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PC Setup for Small House with Child?
nzgeek asks: "I've been managing with a pokey Windows notebook for a couple of years now, and am desperate to get a decent PC for development and gaming. Problem is, our house is tiny and we have a 1-year-old entropy generator running amok. What's the best recommendation for getting a full-power desktop PC installed in our house? My ideal setup would be a mini-tower case hidden in a cupboard, with a remote LCD monitor, mouse, keyboard, and headphones. The keyboard and mouse can be done via bluetooth, and there is no problem with cable length for headphones. The major stumbling block is VGA connection for the monitor. Any suggestions on how to overcome this problem?"
One year-olds are vertically-challenged. Put the computer on a high shelf.
Google for "wireless LCD monitor". Note that several manufacturers make such a beast. /is it that hard to use Google?
ZFS: because love is never having to say fsck
http://www.amazon.com/smartdisplays/
It works over a wireless network using remote desktop. The downside is that it performs very slowly for things like 3d and movies, limited by network bandwidth. They're expensive too. 2d performance is supposed to be good, but I haven't tried it.
You could teach him not to touch your computer... Lot's of friends that have children and computer (or other things that kids need to be careful with) teach their kids not to mess with them. I recomend you to do the same.
Just a quick recommendation from someone with a little nephew. Avoid wireless mice and keyboards like the plague. Sooner or later, those mice and keyboards become intriging targets to play hide and seek with. It's all fun and games until they decide that hiding in their cereal is a good spot.
Get an iMac. It's got the form factor you want and you
can stop spending half your time keeping the system healthy
and running tired software from the '90s.
Sure you'll have to learn new things... but itn't that better than spending
time de-lousing another tired Windows box every week?
Your only regret will be that you hadn't done it sooner.
Get a vasectomy for you, tubal ligation for the missus, and put the tyke up for adoption.
keep it in a room (the computer, not the child) and lock the door? or how about, tidy/hide your cables away so the kid can't get to them? I have a couple of friends who have small children and their computers etc seem to exist in harmony with ankle-biters.
*I am the anti-sig*
Plus, if you're looking for educational software, there's tons of it for the Mac.
I was going to suggest just using a cable (they make them over 30 feet long and they work fine with LCD's), and then screwing the base of the monitor to the desk.
However, the iMac makes more sense, especially if a kid is going to be using it for educational stuff.
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If you have carpentry skill, then build yourself a small PC Desk with a locking cabinet for the Tower. You should then be able to use a wired keyboard and mouse.
And if you really want to be secure, you can find a way to mount the keyboard and monitor so they can't move.
explain why this is a troll.
Get an older PC, often sold at computer fairs for $50 or less. I'm thinking a 400-600mghz range PC from Dell or Gateway or HP. Then boot it into the vanilla FireFox liveCD, see livecd.net. That makes a kiosk-like web-browsing and email system that is pretty much impossible to break.
http://tinyurl.com/4ny52
I thought entropy was when you have an amount of thermal energy not available to do work, or a measure of disorder in a system. Like when you have a pan that is really dirty on the bottom, when you cook with it , there will allways be a loss of heat due to the extra gunk on the bottom. That loss of heat adds to the entropy in the universe.
Teach him not to mess with Dad's stuff. I recommend a wide leather belt which makes a memorable sound when snapped. You'll probably only need to wack him with it lightly a few times; at that age, you can make a big production out of the punishment and he'll cry and feel awful without the belt even touching him. Then just leave it hanging up somewhere, and glare at it meaningfully when he's bad.
Or, you can just let him fuck over your whole life for 18 years, and his for his entire lifetime, which may well be unusually short if someone else puts an end to his nonsense later on.
actually have to agree grandparent isn't a troll.
dumb mods today I see... any other day this post would be lifted on high...
today we hate Apple I see... I missed the memo.
GP made a very good and useful suggestion as did the post under it.
With a 0-1.5 year old, 'up' often equals 'out of reach'. Besides, there's FAR too many interesting things near the floor that mum & dad don't want her to reach- why look any higher? So, your average computer desk should be fine. Make sure it's off when you're not around and it probably won't seem so interesting, for a while :)
All bets are off once they master climbing, though. That's where distraction comes in. Sacrifice that laptop to the gods by installing programs like flabbergasted. Give the tyke her own computer, so she'll be less interested in yours.
Caution: kids learn computers quickly with this method. My 7yo boy tried to social-engineer my Linux password the other day.
