• From: Melbourne, Aus
  • Registered: 2009-05-03
  • Posts: 44

Topic: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

I have a server running "out back" that I pretty much run as a torrent slave/media server/file server and lately I have been trying to think of a new project to undertake or at the very least something a little more interesting to do with it. Does anyone else here have any stories and/or suggestions about creative things they have done with their old boxes, or things that they would like to do? I love to hear about this kind of stuff and it usually gives me ideas from which to begin tinkering again big_smile.

Don't be modest - Feel free to show off any wacky innovations, any ideas you might have (so I can steal them tongue) or just plain old good work!

Last edited by gauntus (2009-08-17 13:17:22)

  • Toolz
  • #! Die-hard
  • Offline
  • From: Asia
  • Registered: 2009-02-02
  • Posts: 934

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

You could monitor your electricity usage with it.

Just a hint:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_co … onsumption
wink

  • craigh
  • #! CrunchBanger
  • Offline
  • From: UK
  • Registered: 2009-08-02
  • Posts: 209

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

You could use it for home surveillance and connect some cameras to it.

Running Crunchbang on eee pc 701 and Dell Mini 10v.
  • Awebb
  • #! Die-hard
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2009-07-23
  • Posts: 2,308

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

Interesting. An hour ago I wrote an essey about how boring computers became over the past 5 years. I'd post it here, but it's written in german...

When I was living in a big city, not a tiny little village, I took an "old" machine, setup a webserver including DNS and a message board, alot of free stuff (GNU Software like linux images and Creative Commons media) and it had a hard drive with write access via webftp. The machine did not have internet access but a Wifi card and an unprotected connection.

I wanted to test wether there are peoply trying every unprotected node the can find. And hell yeah! Therere are alot of them! About 20 inhabitants of the house and block connected daily to post on the messageboard and share files. We also had a lot of guests, some wardrivers and about ten people that said they had found the hotspot accidently while playing with their wifi capable cell phone and came back with their laptops to see what we've got here.

We had fun. Alot.

I'm so meta, even this acronym
  • Registered: 2008-12-13
  • Posts: 1,480

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

you can install ebox and set it up as a domain control/mail server/proxy etc. Also you can install linuxmce and have it do home automation as well as media server. you can get an arduino and hook it up to do pretty much anything, weather station, control remote turrets with a wiimote, stuff like that.

I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.
  • From: /emerald-city
  • Registered: 2009-05-30
  • Posts: 392

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

^
Remote control turrets with an wiimote....now im interested.

You could build a packet-radio station. Id love to see a usable grid eventually limit the power of ISP's.
http://www.packetradio.com/windex/primer.htm

Or you could create a website for people that want to do crazy projects with their outback servers.
Something that is notably not a part of consumer culture. It seems very needed.

Diaspora    identi.ca     Jamendo
God never ends anything on a negative; God always ends on a positive. -- Edwin Louis Cole --
  • From: Melbourne, Aus
  • Registered: 2009-05-03
  • Posts: 44

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

Hey thanks for so many suggestions!

Some of this stuff sounds a little beyond my capacity, but I think I might have a play around setting up a mail server and  perhaps trying something similar to what Awebb described (which is a great idea, btw). Linuxmce also looks like fun, but I wouldn't even know where to start when it comes to automation.

Thanks again! big_smile

  • Registered: 2008-12-13
  • Posts: 1,480

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

heres the one I was talking about illumin8 http://blog.thecapacity.org/2009/01/13/ … -coil-gun/ but there are several other variations, one is with an airsoft gun wink

I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.
  • From: /emerald-city
  • Registered: 2009-05-30
  • Posts: 392

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

^ oh man...
trouble.
Speaking of wiimotes, i didnt know that Johnny Lee's wiimote whiteboard software was available in the repos! with a gtk interface no less.

Diaspora    identi.ca     Jamendo
God never ends anything on a negative; God always ends on a positive. -- Edwin Louis Cole --
  • Registered: 2008-12-13
  • Posts: 1,480

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

yeah I use my wiimote for playing nintendo games on my mini (NES games not wii), I don't have a projector so I haven't had a chance to play around with the whiteboard app though.

I say never be complete, I say stop being perfect, I say lets evolve, let the chips fall where they may.
  • Susu
  • Member
  • Offline
  • From: Stuttgart, Germany
  • Registered: 2009-08-17
  • Posts: 32

Re: Inspire me, Crunchbangers!

Awebb wrote:

Interesting. An hour ago I wrote an essey about how boring computers became over the past 5 years. I'd post it here, but it's written in german...

When I was living in a big city, not a tiny little village, I took an "old" machine, setup a webserver including DNS and a message board, alot of free stuff (GNU Software like linux images and Creative Commons media) and it had a hard drive with write access via webftp. The machine did not have internet access but a Wifi card and an unprotected connection.

I wanted to test wether there are peoply trying every unprotected node the can find. And hell yeah! Therere are alot of them! About 20 inhabitants of the house and block connected daily to post on the messageboard and share files. We also had a lot of guests, some wardrivers and about ten people that said they had found the hotspot accidently while playing with their wifi capable cell phone and came back with their laptops to see what we've got here.

We had fun. Alot.

Thats's a great idea! I guess it was very interesting to read the messageboard...

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