Gp2x-powered Kid-puter

[Reaperman93010]

When I was a kid around 3 years old my pa got me an atari800xl gaming computer, which was my primary source of entertainment until I was about 10 or 11. It gave me all the a good start in networking, basic programming, keyboarding, troubleshooting, etc. all without me even knowing it, and now I make my living with those skills.

these days game computers really aren't around anymore to help kids out. now, I've never really liked my 2x (hence why I haven't been in here much) but I got to thinking that a broken one, say with a bad screen or controls, could be easily made into a fairly inexpensive project-box computer, for my nephew's 3rd birthday. he's about to turn 2, and we got him something fairly lame this time around.

I'll have to check out the 2x wiki some more, since I've been gone basically since launch and hunt up things like pinouts, but the skills to make this should actually be a bit below what I used in a prior gba project I worked on a few years ago. 2x is linux based, very expandable and powerful enough to keep a child's interest where most 'kidputers' would be easily outgrown.

I was thinking a standard radioshack project box, route the sd out the front, add a standard snes port (so joysticks can be replaced) throw some usb and maybe some various card slots out the side, and maybe give it an internal CF "hard drive". svid and audio jacks out the back naturally, then just fill the whole box with a foam like greatstuff to add durability. With proper supervision it should last quite some time. My atari survived and it had complex moving parts, a 2x unit will not have nearly as many. sd slot is the only one I can think of.

I'm also going to have to look at the apps and games on the download page, I'm sure there's already plenty.
how is networking through usb comming along? I'm assuming it's not to the point where I can include a cheap usb wireless adapter inside, but I can still dream. do we at least have usb keyboard/mouse support? and I'm no linux geek, far from it, but is there a way to turn off the boot screen images so he can see the kernel starting up and at least start looking at terms? Also have we come up with alternate firmwares that are just slightly more complex (perhaps just more customizable in terms of menu).

mind you I'm just in the basic stages of thinking this over. I have been at it for a good week now, and I'm motivated enough to haul myself back here and mention it. I suppose I should also search this forum, it's entirely possible that my idea isn't new. I should have (minus the broken 2x) just about everything I need to complete this project already depending on how complicated it can be. Or maybe I should just start looking at small motherboards, but they tend to get real expensive which is a place I had hoped not to go.

 

[slaanesh]

Sounds like what you want is the commercial BoB.

 

[Reaperman93010]

commercial bob? help me out, I'm a little out of touch, it seems. what's that?

the alternative to what I was thinking of was one of those $100 3rd-world laptops I keep hearing about, but I don't know where to actually buy one. honestly I don't know if they're in production yet. if there's a commercial product, heck that would save me time, and I suspect money. you don't even want to know how much that gameboy project ended up costing me...

I don't want to have my own children for many reasons, but something is attracting me to this idea of giving the next generation similar advantages to what I had at their age.

 

[Blah]

Yeah they made those, although you might have to go to Africa to get one...

As for the commercial BoB, it allows you to plug in usb devices, tv out, and more. Its not availiable yet but the developer's version is (it has no case). But neither of these are of any real use to a kid.

If your looking for PDA software, check out Qtopia and GPE. I think we might also have Familiar.

But I myself, well I wouldn't let a kid anywhere near a GP2X in any condition.

 

[Tobriand]

Yeah, go for a break out board... they're sold on gp2x.co.uk, even without a box. Gives you 2 usb host ports, TV out in standard SVHS format, and jtag just in case you need it. Just enough to shove a cheap usb 1.1 wifi adapter on one USB socket and a keyboard or mouse on the other.

Or alternatively, shove a couple of controlers into it, plug up to a TV, and you've got a pocketsized multiplayer emu-box

 

[Reaperman93010]

breakout board is a good option, less for me to build and more to just plug in becomes helpful. jtag adds another layer of protection to the thing if anybody gets knowledgable enough to be dangerous with firmware.
I had no idea that we were up to the usb joystick level on so many apps. that's good to hear. and we can actually go wifi through usb already? (assuming it's preconfigured on another box) I thought that was dreaming on my part. heck, I've been looking in the apps section and we even seem to have smb shares going on this thing now. lots of available networking goodies.

correct me if I'm wrong on the two usb idea, but nothing's stopping me from sticking a usb hub on those, greatly increasing the number of devices (within reason). two devices is a limitation I had hoped not to have. I was hoping for a bunch of usb ports out the side (probably 4) and at least two connected to devices internally.

blah> I don't know why a kid couldn't handle a gp2x when properly 'consolized/computerized'. It's more about parental education on the matter right now. teaching the inlaws to restore the thing from backup when something goes wrong until their son can handle the task. I was thinking of maybe a small set of instructional videos on the thing. you know, mixed in with awful videos of dora the explorer or spongebob. it may also be helpful to choose a project box that can screw down to something heavy to avoid being thrown around.