The inexpensive answer is to lock whatever PC you buy in a wooden cabinet/desk/drawer/whatever, then using a 2" wood bit drill a hole for a cable passthrough. If you are worried about the rug rat tugging on the cable, secure it on both sides of the hole with standard clamps. Make sure to vent the cabinet too.
Make it a DVI. You will thank me later.
just so you know, that link doesn't work. but i'm interested, I want to set up something similar (kiosk style, firefox/email only live cd)
*I am the anti-sig*
I'm considering an iMac (or eMac, but the iMac is spiffier) as a "family" computer, too. My wife and I use laptops, and our daughter (now 5) has, for the past 2-3 years, grown up with laptops, but something with a discrete keyboard and mouse would probably be more durable in the hands of a child I've nicknamed "Stitch."
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
I alwasy reccomend computers be built from parts. If you care about saving money and getting high quality stuff, that is the only way to go. I have also discovered this Mini ITX case made by antec which might be good for your situation. It is very small and can be easily placed anywhere without being intrusive.
e sc ription=11-129-146&depa=1
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?d
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
None of the hassles of computing, and his body will thank him for it. And don't forget, exercise promotes mental well-being too.
I like recumbent exersise bikes more than iMacs, so my suggestion is better.
Fuck the system? Nah, you might catch something.
Shuttle makes (as in quality reliable parts) mini barebone systems. I have one and it's small enough for me to keep on the desk, away from my terrible two's son (that's if he doesn't climb on top of the desk :). Do a search on Newegg.com for "barebone" and you'll find three manufacturers selling mini systems (don't be confused though, mini mean mini size, but the features are jam packed) -- Soltek, Asus, and Shuttle. Shuttle historically is the king of mini(-itx) systems, but knowing the quality of Asus, you might want to check them out. Also, the Asus systems look awesome.
Linux at home
I've seen a few SVGA extension cords before, I'm sure they're still around. But if you're going high tech, don't waste quality with a VGA connection, buy a DVI screen, most ATI graphics cards come with one, not sure about nVidia's. DVI transfers a digital signal, instead of having a digital signal converted to analog for the SVGA and converted to digital again by the screen. And I'm sure you can find extension cords for those things too, but my suggestion is, put all the cables behind a desk, and put a piece of wood in front of the cables that is glued to your desk (or screwed in, or nailed, or however you feel like attaching it) to protect them from access from your 1 year old. I babysitted a 3 year old, and it's when he gets older you gotta be careful, because they start to learn how to take things apart. But kids are wonderful, so cheers!
---- I am certain of only one thing : I know nothing else.
Using a DVI repeater/booster will allow you to place your LCD in excess of 25 ft (~7.5 m) away from the box. Beware though, these devices aren't cheap, they typicaly cost US$250 or more.
So far- that's all I've had to do with my 18-month-old entropy generator- once I set the screen saver passwords, he can bang all he wants to on the keyboard and it just goes "beep" after a while. He loves it. Later on, I'll be getting him something small and ruggedized.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Before each of my children were one year old, they were familiar with Jump-Start Teddy. Before they (each) were two, they were able to start the computer and get JST running so that they could sit in a favorite aunt/uncle/parent's lap. My oldest sister did not know how to turn that particular PC on, but my 11 month old son did it for her one day. (I had a link for JST to start as soon as that computer was on.)
Children are looking up to you as their role model. Just like putting on daddy's shoes to tromp around the kitchen, they want to do things their parents do. The sooner they understand what they are and aren't allowed to do on your computer, the sooner you will have respectable uptime on your home web server.
The last thing I want is for my children to follow me into the computer industry. But they each have a solid understanding of how a computer is used as a tool. They also have a healthy respect for electrical dangers.
Take LOTS of pictures when they are young!
"God is dead." - Frederik Nietzsche
A door with a lock.
A toddler cannot reach the knob, thus making it a quite effective defense. Even if they can somehow reach the knob, their small hands will likely not have the dexterity to manipulate the knob.
Once they get to about age 2 or 3, its probably time to let them use the computer. If you want to use the computer in private, lock the door.
Frink: Nice try floyd, but you were designed for scrubbing, and scrubbing is what you shall do.
When I'm done working, I just pack up my stuff and lock it away in a cupboard. No mess, no fuss, no space taken up by a tower/monitor etc.
HTH
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You don't need anything fancy as far as your computer is concerned - what you need is a computer armoire. They need not take up any more floor space than a desk, and can hold (keep away from little fingers) so much more.
