Model Train Control Using Your PDA

Hey, can I control you train...? by ahooton · 2003-05-01 15:03 · Score: 2, Funny

Hmmm... OK, now that I see it in print, maybe it's not such a great pick-up line after all...

Re:Hey, can I control you train...? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-02 01:39 · Score: 0

Uh, I don't think directly referencing a chick as a train (or any other large inanimate object) will get you laid to often...

But ... by B3ryllium · 2003-05-01 15:03 · Score: 3, Funny

I want to be able to drive my car with my PDA/Cell phone.

I want to be able to fly a remote control helicopter, too!

Re:But ... by papadiablo · 2003-05-01 15:18 · Score: 5, Funny

I want to be able to drive myself with my PDA, creating an infinite loop of me controlling me through my PDA controlling me through me controlling me through my PDA through controlling me through me controlling me through my PDA....
Re:But ... by B3ryllium · 2003-05-01 15:35 · Score: 2, Funny

hahah :) That's ten times better than mine.

No, wait ... infinite times better! wee! :)
Re:But ... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 18:51 · Score: 0

a palm is not a PDA! it's just a cheap little toy. real pdas have at least a 400mhz processor and wifi.
Re:But ... by tegeus · 2003-05-01 21:59 · Score: 1

replace yourself with a very small shell script?
Re:But ... by water-and-sewer · 2003-05-02 06:43 · Score: 1

I'll be interested when PDAs are given the ability to flush my toilet. Since 90% of the time I'm using a PDA I'm also on the throne, that will truly be the pinnacle of usability.

click *here* to flush.

plugged up. do you want to flush again?
*yes* *no*

--
If this were Usenet, I'd killfile the lot of you.
Re:But ... by UserGoogol · 2003-05-02 13:03 · Score: 1

Piece of cake. Sure, it might not be a shell script per se, but it is a script. And very small.

<?php
function control_me($command)
{
return control_pda($command);
}

function control_pda($Command)
{
return control_me($Command);
}

control_pda("post slashdot");
?>

--
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." -- Hanlon's Razor

Where's my anon posting?! by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:04 · Score: -1, Offtopic

Why can't I post anon anymore? I had to sneak to another computer and post anon on it. Where's my checkbox?!

Re:Where's my anon posting?! by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 15:05 · Score: -1, Troll

it died. i assume it has something to do with them wanting you to pay for the site. course, you could just log out and not be a retard, sneaking around to other computers. me? i just troll with the karma bonus turned off. i'm too lazy to log out

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Re:Where's my anon posting?! by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:07 · Score: -1, Offtopic

Easier to go to another computer than to login and logout... It's just right next to me, no biggie.
Re:Where's my anon posting?! by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 15:08 · Score: 0, Offtopic

oh, in that case it would be easier. me, i'd have to go all the way across the house and boot up the other computer, so i'll just burn some karma. i have more than enuf MUHAHAHAHA!!!!

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Re:Where's my anon posting?! by satanami69 · 2003-05-01 16:42 · Score: 1

Guess I'll join in too. Does anyone have a mirror site for ./ that doesn't have Ads, dupes, trolls, or AC?

No. Well back to work then.

--
I really hate Dan Patrick.
Re:Where's my anon posting?! by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 17:00 · Score: 0

Alterslash.org is pretty close.

Isn't this kind of pushing it? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:06 · Score: -1, Offtopic

I mean... yea, I'm glad they have all these gadgets but... Don't we have enough?

Re:Isn't this kind of pushing it? by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 15:12 · Score: 3, Funny

you are SOOOO talking to the wrong people.

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!

Already overloaded. by dhwebb · 2003-05-01 15:06 · Score: 0, Offtopic

2 posts and can't connect.

--
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

Choo Choo Choo by Bearded+Pear+Shaped · 2003-05-01 15:09 · Score: -1, Troll

Look at me I'm a train!! Choo choo choo!!
I'm pulling into the station!! Choo choo choo!!
Wanna know what the station is called?? Choo choo!!
It's called who gives a shit

Chuff chuff chuff chuff

--
Who are y oo ?

