4 ms·

This is cool as a DIY project, but digital whiteboards have been around since at least 1991: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Board https://en.wikipedia.org/

by raldi 11y ago

This is cool as a DIY project, but digital whiteboards have been around since at least 1991: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Board https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Board

pavel_lishin 11y ago
The one at my high school (admittedly, over a decade ago) was ridiculously expensive, though. If this is cheap, it could be pretty great for a cash-strapped startup, striking the balance between a smart board and a person with a cellphone snapping photos. (The expensiveness of the whiteboard made it even funnier when a teacher used a Sharpie permanent marker on it one day.)
- toolzytofndpwd 11y ago
  ethanol or methanol will clean it up.
  - jonsen 11y ago
    Or a white board pen. Just paint over it with an erasable pen, and it will all go when wiped.
arey_abhishek 11y ago
All the previous whiteboards force you to buy a projector or invest in smart pens. This costs ~150USD to make vs. 1500USD+ for the kind of smart boards that existed in the past.
- raldi 11y ago
  Ah, this is a key piece of information, and indeed sounds like quite a big deal. You should mention it in your presentation!
- joezydeco 11y ago
  You get 42" versions from China for USD$118 each. I'd focus on the software improvements and benefits. http://goo.gl/N02wRa http://goo.gl/N02wRa
  - hagope 11y ago
    you could probably connect this to rPi to make it smart/connected.
    - joezydeco 11y ago
      It's probably using some no-name USB HID driver so yes, it will look like a mouse to a Linux system as long as the udev tables match up. Might need some tweaking to handle the multi-touch stuff.
- chrisfosterelli 11y ago
  I wouldn't say it requires a projector or smart pens. My school had both the "official" smart board most people know, but also a model of whiteboard that used IR sensors and regular pens. I don't know how expensive they were, as they still were a commercial product sold to schools, but they didn't need a projector or smart pens
- rhizome 11y ago
  I forget the name, but I worked at a place ~1997 that had one that I'm pretty sure used regular board and pens. It had two bar-like devices affixed to a side and along the top of the board.
  - quicklyfrozen 11y ago
    I remember that product. It seemed like a good idea, but it just couldn't keep up with writing at normal speed so we gave up on it. (You also had to put a special collar on the otherwise normal markers.)
    - rhizome 11y ago
      Yes, the collars! I remember it had a kind of kiddie-name and maybe some blob-type design elements.

by raldi 11y ago

This is cool as a DIY project, but digital whiteboards have been around since at least 1991: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Board https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Board

pavel_lishin 11y ago

The one at my high school (admittedly, over a decade ago) was ridiculously expensive, though. If this is cheap, it could be pretty great for a cash-strapped startup, striking the balance between a smart board and a person with a cellphone snapping photos. (The expensiveness of the whiteboard made it even funnier when a teacher used a Sharpie permanent marker on it one day.)

toolzytofndpwd 11y ago
ethanol or methanol will clean it up.
- jonsen 11y ago
  Or a white board pen. Just paint over it with an erasable pen, and it will all go when wiped.

arey_abhishek 11y ago

All the previous whiteboards force you to buy a projector or invest in smart pens. This costs ~150USD to make vs. 1500USD+ for the kind of smart boards that existed in the past.

raldi 11y ago
Ah, this is a key piece of information, and indeed sounds like quite a big deal. You should mention it in your presentation!
joezydeco 11y ago
You get 42" versions from China for USD$118 each. I'd focus on the software improvements and benefits. http://goo.gl/N02wRa http://goo.gl/N02wRa
- hagope 11y ago
  you could probably connect this to rPi to make it smart/connected.
  - joezydeco 11y ago
    It's probably using some no-name USB HID driver so yes, it will look like a mouse to a Linux system as long as the udev tables match up. Might need some tweaking to handle the multi-touch stuff.
chrisfosterelli 11y ago
I wouldn't say it requires a projector or smart pens. My school had both the "official" smart board most people know, but also a model of whiteboard that used IR sensors and regular pens. I don't know how expensive they were, as they still were a commercial product sold to schools, but they didn't need a projector or smart pens
rhizome 11y ago
I forget the name, but I worked at a place ~1997 that had one that I'm pretty sure used regular board and pens. It had two bar-like devices affixed to a side and along the top of the board.
- quicklyfrozen 11y ago
  I remember that product. It seemed like a good idea, but it just couldn't keep up with writing at normal speed so we gave up on it. (You also had to put a special collar on the otherwise normal markers.)
  - rhizome 11y ago
    Yes, the collars! I remember it had a kind of kiddie-name and maybe some blob-type design elements.