Everything - keyboard, mouse, monitor, and all the wires can be kept safely behind closed doors when not in use.
I dub thee... Sir Phobos, Knight of Mars, Beater of Ass.
He could get This one. IIRC- Behemoth II had Mac, Linux, PC, Solaris boxes, as well as a ham radio, GPS, nifty heads-up water-cooled wearable monitor, cell phone, dockable laptop, batteries, and a lot of solar panels. "Only Too Heavy" indeed.
SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
Here are my suggestions for a very PC household:
1) make sure both parents work on alternate days. that way the youngster won't form any stereotypes.
2) if you have african-american friends, be sure not to ever refer to their skin color
3) when holidays come around, be sure to say "festive seasonal greetings" rather than "Merry Christmas" or any other specific religious holiday.
4) if you have any gay or lesbian friends, be sure to invite them over to play with the child so he or she doesn't make assumptions about gender
5) Remember, evolution is a THEORY, not FACT. See if you can come up with some of your own theories of life and teach them to your child so that he gets a well-rounded view. My favorite: life was created by a giant walrus.
6) make sure to watch network news every night, so that both sides of every issue are explored, even those where one side is universally accepted by most intelligent people
Oh wait.. did you mean a different PC?
So I have a similar problem.
I have one of those assemble-yourself wooden utility shelves that I keep my computers and routers and stuff on. On the bottom shelf is my mail server and UPS. I went to the hardware store, bought some of that board with the holes in it (I can never remember what it's called) measured it, and enclosed the bottom of the shelf. I put a hinge on the front part and a little latch.
I've got almost no handyman skills at all, but this was easy, and the computer still gets enough airflow to stay cool.
I was in the same situation when I had my first son. When he was about 14 months old and was starting to explore as humans tend to do at that age. I decided that the best way for him to not mess up the computer was to show him how to use it correctly instead. It was the software, Jumpstart Toddler that actually began my son's introduction to using the computer. To avoid messing up my settings, I created a separate acount for him. I then taught him that it was ok to play with the computer only when Daddy or Mommy was around. He quickly learned to use the mouse and keyboard by playing around with it.
Forward 6 years later, and he now helps his 2nd grade teacher teach the other kids during his computer class (although he tells me that they use Mac's).
I think having a "yes" environment, instead of a "no" environment fosters discovery and learning. (Just my 2 cents.)
"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you?" --Yoda {whips out green light saber}
So what is the problem with the cable? Just drill a hole, its just wood. Or better yet, buy one that already has a hole and maybe also rails for sliding the computer in and out. Computers are with us for a while, the furniture manufacturers managed to notice already, take advantage of that :)
If programs would be read like poetry, most programmers would be Vogons.
Pavlovian conditioning.
I do a reasonable amount of gaming on my IBM T30 all the time. When i wnt it secure, I can lock it away easily too.
Pretty Pictures!
I think you got modded as a troll because you seem to have ignored the fact that he wanted a PC for gaming as well as development. Now he didn't specifically say Windows development, but neither did he say Mac development, which any Mac user would certainly have said, so it can safely be assumed he meant Windows development. So since a Mac is not useful for Windows development, and is quite inferior in terms of available gaming software, your post contributes nothing of value, and manages to tick off a few people with tired old potshots at Windows. I hope that explains it.
The easy and profitable solution is to, simply, sell the child.
My daughter was happy with an old keyboard plugged into a cardboard box with a square drawn just inside the edge to make it look like a monitor. She pretended she was 'working on the computer just like Daddy'.
I had my computer, and she had hers.
We also kept the computers in another room and closed the door - by the time she could open the door herself she knew that she had been taught to leave the computers alone, unless we were there and had one of her games set up.
Ho! Haha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!
It isn't a troll ? I guess you had bad scores at text explanations at schools, heh ;) ?
Question: How can I refrain my child from messing with my computer ?
Answer: Buy a mac, and you won't have to deal with 10 years old software. You'll have to relearn a new things blah blah you'll ask yourself why you didn't do it sooner...
The question is not i'm bored with my current OS, what could I try next ? It's how can I physically lock a computer to be sure the 1 year old kid won't hurt himself with it, or hurt the computer. Explain where a mac would even remotly help more that any computer with that... It's not like the one year old kid is gonna surf porn and root the box with spywares It's not really a troll, but as offtopic as a post can possibly be...
Try parenting and keeping a close eye on them.