 

[jukujin]

...
the alternative to what I was thinking of was one of those $100 3rd-world laptops I keep hearing about, but I don't know where to actually buy one. honestly I don't know if they're in production yet.
...

Slightly off-topic, but to reply to this:
It's my understanding that the "laptop for every child" will not be commercially sold, but will only be distributed to children in need. Whether that will hold true forever, or whether or not you'll be able to eventually find one on e-bay is another story.

 

[clone]

The Break Out Boards sold on gp2x.co.uk do have 4 usb connections on them! At least.... Mine does!

 

[Alex.]

Wouldn't an old ~$200 laptop do a better job, for less money? I understand the joy of hacking together some hardware, but wouldn't it end up more fragile and less useful than a full-fledged computer? Just a suggestion.

- Alex

 

[Auritribe]

When I was a kid around 3 years old my pa got me an atari800xl gaming computer, which was my primary source of entertainment until I was about 10 or 11. It gave me all the a good start in networking, basic programming, keyboarding, troubleshooting, etc. all without me even knowing it, and now I make my living with those skills.

these days game computers really aren't around anymore to help kids out. now, I've never really liked my 2x (hence why I haven't been in here much) but I got to thinking that a broken one, say with a bad screen or controls, could be easily made into a fairly inexpensive project-box computer, for my nephew's 3rd birthday. he's about to turn 2, and we got him something fairly lame this time around.

I'll have to check out the 2x wiki some more, since I've been gone basically since launch and hunt up things like pinouts, but the skills to make this should actually be a bit below what I used in a prior gba project I worked on a few years ago. 2x is linux based, very expandable and powerful enough to keep a child's interest where most 'kidputers' would be easily outgrown.

I was thinking a standard radioshack project box, route the sd out the front, add a standard snes port (so joysticks can be replaced) throw some usb and maybe some various card slots out the side, and maybe give it an internal CF "hard drive". svid and audio jacks out the back naturally, then just fill the whole box with a foam like greatstuff to add durability. With proper supervision it should last quite some time. My atari survived and it had complex moving parts, a 2x unit will not have nearly as many. sd slot is the only one I can think of.

I'm also going to have to look at the apps and games on the download page, I'm sure there's already plenty.
how is networking through usb comming along? I'm assuming it's not to the point where I can include a cheap usb wireless adapter inside, but I can still dream. do we at least have usb keyboard/mouse support? and I'm no linux geek, far from it, but is there a way to turn off the boot screen images so he can see the kernel starting up and at least start looking at terms? Also have we come up with alternate firmwares that are just slightly more complex (perhaps just more customizable in terms of menu).

mind you I'm just in the basic stages of thinking this over. I have been at it for a good week now, and I'm motivated enough to haul myself back here and mention it. I suppose I should also search this forum, it's entirely possible that my idea isn't new. I should have (minus the broken 2x) just about everything I need to complete this project already depending on how complicated it can be. Or maybe I should just start looking at small motherboards, but they tend to get real expensive which is a place I had hoped not to go.

Tech aint like it used to be. The gp2x is one of the few exceptions to the rule but most projects worth a crap require whole studios to produce.

Add to that the fact that computers are becoming more and more user friendly, and to understand them is more and more complex, and you have a much bigger problem.

With each build of windows, with each build of linux even, learning 'how it works' becomes more difficult, while simply using it becomes much easier.

I think the sad fact of the matter is if you build this for the kid, he's gonna just end up playing xbox360 at his friends house anyway.

 

[yalborap]

This is all an interesting idea...

But really, you should think it through first. I mean, what were your problems with your GP2X back when you got it?

 

[yodaofborg]

I know someone who turned a P3 laptop into a PeeCee™ for his kids, the entire project cost him about £300, basically he put the bottom of the laptop into a hard plastic box with the AC inside, and the screen inside a see-through plastic box, usb keyboard and mouse and voila, child protected PC!

