How about building an 'information appliance' toaster, like Microsoft
wants you to? For purely parody purposes, of course. Maybe I'll do
something like that.
Maybe it will have a network card, and I'll demonstrate toaster
operation with CGI scripting. And put up a toastercam. I'm not
kidding, this seems interesting...
>
>I don't count 'Insert VGA card tab 'A' into slot 'B'' as being
'building
>a computer'. When I talk about building a machine I mean from chips and
>wire and hand-etched (or wire-wrapped) boards.
>
>> If its a computer or controller (or something, haven't gotten around
to
>> laying out the ground rules yet) and you built it from the chip,
>> transistor or sand level, its admissable.
>
>I personally think that you should remember that when homebrewing was a
>lot more common (or was at least a larger part of home computing), a
lot
>of the projects were expansion cards for the Apple ][ etc. And that
there
>certainly should be a category for homebrewed cards in commerical
>machines.
>
>> > Does it have to be a complete machine, or will an add-on/interface
for a
>> > commercial computer count?
>>
>> Probably, but it would have to do something really cool! Like allow
you
>> to choose the speed on your blender from a radio-button on your
computer
>> or something.
>
>You mean a calculator with a colour video display and a robot arm
doesn't
>count? No I didn't homebrew the calculator, but everything else is
>mine.... Details available from HPCC if you're mad enough to want to
>build one...
>
>Seriously, I wasn't thinking of having the expansion cards in the same
>group as totally homebrewed machines (including the CPU). But as a lot
of
>'classic' homebrewing was interfacing, then it should be included
somehow.
>
>Perhaps have several categories. The ones off the top of my head are :
>
>Homebrew CPU - Anything where the CPU is not a standard commercial
>chip/machine. Homebuilt CPUs from relays, transistors, TTL, FPGAs, etc
>
>Homebrew microcomputer - Using a standard CPU chip (any), make a
computer
>not using standard PCBs. A general purpose machine which can run user
>programs, I think, though.
>
>Controller - a homebrew embedded control system using just about
anything...
>
>Interface - a homebrew expansion card/interface module for a (classic?)
>computer.
>
>Homebrew == built from chips/transistors/relays/valves. Not plugged
>together from standard boards...
>
>-tony
>
>
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Received on Sat Oct 03 1998 - 19:37:55 BST