When they do something bad, do what my parents did - discipline/beat the shit out of them (I grew up in a Military household). Also, don't try to "reason" with a 4 year old (or even a 7 year old). A good old fashioned beating is the only thing that will help a young child know the difference between right and wrong. Until they develop the skill of "reason" they need to be taught right and wrong by spanking/harsh negative reinforcement. You'll get the added benefit of their respect (and fear) which will come in handy when they become teenagers.
Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
Lots of good advice so far about how to deal with kids and computers. But it sounds like the origional poster was interested in how to have the tower tucked away, and how far away.
As far as I know, VGA can go about 25ft. Although there will be signal degradation since it's analog. I'm not sure about DVI.
If you need to go further, or the signal quality is bad enough, many KVM manufactures have Cat5 based solutions for going much much further by doing Analog->Digital->Analog. Probably not cheap, but could be worth looking into.
Spencer Ogden
Lose the kid.
I have a 2.5 year old. Here's some ideas:
-Start with "Don't touch". Works for awhile, but by age 2 is pointless.
-Mini-ITX system. small, so it can fit up high or generally out of reach. Just set your screen saver to start quickly (short timeout) and require a password.
-Get one for them. My daugher is getting an old PII400 from me in a week or so. I'll set it up with a couple of her favorite educational games and teach her to use it. She already mouses well, and that's good enough for now.
-- "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - R.A.H.
We have 4 computers in the house for my wife, my child, and me. One computer belongs to my 18 month old son. Yeah, it is the computer that is 5 years old... Instead of spending lots of money on a fancy setup to keep the kid away from the computer find a cheap old machine and turn him lose. He can learn how computers work and if he screws it up no big deal. My son really isn't very interested in the other computers in the house when he knows he can go and play his computer. He learned early on via good old fashioned discipline that he doesn't touch the computers that don't belong to him. He is currently satisfied with using his own computer. That may change, but it seems to be working for now. Good luck...
Having my own 2-year-old entropy generator running amok. I recommend against anything wireless for your input devices. That is if you ever want to be able to find them, and you don't want them to take baths.
Wireless monitor maybe, but I think that a wireless mouse would be the first thing that would be picked up and made into a new "Car", "Friend" or (shudder) "Boat". Same for the headphones. A tether to the machine might not be such a bad idea after all.
Sera.
Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
Am I the only one that read this?!? I have a one and two year old. I find that moving the power and reset buttons to INSIDE the case help. All cables are hidden away behind the computer, and clamped to the computer desk. To keep them away from the computer in general, I have given them THEIR OWN to play with. It's the most amazing thing to watch your kids play on the computer. My 2 year old has known for at least 6 months how to open and close applications, even successfully NAVIGATE the start menu all the way to the paint program. My 1 year old can only do minimal so far, opening and closing random applications and such. Works great, try it. Stop trying to keep them away from computers; give them one they CAN play with! Cheers.
By the time you're done compiling and installing Gentoo, and have finished getting FreeS/WAN and the related software to actually work, your child will be at least 18 years old, and you can kick them out of the house a buy a real computer -- like, say, an Apple eMac or iMac.
Laptop with wireless internet? You put it under a chair or in a cabinet when not in use?
--
$tar -xvf
My wife and I have a one year old. Our lazy solution is to put a barrier that blocks the part of the room where our computers are.
It's pretty much impossible to get anty work done when he is around, since he takes computer work without his assistance as a personal offense and loudly protests while shaking the barrier. However, the barrier has kept him away from the wires.
To a certain degree it is a lost cause as any barrier is surmountable eventually, but this has worked for us so far.
From a technical point of view, the biggest hurdle that I can think of is the monitor/PC connection. I know of no wireless alternative to the vga or dvi cable. Another possibility is putting everything too high for him to reach, as in putting the case high above the monitor on a shelf or something, but even then he is eventually going to learn to climb up and fiddle witrh things.
Your biggest concern is danger of a physical shock and then him damaging your equipment.
I wish I had an elegant solution, but what we do is just physically bar him from the comoputer area. Having a nanny or grandparent around to get him out of the apartment works wonders as well : )
evanchik.net
Here's my 2 cents.
:-)
I have my own entropy-generator, 20 months old, and he climbs everything.
I have my two unix boxes and high-power gaming PC in a server cabinet in the garage, with USB and DVI cables stretching to the study. Peripherasls, such as DVD drive, kb, mouse, sound etc. are on the USB hub.