Re:Choo Choo Choo by Znonymous+Coward · 2003-05-01 15:15 · Score: -1, Flamebait

You might like to visit http://who-gives-a-shit.slashdot.org/

--
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Re:Choo Choo Choo by doublehelix_nz · 2003-05-01 15:37 · Score: 0, Troll

Dont be so hard on the parent poster. he raises a very valid point. (before i start, this is not flamebait! im mearly saying my opinion) Who really cares? everyday i keep seeing the same bullshit. Guy controls train with PDA. whoohoo. instead of posting constructive topics, we get this weird shit. Okay then, to prove the parent poster above isnt a troll. 1)How many /. users own a fully working train set that they currently USE. 2)How many /. users also own a PDA. out of the total above, how many people are now going to make there PDA control there train. very few. dont take me wrong, im all for people being creative. but hey, there are people dying/being killed/ass raped by george W./being stressed out by the slashdot effect. How about we work on CONSTRUCTIVE projects that would make this world a better place.
Re:Choo Choo Choo by Znonymous+Coward · 2003-05-01 15:49 · Score: 3, Funny

How about we work on CONSTRUCTIVE projects that would make this world a better place.

Or at least someting cool like...

VNC Server for Toasters and Light-Switches

and

TCP/IP Enabled Lego Bricks

--
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Re:Choo Choo Choo by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 15:52 · Score: 2, Insightful

a while back there was the article about how to turn a floppy disk into the enterprise from star trek (why i even bothered to clarify that here is beyond me). It was kinda gay, but a lot of people that day put up pictures of their attempts at it. It was cool because everyone has a spare floppy disk, and many a /.er likes star trek. in the end, i found i actually enjoyed the article, simply because people were doing it and posting pictures. Now this one, i'm not going to see a picture of your attempt, and (as you mentioned) not too many people have trains and a pda and want to do this (the enterprise thing took five minutes).

but who am i to rant and rave about the poor quality of these articles? after all, i'm only here because i'm wasting a little time right now. and if it was realy that bad, i'd just leave, the internet is a big place.

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Re:Choo Choo Choo by stmpynode · 2003-05-01 16:18 · Score: 1

I actually do have a train and I own a Sharp Zaurus. When I saw the article I was instantly interested in doing that with my PDA. I will definately have to look into it.

--
Blah.
Re:Choo Choo Choo by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 16:24 · Score: 1

well, tell me if you ever post some pix of it or the like. still, you are a rare one amongst the /. crowd for havin both the props and the desire to do it

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Re:Choo Choo Choo by edhall · 2003-05-01 16:32 · Score: 3, Informative

You don't know your hacker's lore. This article is about as on-topic as Slashdot gets.

-Ed
Re:Choo Choo Choo by uberdave · 2003-05-01 17:08 · Score: 2, Insightful

1)How many /. users own a fully working train set that they currently USE.
2)How many /. users also own a PDA.

I don't know about 1, but I imagine quite a large percentage of slashdot users own pdas. (Furthermore, I would imagine that among the slashdot users who do own a fully working train set, the percentage also owning a PDA would be even higher.)

The idea of using a PDA to control a model train fits in VERY well with the theme of slashdot. It is a cool hack. There needs to be more of this kind of story posted here. It is a story of individual initiative and inventiveness, rather than corporate greed and legal entanglements. It is a story that inspires people. How much more constructive and good for the world do you want?

--
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
Re:Choo Choo Choo by DrMrLordX · 2003-05-01 18:03 · Score: 1

It might be cool if you could stage your own AmTrak-style derailments.

Yeah yeah, mod me down if you want. I liked making dangerous rides in Rollercoaster Tycoon too. It's amazing how high you can fling coaster cars into the air with incomplete track . . . wheee
Re:Choo Choo Choo by doublehelix_nz · 2003-05-01 21:44 · Score: 1
- i want a beowolf cluster of PDAs to find a cure for cancer. a cure for aids. and, if its not too much trouble, to co-ordinate the assaination of both Bill Gates and George Bush.
dh.
PS. also a soution to the slashdot effect.
Re:Choo Choo Choo by uberdave · 2003-05-02 02:26 · Score: 1

Well that's easy. Give Billy cancer, and give George aids. Suddenly cancer research funding will go through the roof, and the government will release its "top secret" aids antidote. :-)

While finding cures for diseases is a noble goal, it requires equipment that is beyond the reach of most hobbyists.

Many that live deserve death; and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them Frodo? Do not be too quick to deal out death in judgment. Even the wise cannot see all ends.
As much as I may disagree with their influence in the world, assasinating people who you don't like, or who's political views you do not agree with, does not make the world a better place. It makes it a worse place.

