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The Amazing Lego DAT Tape Changer
lizardboy writes: "This is for the Lego loving computer geek with large backup needs. The Lego DAT Tape changer. It can be interfaced with any platform supporting Lego mindstorms. I have used it with OSX and Linux using dump and NQC with some custom shell scripts. It also works under a Mac OS 9 using Retrospect and RCX."
I wonder how many boxes of legos would be required to emulate the 300+ cartridge loaded in one of the data centers at work.
At least replacement parts would be inexpensive!
// Agent Green (Ian / IU7 / KB1JQO)
// IEEE 802.3: All 10base Are Belong To Us
Where are the little Lego people? This is cool, but it seems a more effective presentation would include the little lego figures into this contraption. Put some on the lift, some with construction gear, some at the base with the control unit in lab coats working on mini control panels. Some at the local coffee machine or guiding a tour, etc.
:P
Still a very cool way of setting up a changer, but it would be more fun to add some realism to it
The color scheme is something no marketing department will ever agree to. He should have used more beige blocks.
I also think that it should have some of the littel lego men standing around looking at the thing. Also needs more flashing lights.
From the looks of this thing it also loads a DAT tape of the inventor snoring, and waves a fake arm around in the bed, if his Mom turns his bedroom door handle when he's taking a day off...
...Oh god how many Matthew Broderick references can slashdot handle in a single day!
:)
lego is timeless, my friend.
Yeah, but that one is a DDS-2 and it is limited to a 4 tape cartridge. His is scalable as far as he wishes to go with it. He can change the tape drive (go for a DDS3)or number of tape drives without any concern for the size of a cartridge for tapes, or the type of tape that it takes given it is 4mm and can be hooked the way he's grabbing tapes.
That said, I know some idiot will probably trip over his autoloader one day and he'll have to answer for the downtime to put the lego system back together. That will be one impressive interoffice memo (yes, our data recovery system is crippled until we can bring in some third graders to reassemble it...).
bbh
Always check the depth of your closet before you dive in. You don't want to suffer a neck or back injury.
http://drew.corrupt.net/lp/series1.html
>
Ahh yes, and here's where we have our fully redundant Linux cluster with an uptime of 2 years. If anything does ever go wrong, we have a Lego Mindstorms backup system in place. I think we can trust that the database will never be lost.
And here we have...
Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes. --E. W. Dijkstra
Ahh....but does it sport a six nines availability rating? From the looks of it, more like 4,5 tops. Maybe it just needs a little hot glue...
--an unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys--
FreeBDSM?
Liberty in your lifetime
if I replaced the "tape drive" with a crayon, and the set of tapes with Index Cards, I could use it as a redunt "CowboyNeal w/Index Cards and a Crayon"...
Wow, I should not post when knackered.
I want to build a lego robot that does nothing but hit refresh in my web browser and check slashdot for new stories, and then submits first post! w00t
-I'll Bash you in the forhead.
Very true, and what if the cleaning lady came in one morning and sucked up half the autoloader! All that ingenuity (and lego pieces) gone, and I'm not sure insurance would even cover it.
bbh
If seen from above:
I think that dupping a cd is easy - but labeling it after is the time consuming part. You could also handle multiple CD drives at a time.
make Linux, not Microsoft. sin(beast) = -0.809016994374947424102293417182819
..is a lego DAT tape changer, which can not only change DAT tapes, but build more copies of itself, given the appropriate lego blocks required. These in turn would create more..
So, this would mean that now I have actual justification to submit a purchase order for Lego. :)
Superb
Think of anything else that a Mindstorm can help you to change... ah... toilet papers.
The key to implementing this plan is the proper mumbo-jumbo. Write up a formal proposal and fill it with statistisc relating worker proformance to office moral. Cite the benefits of enhanced work enviornment. Explore the possibility that it may generate free publicity, even if it's just word-of mouth. Free publicity = profits. Perhaps this could be used to make a memorable impression on potential clients. People don't always go with the best or cheapest - they go with what they remember.
I suck at mumbo-jumbo. Maybe you can find a marketriod buddy to dress it up and print out some four-color glossies. Make it buzzword-compliant, real content-free. Impressive pie charts. Cite several studies. Maybe a few overhead transparencies.
- - You can't take something off the Internet! That's like trying to take pee out of a swimming pool.
Since they always want to do things on a budget, I told him I could build a Lego tape changer for a mere pittance. He wouldn't go for it though.
Something about not being fault tolerant...
When I was a kid, I was proud to make something looked kinda sorta like an airplane.
It sure as hell didn't fly or do anything spectacular.
Well, it did come apart if I dropped it.