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Hardware Technology

3D-Printed, Rock Pi-Powered Screensaver Aquarium Is Serene To Behold (hothardware.com) 35

MojoKid writes: Some may think it strange to design and build an entire PC and custom enclosure, dedicated to running a 20-year-old screensaver, but retro computing fans and well-seasoned enthusiasts may remember the SereneScreen Marine Aquarium. This classic screensaver from the late 90s was created by the legendary artist of Defender of the Crown and more, Jim Sachs. SereneScreen's combination of beautiful fish and technology is still mesmerizing, so why not build a miniature, 3D-printed aquarium and power it with a single board computer like the Rock Pi X and a 1920X480 resolution IPS LCD display? That's just what product developer Colton Westrate did.

Searching for an x86 PC in a Raspberry Pi-sized form factor, Westrate chose the Rock Pi X that purportedly packs the perfunctory punch to push the Windows OS and aquarium screen saver's pulsating pixels. The Rock Pi X is based on a circa 2016 Intel x5-Z8350 processor, which is a 2-watt, quad-core Cherry Trail Atom chip. From there, with a little Fusion 360 parametric modeling, a clear acrylic napkin holder, and some serious skills, Westrate created this adorable pint-sized digital fish tank. There's a full parts list and how-to guide on HotHardware, along with links to the CAD files up on Thingiverse, so you can build yourself one too, if you're feeling inspired.

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3D-Printed, Rock Pi-Powered Screensaver Aquarium Is Serene To Behold

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  • by Grog6 ( 85859 ) on Thursday March 11, 2021 @07:17PM (#61149838)

    Remember the 'volcano' screensaver from win98? The "Magic" file to add your list? I still have a win7 computer with that running:)

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I wonder how it compares to an actual fish tank. Power consumption, noise, environmental impact... Probably not bad, my limited knowledge of fish tanks suggest they need pumps and heating, food, cleaning, lighting etc.

      Maybe less amusing for cats though. For some reason I've found they don't seem to be all that interested in most screens.

      • by Whibla ( 210729 )

        Maybe less amusing for cats though. For some reason I've found they don't seem to be all that interested in most screens.

        My working theory, held for the past two decades or so, is that cats see images at a higher frequency than we do, i.e. in order for an image to be 'realistic' for them it needs to be displayed at a higher refresh rate.

        On a completely unrelated issue, I've long suspected that spiders see, or can visualise, 4-dimensionally, rather than 3-dimensionally as we do (and no, I don't mean as in through time, I mean, for example, being able to visualise a hypercube).

        I've never managed to think of an experimental set

  • Perfect optimization to replace the calming analog clock from last century!

  • Here is a preview [serenescreen.com] of the aquarium. URL is: (https://serenescreen.com/v2/video/vid/hhd/180719-Win-01-BlueBG.mp4)

    Looks like they are using 3D geometry as seen from the wireframe [serenescreen.com]. URL is: (https://serenescreen.com/v2/video/vid/hd/wf_orange_coral.mp4)

  • CGI aquariums (Score:5, Informative)

    by NotEmmanuelGoldstein ( 6423622 ) on Thursday March 11, 2021 @08:00PM (#61149914)
    For commercial:

    and many others.

    For free, there's browser web-sites.

  • TL;DR version (Score:4, Insightful)

    by samwichse ( 1056268 ) on Thursday March 11, 2021 @09:10PM (#61150054)

    Summarized: I bought hardware, built it, and Linux fixes Windows by magic.

  • As an upgrade it would be cool to put it behind a thin real aquarium with air bubbles and small pebbles.
  • So many adjectives, so little time. Can't even figure out what the story is about.

    • Quite right.

      I read the headline and was wondering how 3D-printed rocks could be used for a virtual fish tank. I was very confused.

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