--
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad

0 posts and already slashdotted... by overbored · 2003-05-01 15:09 · Score: 5, Informative

Here's a mirror.

Re:0 posts and already slashdotted... by dr_dank · 2003-05-01 15:26 · Score: 5, Funny

Slashdotted? Nah, I prefer to think of it as derailed!

Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the fish.

--
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
Re:0 posts and already slashdotted... by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:43 · Score: 0

Their fault.. shrinking the fullsize image via to get thumbs isn't really a Good Thing.
Re:0 posts and already slashdotted... by ergonal · 2003-05-01 18:19 · Score: 1

But at least when you click on the image it loads instantaneously ;)
Re:0 posts and already slashdotted... by chrj · 2003-05-02 03:17 · Score: 1

Their fault.. shrinking the fullsize image via to get thumbs isn't really a Good Thing.

You forgot the [tm] part :-)

direct links by shird · 2003-05-01 15:09 · Score: 5, Informative

The direct links which seem to work better than the main page: (couldnt post anon for some reason, excuse the karma whoring)

--
I.O.U One Sig.

Re:direct links by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 16:07 · Score: 1

(Score:4) --- (couldnt post anon for some reason, excuse the karma whoring)

I guess you are excused ^^. anyway, i don't think that many people will be bitching about karma whores, since it takes effort to post anon.

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!

Open Source?!?! by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:10 · Score: -1, Troll

Yeah, but is the software open sourced?!??! Oh god no!!!

fist post by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:10 · Score: -1, Troll

I want to fist you with my 12" post

Curious by Znonymous+Coward · 2003-05-01 15:10 · Score: -1, Offtopic

Does the Palm run Linux? How about the train? Could you imagine a Beowolf cluster of these?

--

Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.

Slashdotted by Snoopy77 · 2003-05-01 15:11 · Score: 3, Funny

Was he running his website on his PDA as well? Did we crash his train too?

--
"She's a West Texas girl, just like me" - G.W Bush Iraqis

Re:Slashdotted by Znonymous+Coward · 2003-05-01 15:19 · Score: 0, Troll

And the award for worst reference to a slashdotting goes to...

Snoopy77 (229731)

The material was there, but the delivery sucked. Next time try a little harder :)

--
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Re:Slashdotted by Snoopy77 · 2003-05-01 15:32 · Score: 3, Funny

That's sweet coming from the guy who wrote this

--
"She's a West Texas girl, just like me" - G.W Bush Iraqis
Re:Slashdotted by Znonymous+Coward · 2003-05-01 15:34 · Score: 2, Funny

Yikes! I shouldn't throw stones in a glass house.

--
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Re:Slashdotted by QQ2 · 2003-05-01 18:30 · Score: 1

Hehehe,
This reminds me of a little competition a dutch sience magazine once wrote.
I believe it was the universety of Hamburg that had a web controlled rc train.
One of the editors of that magazine did a little stroy about the RC trains and mentiond as a sidenote that anyone who would send him a picture of the trains derailled or otherwise crased would receive a free subscritpion till the end of the year.
Next month 4 people had actually amanaged to make it crash (on 3 separate occasions) and they were kindly requested by the hamburg universety to sod off
Re:Slashdotted by stinky+wizzleteats · 2003-05-02 06:06 · Score: 1

I believe it was the universety of Hamburg that had a web controlled rc train. One of the editors of that magazine did a little stroy about the RC trains and mentiond as a sidenote that anyone who would send him a picture of the trains derailled or otherwise crased would receive a free subscritpion till the end of the year. Next month 4 people had actually amanaged to make it crash (on 3 separate occasions)

I can just see the security advisory on this:

Denial of service attack against model train

Risk: High

Certain firmware revs of model trains have been found to be vulnerable to a remote denial of service attack by moderating remotely controlled throttle and switching functions...

Much better train control by tcd004 · 2003-05-01 15:12 · Score: -1, Offtopic

I get much better train control from my Jesus Palm Pilot

tcd004

..umm by DaLiNKz · 2003-05-01 15:14 · Score: 0, Redundant

....with a PDA..... lol what a pointless article. I mean, sure, great for them, all the power to them, but... slashdot material? lol.. erm..

--
I've left to find myself. If you happen to see me, please, keep me there until I return.