Only problem with it was the software, he chose windows 2000

 

[trebormills]

The Break Out Boards sold on gp2x.co.uk do have 4 usb connections on them! At least.... Mine does!

I just bought my gp2x and ordered a bob at the same time...sadly no more stock and no new ones coming!!!!

 

[Reaperman93010]

This is all an interesting idea...
But really, you should think it through first. I mean, what were your problems with your GP2X back when you got it?

mostly handheld related problems.
it hurt my hands or put them to sleep. I didn't care much for the stick, even with an early 3rd party cap. the buttons are too close together, it only has one sd slot. various problems with the headphone jack and power jack, and it eats batteries. also generally I've been emulating for so long that I've lost all ability to enjoy going back and doing it all over again. (there's little that's old that's still new for me)
generally I don't care much for 2x as a handheld at all. I did give it a good try before I started carrying the old gbm around again.


one big reason I like the 2x for this project is that the learning curve involved in getting new software/hardware up and running is very similar to the atari800. there's also a 'scene', granted it's not local, but it's still similar to the atari user group I used to belong to.

but heck, maybe it would be easier/prettier just to do up an old xbox for the kid. I never really thought of that one, but it's as good or better as far as ideas go, and that's pretty much all software modification. chips for those are probably dirt cheap now. the down side is that xbox ideas kinda lack the same 'zazz'.

 

[J201605]

I know someone who turned a P3 laptop into a PeeCee™ for his kids, the entire project cost him about £300, basically he put the bottom of the laptop into a hard plastic box with the AC inside, and the screen inside a see-through plastic box, usb keyboard and mouse and voila, child protected PC!

Only problem with it was the software, he chose windows 2000

His kids will be scarred for life

 

[yalborap]

This is all an interesting idea...
But really, you should think it through first. I mean, what were your problems with your GP2X back when you got it?

mostly handheld related problems.
it hurt my hands or put them to sleep. I didn't care much for the stick, even with an early 3rd party cap. the buttons are too close together, it only has one sd slot. various problems with the headphone jack and power jack, and it eats batteries. also generally I've been emulating for so long that I've lost all ability to enjoy going back and doing it all over again. (there's little that's old that's still new for me)
generally I don't care much for 2x as a handheld at all. I did give it a good try before I started carrying the old gbm around again.


one big reason I like the 2x for this project is that the learning curve involved in getting new software/hardware up and running is very similar to the atari800. there's also a 'scene', granted it's not local, but it's still similar to the atari user group I used to belong to.

but heck, maybe it would be easier/prettier just to do up an old xbox for the kid. I never really thought of that one, but it's as good or better as far as ideas go, and that's pretty much all software modification. chips for those are probably dirt cheap now. the down side is that xbox ideas kinda lack the same 'zazz'.

....The GP2X hurts your hands but a gameboy micro is just fine?

Are you an alien?

 

[nubie]

I know someone who turned a P3 laptop into a PeeCee™ for his kids, the entire project cost him about £300, basically he put the bottom of the laptop into a hard plastic box with the AC inside, and the screen inside a see-through plastic box, usb keyboard and mouse and voila, child protected PC!

Only problem with it was the software, he chose windows 2000

His kids will be scarred for life

SP4 is just fine! I don't know what you guys are on about. It is like XP except without all the happy fun crap. You know 98se compared to ME.

 

[Reaperman93010]

....The GP2X hurts your hands but a gameboy micro is just fine?

Are you an alien?

I must be, since I find the micro pretty comfortable, I can go for hours on it and I actually just did. A lot of people complain about it, but I suspect that a good portion of them have never owned a micro or used it for an extended period. I'm not kidding when I say that it's my favorite video game system ever.

a lot other handhelds tend to make the last two fingers on each hand go numb, and they get very hard to move.

 

[yalborap]

....The GP2X hurts your hands but a gameboy micro is just fine?

Are you an alien?

I must be, since I find the micro pretty comfortable, I can go for hours on it and I actually just did. A lot of people complain about it, but I suspect that a good portion of them have never owned a micro or used it for an extended period. I'm not kidding when I say that it's my favorite video game system ever.

a lot other handhelds tend to make the last two fingers on each hand go numb, and they get very hard to move.

That's weird.

Then again, I have these crazy hands myself. For some reason my two favorite controllers in the world are the original xbox controller and that Retrocon controller for the PS2. They're just so comfy.

 

[hitbyambulance]

i would like to see this 'kid2X' project brought to fruition, just to see how it's done.