>> I wanted to share this because it's pretty neat: >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BHIknNa6Eg >> >> It's a ~6 minute tour of a home automation system from the 1980s that >> features graphical floor layouts and touch screen programming. The system >> is built into the house. > >That screen looks so much like my HP 150 that I keep wondering if that?s what they used >to build it.
The IR grid for simulating a touchscreen wasn't really HP exclusive. I got a frame and control board here from Dale Electronics out of Nebraska from probably the same time period that interfaces to anything that supports RS-232. I really am quite fond of the idea of some simple machine in your basement with an X10 controller and a bunch of serial ports for terminals. Didn't they phase out Minitel terminals in France and now a lot of them are scattered about for pretty much free? Imagine having one of those puppies with the fold-out keyboards built into the wall of every room in your house. That interface looks like it would be easy to replicate with the extended ASCII character set. -John
