[ Date Index ] [ Thread Index ] [ <= Previous by date / thread ] [ Next by date / thread => ]
On 05/12/10 12:51, Paul Sutton wrote:
i need to set up a old p2 computer to display information on a tv at the rugby club, i am guessing there may be a few issues 1. how do you get round it needing a keyboard, as the bios will simply complain there is no keyboard attached
You might be able to disable the keyboard check in the BIOS, sometimes it's listed as Halt on with the options All, Keyboard, None. Set it to None and see what happens (if there is such an option).
Otherwise just plug a keyboard in.
2. what is the best way to do this
I did one for Palm FM although granted that was on slightly better hardware (Duron 1GHz I belive). I did a basic install of Xubuntu (or on a P2 you might want to look at maybe Lubuntu or a base install of Debian with X and a lightweight window manager (FWVM2 or something), or maybe even Putty Linux or Vector Linux (the LXDE version is reasonably lightweight).
When I did it I installed Picasa and setup the slideshow screensaver (I had a real job getting this working on Gnome as the screensaver is an xscreensaver rather than a gnome-screensaver). I think I did it in the end but if you run something other than Gnome and install xscreensaver you may be okay.
Or you could use Impress, depending on the window manager you may be able to set it to autostart (can't remember how to do it off the top of my head).
hardware wise i guess i just need to hook up to tv via a vga cable i again doing this as cheap as possible so it will probably be hacked together,
Check the TV, if it's an LCD or Plasma TV then it will probably have a VGA connection, however not all of them do. Our 32" Phillips LCD TV doesn't, it just has HDMI, however pretty much every other LCD TV I've seen does have VGA input.
Unless you want the PC near the TV then you'll need a long VGA cable. Try not to make it too long otherwise the quality will suffer. Alternatives if you can't put the PC anywhere near are KVM or VGA extenders which extend the VGA signal (and in the case of KVM, USB or PS2 signals depending on the model) over CAT5 up to around 100 Metres. They're not cheap though (last time I looked they were around £100 for a pair).
ideally also if it shuts down properly set up a cron job to switch off automatically at night, or do things at a set time,
Yeah this shouldn't be a problem. As you say run a cron job. Then either get a staff member to turn it on in the morning, or maybe you could set the BIOS to turn the machine on at a specific time in the morning (I'm assuming it's an ATX motherboard and PSU). The TV might be more of an issue, it may not power down when there isn't a signal. You might be able to get away with a timer socket which is set to come on in the morning and go off at night (although again the TV might not turn itself back on without someone doing it, some do, some don't).
the main issue is the very low spec of the system being used, however it runs xubuntu ok, but if i put in a different distribution that still allows open office (unless the koffice presentation package) will do it. or an alternative can be found.
Even with a a low spec distro you should be able to install the OpenOffice Impress package on it's own.
anyone got experience of this, needs to be pretty simple
See above :-)
oh perhaps also have openssh server on there so i can update it via a wireless card i guess I can set it up so its a simple case of using ssh or scp to upload new information from my netbook at the club
Shouldn't be a problem, although if they haven't got a wireless connection as it is you'd possibly have to setup an adhoc connection. I'd say bunging something on a USB stick and playing it off that might be easier, to update just remove the USB stick, update the file on it and then restart the presentation.
what i want to display text photos
Yeah Impress should be able to do that.
any ideas welcome, esp with regard to low spec distributions.
See above :-) Rob -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq