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> I mean, I don't know anything about circuitry, or how to build robots. Every time I read this story I wonder what else could Erik had done in his circumstanc
by probably_wrong 1y ago
> I mean, I don't know anything about circuitry, or how to build robots.
Every time I read this story I wonder what else could Erik had done in his circumstances that would have been any better than what he did. Is there something out there for the programmer who wants his computer to push a button but doesn't know anything about circuits?
- gbuk2013 1y agoNetwork controlled PDUs are a thing. I’ve used APC switched rack PDUs several jobs ago to control lab equipment - we had a checkout page and if a unit was not checked out it would be powered off at the end of the day and powered back on if someone checked it out. It was as easy as an API call - could be sent by health check script. Not sure how healthy that is for the circuits vs reset button though - we didn’t have any problems but some consumer hardware might be more delicate.
- virtualcharles 1y agoThese days yeah, lots of home automation gizmos for instance like the SwitchBot line. Plus it wouldn’t take nearly the amount of engineering know-how it once did to rig up something with an Arduino and a little hobby motor, probably like a $20 project from Adafruit. AI for the code these days, or just a bit of googling. Crazy to think about how easy to get that sort of thing has become in just a couple of decades.
- alnwlsn 1y agoYou should have been able to get a kit that controls relays with a parallel or serial port from Radio shack in 2000. Then it's just 2 wires to the switch.