpu). Can anyone make any suggestions about what might work well for me? I was looking at the Dell Zino, but am unsure if a better option exists. I know I replied once already, I want to ask a quick couple questions. (1) Is this a on-off or do you intend to productize your system? (2) What version of Windows? You can use Wince. (3) umm, why Windows? (4) What do you expect for $500, a full PC or just the components. $500 is, IMHO a very generous number. (5) If this is a one-off, I have a VIA-800 miniitx motherboard with 512M of ram and an IDE compact flash adapter that makes a neat little pseudo-embedded disk-free system that was removed from my robot last year. I could probably let it go for $100 bucks with a standard ATX power supply. With regards to #1, if you are going to product-ize this, you may want to consider a lower cost platform such as ARM. With regards to #3 and maybe #1, unless there is a REALLY specific need, Windows is a very poor platform for this type of application. Also, take a look at www.mini-itx.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Fwd: Small Form Factor PCs
Mark Woodward wrote: ...unless there is a REALLY specific need, Windows is a very poor platform for this type of application. Yes, considering that if you went with Linux you might be able to get by with a $30 router platform. In fact, there are commercial home automation products that do exactly that: http://www.micasaverde.com/ (Earlier versions of this product clearly use a repurposed ASUS router. They've since switched to a custom platform.) -Tom -- Tom Metro Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA Enterprise solutions through open source. Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
