Why GB screens? Why not a Palm?

[LuckyBob]

Just an idea, but I've been contemplating using a gutted Palm as a screen on the front of my new case. They've got inherrent bidirectional serial (and sometimes USB) support, and touch screens to boot. A simple program on the desktop and a proggie set to run on startup for the Palm seems like it would work.

Possible ideas for the Palm program:
-Animated graphics
-Displaying MBM stats (or a similar program)
-Using for access to the Start menu (or equivilant)
-Etc.

I'm going to start working on these two programs and see if this is actually feasable with the Palms I've lying around. Any comments or ideas?

 

[Th0r]

Nice idea.....

 

[Blotty]

Sounds good man.

 

[SpliT71]

good luck, id like to do something like that

 

[DaveSauce]

Well, to answer the question of the tread......because palms are expensive and GBS arent, heh.

But if you got a dead palm with the screen still working, that's a GREAT idea for a mod. May be a bit more complicated to get done, but more power to you.

 

[LuckyBob]

Actually the unit still has to be fully functional for this all to work. A quick search on Ebay puts a Palm m100 at $20-30, which doesn't seem like it's too much IMO. Palm IIIC's look to be <$75.

Added feature:
-AppForge has the ability to parse HTML on the fly through various connection methods, so it looks like I might be able to have live Fark headlines on the screen ^_^

 

[Xevuhtess7]

hmm.... i know my dad has a palm and its an old slow crappy one that he only on occasion uses... it isn't backlit though. if i somehow convince my dad to let me use it... how can i backlight it?

 

[KEBunny]

LEDs in the case.

 

[Mustard Duster]

Lucky Bob, could you please let me know how this turns out. My dad may be getting a new palm soon and I would love to get his. thanks

 

[Xevuhtess7]

nab his new palm? hahahaha you are evil

 

[eab]

I saw a program to do that awhile bag and I just searched google and came up with nothing. Maybe you could have better luck....

 

[Mustard Duster]

i was wondering if you could use the hot sync cradle for this mod. since i don't have any room to mount the lcd, i thougt it would be cool if i could put it on the hot sync. is this possible?

 

[LuckyBob]

The way I'm looking to do it would work either with the Palm still fully intact or transplanted into the case; either way it'll have to be connected to the Hotsync cradle or a serial adapter for communication purposes. I'll be testing the program on a Palm IIIC that I've got lying around (although I'm not going to use this one for the final product) and I'll most likely post the source code online so people can compile it for themselves and do the same with their Palms. Currently, I'm working on designing the graphics for the proggies.

 

[eab]

Yes please do that.

 

[Genocide]

i would be really interested in that, i have a Palm IIIx sitting next to me that i never use and lost the hotsynch cradle for, i was about to just toss it in the trash =D even though its fully functional

 

[eab]

Any updates? Could we be beta testers?

 

[naddie]

Sounds like a feasible and awesome idea to me. Let us know how it's going.

 

[naddie]

Actually, another idea (i think someone already posted) is to allow the Palm to be OUTSIDE of the case - in the cradle. That way it can get live data and still communicate with the PC, but able to be disconnected and be used as a traditional PDA (so you dont sacrifice a PDA just for a cool mini display).

 

[LuckyBob]

Sadly real life is taking hold for about the next three days and I won't be able to work on the button map engine until then. Here's a sample of what I threw together one night for the main screen's graphics: http://www.luckybob.dnsalias.com/main.bmp

Naddie - In response; yes you'll be able to use the Palm outside the case. The only required connection will be a serial cable/cradle. I was just going to hack apart a Palm for my own purposes (I've an iPaq as my main PDA now anyway).

 

[LuckyBob]

Oh, PS - the big blank area on the bottom right of the test screen is my intended area for HTTP news sources / MBM stats.