This is by no means child-proof. It creates more widgets on the desk for him to play with.
The Pros however are:
The kid does not lay a working (open) box on its side and gets in, thinking its a bath tub, when the box is working.
The kid doesn't bang harddrives with rigid objects when the former are spinning
The kid doesn't stick his fingers into fans and fan grates.
It's a tomb-league-quiet setup
What bluetooth peripherals will do is force you to into a battery-hassle (same as traditional wireless ones), and will allow your child to stash your wireless peripherals where you won't be able to find them. I don't recommend that.
LCDs are especially child-prone, because applying physical pressure to their surface breaks them.
The solution I ended up implementing is simple:
I bought a kid-proof gate to the study, which is off-limits to anything that generates too much entropy.
Good luck!
-
coming to find those letters on the CPU...
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Here is a Video over Cat5 device that should work. Or add keyboard and mouse for a few more bucks. Or you could try this 100' VGA cable. I have used their 50' cable to a video projector with great success.
SD
âoeWho knew something as harmless as willful ignorance could end up having real consequences?â
I just ordered a new laptop for 580 bucks from tiger direct (melt down sell on an acer travelmate) I like it, it's linux friendly and portable. Why bother with a tower anymore?
www.linux-skunkworks.com
Given the tendancies of my own 13-month-old chaos machine, you ma want to reconsider the wireless keyboard and mouse. They're more magnetic to little ones than shiny objects. Especially if you're seen using them. Your best bet is a desk with some sort of roll-down top or closed doors, like a hutch, so that everythign can be close and latched. Then you don't have to worry about the cords for the monitor.
Oh, and keep power cords off the floor. They don't get shocked easy, but they like to press the switches on the power strips and UPSes.
> back to true geek status.
He can never regain his virginity, tho.
Your current laptop getting long in the tooth?
Get a faster PC, and once you have it up and running, put it and the monitor in a closet somewhere.
Use a wireless networking to remote-control your "big iron." I'm thinking remote-X-apps, or some flavor of VNC if you must, or if it's MS-Windows XP Pro, "remote desktop" (there are clients for Mac, Windows, and of course Linux, and probably other *n*x's as well).
Just be sure to secure that wireless network against drive-by's looking for a free ride or to snoop on you.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Consider getting one of those electric fence devices used to keep little dogs in the yard: They use low amps, high volts and junior will understand the concept of "stay away" with the very first lesson.
These can also be effective on door knobs when wired correctly (keep wifey out!) but should be used on toilet bowl flush handles with much caution unless a man slaughter charge isn't a concern.
Other devices can be useful for keeping pesky children in line whilst teaching them the concept of survival but you should check the laws in your area as some certain methods and devices are frowned upon.
Cheers!
Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
Teach the child a) not to, and b) how to (when appropriate). You can't 'childproof' the whole house, so you do the parent thing, and teach them.
My various PC's have survived 4 of my own kids.
iMac.
All in one unit, you can get it with bluetooth, and it's unixy so that'll keep the Slashdot crowd happy. If you can hide the power plug behind the desk it sits on the little tike will never reach the one cable on the system.
-Jack Ash
My nephew learned that he could get what he wanted from the fridge by opening the freezer compartment first, pulling out its draws one -by-one and using them as stairs so he could reach his goal. His age at the time? Barely more than two years old.
Don't ever assume that because they can't reach it from the ground that they can't reach it at all. Kids aren't stupid and they learn damn fast.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
Thanks for all the suggestions - as I expected there's a lot of good stuff here mixed with the flames and trolls.
For more info, the main issue really is more with lack of space rather than the little guy. He's pretty good at playing with his own toys rather than the adult stuff (helps that he has is own (dead) phone and computer mouse!). The main issue is that he keeps switching off the powerpoint that powers the ADSL router in the cupboard (we have switches on all wall sockets here in NZ).
So yeah, space is the issue. We don't really even have room for a computer desk - hence the laptop, setup and remove when finished. I think that may end up being the answer. I could spend thousands on smart clients etc... I'm probably better off forking out for an Alienware gaming laptop or something.
Thanks again guys and girl(s?)!
gadgetophile.com
When my daughter was extremely little like that, I lived in an apartment. A passworded screensaver was more than adequate to keep the machines running.
Back then, I worried a lot more about the racks of PA gear that I call a stereo. There were way too many interesting button and knob combinations, many of which could easily have led to expensive fireworks or an eviction in a big hurry.
