my theoretical toy

[ryokimball]

Hello! I've been ...wow, deja vu.

I saw some stuff on the gp2x portable gaming platform and wanted it, then heard about the Pandora and thought it would be nice, too. Yet they each seemed lacking, so I started looking around for information, and the idea popped in my head that I could pretty easily build something better myself! And what's worse is I've found that laptop hard drives are cheaper and hold more than what the iPod I've been wanting would hold, so it has become crucial for me to build this machine before the end of the year.

So, here's the idea:
I want two displays, one being a touch screen (like the Nintendo DS). Specifically, I want to be able to run console on one while messing with X windows in the other (I'll figure out how to do that later). But if, in the end, I am incapable of this, I'll just have the one touchscreen (I'm confident that I'll get that to work). Currently, I'm having trouble finding a source for these displays. I've got a friend that is hopefully going to get me a dead DS to steal parts from (more than just the displays!), but if that doesn't go over, and I still have trouble getting ahold of the Pandora/GP2X people to see if they'd share resources, I'm pretty much stuck with buying a new gadget (like a DS) and destroying it for parts.
Next, I want room. Because I'm replacing my dream of the iPod with this, I am going to need a lot of room. What I am going to do to accomplish this in two steps: first, permanently install a portable flash drive (by hijacking a USB port with solder and duct tape and keeping it inside the box). This will be at least 1 GB (probably more, up to 8 GB unless I stumble across even more for cheaper), and will be where a customized Linux is installed. Part two will be a bit trickier (and I am as of yet still unsure of what I'm going to do), but the basic idea is to install a really really big hard drive into it, probably like this one. Here I have one question for you guys (if any of you know): what's the big difference between a desktop HDD and a laptop HDD? I have found a 500 GB drive for $99, but it is for a desktop/big computer. Besides size, what would keep me from wanting/using this in a laptop/portable device?
The peripherals will include 802.11g and bluetooth adapters, internally installed in the same method that the flash drive is. I will have to internally install a USB hub before all of this is said and done, most likely, but that's fine, too. Just takes up more power (which we'll get to later).
Afterwards, it just gets more grey-area-ish. I will probably use a mini- or micro-motherboard that I've seen for laptops or whatnot, but besides this being probably too much for what I want (exempli gratia, even if I want it, I don't see where I could use a PCI slot of any sort), it will probably suck up a lot more power, meaning I'd have to carry at least one or two back-up batteries (I plan to use rechargeable). This would be especially great if I could use something like a real laptop M.B. so I could use regular DDR2 ram instead of having to find special stuff (or make my own... which wouldn't be too bad, but probably would be much less functional).
The other big problem is my source of power. I'm pretty sure I will be stealing a laptop battery or something like that, but does anyone know of some options in this area? I mean, as far as I know I will just be using some diodes and resistors and connecting lines where needed. Are there any other, possibly more standardized, ways of supplying power to a portable device like a laptop or something?

Anyways, that's the preliminary idea. I will be customizing and shrinking as needed so that it will all (hopefully) be at most 6"x8" in dimension (15.2 cm by 20.3 cm). Oh, and the controls will ideally be configured so that the touch screen and some custom (game) controls will be on the bottom part and the regular screen will be on the top (of a clam-shell form, once again like the DS). I will customize a mini-keyboard (currently I'm thinking like the Xbox 360's messaging keyboard attachment) to clip onto the bottom, maybe overing the touch screen and buttons. And input jacks will be placed around the edges and such according to what I have available and what is practical. Ideally I'll have this doohickey to put in it, but that's probably dreaming too large.

So, what you think? Any ideas or suggestions are most welcome. Of course, most of my dreaming is in hardware right now, but if you have suggestions about how to approach Linux with this, please do. As partially mentioned, I hope to put a nice Linux distro on there and shave off everything I can to make it work smoothly.

[stinkoman]

well the HDD thing, im pretty sure 2.5 hds are the sam as 3.5 hds other than size, but honestly i suggest buying 2-3 'ipods for parts' on ebay, take the batteries and HD's from them. they have little 1.5 HD's

[thesimplecreator]

this would be awesome,i was thinking about making my own pda/thingy latter down the road once i get a job($$$)

if i were you id start off with a cheapo hard drive since it would probably be a prototype first since performance isnt as important as getting it to just work

ooh ive found a major source of parts
they have lcd screens,pda motherboards,cameras,ipod parts,pda parts,refurbished pdas,etc.
PDA Store.us - Motherboards - iPAQ

plus you could look at solid state disks(theyd probably work on less power and fit better)
Newegg.com - Express Card, Solid State Disk, Solid State Hard Drive

[ryokimball]

this would be awesome,i was thinking about making my own pda/thingy latter down the road once i get a job($$$)

Yeah, that's kinda a prerequisite for me, as well....

if i were you id start off with a cheapo hard drive since it would probably be a prototype first since performance isnt as important as getting it to just work

I'm not really scared of failure here; I am sure it will work when I have it all together. Besides, I plan to get the 500 GB drive before anything else and use
it inside my regular computer; I need the room.

ooh ive found a major source of parts
they have lcd screens,pda motherboards,cameras,ipod parts,pda parts,refurbished pdas,etc.
PDA Store.us - Motherboards - iPAQ

This could be useful, thanks! I'd been looking for such items.

plus you could look at solid state disks

I considered SSD's, but the use is moot. I think having the OS run completely off of a USB drive (which is much cheaper than IDE/SATA SSDs) would be more practical, and the amount of storage I want is by far too expensive to use flash drives with.

well the HDD thing, im pretty sure 2.5 hds are the sam as 3.5 hds other than size, but honestly i suggest buying 2-3 'ipods for parts' on ebay, take the batteries and HD's from them. they have little 1.5 HD's

I'm considering using iPod batteries or something like that for power (I still haven't decided how to power it...), but using multiple drives requires multiple ports and more power. I'm hoping to keep it all to a minimal (I'm already worrying how much heat a separate video card along with the planned chipset will create).

[stinkoman]

ahh, you want this about 6x8 right? ver think of doing what the sega nomad did for a batterie back? just 6(maybe batteries in a little shell that is outside (clamps on the back) and is the power? personally, i like the lithium batteries, since they are by far the best out ther, but theyre also not really cheap. if i find my old ipod ill sell you the battery pack for $5 (via ebay)

[ryokimball]

Actually, I think I got rid of my Nomad (which was in parts) when we moved, but that's not a bad idea. I wanna have a removable power source (I'm thinking of ripping off a laptop power supply and get two batteries for it, one for backup). I really don't want to need AA batteries to run it off of, but since you metion it, I don't want to not be able to, either. Thanks! I'll incorporate this idea, too.
And thanks for the offer, but it'll be some time before I can start buying parts. If the offer's still up, I'll contact you then.

[stinkoman]

the offer will begin whenever i find mydamn ipod! then itll saty up. but no problem.

[ryokimball]

lol! Of course, it's up to you. Didn't mean for it to sound any other way

[stinkoman]

i know, but mymoms pissd that i have so much junk around im just trying to get rid of it