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An lcd

A remote control

Anything from M-Audio! - MIDI interface, keyboard, a (real) audio interface...

microcontroller --> endless possibilities....

flash drive, or a flash card reader

usb drive enclosure - harddrive, CD-R...

And seriously, that has got to be the coolest washer I've seen. Forget all the fancy-smancy new machines with touchscreen LCDs, it's way cooler to do it yourself. :^)

Don't knock the LCDs. You can do it yourself, and still have them. I know Matrix Orbital makes quite a few LCDs, even graphical displays, for around $50-$80. Most of them speak RS232. Many PICs come with builtin support for RS232, so you can just write a byte to the output port, and have it go with no trouble. It's surprising how just a little extra work and a sturdy case can add a very professional look to a very hobbiest work. I've seen friends play with these displays (sans the microcontroller) to make a nice display for a computer which is largely used as an MP3 jukebox. Groovy little things.

Now all I need to tack down is the touch screen LCD interface for it

Actually, try Matrix Orbital. They are a little more expensive, but have more options, including LCDs with build in connectors for keypads (one even takes a AT keyboard!)

1. LCD Panel from CrystalFontz, Matrix Orbital, or make your own.
2. I/O panel such as a FrontX. These are great.

Some of the Matrix Orbital LCDs have "General Purpose Output" connections that you can use for this kind of thing.

• http://www.eio.com/lcdprodt.htm
• http://www.matrixorbital.com/serial-lcd.htm
• http://www.crystalfontz.com/ (A few pages here)
• http://www.cwlinux.com/eng/products/products_lcd.p hp
• http://www.usblcd.de/ (Hardware link)

I own one of these displays (an LCD one), and it's better than anything else on the market (hello Henry ;). They make loads of models, not just expensive VFDs. Here are some links:

Matrix Orbital, the manufacturer - they sell direct.
Matrix Orbital forums, with loads of photos.
LCDC, the best driver software around for MO LCDs. Does everything :).
Kustom PCs - a UK distributor

http://www.bit-tech.net/review/77/

...and can be purchased here:

http://www.matrixorbital.com/products/vk204-25.htm

The Slashdot-linked review didn't seem to have the price, either, and that is listed as between $123.12 and $148.12, depending on what features you wanted.

$123 direct from their site. Not worth it, IMO.

The manufacturer's website lists the price ($123.12 to $143.12).

VFD2041 Standard $116.28
VFD2041-V
VFD2041 Wide Voltage
$118.28
VFD2041-E
VFD2041 Extended Temperature
$126.28
VFD2041-V-E
VFD2041 Wide Voltage and Extended Temperature
$128.28

I didn't see the price in the review, but after a little poking around, Matrix Orbital's website lists this VFD at $123.12.

Someone else mentioned serial ports for connecting to LCDs like these. If you want a graphical LCD with a fast update rate parallel may be the way to go.

Note that I'm talking about small LCDs and VFDs which might be monochrome & only have a resolution of 240x64 or 240x128. While the case modders tend to use them for displaying temperatures, mp3 song titles and spectrum bargraphs, think about the embedded possibilities. Not only are these LCDs smaller, but they draw less power than VGA and better color TFTs.

You could boot from a CompactFlash card and have a really teeny hot tub controller that uses fingerd to report current temperature & power consumption, using the parallel port to talk to the sensor/control board.

Consider a box with a 200GB 3.5" hard drive and a "universal" 12V power supply that'll run from a car, a big battery or a lump-in-the-line (power consumption a bit high for a wall-wart). Not a 1.7" or 2.5" drive, but enough room to hold every CD you own maybe even in FLAC instead of OGG as well as every digiphoto you've ever taken.

With no CD-ROM or AGP slot, it would be considerably smaller than a Shuttle XPC or even a Cubid. The new VIA EPIA M will have USB 2.0, FireWire and 100Mb/s ethernet for getting stuff in & out of your "All Box."

For controlling playback on the go add a few buttons and a rotary encoder scanned by the parallel port and a serial LCD (or a PIC to handle user input & a parallel LCD).

You can build smaller systems for ip to real-world, but this thing runs Linux and BSD, a real 32 bit processor with an MMU and plenty of memory. None of that mucking about with 8-bit assembly or (horrors) BASIC Stamps. Write your nuclear-bomb-tipped earth-boring machine control code in Java if you like!

Hardware for the embedded market is usually more expensive for equivalent capability as PC stuff. You can get an EPIA board for a lot less than an ARM development kit. [I know about power consumption, cost in volume, etc. etc., but for fun small projects, off-the-shelf wins.]

