When I was a teenager the Great Falls International Airport (daily service to Calgary and Edmonton) added a large map/clock to the main lobby that displayed the time of day in several cities as well as where it was night or day. It adjusted itself for the seasons and struck me as attractive - even desirable. Of course that type of display is easily done on a phone or PC now, but there was something special about the physical manifestation of the information.
Today a self-described nerdy friend in Cambridge sent a note on his latest toy - a status display of Boston MBTA. It makes a network connection via your home wifi and displays train status in real time. At a bit over $200 it’s not cheap, but he says he hasn’t been so delighted with a purchase in over a decade. The company has units for London, NYC, DC, Chicago, and the Bay Area BART system. It wouldn’t be terribly difficult for someone with EE chops to do the hardware and software design, but if you value your time at anything more than half minimum wage, these are something of a bargain.
So if you’re into this sort of artwork or want to give an unusual gift to someone who might appreciate something they probably haven’t thought about:
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