Post B2etBYb7eADrxJZLg8 by johnhattan@dobbs.town
(DIR) More posts by johnhattan@dobbs.town
(DIR) Post #B2eW1NR5zdPTUr3XHc by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T18:43:13Z
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My wife’s company is throwing out 10 old android tablets, I asked her to bring them all home for projects. First on the list will be smart-home panels, but I can’t imagine putting 10 of those up around the house without it looking like a Star Trek set. Does the internet have any suggestions what else to do with them?
(DIR) Post #B2eWdDD2Sq7MmcWR4y by woe2you@beige.party
2026-01-25T19:11:13Z
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@thomas_klopf Lean into it. https://community.home-assistant.io/t/star-trek-lcars-theme/511391
(DIR) Post #B2eXGyM96h3wIgk10C by michaelharley@infosec.exchange
2026-01-25T19:18:28Z
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@thomas_klopf many people mention kiosk software for tablet dashboards like that. Don't recall specific names but 'kiosk tablet software' should get you most of the way there.I'd probably put them all over the dang place. Near the front door, near the back door and one in my fish room as I have many aquarium sensors and automations
(DIR) Post #B2eY9JSgqx69OaiJRA by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T19:28:16Z
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@michaelharley thanks for the tips! I have a small aquarium, and I talk to the fish sometimes when I'm feeding them. I was thinking converting a tablet into an AI assistant that talks back 😜
(DIR) Post #B2eYAMGttLI0OqhJaK by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T19:28:31Z
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@woe2you haha great idea , thanks 😅 :jrbd:
(DIR) Post #B2ed9x0GL2JVnnXZ5M by mweiss@infosec.exchange
2026-01-25T20:24:25Z
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@thomas_klopf I like having one in the kitchen for recipes.
(DIR) Post #B2eooJQLUsEePyBmb2 by onan@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T22:34:59Z
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@thomas_klopf Browse the apps at...https://f-droid.org/... and I'm sure inspiration will strike. Free and open source mobile apps.
(DIR) Post #B2eoz812FjgaDmVXns by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T22:36:57Z
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@onan thank you!
(DIR) Post #B2ep3nbBadK0Ladzm4 by hobbs@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T22:37:48Z
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@thomas_klopf how old? what version of android? can the still be charged? what models?
(DIR) Post #B2epnggXcv3SE41wbg by johnhattan@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T22:46:04Z
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@thomas_klopf my only thought is Google/Amazon front-end and/or speaker for their infrastructure..."Hey Google, play MacArthur Park on all speakers." -- me"HEY GOOGLE, STOP" - my wife, three seconds later
(DIR) Post #B2er7JIQObvBQqfe9w by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:00:50Z
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@hobbs I’m not sure yet, will see when she brings them home. I’m know they’re Samsung and .. really old 😄 basically these will replace an old alarm system that was wired with cat-5, so my plan is to attach a power-over-Ethernet supply and use step-down modules on it to power the tablets with 5v/usb. I’m guessing the load will be ok for the cat5 😄
(DIR) Post #B2erIzWzhvlPbh3VNw by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:02:57Z
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@johnhattan I’m seriously going to setup the talking aquarium fish, but as a SubGenius I can never say ‘when’, only ‘never’
(DIR) Post #B2es4B5AZu5J2iXbFI by johnhattan@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:11:27Z
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@thomas_klopf I approve./me makes note to self to make a wall-mount gizmo that yells random Subgenius nonsense when tapped.Mmmmm, vibecoding...
(DIR) Post #B2esZWrZeEIfZV8Bwu by hobbs@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:17:09Z
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@thomas_klopf alarm clocks, webservers (manage the battery carefully, though), "retro" emulation consoles.
(DIR) Post #B2esveJecQNz3boTYm by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:21:09Z
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@johnhattan you could make a few bucks from that!
(DIR) Post #B2etBYb7eADrxJZLg8 by johnhattan@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:24:01Z
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@thomas_klopf and by "a few", you mean "three". Trust me...
(DIR) Post #B2etVVfqEA08gAI5Gy by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:27:38Z
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@mweiss good idea, thanks! 👍 that’s another one I can use up
(DIR) Post #B2etZIzTKGKwV6HZzs by thomas_klopf@dobbs.town
2026-01-25T23:28:18Z
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@hwang thanks! Depending on the android version I get, we’ll see what I can use
(DIR) Post #B2eyYXpTAbb40G3omm by kilroy_was_here@dobbs.town
2026-01-26T00:24:12Z
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@thomas_klopf @johnhattan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-q29hbEP04
(DIR) Post #B2f3UXKFbFSH3PMm6C by mweiss@infosec.exchange
2026-01-26T01:19:29Z
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@thomas_klopf @hobbs that will work fine. You might end up putting #LineageOS on them so it's a version of Android that's reasonably current. And if it's not something current enough, block it from the Internet at the edge. I'm assuming with the above you have an edge router that runs #OpenWRT (or something of similar power). Given the tone of your toot, if you don't have something like that at the edge you would probably benefit from doing so.
(DIR) Post #B2fcxIzvRiX3PWJSvw by jacobscharmberg@mastodon.world
2026-01-26T07:56:50Z
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@thomas_klopf if you need more flexibility than Android, you could check if they can run @postmarketOS