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Programmable Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD)
An anonymous reader writes "There is a review of a programmable Vacuum Fluorescent Display (VFD). It is used to monitor computer related stats e.g. temperture, voltages, uptime etc.
The article can be found here.
Looks like an interesting toy!"
Is it just the coolness factor? Or is there another reason to have one?
I'm sure this has been going on for a lot longer than I've noticed it, but it seems like there's a pretty big trend toward displaying information from your computer without looking at the monitor, specifically displaying somewhere on the case. Apple's Xserves have those nifty LEDs, we have some Dell servers here that light up orange or green depending on what's going on... Now you have these text displays (i know they're not new) and that new Apple patent that everyone's buzzing about. While I think its great to be able to get some information about you system at a glance (like the old CPU load LEDs on the old BeBoxes) in a rack environment, but how much of this stuff is just eye candy (not that there's anything wrong with that..)
that fits on top of my tower and I'll be set. The dinosaurs aren't dead, they've just taken a while to "evolve" to a smaller package.
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PC's are birds. I guess Linus realized that when he chose the penguin as a mascot.
I mean really, think about it. You can get a card with a vacuum tube on it, visual state displays, tape backup and water cooling, all the things that micros "obsoleted."
The more things change. .
KFG
The price on this unit is listed as $140. Why pay that much? For less than that you can get a VGA compatible full color lcd panel, which will mount in the same space and which can be used with a simple dual head setup. I've seen an old Sharp 4 inch LCD mounted this way; the guy ran winamp visualizations on that display and they looked fab.
For WAY less than that, you can get a standard serial LCD or VFD display with no circuitry from a mail order electronics store. Building your own circuit board for it shouldn't take that long and is a fun exercise. Sure, the software's nice, but it's not really HACKING if you use somebody else's software.
Way I see it, this product is designed for lazy casehackers with too much cash. Real men solder.
Hey freaks: now you're ju
...beyond the obvious "just to show of your geekiness"
1. Already mentioned I think...mobile/automotive/outdoor applications. Ever tried to use a laptop when it's colder than 10C? I have (refrigerated warehouses, outside, etc for programming PLCs in isolated locations). It still works but the LCD screen sure looks like crap.
2. Got a bunch of servers without monitors (or that share one monitor)? It sure would be nice to see the CPU load, available drive space, network traffic and so on at a glance instead of pulling up to a console and switching the KVM sharing device (or SSH-ing or telnetting) all over the place and getting mixed up as to which machine you are observing.
3. Nice to have basic diagnosic info like that on a separate display...it doesn't add clutter to your desktop (mine can get cluttered enough as it is) and you don't have to go hunting to see what window it's buried under. It's also probably less resource intensive than putting it on a GUI window and more convenient than various command-line/text-based utilities out there.
4. The VFD vs. LCD is nice because it is bright and readable---more so than even backlit LCD. If I'm computing at night by the light of a desklamp (where I'm at, in December that means any time after 4PM), it would show up very nicely on the tower sitting on the floor by my desk (LCDs sure wouldn't).
There ya go...sounds pretty useful to me (beyond being a geek-toy). On the flip side I don't think I'd go for this particular VFD product. It takes up two drive bays--thanks but no thanks--that rules out use on low-profile desktops and rack-mounted PCs (and many compact and mid-tower cases if you have, say, a DVD and a CD-RW, some tape backup systems, or auxilliary cooling device or lots of other other stuff that fits in a 5.25 bay). Concept-wise it's a very good idea though...
ymi here wrote:
> What amazes me is that mods that look cool and do
> little to nothing are becoming so popular.
What amazes me was that for 15 years, the only innovations in the garden variety PC case were turning them on their sides to make towers and plastic thumbscrews, both of which came in early on.
That began to change in May of 1998, when the newly reborn Apple announced the iMac. Apple since followed with the rest of their product line, giving them a very unique look.
The PC world struggled to compete, but they were held down by Microsoft's specifications and a total lack of innovation. The best they could come up with were clueless copies, and copies good enough to get shot down by lawsuits.
Then came the fall of 2000 (or the Fall of 2000, depending whether you refer to the season or the PC crash). Apple recovered quickly, keeping its prices up and keeping up the innovation. The Wintel makers weren't as lucky, and they responded by slashing prices, shedding tens of thousands of workers, and huddling in storm shelters. The value had gone out of the PC world.
The first faint stirings of hope for the PC came when retailers such as CompUSA became bold enough to sell bare bones systems, that allowed some user customization. Microsoft raged about the total lack of bundling of their products, but that doesn't seem to have stopped anybody.
Someone, somewhere along the line, singly or collectively, got the brilliant idea to dovetail the case modding and build your own movements, and bring them into the mainstream as an established way of acquiring PCs. That did it. Now people could have highly unique and individual PCs, and pay for some of them nearly what Apple charges. Only the profits are spread across lots of little companies, instead of all going to an HP or a Dell. The PC has its value back. Innovation is raging, driven by customer demand and imagination.
Everyone seems to be worried about the Apple patent on case color changing. Don't be. Apple just noticed it wasn't the only cool thing on the block anymore, and is leapfrogging your coolness. A patent is only a worry if you are a blind imitator like the clueless big PC manufacturers. Don't fall into that trap. Leapfrog Apple again, and keep driving the coolness factor (and useful features) higher and higher. That, plus some serious choice in the operating system department, is the way to save the industry, and evolve the desktop computer into something ever more attractive and useful, maybe even exciting again.
Mind you, Microsoft won't like loosing control of the PC industry one bit. It is kind of difficult to lock down the PC when every component is lovingly chosen by the individual user. Palladium is never going to work in that kind of environment. Poor widdle litterbugs.
"It's a miracle! The sea water has once again created new life."
Moll on Mothra Leo's transformation into Rainbow Mothra, "Mothra 2", December 13, 1997