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Fediverse (Mastodon etc): @Sprite_tm@social. spritesmods.com
While the device I eventually cooked up could have way more special features (connectong to a network, color LCD, webbrowser, ...) the device as it is has some valuable assets: it's easy to use, there's not much that can break because there isn't that much that can get broken and it's quite cheap because it consists mostly of salvaged parts. The device functions for about a year now, and I haven't had any trouble with it. None at all. 100% uptime.
While this would be my usual spot to tell you that the software is GPL and you can download it here, I won't do that this time. The source, first of all, is simple but doesn't quite has coding practices in it I want other people to see, and secondly it's hardware dependant: it only works if you have the exact same LCD, touchscreen, proto-board, ... as I have. If you want to cook up a similar device for yourself, you can always mail me and perhaps I'll share some snippets of code.
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9 comments(I tried to put a paragraph break (really two line breaks) in my previous comment on this page, right before "Text nitpicking", but it doesn't seem to be supported.)
At first I thought "How is 128 B enough for storing the consumption data for about 20 people × what looks like at least 6 kinds of beer?" Then I realized 1 byte for each person×beer combination is probably enough to last a reasonable time between readouts (except for that person who tallied over 135× Grolsch on the paper list, maybe). But you can't have more than 20 people or 6 beer kinds with that data structure (without reducing the other number); did you use something more ingenious so it would be future-proof? (Also, it occurs to me that some memory would be needed for the names of people and beers, so I guess you must have hardcoded those and reflashed the firmware whenever they needed updating.) Text nitpicking: You say "The software needs to be able do three things:" and then list four things. "There's not much that can break because there isn't that much that can get broken" is a tautology.
I actually think the name is better. Biometrics are just as bad up keep wise as networks and webpages. Plus the old tally system has the same honor system. If a user thinks they are being cheated, maybe then a password but with a warning that if you forget it at 2AM don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t call the master or steal the beer.
Nu je die restjes van die biosticks hebt, is een van de bovenstaande reacties niet eens een slecht idee. deze touchscreen perfectioneren met een bio-beveiliging... al denk ik dat dit de bruikbaarheid van het systeem niet ten goede komt. soms, laat in de avond, is je vinger over een klein stukje plastic halen al best een zware opdracht. :-) leuke site btw. waarom heb je geen "who is Sprite_tm ?" sectie?
Maak een elektronisch slot op de bierkoelkast en zorg dat mensen drankjes kunnen kiezen doormiddel van een code ipv naam ;) Dat voorkomt verloren bier!
It'd definitely be interesting to hook up some sort of biometrics. Instead of having a name to press, just a small square. It could read the fingerprint, figure out who it is, and tally the appropriate person. This would work nicely if there were a huge number of people and they couldn't find their name.
Just to be sure people dont press other peoples name why not hook up a salvaged fingerprint reader from an old keyboard perhaps :P Since a password isnt quite usefull ^^
Leuk! Ik had in mijn oude studentenhuis een PC bij de bierkoelkast gezet met een eenvoudig telsysteem (ook gezamenlijke eetlijst), maar dit bleek inderdaad gevoelig voor de problemen die je al noemde, en vooral gasten van huisgenoten vonden het leuk om de data wat te vervuilen. Blijkbaar nodigt een electronisch lijstje daar meer toe uit dan een papieren.
Very fun and usefull project ! As student I know that beer management is important.