The SqueezeBox series of devices from Logitech has got to be one of the best media streamer ranges out there. Not long after I moved into my flat I bought a SqueezeBox Boom and it is awesome. Fantastic audio quality with an almost impossible amount of bass from a small single-unit stereo now sat next [...]
I’ve been busy over the last few days doing some more work on documenting Foresight. I’ve chosen to do this in the form of screencasts, which I think allow for an accelerated learning experience when dealing with new software. The videos I’ve produced so far are below. Installation The Interface Project Planning Scheduling Hopefuly at [...]
As many people will know, I’ve been working on a software project for several years now. A lot of work has gone into producing what I’ve just launched as Foresight, and I’ve set up Idea Cog as the company that owns it. Foresight is a client-server based solution for agencies and any other businesses that [...]
For the past few years I’ve been working on a desktop application that will hopefuly solve many every day problems that face new (digital) media, creative and various other forms of agency. This new software is callled Foresight, and it’s being prepared for it’s impending release. I am forming a new business, Idea Cog, which [...]
The CurrentCost power monitor has become very popular amongst amateur home automators and those technically-savvy who want to keep an eye on how much electricity they are using (and ultimately how much they are going to have to pay in bills). A couple of months ago I purchased the CurrentCost device and a USB cable [...]
As promised, here’s the source code for my VAMS-0808 interface. It’s in C#, with C# projects included, and can be opened in Visual C# Express or full Visual Studio 2005 or greater. There are two test projects included – one which just writes status changes out to the console, and a WinForms project (which runs [...]
Over a year after it began, the whole-house-audio project is complete. 4 rooms around the house can now be filled with the sound of any of (currently) 4 audio devices thanks to a mixture of hardware and software.
The audio system that I’m building requires 2 low-power computers: 1 for the touchscreen controller (not using an iPod Touch for the moment) and 1 to act as a webserver and serial-console server. Once again eBay has come to the rescue, and by searching for ‘geode’ – a low-power processor for Thin Clients & Small [...]
Yesterday I completed and successfully tested the control software for the audio system. The software works with the matrix switcher and the APC MasterSwitch remote control PDU to allow the audio output devices around the house (TV, radio, CD player etc.) to route their sound to any of the 4 audio zones. I’m now waiting [...]
Thanks to the chip manufacturer of the cheap serial port card, I’ve managed to get some extra serial ports working. If you can’t figure out how to get additional serial ports working, I recommend this guide [ZIP, 792KB] available from the Moschip driver download page. It should be valid for most models of serial cards, [...]