The solution to that issue was just to show her how to use it. She's been operating it since she was 2, without a single episode of badness.
Kid-proof tablet..
Our 4 year old is the only one in the household that knows how to use the big TV and satellite system to it's full potential. He routinely records his favorite show weeks in advance even though he doesn't know how to read.
Hey is there an equivalent of a Knoppix for little kids?
Don't want it super watered down, but something that doesn't involve too much typing would be good.
Simply place it in a cage that only you have the keys to. When you want to use the PC, unlock the cage, go in, lock the cage.
Problem solved.
You could always substitute 'cage' for 'room'.
Re-read his post to see how flawed your deduction is. He called _himself_ a "little shit" when he was a brat.
I love my parents. I'm glad they punished me physically when I needed it.
If you're going to put the CPU in a cabinet, just put a hole in the top of the cabinet and route the monitor cable through it. Then put the back of the cabinet close to the wall so little hands cannot get behind it to the power cord. If you leave the back of the cabinet open, then you can just put it flush against the wall, and the power cable will be recessed inside the cabinet. Or if you're really feeling calvier, then you can build a cabinet into the wall with an outlet in it...just put some vents for air flow.
Don't take life so seriously. No one makes it out alive.
seriously, the way to do it is this:
* a shuttle small form factor PC. put unit in cupboard.
* an LCD vesa-mounted to the wall with cables cable tied out of the way
* a cheap wireless kb/mouse (forget bluetooth, it's overkill)
* nothing else.
this is the answer. any other suggestions are just plain wrong.
you could feed your kid on tins of beans and catfood for the first year of it's life.
oh. yes. it. is. in the UK, it's actually now legally defined as abuse, and you can be charged for it.
Note, this won't answer poster's question but...
:
With today's computers, is it possible to MPEG encode an entire 1600 x 1200 video + sound and pipe it wirelessly to a client with a MPEG decoder chip? I've got some strange (as in rosy) figures here.
Here is the supply side of the picture... top of head figures for effective throughput in various wireless standards (including some less-than-standard standards).
5 Mbps == 802.11b (11 Mbps)
10 Mbps == 802.11b+ (22 Mbps)
20 Mbps == 802.11g (54 Mbps)
35 Mbps == 802.11g Dual channel (108 Mbps)
Here is the demand side: bandwidth figures for MPEG2 video streams.
? Mbps == VGA/TV = 640 x 480 = 307,200
5-10 Mbps == SVGA/DVD = 800 x 600 = 350,000 pixels
? Mbps == XGA = 1024 x 768 = 786,432 pixels
? Mbps == SXGA = 1280 x 1024 = 1,310,720 pixels
? Mbps == UXGA = 1600 x 1200 = 1,920,000 pixels
17-20 Mbps == 1080i HDTV = 1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels
Add another 1 Mbps to demand figures for audio (both directions), keyboard, mouse, and another 1-4 Mbps for network overhead.
I got the second set of numbers while watching a DVD by choosing "display data rate". The HPTV numbers I got by searching google for "HDTV bitrate". Can the rest be extrapolated from these two numbers? If so, it indicates that wireless networks available today could:
1. Non interactively stream HDTV over 54g
2. Interactively stream one high resolution desktop over 54g
Now, some questions:
1. It should be _possible_ for a desktop computer to MPEG-encode the desktop (including acclerated output), but is does anything out there do this? For MS Windows or X-Windows? Can a hardware MPEG encoder on a TV tuner PCI card assist in encoding?
2. Several laptop graphics chips have hardware assistance for DVD decoding - for eg: MPEG motion compensation. Can such hardware be used to assist decoding a higher resolution stream?
3. Anyone have bandwidth figures for Ogg theora?
An iMac is a screen, a keyboard, and a mouse.
Somewhat eaier to keep away from the kid.
I'm definitely leaning towards the Pavlovian conditioning -- worked for mine. Just get the little one to mentally associate 'computers' with 'Heffalumps'...
"The mere imparting of information is not education." --CGW
Only thing I can think of that might work is something along the lines of a floor-level locked cabinet containing the PC, the keys to which are in your pocket.
SIGBUS @ NO-07.308
My Mom warned me about my kids based on her experience with me. She was so happy way back when my parents bought a new house with a nice back yard and a good fence so that she could leave me free to roam outside while she watched from the kitchen or whatever room in the house had a window facing the back yard...Then she spotted me sitting on top of the fence. I was still wearing diapers at the time.