By the way, this guy has solve the problem of how to get 802.11b in a teeny box. The mini-ITX boards don't have PCMCIA and a PCI Wi-Fi card is going to take up a lot of room. Solution: gut a USB Wi-Fi box. The Orinoco one has a teensy USB to PCMCIA interface & a regular Wi-Fi card. Dunno 'bout Linux drivers for it, tho.

All that said, I would like to see a "legacy free" mini-ITX board for building regular-old personal computers.

You might look at these guys first. You can really get that WOPR status-display look going. You won't get der blinkenlights from Matrix-Orbital though.

Forgot to mention that it'll have an LCD display occupying the 3 1/2" floppy bay powered by LCDProc.

... and roll your own.

Look at MP3Car.com which has the details you need. Check out the forums.

Currently the Epia MB with a laptop HD via a 2.5 to 3.5 HD converter a slimline DVD/CD-R. You can use the S video or composite for a mobile LCD or serial based character LCD or go all the way and run VGA or SVGA LCD. Schematics on building the Sproggy DC to DC PSU or buy an ATX DC to DC power supply which is probably the hardest component to find.

On mp3car.com's forums you can find schematics for Delayed relays, noise suppression, why NOT to use an inverter, etc. For pics: mp3 webring list or searchmp3cars list.
Look at Mini-itx which has the spacecase that was discussed here on /.
So much for your afternoon.

Yes, /. needs a DIY section for hardware hackers.

Matrix Orbital. Many of their displays support keypads for input, one even goes all the way up to a full PS/2 keyboard. I haven't tried these for myself, but from reading their site some, I get the impression the keypads run over the same serial link as is used to control the display. Makes sense to me that it should, too.

For serial LCD scrollers, go to Matrix Orbital. They have quite a selection at multiple price points.

Plus, there are ton's of software out there for controlling them. Try here.

Of course, you could write your own, and they have some sample code to get you started here (near the bottom of the page).

For serial LCD scrollers, go to Matrix Orbital. They have quite a selection at multiple price points.

Plus, there are ton's of software out there for controlling them. Try here.

Of course, you could write your own, and they have some sample code to get you started here (near the bottom of the page).

For serial LCD scrollers, go to Matrix Orbital. They have quite a selection at multiple price points.

Plus, there are ton's of software out there for controlling them. Try here.

Of course, you could write your own, and they have some sample code to get you started here (near the bottom of the page).

I think that URL is supposed to be www.matrixorbital.COM.

Here is a case Here that looks like a stereo component. Tack on an LCD display here and you have a killer computer that matches with your stereo, does more than the $1500 device and costs much much less. Additionally, you can put whatever size HD you want. Personally, I love having 160GB of Mp3s at my disposal.

I want my computer to have lots of lights. ... I want to see my network utilization on a graph led. I want to see my processor usage there, too.

Check out Matrix Orbital's collection of LCDs and VFDs. They're pretty snazzy-looking, and lcdproc clients for processor usage, network usage, are already around. I have two of their VFDs (a 20x2 and a 20x4) and they are good blinkenlights. LinuxCentral sells them.

I know this isn't an answer to all your needs, but it should help a little.

One advantage to the Pandora case that immediately comes to mind: two 5.25" bays at the front means one for a DVD/CD-ROM, and the other for an LCD insert from Matrix Orbital or Crystal Fontz (although, I doubt they make cool translucent inserts ... time to get a Dremel!).

Why they don't make an LCD insert for a 3.5" drive bay is beyond me ...

I've got a matrix orbital (http://www.matrixorbital.com/) 40x4 VFD with serial interface and keypad reader installed in my car's dashboard right now. You might look into their product fi you don't wanna figure out how to control an LCD/VFD directly. The VFD kicks LCD's arse for legibility and cool-factor any time of day.

That hd bay could also be used for a Matrix Orbital PC Bay Insert LCD display if you think this would make a great component for a linux stereo or video system. MO inludes a page of customer hacks whose content should further inspire your digital muse.

That hd bay could also be used for a Matrix Orbital PC Bay Insert LCD display if you think this would make a great component for a linux stereo or video system. MO inludes a page of customer hacks whose content should further inspire your digital muse.

Add a hard-drive, Linux/BSD and mpg123, and you have an MP3 player.

Add ALMB or similar software, and you have an interface that can be controlled via IR or a small keypad. With LCD displays and keypads from Matrix Orbital you have one mean looking stereo!