New Touch Screen Strategy

[upstatemike]

I was out buying a new TV the other day and while I was in the store I played around with the HP TouchSmart IQ770 PC they had on display. I got to thinking that at $1,600 it is not all that much more than a Touchtronix ipTouch 170 at $1,300. For the extra $300 you get a full PC and larger touch screen (19' instead of 17").

If I set one in the kitchen and another in front of the media room couch, I can use any touch screen interface I want... MainLobby, ElkRM, Homerunner, etc. so I am not locked into anything in particular due to hardware. I could even run the Homeseer Speaker Client for automation messages and voice control, or drop out of the menus and use the browser to access IP Cameras or Slimserver directly.

And finally, if I decide the touch screen interface is not going over well with the family, I still have a couple of perfectly seviceable PCs that can be retasked for something else.

So now that I am kind of talking myself into this, is there something I am overlooking that makes it a bad idea?

 

[sic0048]

I think it is a little big, but that is probably the only draw back I can think of (besides the price which isn't in my budget ).

Add a tuner card or two and the ability to watch TV (even HD TV) on the screen will be a nice plus.

 

[Ranger Digital]

WOW big screen. nice. the only drawback i see is it looks like a booger to wall mount. I guess you could if you have a big space to recess it. But if you are not wanting to wallmount, its nice.

I am a bit leary of vista right now, or any new OS as getting all new drivers and older software to work, BUT as a seperate unit to run only HA, nice.

 

[upstatemike]

It is a little big but not too bad. Not interested in wall mount stuff so no problem there. Haven't looked at Vista yet but I guess I will have to deal with it sooner or later.

Simple install - just power and ethernet. (No vga baluns or kvm extender things to deal with). Makes it easy to change locations without a major wiring project.

I assume I can keep noise at bay by using windows power management to spin down the hard drive when idle.

 

[electron]

I played with them at Best Buy last week, they really are nice. If you have the room, I could see this work out well if they would be located in certain strategic locations.

 

[Smarty]

They indeed are NICE.

The only downside I would consider is the extra maintance of keeping this additional PC up to date. I have a desktop for the wife, one for myself, two tablet PC's and one for the security DVR. I have found that maintance can become a hassel.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[upstatemike]

They indeed are NICE.

The only downside I would consider is the extra maintance of keeping this additional PC up to date. I have a desktop for the wife, one for myself, two tablet PC's and one for the security DVR. I have found that maintance can become a hassel.

Just my 2 cents.

True but balancing that against the simplicity of initial setup (set it down and plug it in) might make the maintenance bearable.

 

[upstatemike]

I played with them at Best Buy last week, they really are nice. If you have the room, I could see this work out well if they would be located in certain strategic locations.

A big advantage to me is that they are useful right out of the box if I use the existing individual web pages for accessing Slimserver, IP Cameras, Homeseer, Stargate WebX, ElkRM, etc. I can then take my time in coming up with an integrated touch screen interface using MainLobby or whatever.

 

[roussell]

Sony has a similar one. I can't remember the model, but I noticed it in CompUSA or Circuit City the other day. It's a bit slimmer than the HP one if space is a concern. I wasn't in the market so I didn't even notice the price...

Terry

 

[ver0776]

Just because:

The Sony Vaio all-in-one
http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2...efererid=411web
I swear TigerDirect had this for $1000.... Can't find it now though.

Here is a 15" touchscreen all-in-one conputer for under $500.
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=11...-01&cat=SYS

The Sony is a SWEET design that looks like it would wall mount real nice, but not touchscreen...

Vaughn

 

[upstatemike]

Just because:

The Sony Vaio all-in-one
http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2...efererid=411web
I swear TigerDirect had this for $1000.... Can't find it now though.

Here is a 15" touchscreen all-in-one conputer for under $500.
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=11...-01&cat=SYS

The Sony is a SWEET design that looks like it would wall mount real nice, but not touchscreen...

Vaughn

I saw the Sony (and it would match the new TV) but it's not a touch screen. The generic cheapie has no OS, no network card, not enough RAM, a smaller screen, is a refurbished unit with a limited warranty, and is ugly. (But otherwise a very good deal).

 

[electron]

It's actually fast enough to run XP, I run XP on much less. CPU is decent as well, network connectivity can be added using a simple & small USB adapter. I actually would consider buying that $500 unit to replace my 3COM audrey unit in my kitchen. The pictures seem to indicate that this is an ELO touchscreen, which is a bonus imo. nice find!