Dollhouse aquarium project - 1920x480? - Page 3

drfish · 03-12-2021, 08:35 AM

Heh, that was an editorial decision, not me.

There is one in the shot with the Windows desktop, though.

Jim Sachs · 03-13-2021, 01:17 PM

Terrific article, Doc. (Although I agree that having a giant hand in one of the pics for scale would be great.)

McTristan · 04-09-2021, 12:10 PM

I'm not the original maker but I made one myself in white and here is a picture of my hand in front of it:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mAQTJ55EvivDS2mV8

McTristan · 04-09-2021, 12:18 PM

I've also created a couple of other variants with 4:3 screens, different housings, different mini PCs. I'm unfortunately having the problem with the original wide aspect ratio version that fullscreen mode is, as mentioned, kind of slow - windowed mode is much fast but flashes black after about every 20 to 30 seconds which is also not really enjoyable. I've tried different intel drivers but it seems it does not fix the problem ... otherwise I love it. Thanks drfish for the inspiration!

drfish · 04-10-2021, 03:42 AM

Wow! This really makes my day! Thank you for sharing.

The flashing screen thing is weird, I haven't seen that at all. Have you had any of the stability problems with Windows that plagued me? I'm still curious to know if that's specific to my hardware or not.

I've been debating doing another one in a small picture frame with a slightly beefier SBC (I have my eye on the LattePanda Delta 432) to run Dream Aquarium on and OLED screen (because of the black background). I just haven't committed to it yet (it would be a bit pricier).

I'd love to see pics of the other ones you've made.

McTristan · 04-10-2021, 06:58 AM

Haven't had a single instability, it starts up and works fine for weeks

No restart, shutdown, temperature or whatever issues. Just this weird problem in windowed mode - fullscreen works but is not as smooth as windowed mode, no black flashings.

Here is another one:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3p2ayxhqCz8nmURa6

I'm afraid the others are already gone or I had to disassemble them for different reasons

The one above has a small infrared remote to turn on/off the screen. There is a very old Atom based PC in the bottom and the small opening on the right is for the power button. I've connected everything to my node red based smart home system so I can shutdown the PCs from Alexa and my Smartphone and start them again via Wake on LAN. My kids love these virtual fish tanks.

McTristan · 04-10-2021, 07:00 AM

But once you start working on it - you can't stop thinking about new versions with different screens, different housings ...

Here is the "original" version at its final place:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DNzEJZAvFJj6mouh7

drfish · 04-10-2021, 09:11 AM

Right?!

My dream version right now is two flexible OLEDs inside a perfectly sized acrylic tube to make a 360 screen. The PC would go in the middle and there'd be a base with feet and vents at the bottom and a quiet fan in the cap at the top. Of course, it would cost >$1,000, so I won't be doing it anytime soon, heh.

Thanks again for sharing, glad you are having fun with it.

McTristan · 04-10-2021, 09:16 AM

Fun fact, I just checked AliExpress this morning for displays and came across these flexible Screens. Quite costly they are unfortunately ...

03-12-2021, 08:35 AM	#41
drfish the Doc Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Zeeland, MI Posts: 5,357	Heh, that was an editorial decision, not me. There is one in the shot with the Windows desktop, though. I don't watch commercials.

03-13-2021, 01:17 PM	#42
Jim Sachs Developer Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 9,789	Terrific article, Doc. (Although I agree that having a giant hand in one of the pics for scale would be great.) Jim Sachs Creator of SereneScreen Aquarium

04-10-2021, 03:42 AM	#45
drfish the Doc Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Zeeland, MI Posts: 5,357	Wow! This really makes my day! Thank you for sharing. The flashing screen thing is weird, I haven't seen that at all. Have you had any of the stability problems with Windows that plagued me? I'm still curious to know if that's specific to my hardware or not. I've been debating doing another one in a small picture frame with a slightly beefier SBC (I have my eye on the LattePanda Delta 432) to run Dream Aquarium on and OLED screen (because of the black background). I just haven't committed to it yet (it would be a bit pricier). I'd love to see pics of the other ones you've made. I don't watch commercials.

04-10-2021, 09:11 AM	#48
drfish the Doc Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Zeeland, MI Posts: 5,357	Right?! My dream version right now is two flexible OLEDs inside a perfectly sized acrylic tube to make a 360 screen. The PC would go in the middle and there'd be a base with feet and vents at the bottom and a quiet fan in the cap at the top. Of course, it would cost >$1,000, so I won't be doing it anytime soon, heh. Thanks again for sharing, glad you are having fun with it. I don't watch commercials.

04-09-2021, 12:10 PM	#43
McTristan Registered Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 5	I'm not the original maker but I made one myself in white and here is a picture of my hand in front of it: https://photos.app.goo.gl/mAQTJ55EvivDS2mV8

04-09-2021, 12:18 PM	#44
McTristan Registered Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 5	I've also created a couple of other variants with 4:3 screens, different housings, different mini PCs. I'm unfortunately having the problem with the original wide aspect ratio version that fullscreen mode is, as mentioned, kind of slow - windowed mode is much fast but flashes black after about every 20 to 30 seconds which is also not really enjoyable. I've tried different intel drivers but it seems it does not fix the problem ... otherwise I love it. Thanks drfish for the inspiration!

04-10-2021, 06:58 AM	#46
McTristan Registered Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 5	Haven't had a single instability, it starts up and works fine for weeks No restart, shutdown, temperature or whatever issues. Just this weird problem in windowed mode - fullscreen works but is not as smooth as windowed mode, no black flashings. Here is another one: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3p2ayxhqCz8nmURa6 I'm afraid the others are already gone or I had to disassemble them for different reasons The one above has a small infrared remote to turn on/off the screen. There is a very old Atom based PC in the bottom and the small opening on the right is for the power button. I've connected everything to my node red based smart home system so I can shutdown the PCs from Alexa and my Smartphone and start them again via Wake on LAN. My kids love these virtual fish tanks.

04-10-2021, 07:00 AM	#47
McTristan Registered Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 5	But once you start working on it - you can't stop thinking about new versions with different screens, different housings ... Here is the "original" version at its final place: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DNzEJZAvFJj6mouh7

04-10-2021, 09:16 AM	#49
McTristan Registered Join Date: Apr 2021 Posts: 5	Fun fact, I just checked AliExpress this morning for displays and came across these flexible Screens. Quite costly they are unfortunately ...