:-)
She said that was the closest she'd ever come to soiling herself.
Good judgement comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgement.
- W. Wriston, former Citibank CEO
Interestingly enough, my daughter (3) has an old keyboard that she plunks down in front of the tv and types on and my son (1) uses an old ADB mouse (retail price $99) as a pull toy. They're both going to be special kinds of hardware geeks in a few years.
You've over-engineered the problem, I am afraid. Most things on a computer display do not move. As I type this now, the only thing moving is inside the Post Comment box. By only sending the changes to a display, far greater bandwidth savings can be had.
On Windows, Remote Desktop, or on Linux, Nomachine NX, will do perfectly fine over a 10mbit connection. Actually, they will do perfectly fine over much less.
This will of course not work very well for gaming, but there is essentially no solution that would work for gaming, since there can not be any latency at all between keypresses/mouseclicks and the corresponding action happening.
(BTW, DVD is actually [352|704|720] x vres where vres is 480 for NTSC, 576 for PAL.)
Get yourself a nice little corner desk at office depot or something. You should then be able to get a gate like this one at babies-r-us: http://tinyurl.com/4y3u8
It basically bolts to the wall on both ends and had a built in door, providing a barrier around your toys so the kid can't get to them and drool all over them...
And then you end up with walls and a door, but no privacy. It's just like being at work! Wheee!
Windows: The operating system built for the internet. Unix: The operating system the Internet was built for.
In addition, the computer desk can share a room with a dining table, and if you remember to close it up, it won't look out of place when guests are over. My next-door-neighbor lost his "office" when their fourth munchkin arrived, and after a week or so, he was fine with the new arrangement.
Glass is hard.
Also: cords are a good thing. They will guarantee that the mouse will never really walk far from the computer.
Forgive me if you considered this option, but the link below may be the solution you seek:
Wireless VGA
Just one problem, though - It's a Class A device. That means the FCC could come after you just for being in possession of one at your residence.
Me surmises that this may help you develop some hardware hacking ideas of your own.
As I said, I wasn't offering a direct solution to the poster's problem.
.. encoding and decoding to/from MPEG-2 would cause a massive amount of latency.
>
Do you have numbers? It is tens of milliseconds or hundreds?
Also, do you have any latency figures for hardware encoding/decoding -- for instance, as done by TV tuner card with a hardware MPEG2 compressor?
> By only sending the changes to a display, far greater bandwidth savings can be had.
MPEG is variable bit rate. The stream for that time period would simply compress better and it's bit-rate would reduce a lot.
> there is essentially no solution that would work for gaming,
> since there can not be any latency at all between keypresses/mouseclicks
> and the corresponding action happening.
That's the point of my post - compressing the desktop would work for gaming, video, 2-D desktop, anything! Latency would also be amenable to faster processors and ASICs.
> (BTW, DVD is actually [352|704|720] x vres where vres is 480 for NTSC, 576 for PAL.)
That's why I bundled it under SVGA (800x600)
"I've been managing with a pokey Windows notebook for a couple of years now, and am desperate to get a decent PC for development and gaming. Problem is, our house is tiny and we have a 1-year-old entropy generator running amok. What's the best recommendation for getting a full-power desktop PC installed in our house? My ideal setup would be a mini-tower case hidden in a cupboard, with a remote LCD monitor, mouse, keyboard, and headphones. The keyboard and mouse can be done via bluetooth, and there is no problem with cable length for headphones. The major stumbling block is VGA connection for the monitor. Any suggestions on how to overcome this problem?"
I have an idea, how about nzgeek go back to the AOL forums and comes back to slashdot AFTER he knows computing basics.
Really now, this is a site for geeks, and not the place I would expect a"How do I buy a computer?" article. This is lame, very lame.
Feel free to call it a flame and mod down. Mind you, by doing so, you are only asking for more asinine links on the front page.
Why not just lock the door? Two ways, buy a computer desk with a shelf and door under the table top or put it in a lockable room.
Hi
I have a 4 yr old, and a 1 year old, so this has been something I've had to deal with.
1. Get a case with a locking front panel thing, so Jr. can't randomly hit the power button, pull out and play with cds (scratching the hell out of them in the process), or jam stuff into the neat openings.