Re:..umm by RevAaron · 2003-05-01 15:28 · Score: 2, Insightful

Umm... How long have you been reading slashdot? Most of the stuff that gets posted is like this. Pointless to some. Hell, plenty of it is worse- this is actually cool and useful (although for only a small subset of humanity or even nerdom). This is nerdy, and hence it is worth being posted.

--

Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
Re:..umm by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 16:02 · Score: 1

this is actually cool and useful

cool? yes. useful? no!

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Re:..umm by RevAaron · 2003-05-01 17:22 · Score: 1

Not useful? Ha! It is totally useful- but as I said before, for a small subset of people. For model train enthusiasts, this project is indeed useful and has the potential to become even more so. For me and probably you, no it's not useful- but I don't have an interest in model trains.

Likewise, C++ isn't useful to me, although it certainly is to many other folks 'round the world!

--

Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad

Sad... by c0dedude · 2003-05-01 15:14 · Score: 2, Informative

Yeah, here's the google cache Jeez, were they hosting the server on the Palm?

--
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?

shit thats just silly by chrnb · 2003-05-01 15:18 · Score: -1, Troll

wont even get your ass laid

--
MikMik Baby Organics Mikkaworks

Re:shit thats just silly by deadsaijinx* · 2003-05-01 16:10 · Score: 3, Funny

wont even get your ass laid

i dont know about you, but i don't like it when my ass engages in sexual activities...

--
YOU SUCK BALLS!
Re:shit thats just silly by StormReaver · 2003-05-02 00:44 · Score: 1

"wont even get your ass laid

i dont know about you, but i don't like it when my ass engages in sexual activities..."

Everytime something "nerdy" appears on Slashdot, we get a whole chorus of people complaining that Slashdot users won't get laid. This happens every single time.

I can't help but think that this falls under the, "I think thou dost protest too much" category.

my god.. by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:25 · Score: -1

You people need help. seriously. You can do anything with a palm pilot. Stop playing sportscaster. It's obvious. Post some news that is truly interesting.
Nobody cares.

Ah, memories by TheBracket · 2003-05-01 15:25 · Score: 5, Interesting

This reminds me of when I was young. My father and I built a trainset controller from Maplin Electronics; each train had a small circuit board added (with a unique ID number), and we could give each train individual commands. Once we had that running smoothly, we used an old Dragon 32 to build a complete train management system (in 6502 assembly, if I remember rightly; the Dragon was a bit limited, so we ended up writing the programs on graph paper, validating them, converting the notation to hex and poking it - before saving a memory dump). I remember being particularly happy with our simulated inertia system, even if it did make crashes more likely!

Projects like this are a lot of fun, and a great way to get into electronics.

--
Lead developer, http://wisptools.net

Re:Ah, memories by markov_chain · 2003-05-01 16:39 · Score: 1

This reminds me of when I was young.

Let me guess, all sections of your railroad track went uphill! :^)

--
Tsunami -- You can't bring a good wave down!
Re:Ah, memories by terrymr · 2003-05-02 03:34 · Score: 1

Time to show the nerdiness ... that would be 6809 assembly on a dragon 32 :-)

Sorry, but ... by DogIsMyCoprocessor · 2003-05-01 15:27 · Score: 3, Funny

this won't be cool until you can use a Palm to make 2 model trains collide and explode like in the Addams Family.

--

"And this is my boy, Sherman. Speak, Sherman." "Hello." "Good boy."

Re:Sorry, but ... by Skater · 2003-05-01 23:47 · Score: 2, Interesting

Actually, you can. Having used a DCC system, you'd be amazed at how quickly and easily things can get out of control, even with only two trains! The good news is that the Digitrax system has a "panic stop" button that stops all the trains. The bad news is that sometimes that's easy to forget when you need it.

Last time I visited my parents, I had to catch one of my dad's engines as it rolled off the platform from just such an incident. (Fortunately, he was controlling them at the time; I just happened to be standing in the right area.)

--RJ

My experience with model trains.. by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:30 · Score: 2, Funny

When I was in public school my friend's dad had a model train set up in one room in his basement. We were never allow to go in there, he was afraid we'd break something. You might think this kind of "forbidden fruit" would be beyond temptation to two young boys, but you'd be wrong. I never went in that room, and I never wanted to either.

Moral of the story.. even though you think model trains are great, most people don't give a shit.

