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Hardware Hacking Media Movies Music XBox (Games)

Media Center Bathroom Extender 105

Posted by CowboyNeal from the bathing-soundtracks dept.
henrysunset writes "...Extend your stay in the bathroom with this inexpensive Media Center Bathroom Extender for Windows Media Center Edition PC's. The guide shows you how to control a Media Center PC from another room with a cheap XBox controller w/ built in LCD and a little soldering."
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Media Center Bathroom Extender More

Media Center Bathroom Extender

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  • I don't need this (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I just Wifi while sitting on the crapper ...

  • I always said (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Microsoft programs were shitty.

  • pins and needles (Score:3, Funny)

    by nktae ( 753573 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @10:36AM (#10478934)
    Ahhh finally, I can take my entertainment to the toilet, good thing too, I was running out of excuses to sit there until my legs fell asleep.

    • Yes but... (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Cumstien ( 637803 )
      What if a group of malicious South African diplomats have rigged a bomb under your crapper and the toilet paper says, "BOOM YOU'RE DEAD". I'd bet you'd like the ability to change the music then.

    • Re:pins and needles (Score:3, Interesting)

      by tomhudson ( 43916 )
      Ahhh finally, I can take my entertainment to the toilet
      Why not just bring:
      • A good book
      • The newspaper
      • A crossword puzzle
      • A laptop

      • I'll second this one. Find a book that has small pieces that can be read on the toilet, while there are many books constructed specifically for this purpose that's not the only kind that applies. Personally my current bathroom reading material is Humane Society [everything2.com], a book by one of my fellow E2 addicts that has me laughing and thinking, two of my favorite activities. They don't call it the thinking chair for nothing. As I sit on the throne and issue an edict I like to have something to take my mind off the bi

        • Anyone know of a system to spit an audio stream out over multiple sound cards and keep it synched?

          How about remote speakers with a long cable or cordless headphones. Sometimes an analog solution can be cheaper and either one will sound better than laptop speakers.
          • I intend to use cordless speakers, which use the same technology as the cordless headphones and are generally sold by the same companies. The bathroom does have power, after all. However I want to be able to control which speakers are active via computer (web interface, probably) and the cheapest way to do that would probably be to use a multitude of crappy sound cards in a single system.
  • And you will have to see your doctor any time soon...
  • Please note: brown keyboard not included

  • Backlight (Score:4, Insightful)

    by peterprior ( 319967 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @10:42AM (#10478958)
    Would the high voltage needed to run an LCD backlight be a potential hazard in a bathroom ?

    • Re:Backlight (Score:5, Funny)

      by Fortyseven ( 240736 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @10:46AM (#10478976) Homepage Journal
      Would the high voltage needed to run an LCD backlight be a potential hazard in a bathroom ?

      Only if you are a very very inaccurate pisser.
    • I am pretty sure that the whole thing could be on 12 volt power. You are correct in worrying about the problem of electricution. This whole idea seems like a farse to me, webserfing from a bathtub. I want a bathroom with a ten thousand tiles. Each tile will be an LCD display with an independant feed . . . The crapper of ten thousand websites

    • Re:Backlight (Score:5, Informative)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Saturday October 09, 2004 @11:55AM (#10479427) Homepage Journal
      Shouldn't this be labeled funny? CCFL backlights do use relatively high voltages, about 1200V to start and 200V to operate, but their current use is best measured in mA. A backlight inverter will give you a jolt you can feel if you're holding the wires, but the current is pretty much guaranteed to mostly go through the skin. I guess if you stuck two nails in your hands (can you put me up for the night?) and attached the leads to them you might get the current to go someplace unfortunate if you coaxed the inverter into producing starting voltage for you, but that's about it.

  • *SIGH!* (Score:5, Funny)

    by rts008 ( 812749 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @10:46AM (#10478982) Journal
    This is another exmple of:" Just because you CAN do somthing, doesn't mean it's actually a good idea to do so". IMHO of course. I mean, who am I to stop someone from deliberately developing hemorroids that *slap* their calves/ankles as they walk!
    • Yeah... The need to sit for extended periods of time indicates you have a problem and need more fiber. Constipation (even mild constipation) can have some rather unpleasant side effects. The act of sitting on the toilet alone isn't too healthy either, it happens to be a sitting position that puts strain on many of your blood vessels.

      Moral of the story: Don't read/wifi/whatever in the crapper. Just remove the need by taking some daily Metamucil. And don't wait until you learn your lesson the hard way.
    • " This is another exmple of:" Just because you CAN do somthing, doesn't mean it's actually a good idea to do so"
      Well, it could be useful for a home sterio setup.

  • Finally! (Score:1, Funny)

    by fegul ( 812818 )
    Once they get a self-replenishing fridge, I'll never have to leave the bathroom! I can isolate myself with my own feces, and never have to leave.

  • May be a health hazard (Score:5, Insightful)

    by lewko ( 195646 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @11:06AM (#10479117) Homepage
    Listed below are the most frequent causes of hemorrhoids:
    • Constant sitting
    • Straining with bowel movements (from constipation or hard stools)
    • Diarrhea
    • Sitting on the toilet for a long time
    • Severe coughing
    • Childbirth
    • Heavy Lifting

      Source [quickcare.org]

  • Laptop (Score:1, Informative)

    by IGTeRR0r ( 805236 )
    Meh, if you have the money the toshiba satellite media center laptop has been out for a while:
    http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?seg=HH O&coid=-26379&sel=0&rcid=-26367&ccid=12910 21
    They also have a cheaper version called the p15, which is what I am on now, it has the media center, works great.
  • or does that glass of water look really dirty?

