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kato writes: "I've been searching for months for the right parts to make a digital picture frame for my wall. I'm not trying to mount an entire PC in a frame, so I think an old laptop would be overkill. I've heard about devices such as the Audrey made by 3COM, the AOL Touchpad made by Gateway, the Cieva picture frame, and a few others, but each has its faults. Some are impossible to find, some require a service, and some aren't yet "hacked." I'd like the price to be cheap (under $100), the picture to be about 10" diagonally, and to be able to connect to the device (modem or network). Now that the MIT flea market is over, I'm stuck trying to find the parts online. I'm leaning towards the AOL Touchpad, which runs Mobile Linux, but no one has posted any attempts on how to get rid of AOL. Anyone have any ideas or success stories?" An earlier question pointed out this site, but I suppose buying one would take all the fun out of it. You also need to watch out for "subscription to our service required" frames...

The ever-prolific AtariDatacenter asks: "The prices of digital picture frames have dropped dramatically over the past year. And some of the upcoming models are promising things such as MPEG playback, and Ethernet access. Are there any killer uses for the current generation of digital picture frames? How about the next generation?" Of course, before you race out to buy one of these picture frames, be sure to look at the terms of use. Last I checked, some of these things were downright useless without the service and fair-use unfriendly. Have any of you found Digital Picture Frames that were worth the price and that actually let you play with the internals a bit?

EuroBryce asks: "What is the current state of digital picture frames? I've found the Digi-Frame ($600 for the 5.6" model), the Sony Cyberframe ($800), and the Ceiva ($250 + $79/year service). The Ceiva unit is the right price to give to Grandma, but the frame is useless if Ceiva ever goes under. Is anyone working on a hack? Is anyone else shipping similar devices?" Interesting! How well do these things work? If I upload an image into one of these things, will it still be working in 5-10 years (assuming they have been properly powered that whole time). This is one of those areas where I still believe that paper is more robust and permanent than anything digital.

EuroBryce asks: "What is the current state of digital picture frames? I've found the Digi-Frame ($600 for the 5.6" model), the Sony Cyberframe ($800), and the Ceiva ($250 + $79/year service). The Ceiva unit is the right price to give to Grandma, but the frame is useless if Ceiva ever goes under. Is anyone working on a hack? Is anyone else shipping similar devices?" Interesting! How well do these things work? If I upload an image into one of these things, will it still be working in 5-10 years (assuming they have been properly powered that whole time). This is one of those areas where I still believe that paper is more robust and permanent than anything digital.