Re:My experience with model trains.. by Neuropol · 2003-05-01 15:40 · Score: 1, Funny

Should the phrases "freind's dad" and "forbidden fruit" be in the same story?
Re:My experience with model trains.. by gr0ngb0t · 2003-05-01 16:57 · Score: 1

especially when "two young boys" and "temptation" are also mentioned in said post...

Model Trains are cool by Rolo+Tomasi · 2003-05-01 15:34 · Score: 1

I've always wanted to build a really detailed diorama with model trains and a little city. In fact, I'm gonna do that when I retire ... some 40 years from now. I just hope I'm going to find my bookmark for this story when that time comes ...

--
Did you know you can fertilize your lawn with used motor oil?

Re:Model Trains are cool by budgenator · 2003-05-01 17:00 · Score: 1

a lot of people do some realy detailed stuff, the wife wanted a layout in the garden in G gage (45mm track) the scale is 1:24 for wide gage, 1:22.5 for narrow gage, until she saw the price for rolling stock, box cars go for $80.00! The Nice thing is the scale is 1/2 inch to the foot so you can build realistic stuff from scratch if you want; I've seen trestle bridges 6 feet above the ground on the web. This scale is normaly used out doors, you can get steam locomotives, and I really mean steam loco's not just electric that look like steam, they use alcohol to fire the boiler, $435.00 for one locomotive.

--
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Re:Model Trains are cool by 91degrees · 2003-05-01 21:31 · Score: 1

Yeah, they're expensive, but large stream powered models are fantastic. I saw a layout with radio controlled trains. It's nice to have that sort of flexibility.
Re:Model Trains are cool by jhawkins · 2003-05-02 00:53 · Score: 1

I get to play with a set of 12 inch to the foot scale steam and diesel trains :) Sometimes when I come home from working on my 1:1 scale trains, I play with my 1:160 scale trains. Here's some pictures and some more. The organization I belong to.
Re:Model Trains are cool by budgenator · 2003-05-02 05:50 · Score: 1

thanks for the link to the pics, they were cool. If you ever get to metro-detroit Mi area you got to go to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, it's a must see if you're into historic trains plane and cars.

--
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds

The REAL reason PDAs exist..... by Chris_Stankowitz · 2003-05-01 15:41 · Score: 0, Offtopic

Hairy Palm by L0PHT!

Sony Clies by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:43 · Score: 0, Offtopic

My Sony Clie comes with a program that lets you use it as a sort of universal remote control. Works pretty well too... It's a lot of fun going to sports bars, covertly taking out the palm pilot, and changing the channel from ESPN to Lifetime.

Shades of the MIT model railroad club! by Ungrounded+Lightning · 2003-05-01 15:46 · Score: 1

What goes around comes around.

--- and around
--- and around

--
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way

What about other electrical devices? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:48 · Score: 3, Insightful

It's great that someone has figured out how to control model trains with a palm pilot, but think of how useful a Palm could be to control various appliances and circuits in your house. This has been done with computers, but it isn't too practical. But with a Palm, imagine... You wake up in the morning, find the Palm Pilot on your night stand, and push a button to start the coffee maker. Did your kids leave the lights on in a dozen rooms in the house, and you've just settled down to watch the game? Turn 'em all off in a snap with the Palm Pilot by your side.

Re:What about other electrical devices? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:50 · Score: 0

Is your wife complaining about not getting enough attention while you're trying to watch the game? Turn on her vibrator in a snap with the Palm Pilot by her side. You won't miss a minute of the action!
Re:What about other electrical devices? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 18:50 · Score: 2, Interesting

Palms are great for reading in the dark at night or in the morning under the covers. The palms with green backlighting are actually especially good at this, since the lighting is so soft. Recently I've been thinking about hooking up some bluetooth connectivity to my desktop which I leave on at night to mask out background noise (I live in LA.) With bluetooth I could browse through the library I have on the desktop and download whatever I feel like reading.

Similarly, a bluetooth enabled palm could make household control comfortable and simple enough to be practical -- even just for basic things like lights and heat. Since I already have the thing there to read with anyway I might actually use it to turn a light on sometime.

The point here is that the utility doesn't really come from the Palm, it comes from the Palm plus a bluetooth connection, which is something we're just getting started with.