  • so the remote control doesnt't work ? (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    seeing as retail XPMCE systems have them by default (unless you are evaluating the software, even tho its pretty useless without the IR), no need for messy wired controllers (or i would use com 2 and 1$ in connectors) range not enough ? then get a IR range extender for about 25$, still cheaper than an xbox and its clumsy controllers and having bits of wire clutter up the place

    messing about with soldering irons for such a minor mod is frankly insulting to the real HH who are busy in surface mount land

    if yo

  • PCs, not PC's (Score:1, Informative)

    by paj1234 ( 234750 )
    Cowboy Neal, you mean PCs as in more than one PC, no apostrophe. The apostophe only means "belonging to" (eg: Pandora's box) or a dropped "i" (eg: it is raining; it's raining).

  • Useful (Score:3, Funny)

    by Sponge Bath ( 413667 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @11:40AM (#10479323)
    Now if you run out of toilet paper while on the throne, you can order refills on the internet and listen to your favorite music while you wait. You just need to add a pneumatic tube to the front door for delivery.

  • Soldering? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by gblues ( 90260 )
    If "a little soldering" is required, it is NOT built-in. I'm not even sure "some assembly required" is broad enough to describe it, since a soldering iron isn't something everyone has (compared to screwdrivers or hammers).

    Nathan
  • "Thanks for watching CNBC's Power Dump with Maria Bartiromo..."
  • First... Xbox Media center extenders are comming out NEXT MONTH. They are little about 1/2 the size of an xbox and just need a network to your main media center where you will have all the functionality of your media center through the extender.

    Now, the xbox tie in, really really stupid. Microsoft is also making xbox's capable of becoming media center extenders. So just leave the whole xbox in the bathroom and not.. run worthless wires from your bathroom to your computer???

  • uh oh.... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Styros ( 144779 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @12:09PM (#10479511)
    PBS? ABC?? ESPN??? Yeah, right! Everybody here knows what this will be used for, and I believe Jenna Jameson will be the star.

  • Alternately, (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Trelane ( 16124 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @12:35PM (#10479655) Journal
    you could hook up a mythtv frontend on a mini-itx box with a flat-screen so that you can easily watch movies and tv and stuff while you're in the tub. Yay!

    Actually, this is likely how I'm going to wire my home. One beefy central mythtv box with however many frontends scattered throughout the house.
  • "I diddn't bother making an adapter out of an Extension cord"

    He also diddn't bother to run spell check ;)
  • I couldn't give a crap about the Xbox/Media center application, but DAYUMN!! It sure would be nice to take that little screen & mount it on the back of a ps2/usb keyboard for my mobile KVM needs..

    Hmm..
  • If I really wanted music in my bathroom, there are two systems that I'd seriously consider.

    1. Radio
    Simple low watt FM transmitter. For some this would be as simple as attaching it to the tape monitor output of their AMP/Reciever. Radio recievers are cheep, and many are small.

    2. Line out to a small radio
    Quality better than radio, but requires household wiring. Can be done over cat5.

    3. Speaker wire & cieling mount speakers
    Requires heavier wire depending on your watt requirements.

    But presently...

  • If I have to spend a lot of time in the bathroom (Score:3, Funny)

    by WormholeFiend ( 674934 ) on Saturday October 09, 2004 @01:49PM (#10480021)
    I'm too busy concentrating on forcing out that big, long turd to even pay attention to music, much less a game or whathaveyou.

    That or I'm in the shower singing my own media, much to the chagrin of anyone within earshot.
  • As cool as this hack is, and I personally think it is pretty cool, for my money an old 3Com Audrey [misn.com] makes a much better media system UI. The Audrey is a diskless "internet appliance" from a few years ago that failed in the market. Originally about $500, they are now commonly available on EBay [ebay.com] for about $80-90. The screen is larger and you can do a lot more things with it.

    The Audrey looks like a Jetsons style Etch-a-sketch. It was designed to sit on the kitchen table and do email, read the morning news, look
  • needs a little more fiber in their diet, not entertainment. :P
  • Am I the only one who thought that this story was going to describe using a media center to act as a bathroom in a remote place? After all the odd USB gadgets you see these days, you never know...
  • Well, I'm running MCE2005 and I like my little solution better...

    My 'extender' (a PSone-display and a miniature remote I actually got as a goodie from the guys from Redmond)

    extender on my desk [geektechnique.org]

    ...and my desk from a distance... a dual AMD AthlonXP with Gentoo Linux (of course! otherwise I wouldn't be reading /. would I?)

    my desk [geektechnique.org]

    ...and for those who are interested, this is/was my testsetup for MCE2005 [geektechnique.org]
  • I think this [sourceforge.net] might be a much easier solution.

    Works great with my cellphone, I can browse the play list on my cellphone, change tracks, adjust volume, all wirelessly.
  • Now Windows has officially "gone down the tubes".
  • ... who got a little uncomfortable when the word "bathroom" and "extender" were used so close together?

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