vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Dec 29, 2006 18:58:33 GMT -5
Hi all, StarTTY.com is a telnet-based service for your old machines, giving them new use as personal information kiosks. It's almost finished! Not 100%, but I really wanted to start getting early feedback on this new service. I've been thinking about it for 10 years and finally got time to write the code. I need a few people to try it. Please dust off your old machine, turn it on, connect, and leave it running. StarTTY will cycle through all the information you tell it to display. Configuration is done on the StarTTY.com web site. All you need is a machine capable of a telnet connection! Instructions and more info are at StarTTY.comPlease give it a try and let me know what you think. Bug reports and feature suggestions welcome, even a little bit of encouragement to keep me going - just post in the site's support forum. Device: TRS-80 Model 100 laptop Year of manufacture: 1983 Location: Home office desktop, mounted in tabletop picture frame holder. Connection: Using a Lantronix UDS-10 physically connected to a LinkSys router. Device: Wyse WinTerm displaying on a 9" point-of-sale CRT. Year of manufacture: 2004 Location: Inside a bedroom TV cabinet. Connection: LinkSys wireless bridge. A login script automatically re-connects to StarTTY.com when power or network connection is lost. Thanks all!
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 2, 2007 23:51:22 GMT -5
The BETA tag is off. StarTTY is ready for action!
We're launching with 12 modules ready to use, and more on the way:
World News Headlines US News Headlines Weather Conditions 5-day Weather Forecast Calendar Famous Quotes Word of the Day This Day in History Lists Time/Date Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey Stock Quotes
Please give it a try today!
For a quick demo:
telnet startty.com 50000 User ID: demo
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 5, 2007 19:40:22 GMT -5
Added "Phase of the Moon" and UPS Package Tracking as modules. Got it running last night on my newly-acquired 1988 GRiDCASE 1520 with nice bright gas-plasma display:
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 9, 2007 17:13:02 GMT -5
We're having a ton of fun now, accumulating all the neat tricks people have for getting atticware online & connecting to StarTTY. There's even a NeXTStation in France hooked up.
I'm messing around with cheap eBay finds like a Cisco 1005 router. Also investigating teeny Linux distros and solid state "hard drives" to make silent, low-power Kiosks out of old broken laptops. Can't wait to see if it works.
Got an old computer connected to the Internet? How? Please join in and share your expertise!
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 10, 2007 3:29:05 GMT -5
I just upgraded the service with a new "NEWS" module. It now has many topics and world regions to choose from.
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 10, 2007 3:30:17 GMT -5
BTW, the Cisco 1005 router came, perfectly shipped new-old-stock in original box & shrinkwrap, and very very DOA.
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 13, 2007 1:51:37 GMT -5
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 13, 2007 18:46:49 GMT -5
The reviews are in! "This is just about one of the coolest services ever! " -John "It's a great idea" -Neriki "My older computers on my network needed something to keep them busy. I have 1 set up now, runs great!" -JWeber "This is a fantastic idea!" -Jeff What are they talking about? Find out @ startty.com
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 18, 2007 22:58:04 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Golan Klinger on Jan 19, 2007 5:08:51 GMT -5
I finally got a chance to setup an account and try StarTTY. Very neat. Your documentation should mention that people who don't have access to terminal servers, like the UDS series from Lantronix, can use software like BBS Server to accomplish much the same goal with their existing PCs. It might allow a few more people to use your unique service. Don't be put off by the Commodore orientation of the author's website, his software will work just as well with any RS-232 device.
|
|
vax
Newbie
Posts: 10
|
Post by vax on Jan 20, 2007 1:08:41 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll add it to the next re-write of the docs. If you get around to it before I do, I'd be happy to see a post about it in the site's support forum.
|
|