(In real life this would probably be a lot more easy to implement on a Zaurus, but if I feel like writing the code on both sides for the Palm I *could* do it.)

yes, but... by Pig+Hogger · 2003-05-01 15:50 · Score: 1

Does it wheelslip? Bails-out? Puts-it in the 8? Allows you to put 5 pounds of brakes only? Isolate a traction motor? Has a ground relay?

And, most importantly, can you do a 14L with it???

Re:yes, but... by Kaimelar · 2003-05-02 07:26 · Score: 1

Does it wheelslip? Bails-out? Puts-it in the 8? Allows you to put 5 pounds of brakes only? Isolate a traction motor? Has a ground relay?
Wow. That was a heck of a lot better than the, "Does it run Linux?" that I expected from the subject. Now, if only I knew what any of those questions meant . . . :-)
Re:yes, but... by Pig+Hogger · 2003-05-02 07:34 · Score: 1

Wheelslip: the name explains it all; the wheels start spinning 'cause you put too much power.
Bail-out: releasing the engine brakes but keeping the train brakes on (they are braked separately).
Put it in the 8: full throttle. Throttles (normally) have 8 notches, plus "Idle".
5 pounds of brake: trainline braking effort is measured by the number of pounds you decrease the air pressure (no pressure = full emergency braking).
Isolate a traction motor: remove the power from 1 axle, because the motor is damaged.
Ground relay: protection device against short-circuits.

in related news by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:50 · Score: 0

there are people that convert lego train motors to use DCC as well, allowing lego trains to be controlled from your palm.

... the real thing. by hopscotch · 2003-05-01 15:54 · Score: 5, Interesting

The locopalm is nice, however ...what is really amazing are the goals my 9 year old met to be able to Rent-A-Locomotive at the Golden Gate Museum Railroad!

His face was full of delight as he drove an actual locomotive (under an engineer's instruction, of course).

Sometimes there's nothing quite like the real thing.

--Hopscotch

No more anonymous posting when logged in? by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 15:56 · Score: -1, Flamebait

this must have something to do with subscribing to this website. you have to be kidding...

you think anybody is going to pay for this shit? i've read the 'benefits' of subscribing, and if i get an extra 15 minutes ahead of the rest of the trolls so i can beat them to the FP, whoop-de-fuckin-do. oh yeah, if someone removes me or adds me as a friend/foe/fuck buddy, i get a personalized email sent over the internet to tell me! Happy Day!

i tell you what. i'll take a poop in a little white box and put it on a table. then we'll put the slashdot subscription next to it. which one is worth more? hmm, I can't figure it out either.

Face it, Malda. Your site has nothing of merit. Nothing worth paying for, unless you're giving away free fucks from Kathleen (or blow jobs from you for the Slashfags on this site).

Think about that.

Why?... by pummer · 2003-05-01 15:58 · Score: 0, Troll

...I almost know the answer: "Because this is Slashdot."

But consider the following: 1. Very few slashdotters own a working train 2. Very few slashdotters that own a working train want to control it with their palms 3. very very few slashdotters own a working train AND want to control it with their palms. 4. If this is a slashdot story, then why are non-tech-related things cut?

Where's my AC at?

Re:Why?... by pummer · 2003-05-01 16:02 · Score: 1

yeah i need to learn how to use teh [br]

sorry
Re:Why?... by doublehelix_nz · 2003-05-01 16:16 · Score: 0, Flamebait

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=62677&cid=5859 508
where i say :
1)How many /. users own a fully working train set that they currently USE.
2)How many /. users also own a PDA.
out of the total above, how many people are now going to make there PDA control there train. very few.

you will see my post was 30mins before yours.
Get your own ideas, Dont steal other peoples
Re:Why?... by Alien54 · 2003-05-01 16:51 · Score: 3, Informative

Applying technology to running trains goes far back in the geek tradition.
MIT is famous for their train club, which goes way back
Tech Model Railroad Club of MIT
Note that Steve Russel's development of the first video game is tied in with his time at TMRC. Note also many geek terms originated here (As seen in a dictionary derived from one originally written in 1959 by Pete Samson)
The real world engineering problems in running trains are also a good education

--
"It is a greater offense to steal men's labor, than their clothes"
Re:Why?... by budgenator · 2003-05-01 17:14 · Score: 1

3) how many /. even know what a z80 is?

zilog has made z80's from about the middle 1970's, and their unbeatable performance is every probably what force intel to spend the bucks needed to produce the 8088 that was used in the original ibm pc and the 8086/8087 series. I didn't even know the company was still in business.

