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<<OVER-AND-OUT
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Tom-

Why do you prefer the AVR?  Does it also have the capability of using
USB 2.0?  'Cuz let's face it, serial isn't going to be an option on
laptops a few years down the line... [At least this is my opinion--
maybe you'll get a PCMCIA card that'll provide it--who knows].

All'Y'All-

My idea is mostly trivial in order to learn the PIC/USB2.0 line.
It is a glockenspiel whereby at the top of each hour, a stupid chipmunk
starts singing its A-B-C's.  The chipmunk is, of course, one of those
toys that one's nieces get for Christmas and you swear that if you hear
it just one more time you'll yank its head off.  But mostly it is to
learn how to use the PIC.

So, no, I'd say don't drag up the URLs just yet, until I have a little
more input.

Another idea is that if you're assigned to three projects simultaneous-
ly (this always happens to everyone, doesn't it?), that you could have
three little project boards with a few buttons so you have a log (the
PIC would do the logging) of what you worked on when.  This productivity
aid (which most people think isn't worth the trouble) probably is not
worth the trouble, but it's another fun project to learn the 18F line.

A worthwhile project (for me anyway) would be to use it so that you can
forward the IR from a remote control in one room to the cable box that
is down the hall.  I'd first start it with wired to get it going, then
go with R.F (wireless).  Now you could say go buy it from so and so,
but then you don't have any idea how it really works.

Other more serious ideas- watchdog timer; pillbox time flasher for the
audio impaired; pillbox time buzzer for the visually impaired;  pillbox
flasher and buzzer for the timely impaired; a general purpose timer
(wouldn't it be cool to have a 'crontab -e' interface that wouldn't
need to call your cellphone?); pieces of intercom gear.

And for the grand finale: Let's say your boss wants to make sure that
every box going out to UPS/USPS/FedEx/otherCourier and onwards to the
customer had a picture of the box taken (to cut down on mixups and
theft of course), then it'd be really unobtrusive if you just have a
USB connector to the PC which controlled a hefty enough transistor
or something (I'm not all that good with the details of nonlogic
electrical/electronic circuitry sometimes) which would cause two
lines to go from UNCONNECTED (no action) to CONNECTED (which would
cause the camera to fire off).

Does any of this make money?  Probably not (you're welcome to try),
but it is all PRIOR ART!  Copyleft it then.

Anyway, the PIC are just like $5 USD.  The rest can be point to
point soldered. If there really is a demand for something I'd be quite
surprised, but then a kit could be rapidly developed if you figure out
someone who knows how to make 'real' PC-cards...  [Dennis Smith, are
you out there?  Tony Beltran?--not that he's into soldering...].

Sililoquoy over...  Thanks, all'y'all...
--

Party like it is 2006! --Prince will do this, I hope!

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    ##=====================##
    ||  SSS   N   N  TTTTT ||  S. N. Trapp
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    ||  SSS   N N N    T   ||  steventrapp at comcast.net
    ||     S  N  NN    T   ||  a.k.a. KeystoneStrapper
    ||  SSS   N   N    T   ||  Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
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As John Nelson would say:
OVER-AND-OUT
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