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Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#111

Post by foxhop »

kikokikokiko wrote: post #103

I use an old Android smartphone as a replacement wifi antenna for the notebook I use plugged to my 65 inch TV. It's my main workstation, and is a very good machine, but for some reason there's a short circuit on the motherboard and the wifi antenna does not work. This same old phone is also used as a security camera so I can see my pets remotely when I'm traveling. I use the app Alfred to do that, and it works very w…

So are you using the phone as a "hot spot" for the machine plugged into the 65 inch TV?

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#112

Post by forgotmypw15 »

bangboombang wrote: post #98
forgotmypw15 wrote: post #62

I'm working on web forum/community software which should be compatible with just about any Web-capable device, regardless of browser. I've dedicated a lot of time to compatibility, and now it is usable and fully feature-accessible in IE4, IE5.5, IE8, Netscape 3, 4, Opera 3-12, Lynx, w3m, Chrome 1.0, old Safari versions, etc. I'm still working on a few IE3 issues, will be fixed soon.

...Getting my old Windows Phone ready! Do you actually deliver different versions of the site depending on browser, with more and fancier features for modern browsers, or does it look the same on everything (with different CSS/JS fixes for all the horrible old browsers)?

It's largely the same version, with a couple of .js files that get included or left out depending on feature checks. This is necessary because one is a library written in modern JS with syntax like ===, which causes syntax errors in older browsers.

Please, do check it out in Windows Phone. I have only tested it once so far. It worked, but it was a while ago.

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#113

Post by gatherhunterer »

shtack wrote: post #68

I have an old iPhone SE plugged in and running a simple web server via (disclosure: my app) http://pocketweb.io The two sample pages seen there are hosted from this phone. Edit: There's an Android version available as well.

I still use the iPhone SE as a daily driver and there is an active second-hand market for them. I understand that it's spare tech but this could be done by an SoC board that costs less than $50. The iPhone, even a small one, has an expensive touch screen. You could probably sell an iPhone SE for at least $110, enough for a couple of Raspberry Pi 4 4GB systems. That's a cool project but it is a puzzling use of hardware.

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#114

Post by sprobertson »

mjstone wrote: post #66
sleighboy wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What software do you use?

I hacked together an Android app specifically for the purpose, so it doesn't really answer the original question about generally available projects. (I haven't got round to releasing the code as it's rather bespoke, but could do if you're interested.)

I'd be interested in the general technique, "teach a man to listen for beeps..."

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#115

Post by forgotmypw15 »

benboughton1 wrote: post #67
forgotmypw15 wrote: post #62

I'm working on web forum/community software which should be compatible with just about any Web-capable device, regardless of browser. I've dedicated a lot of time to compatibility, and now it is usable and fully feature-accessible in IE4, IE5.5, IE8, Netscape 3, 4, Opera 3-12, Lynx, w3m, Chrome 1.0, old Safari versions, etc. I'm still working on a few IE3 issues, will be fixed soon.

Who is this intended for? IE3, who would still be using this? Don't get me wrong. Great achievement, just curious.

It's intended for time travelers, retro-computing enthusiasts, and post-apocalyptic users with whatever device they found in the closet of the abandoned building.

It's also intended as inspiration for Web lovers of all kind to show that that it is possible.

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#116

Post by benoliver999 »

swiley wrote: post #5

I don’t know why everyone acts like old laptops aren’t usable, my 2011 MacBook Pro has no HD (the cable died again and I’m not replacing it this time) and it runs from ram just fine (with Linux of course, not OSX) If you’re not silly you really don’t need much computing power, even then newer laptops aren’t big improvements so if your old one still works I don’t see why you would replace it.

My x200 finally died the other day. Hoping the new Thinkpad lasts as long as the old one did...

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#117

Post by wting »

sleighboy wrote: post #50
mjstone wrote: post #35

I have my old Galaxy S1 sitting in my cellar listening to the beeps from my washing machine. It sends me an email when the wash finishes. (I can't hear the beeps from upstairs.)

What software do you use?

If you're looking for an off the shelf solution, I turned an old Android phone into a baby monitor for keeping track of crying when I'm on the other side of the house. There's plenty of baby monitoring apps that do anomalous noise detection and raises an alert.

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#118

Post by PoorlyDirected »

I've repurposed a couple old iPhones and a 2nd Gen iPad as baby monitors using the aptly-named Baby Monitor app (no affiliation other than being a satisfied customer). One sits in the kid's room as the mic/camera and the others serve as the speakers/display. The app is fantastic as it works on essentially any version of iOS and any iOS device. The iPad chokes on any website and barely runs anything else, but works perfectly with the Baby Monitor app.

I wish more apps like this worked on older versions of iOS or Android. No need to hack around with some alternative OS (not that there's anything wrong with that) - it's usable by any non-techie with some old iOS devices.

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#119

Post by philshem »

+ Thinkpad X230 (2013 model, i5, 8gb ram, ssd) with docking station as a media center running Kodi[0]

+ Samsung Galaxy Express I8730 (2013)[1] as a remote control for that media center[2]

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodi_(software)

[1] https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_express_i8730-5271.p...

[2] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.xbmc.kore&...

Re: Ask HN: What are some interesting projects to reuse your old devices?

#120

Post by gen3 »

gatherhunterer wrote: post #113
shtack wrote: post #68

I have an old iPhone SE plugged in and running a simple web server via (disclosure: my app) http://pocketweb.io The two sample pages seen there are hosted from this phone. Edit: There's an Android version available as well.

I still use the iPhone SE as a daily driver and there is an active second-hand market for them. I understand that it's spare tech but this could be done by an SoC board that costs less than $50. The iPhone, even a small one, has an expensive touch screen. You could probably sell an iPhone SE for at least $110, enough for a couple of Raspberry Pi 4 4GB systems. That's a cool project but it is a puzzling use of hardwar…

Your not wrong, but for some people keeping the device vs going through the trouble to try to sell it is easier.
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