UPDATE: (March 13, 2009) In the next page, I added a few scripts that will give your DIY DPF more features, all involving automatically embedding text into your images. Check it out.
My new Macbook is wonderful. Sitting on my desk, lookin’ pretty, I can’t think of enough interesting things to do with it. Okay–it’s not that great. I am a video production student and I need it for school. The best thing about it, however, is its great ability to take over any need, whatsoever, for my old laptop.
My first college computer, an HP dv1000, was an amazing little computer more than two years ago. Over time, the two batteries I bought for it wore out and little quirks began to show its age.
Instead of keeping the laptop–probably stashing it away in my closet or getting rid of it on Craigslist for a thenth of its original price, I decited to get creative. Many websites exist on the internet detailing how to create digital picture frames out of old laptops. Each one is different in its own little way, ranging from the trivial (gluing a frame to a working laptop) to the complex (completely gutting a computer, building a frame and writing specialized software). My own DPF is somewhere in between.
The Hardware
I started out by exploring. I knew I wanted to remove as much of the external casing from the innards as possible.
After a couple hours of ripping plastic and unscrewing, I ended up with a pretty neat setup.
I started out by measuring the dimensions of the motherboard and cutting 1/4″ thick plywood to size. The hole in the middle is where the CPU fan is located. I cut some square dowels to length, allowing for the USB ports, power outlet, speakers and wireless card.
Small wood cubes kept the motherboard sturdy on the plywood. I used some short wood screws and Elmer’s glued them to the baseboard. This right here is the card reader. Pretty convenient for a DPF.
Walls were cut and the dowels were glued and nailed to them with small tacks. I used a band saw to make room for the ports.
The box is done! Pretty, aint it? I just used short tacks to keep it together. I thought it wold be difficult, but it wasn’t too bad and it holds together very well.
The motherboard fits!
This cable looks extremely fragile and scared the shit out of me. If anything bad happened to this project, it would have been this cable breaking. When mounting the screen on top of the box, I found that it sits backwards to how it is normally. This puts a lot of strain on the cable and I had to be very careful not to break it. Also, I touched the tape on top a bunch of times and it’s still okay. 
I had to have a way to turn the computer on and off so I scavenged this reset button from an old computer case I had sitting around. I soldered the wires to the power button on the motherboard. This way, I wouldn’t have to open the frame to turn it on.
My local craft store specializes in cutting mattes for photos. I carefully measured the screen dimensions and picked out a 14×11″ frame. They cut the matte to the exact size of the screen. I could have had them cut it a little more square, making the photos look better, but I wouldn’t be able to see the entire screen if I needed to.
Ready to assemble! I mounted the power supply in with the electronics. I replaced part of the power cord in favor of a narrower, more out-of-the-way cord I found on a random lamp I wasn’t using. There is room in the walls of the case for a Netgear wireless card, giving the frame wireless access to my home network and to the internet for automatically updating photos.
I used some wood putty to fill in the cracks at the corners of the case for a more finished look. Then I finished the case with some black spraypaint.
This is where I ran into trouble. I had the computer mounted in the box, and the frame ready to mount to the box–but I couldn’t find a convenient way to do it. Fortunately, the frame I bought was meant to be transparent with two panes of glass holding a photo. It had a wooden square to hold the second pane in. I used an entire tube of super glue and mounted it onto the case. Then all I would have to do is use the frame latches to attach it.
I used gaffers tape to attach the screen to the matte. DO NOT use glue, expecially super glue of any kind to attach the screen to anything. I’ve heard horror stories about chemicals getting into the LCD and runing the image. I thought I would be extra careful and almost ruined my screen trying to do this. I should have known better. Thankfully, there is no visible damage.
It’s done! The super glue I used worked surprisingly well. I could pick up the entire thing by the frame and shake it around without so much as a creak. The screen still works too!