2. Get Jr his own pc. You can get a decent kid computer for about $50 on ebay.
3. Look into software that allows you to mount an ISO as a drive letter. My kid was scratching the hell out of his cd's. I found a copy of this Virtual Drive software, which allows us to basically put a copy of the ISO on the hard drive, and mount it via a shortcut as a drive letter, and run the programs from there. This way, they can play whatever kiddie game they want without having to use the actual cd.
4. Put everything you can out of their reach.
5. Yell really loudly and slap them if they touch your computer or related stuffs.
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
put a password on your screensaver. It doesn't have to be anything confusing, just a specific letter of the alphabet. This prevents the young one from screwing up anything I've got running if he does manage to get to the keyboard unnoticed.
"Would it kill you to put down the toilet seat?" -- Maya Angelou
Just plain wrong yourself dude... :-)
Any time a gadget needs to have a fan to keep it cool, you better believe locking it in a closed space where the fan can't blow anywhere, is asking for trouble!
You are definitely right about getting cheap, replaceable parts rather than spiffy expensive stuff. Just need to add the detail that the cupboard needs a ventilation mod.
Second point, expanding on what you said: Since LCDs don't have a "cheap" option, maybe some kind of flip-down armor for when its not in use might be a good idea. Sortof like those shields they put around the lights in a basketball gym. Stuff does fly sometimes!
my half cent
Five minutes go by before junior and wifey both think to use rubber gloves when enterring... And voila, your whole [not so cheap] investment has been wasted!
Hey, its that whole strategic defense initiative thing in miniature!
Some modifications to this would needed for toddlers - my setup is designed to be proof against 5-8 year olds, and to fit on a really shallow desk. Take a small mini-itx case, fasten it to the wall behind the desk, and fasten an LCD display on one of those wall mounts just above it. Use an optical mouse, and one of these horrible (but indestructible) flexible rubber keyboards.
For smaller kids, you'll have to make sure there's nothing they can reach by climbing on the LCD display, but you can probably use a better keyboard as the kid won't be using it.
Of course, if unlike us you have a closet near where you want to put the PC and walls that weren't built in the later 18th century, you could just put whatever PC you want in the closet, and run VGA and USB extension cables through the wall to an outlet in the wall just above the desk.
I don't have any exact numbers, but the latency on a Hauppage PVR-250 tuner is ~2 seconds.
Eh, no one's going to see this comment, but this is a favorite topic of mine. :)
I haven't raised a kid yet, but my parents likewise raised me without any physical punishment beyond simple restraint for safety's sake on rare occasions. And who knows what other factors are involved, etc., but I have the longest fuse of anyone I know. I just hardly ever lose my temper. I don't take shit either -- the difference is that I can react to bad behavior in a much smarter way, because I can usually recognize calmly that someone is trying to bully me into a decision I don't like, or whatever, and decide the best way to stop it, without seeing red and doing/saying something stupid out of fury. It's awfully useful. I've seen people get so mad they can't say a damned thing, and they have to walk off (or they blow up, or they wreck their car, or...). I can stay and work it out. And it's funny how quickly things calm down when one of the people in the argument isn't getting mad... the person yelling starts to feel dumb when you don't react, you just wait for them to finish.
If you're a parent and you can do anything to give your kids a long fuse, do it. Hitting them to teach them to behave won't do it. It "works", but it works by inflicting a small trauma on your kid which he associates with whatever -- the argument, you, the shouting, maybe the action you're trying to prevent. Like any trauma, it gets stored in the non-verbal, primal part of his brain (amygdala, I think) where no amount of talk therapy is going to touch it. It get stored there with the various associations as triggers... and when they get tripped, he gets that always-useful fight-or-flight response. This may give him a jolt of panic the next time he reaches for the cookie jar. But it's also going to flood him with adrenaline the next time he's trying to sort out who gets what crayon with his sister, and she shouts at him. The more you cause physical pain to stop him from doing something, the more triggers are added and strengthened.
So what's the alternative? Well, it's definitely harder. My parents quickly figured out that sending me to my room was no good, because that's where I wanted to be. They figured out that taking my book away was much more effective. Basically, you have to get to know your kids (god forbid), find out what they like, and figure out a fair system of punishments and rewards based on that. It's going to be different for every kid. And it's going to take longer for it to really sink in (longer a smack). But I'm pretty sure it's worth it. Unfortunately, it's also much harder to raise your kids this way if *you* were smacked around as a kid, because every time your kid slams a plastic truck on your toe, or hangs on the tablecloth, you're instantly awash in chemicals and ready for battle (*not* a great time to pick a just punishment). So -- plan for it.