|
I've got an old 17" LCD that I've had for nearly 9 years now but still works pretty well. It's been my secondary monitor for a few years, but I just got a new 24" monitor, so my current main LCD (19") will become the new secondary screen. Any good suggestions of interesting (and preferably cheap/free) hacks, etc. I could do with this old monitor? I don't want to just throw it out. For example, is there an easy way to turn it into a touch screen or something? I'm open to suggestions | ||||
|
feedback
|
This question is not a good fit to our Q&A format. We expect answers to generally involve facts, references, or specific expertise; this question will likely solicit opinion, debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.
|
| ||||
|
feedback
|
|
I'd look to give it away. If you have the parts for a spare system, you can give an entire PC/LCD combo to a friend or family member that may not have one. | ||||
|
feedback
|
|
| ||||
|
feedback
|
|
Make a digital picture frame:
| ||||
|
feedback
|
|
I had a old one and I bought a touch screen kit from eBay for about £40, and took it out of its case and made a nice frame around it to put in the hall... ... But I am a it guy, not a decorator / handyman and there were wires everywhere, it looked ugly, and... fell down! Not saying you couldn't do better and it was fun when it lasted... If I wasn't so busy, I would love to do it again. | ||||
|
feedback
|
MagicTouch Touch Screen Add-on for 17-inch CRT/LCD Monitors with USB interface only $209 :) | ||||
|
feedback
|
|
I can't believe that no one has said it yet, but you can just connect it to your computer for a triple monitor setup. Get a USB to VGA/DVI dongle if you don't have a spare port, and put it on the opposite side of your main, then use it to watch movies or TV or Hulu or something. Okay, not very fun, but hell, you might score some extra geek points for running the three. | ||||
|
feedback
|
|
If by "Fun projects" you mean "a boatload of work, including drilling through walls, buying some extra equipment, and wiring like you've never wired before", you could add a touchscreen and turn it into a control panel for some home automation stuff (put the computer it's attached to on the other side of that wall, so it's not fugly). It wouldn't be an enormous amount of trouble to get it to control your HVAC (or just heat, if you don't have that kind of combination) and your burglar alarm. If you have off-peak electrical billing, you could probably hack something together to make your fridge or freezer work harder at night when it's cheaper, and not so much during the day. Lots more work would let it control the lights in your house. You could use your imagination from there. It's also possible to set up a VoIP system that displays callerid on your TV, if you get that far into a media center setup. | ||||
|
feedback
|
