Digital Picture Frames?

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.

Comments

Ask Bill Gates

[pb]

I understand his entire *house* has this sort of technology in it...
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pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.

[Off Topic]

[GeorgeH]

Regarding your .sig: Google's database is bigger now, time to update! :)

Google results 1-10 of about 82,300,000 for b. Search took 0.06 seconds.

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They suck for still images, but videos rock

[Kris_J]

I never considered one these toys until I saw the Sony one cycling through a bunch of still pics and a video segment. The idea of s video segment being played on something that looks like a normal, if thick, picture frame is quite appealing. I also think a really slow cycle where the picture in the frame goes through a day in real time (at least dawn to dusk) would be pretty cool too. They'd probably also make a great place to watch a webcam, if networked.

very useful technology..

[einstein]

this technology would be very useful if you are trying to juggle 2 or more girlfriends... put their pictures in this frame, wire up a Bluetooth transciever, and give the each girl their own bracelet with carefully hidden bluetooth transmitter, and wa la! when every they are around, their picture is showing in the frame!

Problems with this plan:

• Girls won't wear bracelet at all times (maybe you could convince them to have it surgically implanted...)
• Bracelet (or implants) battery will run down.
  

this was humor. please don't flame...ok don't flame much.. ok, roast me if you must...but don't hurt my karma! please, anything but my karma!
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Re:very useful technology..

[FigWig]

forget about bluetooth & batteries. make the photo change under voice activation tuned to her voice

I don't let my girlfriends speak. Uppity wenches.

Re:very useful technology..

[Louis_Wu]

very useful if you are trying to juggle 2 or more girlfriends

For the 17 Slashdotters for whom this might be an actual use/problem, I like it. For the rest of us who:

• have a Significant Other
• are trying to get a SO
• don't anticipate a SO in the next 6-18 months
• "what is this 'relationship' thing you are talking about" types
• and those sworn to celibacy as monks in service to the order of Linus the Wise

well, it is funny.

Louis Wu

"Where do you want to go ...

How about this?

[BJH]

You can buy the Lukis in Akihabara for 18,800 yen (about $US160); it can display JPEGs from SmartMedia.

Re:very useful technology..[OT]

[funkman]

This was funny until you said: this was humor. Those who know this is funny will know, those who don't will never get it even if they are told it was a joke.

Chile rating-2

CompactFlash?

[Bryan Andersen]

Do any of the units take CompactFlash cards for image storage?

I like the idea of the electronic picture frames, but all of them I've seen use smart media cards. I use CompactFlash in both my digital cameras. Maby I'll have to investigate making one using an embedded PC controller and flat pannel display. For awhile I was displaying pictures on my backup server's moniter (tube style), but I shut it off awhile back to keep heat generation down. It can go back on this winter.

One thing I'll note is that most laptops use back light sources that only have 2000 hour life expectancies. I wonder what they are using in their display.

Re:I-Opener 2001 == $320.95 picture frame

[tkrabec]

Or just look for busted laptops with working displays, bad cases bad cables dead HD's, etc. Slap in a NIC, add your favorite flavor of *nix and mout them to the wall. Instant Picture, Video, Messaging cente.

I-Opener 2001 == $320.95 picture frame

[Vito]

With the new "I-Opener 2001 Membership" charging you $299 for the I-Opener plus $21.95 a month with no commitment, you can get the unit for $320.95 plus shipping and handling.

Take the I-Opener off it's stand and build a light plastic stand for it, and you've got a nice 10" dual-scan LCD, for less than the Ceiva with a year of service.

Now, you'll apparently need to buy a new BIOS chip from a place like BadFlash before you can hack it and install Jailbait, the 16mb distro for the onboard flash disk, but you can gut Netscape off it and save yourself 8mb, write a custom image displayer, and have the unit either dial out to any one of the myriad free ISPs, or plug in a USB ethernet adapter to download images off of Grandma's DSL or cable connection.

--Vito

Re:Cancer Risks

[ddent]

yes, but tell me this: do you sleep with an alarm clock or for that matter anything electronic next to your bed / in your room? if so, then its the same thing... (if that study is true)

Roll you own

[no_such_user]

Check out EIO, which has a small selection of bare LCD screens. Look for either an older digital camera, or someone getting rid of one w/ a cracked lcd, making sure it has video out. You can probably do it all for under $250.

Or, you could just grab an old 486-based laptop, rip it apart and mount the LCD in a picture frame. Easy.

Re:Cancer Risks

[Ektachrome]

how many hours a day do you sit in front of your monitor? or stand in front of your microwave waiting for it to "JUST GOD%$%$#"' warm up your food when you need to go pee!?! (maybe that one is just me...) or hell, just drive to work? Listen, wake up! EVERYTHING WILL GIVE YOU CANCER, IF YOU EAT ENOUGH DIRT (and survive) YOU WILL GET CANCER, THOSE CORN FLAKES IN THE AM? no!!! YES!! THOSE TOO!! at least what the health portion of the news said while watching my cancer causing TV...