Saskatoon TechWorks Forum

I brought this up at the meeting but thought a post would make sense so people can add to it.

I would like to get a computer running in the space so people don't always have to bring laptops. It would have our useful programs on it, like CAD, CAM, MPLAB (and Atmel's), graphics, etc.

Secondly, Germ had a good suggestion. Have the IRC client on the Compy watching for it's own name and flash/sound a beacon so that people from outside the space can talk to those within. I'm sure that would be easy enough for one of you to code up.

And obviously, there can be multiple Compys. Thoughts, suggestions?

Edit: I also have a 1TB and a 2TB external drive that I would bring for shared storage.

I had the same thought about a dedicated IRC presence. What kind of flash/sound were you thinking? Have the computer monitor turn on and play a sound through some computer speakers? or some kind of external alarm and red flashing light?

I think the visual should be something external. It can be anything though - a spinning beacon, a outdoor christmas light bulb. How about latched operation, so that the computer sends a pulse and the light stays on until someone presses a button on the light?

The sound can come from the speakers since that is easier, and it can be turned off if we don't want to be interrupted constantly.

In my box of parts at Techworks, there is a pair of red beacon lights you guys can have if you want. I believe they pulse every second or so when 12V is applied.

Most IRC clients have the ability to notify if somebody says something, or only when a specific keyword is said. Most can also be scripted to respond to almost anything. mIRC, which is the most popular Windows IRC client, can do both easily. It has the ability to play a sound, but it can also execute a program which could do more.

That all said, KISS. Beeping when the clients name is mentioned is trivial should be sufficient for us to notice it and respond. Anything else is just neat.