Doing cool things with Linux

[mohtasham1983]

Hi,

Recently I've been saving a lot of money, because I don't really know how to spend it.

My budget is around $300 and I am looking for some sort of hardware that I can connect to my Linux machine and do a lot of cool things with it. I even thought about getting and customize a robot, but the cool robots are way more expensive than my budget and they seem to be harder to customize.

Note that my desktop computer has a decent configuration and doesn't need any hardware upgrade for now.

Any suggestions?

-Thanks

[Thewhistlingwind]

Server setup?

[fualad]

diy cnc machine? not only can you build real world anything (guns, cars, planes, computer cases, etc) you have real world skills that can land you good paying jobs.

google search found one built off ubuntu =D>
http://www.probotix.com/desktop_cnc_router_prototype/

wiki cnc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numerical_control

good luck and above all, have fun!

[Macskeeball]

Home automation?

[kevdog]

I'm not here to bust your chops but $300 is really chump change. I can't imagine buying any decent quality hardware with this money. Advice -- save the money and spend it when you have at least $1k.

[Thewhistlingwind]

I'm not here to bust your chops but $300 is really chump change. I can't imagine buying any decent quality hardware with this money. Advice -- save the money and spend it when you have at least $1k.

I revise my answer, this.

[nzjethro]

diy cnc machine?
For $300? Sounds good to me, where do I sign up?

For $300 if you're good with electronics, and have a bit of time up your sleeve, you could probably build a semi-decent robot yourself.

[mohtasham1983]

diy cnc machine? not only can you build real world anything (guns, cars, planes, computer cases, etc) you have real world skills that can land you good paying jobs.


Thank you for letting me know about DIY CNC machines. I will definitely go through them.



I'm not here to bust your chops but $300 is really chump change.

Can you give some examples of things I can do with a budget of $1000? If I find them interesting I may spend even more money.

Thanks for the all the great replies.

[hakermania]

Home automation?

This is what I thought!
This is the coolest thing, but I think it will need more than 300$ :/!

[Paqman]

I can't imagine buying any decent quality hardware with this money.

That sort of depends what you're buying, and how imaginative you can be. You can do a lot of cool things with just a USB stick, and second hand electronics in general are hardly expensive.

[Macskeeball]

This is what I thought!
This is the coolest thing, but I think it will need more than 300$ :/!

When I last looked into the subject to find out what it was about, the products for it were pretty inexpensive. It mostly depended on how far you wanted to take it. That was several years ago, however (X10 modules). I don't know what the prices for the current products.

[hakermania]

When I last looked into the subject to find out what it was about, the products for it were pretty inexpensive. It mostly depended on how far you wanted to take it. That was several years ago, however (X10 modules). I don't know what the prices for the current products.
Well, i don't know a lot about home automation, but I guess that you plug your PC (that runs as a server) with a tool that is connected with the lights of your home (plus your kitchen :P) and then you can remotely, through the server command the tool to turn the lights on/off etc.
But, I assumed that this tool plus the connection that have to be done home-widely would take more than 300$ :/

[Phil Stone]

How about AI in general? There's some pretty cool stuff around the web to do with evolution and AI. The Tierra project for instance where evolution has been stripped down to machine code level. This links to a lot of web discussions surrounding AI. Generally getting your head around what is actually being developed is quite difficult as it is either kept quite secretive or just horrendously complex for the beginner. But if robots is your idea maybe start looking round these areas.

I'd certainly like to see more amateur AI enthusiasts sharing and developing the knowledge. Now if I can just find out how to mount my usb stick.... :)

[desktorp]

Make a RepRap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reprap). Then have it make one for everyone else. :)

[Macskeeball]

Well, i don't know a lot about home automation, but I guess that you plug your PC (that runs as a server) with a tool that is connected with the lights of your home (plus your kitchen :P) and then you can remotely, through the server command the tool to turn the lights on/off etc.
But, I assumed that this tool plus the connection that have to be done home-widely would take more than 300$ :/

The X10 stuff simply worked over the ordinary, unmodified electrical outlets in the home. You'd plug, say, a lamp (or whatever you wanted to control) into an X10 module, which would in turn plug into a wall outlet. The PC (or, say, a remote control module) would send commands over a different power outlet. No need to rewire the house, and you could buy only the modules you specifically wanted for the specific items you wanted to control. The individual modules were inexpensive.

That was X10 though. I know people are using newer, different, and probably better technologies to do home automation these days, but I'm not familiar with how it works or what the costs are like.

PS- I've never actually done any home automation. All I did was read a lot about it and imagine some clever ideas, a few years ago. For example, automatic sprinklers that considered both the temperature and rain sensor input before running, instead of blindly running on a schedule. Or a sophisticated system to make an empty house look like there were people inside talking and doing random things, to reduce the likelihood of burglary. Or a system that would gradually wake up residents (open blinds, increase music volume and brightness of lights) while also preparing things in the kitchen. Fully automated and autonomous vacuuming and lawn mowing. I had all sorts of ideas.

[linuxforartists]

Speaking of home automation, this thread is worth checking out: My Ubuntu Home Project (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1224543). Should come with a warning, though: "Reading this may make you dedicate your life to hooking up your house."