Re: Mobius in a rack unit

[Art Simon <simart@gmail.com>]

I've toyed with the idea of building a rack mount music computer. I especially like the idea of built-in touchscreen, so you wouldn't need to have a keyboard and monitor on stage. Here's an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811321006&Tpk=RPC-919T

What's kept me from doing it is that most of the rack mount server cases are too deep for the typical musicians 19" flight case, and while it would be portable, it would be awkward and heavy to carry. Also, the costs start to add up. A laptop seems much more cost effective, unless you already have a good desktop and just want to transfer it to a new case. The alienware M11x is slightly larger than a netbook and costs under $1000. It could make a very portable and unobtrusive music laptop.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/notebooks/alienware-m11x/pd.aspx?refid=alienware-m11x&cs=19&s=dhs

On Sun, Sep 12, 2010 at 12:58 AM, G <gigs@paradise.net.nz> wrote:

To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
Subject: Re: Mobius in a rack unit
From: Rainer Straschill <moinsound@googlemail.com>
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2010 23:10:53 +0200

>
>Jeff Larson said (with regard to the Altium NanoBoard):
>> I've looked at things like this before, the problem with them for me
>> boils down to the operating system.  Besides the big things like how
>> you interface with MIDI, audio, and display devices, Mobius was also
>> designed with certain OS assumptions like virtual memory and a file
>> system.

8<

>> At the moment I barely have enough time to keep the Windows and Mac
>> versions going so I doubt this will ever happen.
>>

8<

>I just had this idea because a) this hardware has everything you'd need,
>b) the "you can't fit Möbius into a rack unit" topic had come up just
>recently and c) the fact that I assume that something like Möbius (due
>to its eight parallel engines and a state-machine-oriented logic) really
>lends itself to be implemented on a FPGA.
>
>But there was a reason I neded my originall message with a
>smileyface...I perfectly understand that you don't want to get into yet
>another version to support.
>
>Yours,
>
>          Rainer

Hi
Since deciding to go the rack route, fitting a laptop or pc into a rack
is something I'm pondering.  I missed the earlier thread.
In IT server rooms, generally multiple servers are housed in 19" racks.
I'm thinking about getting such a rack PC case installing an adequate
computer into it.  I've yet to look into the keyboard/mouse/monitor.
-- G.

-- 
Art Simon
simart@gmail.com
myspace [dot] com/artsimon