I have my machines (that still need some TWEAKING), some really cool artwork, my foosball table, some cool sings, and even a gumball/candy machine.
I can actually say that I've crossed off many of my wants from my list. The one project that has evaded me all these years has been a jukebox. And perhaps not a jukebox in the traditional sense, but some cool means of showcasing and interacting with my music collection.
Years ago I had purchased 4 17" ELO touchscreen monitors, the good ol CRT type. Plan was use these for a jukebox project in connection with "Uncle T's Jukebox." Uncle T's was a great free program distributed years ago on various coin-op related sites. Only issue was that with my limited skills and lack of tools I would have needed someone to build me the jukebox itself. All things considered it simply wasn't worth the cost involved. To this day I still have the PC configured with a custom skin and featuring Uncle T's jukebox.
When my basement got done it was clear to say space was of a premium. Not everything I wanted I could have. The jukebox idea kinda fell onto the back burner until recently. I was looking for a suitable option that would allow me to access my music via my tablet. I won't get into too much detail about this, but in the end I found no suitable options.
Forever on Kijiji I came across some "All-in-1" PC's. I had tracked down an HP model with a 27" touchscreen monitor. It was located about 90 minutes from my home and I had enlisted the help of family to pick it up. The price was super low, about $200, but the machine was "as is." Seller was an older gentleman who was told the PC needed a new hard drive ($100). I figured for $300 this was worth a shot, sadly as busy as I was with my newborn daughter I was unable to pick up the PC. Any my aunt and uncle whom I asked for help were sooooooooooo paranoid they declined to pick it up in a timely manor. As it goes the item was SOLD !!!!!!
Needless to say when I missed this unit I was PI$$ED. But the silver lining was I was made aware of these all in 1 type PC's. Fast forward a few months and I came across a "Gateway ZX6800" with a 23" touchscreen monitor. As it turned out the seller had one with some slight corner damage for $200. I went to his place, saw the PC, gave a verbal promise to buy it and he was to configure it with Windows 7. It was my birthday that day actually, and as I was out for my birthday dinner I got a text from him. "Sorry to tell you the PC isn't responding to touch. I can offer it to you still for $200, or $250 for a working one." He had offered me a $50 discount and I had asked for an additional $25 off....................he didn't budge !
I emailed the seller back a couple days after but he was still unwilling to go down to $225. In the end I agreed to pick one up configured with Windows 7 for $250. Soooooooooooooo I'll actually pick that up this weekend.
Gateway ZX6800 with the following specs :
- Processor Type Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200
- Processor Speed 2.33GHz
- Processor Cores 4
- RAM 4GB DDR3
- Hard Drive Capacity 500GB
- Optical Drives 8X DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti
- Graphics Integrated Intel GMA X4500HD
- Screen Size/Type 23" touchscreen LCD
- Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g/n
- Card Reader Multi-In-1
I'll use the PC as is moving my music collection to the internal hard drive.
The PC will be networked with my existing home network so music can be easily added/removed.
Via the software I can even point the jukebox to music collections on other PC's in the house.
I'll add a Bluetooth transmitter to the PC. I have two as is, I've tested them and they work well.
My existing AV set up (5.1) and additional "in wall" speakers will be hooked up with a Bluetooth receiver.
I picked up a copy of the great "TouchJams" software and created a custom skin for it.
http://touchjams.com/default.asp
Simply put I'll set up the PC downstairs, install Touchjams, and set up the Bluetooth pair.
The PC will boot right up into TouchJams (and perhaps contain other touchscreen friendly games), users will be able to navigate my music collection selecting a playlist. The music will then be sent via wireless
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