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Building an Unattended Computer Presentation?
hastenslowly asks: "I'm a member of a non-profit Association restoring a 1920's gas station, here in the midwest, for National Historic Register status. I'd like to provide an 24/7 'unattended' audio (visual) presentation for visitors using an 'el cheapo' computer, monitor, and mouse. I'd like to connect the entire thing to the doorbell which, when triggered, will start the presentation. Can anyone steer me to some hardware, software (for whatever OS), programming, newsgroup or any other source of info, so I don't re-invent the wheel when I do this?"
Make sure that the mouse has a long cord (so it can be dragged to the left side of the keyboard), or you have some sort of mouselike device (trackball/etc) mounted in the center in front of the keyboard. Otherwise, it is useless to anyone who is left-handed.
Also, something that reboots when it fails would be good. Otherwise, you'll have Blue Screen of Death, Guru (Amiga equivalent) or similar screens eventually.
Macro media's website
Author once and deploy anywhere with Director MX 2004, the proven multimedia tool for building rich content and applications for CDs, DVDs, kiosks, and the Internet.
Pretty much the standard for doing Kiosks since the early 90's.
Do you even need a computer? If this presentation is not interactive, it could be recorded to tape and put in one of those video-display systems like they have had in hardware stores and Sears for years and years.
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Connect the doorbell via opto coupler / relais or similar to a key on an old keyboard. Use an application that can restart a presentation when a single key is pressed. For example, Mozilla reloads the current page when F5 is pressed, so do Opera and the IE. Set a local html page as homepage, containing a Flash or similar presentation. Connect the doorbell interface to F5. Make the browser start when the OS starts. For Win9x, place a shortcut to the browser into %windir%\start menu\startup.
Tux2000
Denken hilft.
I would look at the products from http://akman.com/, they make solid state video and audio players for just this type of thing.
Opera's "kiosk mode" is intended for just such uses. You get all the benefits of a web browser (links you can select, etc.) and it's neatly and easily secured against general use.
And they have a donation program for worthy causes, so the price might wind up being US$0.00
Have you considered the use of Macromedia Director?
Director has a pile of extensions to allow it to receive input from external apps -- serial port, X-10, etc. It's also much more suited to presentation work than, say, HTML or Powerpoint.
Just use an X-10 contact receiver to your existing doorbell, wire up your Mac/PC/Linux box with a reveiver and software and set your system's macros to emulate keypresses or launch the presentation from a black screen.
The guys above who said just rig an old keyboard's key to start / restart a presentation on a keypress have a great idea as well -- not as elegant, but way cheaper and easier.
I'll be donating a 50 or 90 MHz, 210 MB, floppy-based laptop and 15" monitor, but as far as commercial presentation 'authoring' software, DVD burners, . . I don't think I can justify the extra cost for this one project. Basically my initial thought was something like using simple, freeware WAV/MP3 players and/or a (*.jpg) 'slide slow' programs under DOS, Win95, . . . (gasp, I apologize) with 'batch' files/macros, C/Basic language programs, . . . (I'm really showing my age :-) looping on a 'screen-saver program' until a mouseclick/keypress starts the audio (visual) presentation.
I DO appreciate everyone's replies, will delve into every one of them, and will keep everyone posted.
And as they say in 'Ol Time Radio, "Please keep those cards and letters coming !"
Regards.
P.S. And AtariAmarok, thank you for alerting me to the ANL work. I worked for them some decades ago and I'll have to write the DOE a nasty letter for wasting our taxpayer dollars by not commercializing/'productizing' it yet. :-)