Started to rework Pint Tracker tonight to fit the 1024×600 resolution of my 9” monitor I mounted to the taps. Pretty happy so far but I had a few ideas for future updates. For now here is what is happening.
For starters the beer leader board and the members leader board are getting an upgrade. Soon it will be displayed as a photo grid with beer totals showing in a sticker-type display. Much more visual that just the text display that is in the above screen shots.
Twitter It!Tonight my USB extension cables came from MonoPrice. I was a little skeptical if they would work or not. If you did not know USB has a 16 foot range. If I wanted to mount a monitor by the tap I had to find a way to get way more than 16 feet away from my Mac Mini. The MonoPrice 33′ active USB cable had really good reviews so I ordered three of them. At a price of $10.20 each it is a steal. These could cost you $50 each at a place like Best Buy. But you can’t even find them any place. These are a monoprice brand not a third part brand.
There was a waiting list for them a few weeks ago so I signed up for their email notification. They sent me an email last week and I ordered three of them withing 30 minutes of getting the email. A few hours more and they were totally sold out. I will get into the setup in a few days when I get everything mounted correctly. Until then you will have to setting for a few iPhone photos.
I have to redesign the Pint Tracker UI now that I have this sweet little monitor. The new version will take up the entire screen unlike the photos above.
Twitter It!A two weeks ago I ordered a DoubleSight DS-90UC 9” Monitor for my Pint Tracker setup. The monitor arrived a week ago but at first I was not happy with it.
For starters the drivers were still in beta. In fact they flat out did not work on the Mac. All I could get was a black screen. It was only after countless uninstall and installs of the drivers that I was able to get a picture on it all all. Even then was wacky. When I booted my Mac Mini I had to log in and then log out and back in again just to get anything to show up on the display. Even then the drivers did not give the correct resolution option. The only option was something like 1280×1024. The correct resolution is 1200×600. At 1280×1024 you couldn’t read any text and it warped anything you put on it. Pint Tracker looked terrible. I was about to give up on it.
I debated if I should send it back or wait for better drivers. I decided to wait and I am now very happy I did. Yesterday new drivers were released and it fixed all the problems I was having. I am now 100% satisfied with the display. I will give a video review of the monitor very soon.
It really is a hot little monitor that is going to work great for my special application. It is well made and looks great. It also has a 2MP camera I can attach to it. For now here is the unboxing photos that I took last week.
The monitor I want to get my hands on is the DoubleSight DS-90UC – LCD display – TFT – 9″. If you remember back 8 months or so ago there was a similar monitor that I was trying to get. That one never made it over to the US at the time. The place I ordered it from couldn’t get their shipment through customs. So I canceled my order.
The DoubleSight DS-90UC is a pretty slick little unit. It has a 2MP webcam built in. The display can rotate between horizontal and vertical. I can’t tell their the specs but the webcam looks like it can also rotate if you go vertical with the monitor. I think it works like a dial. You turn it left or right depending if you have the monitor set to vertical or horizontal. From photos on their website it looks like the webcam is removable and connects to the monitor via a 1/8 plug like a headphones jack. I hope that is the case so I can get an extension and position it a little away from the display like the mocked up in photo of the previous post.
A must have for Pint Track is USB powered for both power and video signal. Only one cord coming out the back. The DoubleSight DS-90UC has this so I think it would be almost perfect for my needs. It is expensive at $150 for a 9” display. You can get a 19” monitor for that price these days. But I don’t need a monitor that big. If I can get this a smaller monitor setup the way I want it will be a pretty slick. The resolution is 1024 x 600 which will require a little rework on the Pint Tracker UI but nothing too major.
Here are the full specs for the DoubleSight DS-90UC.
General
* Display Type LCD display / TFT active matrix
* Built-in Devices Camera
* Width 9 in
* Depth 4 in
* Height 9.5 in
* Weight 1.5 lbs
Image
* Display (projector) image aspect ratio 16:10
* Image brightness 200 cd/m2
* Image Contrast Ratio 300:1
* Max horizontal view angle +45 / -45
* Max vertical view angle +15 / -35
Display
* Diagonal Size 9 in – Widescreen
* Viewable Size 8.9 in
* Max Resolution 1024 x 600
* Color Support 18-bit color
* Response Time 30 ms
* Display Positions Adjustments Tilt, Height, Pivot (rotation)
* Video Output None
* Signal Input USB
Audio Output
* Type None
Input Device
* Type None
Expansion / Connectivity
* Interfaces 1 x Hi-Speed USB
Miscellaneous
* Included Accessories Stand
Software / System Requirements
* Min Operating system Apple MacOS X 10.4, Apple MacOS X 10.5, Microsoft Windows Vista / 2000 / XP
Manufacturer Warranty
* Service & Support 3 years warranty
* Service & Support Details Limited warranty – 3 years
If you never had the pleasure of having a pint at my place you are not familiar with my tap setup. I bought a quarter oak barrel off ebay a number of year ago. It came from a winery in SoCal. The inside of the barrel is stained with the wine that it contained at one time. The shipping cost me as much at the barrel did. It is solid oak and pretty heavy for only being the top eight inches of a wine barrel. But it has worked out great for a way to mount my taps. Lucky is the person that has grabbed the tap handle and poured themselves a pint of beer at The House of Husar. I imagine it is a lot to take in. Well, maybe not. But it is pretty cool none the less.
Since I have been developing Pint Tracker I have been thinking of the ideal setup. Here are two photos. One is the current setup and the second is a Photoshop mock up of the ideal setup. A small LCD and web came dedicated of the libations tracking and recording is the dream. Can you feel it?
Here is the current setup.
Now the system to end all beer deliver systems in a home put.
I am currently researching what it is going to take to make this a reality and not just a Photoshop dream….
More to come.
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