--
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
Re:Why?... by K8Fan · 2003-05-01 17:47 · Score: 1

The first third of Stephen Levy's excellent book "Hackers" centered on the Tech Model Railroad Club. According to Levy, they were the first group allowed free, unlimited to a computer to essentially play with. The book is a great read, even though it ends at a point where Richard Stallman was pretty much in the wilderness hacking on GNU. I'd love to read a "Hackers II".

--
"How perfectly Goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure" Charles Crumb
Re:Why?... by liooth · 2003-05-01 23:37 · Score: 1

Short answer: At least ONE.

Not so short answer: I like all of my currently 17 model trains and I like both of my Palms. This seems to me to be one of the more entertaining uses for my "external memory".
Re:Why?... by UserGoogol · 2003-05-02 13:15 · Score: 2, Informative

I suppose you haven't heard of TMRC. Doing neat stuff with a trainset is our common geek tradition.
Observe the Jargon File's view of it:
TMRC: /tmerk'/ n. The Tech Model Railroad Club at MIT, one of the wellsprings of hacker culture. The 1959 "Dictionary of the TMRC Language" compiled by Peter Samson included several terms that became basics of the hackish vocabulary (see esp. foo, mung, and frob). By 1962, TMRC's legendary layout was already a marvel of complexity and has grown in the years since. All the features described here were still present when the old layout was decomissioned in 1998 just before the demolition of MIT Building 20, and will almost certainly be retained when the old layout is rebuilt (expected in 2003). The control system alone featured about 1200 relays. There were scram switches located at numerous places around the room that could be thwacked if something undesirable was about to occur, such as a train going full-bore at an obstruction. Another feature of the system was a digital clock on the dispatch board, which was itself something of a wonder in those bygone days before cheap LEDs and seven-segment displays. When someone hit a scram switch the clock stopped and the display was replaced with the word `FOO'; at TMRC the scram switches are therefore called `foo switches'. Steven Levy, in his book "Hackers" (see the Bibliography in Appendix C), gives a stimulating account of those early years. TMRC's Signals and Power Committee included many of the early PDP-1 hackers and the people who later became the core of the MIT AI Lab staff. Thirty years later that connection is still very much alive, and this lexicon accordingly includes a number of entries from a recent revision of the TMRC dictionary. TMRC has a web page at http://web.mit.edu/tmrc/www/.

--
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." -- Hanlon's Razor

Home computing came from a model railroad club. by Ungrounded+Lightning · 2003-05-01 16:01 · Score: 3, Insightful

Who really cares? everyday i keep seeing the same bullshit. Guy controls train with PDA. whoohoo. instead of posting constructive topics, we get this weird shit.

You are apparently ignorant of history. Much of compter science came from a model railroad club.

The MIT model railroad club, to be exact. See Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution for more details.

These are the folks who brought you emacs, time-sharing, and open source.

So don't be surprised at the occasional computer-controlled-model-railroad story on slashdot. That's what they were trying to do in the FIRST place.

It's nice to see that its finally working. B-)

--
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way

Re:Home computing came from a model railroad club. by Mittermeyer · 2003-05-02 12:17 · Score: 1

Not to mention that model railroading got Disney to build Disneyland because he wanted a bigger train set then Ward Kimball, which forced him to do Wonderful World of Disney which drove more money which got him to create the ultimate fantasy layout DisneyWorld and a rather terrifying planned community, EPCOT.

Yep, model railroaders are scary.

--
________________________________________ History Must Not Fall Into The Wrong Hands ___________________________________

hmmm, no answer by PsychoElf · 2003-05-01 16:02 · Score: 1

now if only they could get their website to handle more traffic...

a better title would be by JeanBaptiste · 2003-05-01 16:02 · Score: 2, Funny

When geek cultures collide... pda's and model trains? throw in linux and its a geek paradise...

Didn't buy it for a second by Faust7 · 2003-05-01 16:11 · Score: 1

Forget that crap about PDAs making you more productive by keeping useless contact lists and appointment reminders.

I've known better about that sort of thing ever since I discovered ZShell for the TI-85.

--
The coolest voice ever.

This is a protest of Slashdot's banning of anonymo by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 16:16 · Score: -1, Offtopic

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This is a protest of Slashdot's banning of anonymo by Anonymous Coward · 2003-05-01 16:16 · Score: -1, Flamebait