building a compact kiosk with lots of storage

[ashirusn]

Here's the plan. I want to build a WinXP kiosk system which allows users to download audio data to CD, flash memory cards/sticks etc. This is all acheived via a touchscreen interface. The audio files total 1.5TB and growing by about 50GB/month.

The system is split between the console which contains a TFT touchscreen, the various flash card slots and the CD/DVD writer which will be placed a short distance (say 120cm) from main system which should house the storage. I want to do this at minimum cost.

The base system will probably be a standard Dell housed in a thin tower case.

Here's what I need to know:
1. The console must house a CD writer - do I need to use a real external one or will a SATA drive be able to be placed that short distance 120cm from the system

2. Are Dells a good option (considering the Vostro range) if I want to install 2TB of disk space (probably 2x 1TB drives).

3. For the touchscreen console, I have a spare 15" TFT, is this always easy to convert to a touchscreen via a converstion kit - I don't mind opening the screen up if necessary.

--
have a good weekend,
Asher

 

[groo]

sounds like what you need is an external drive enclosure to house the burner and the multi-reader (w/ a USB port). or just build your own box.

the multi reader would be powered by the USB line. you can get external drive power adapters. I got one with a USB to SATA/IDE adapter for about $20 shipped. you could use the adapter to make it USB too, or pick up a long sata cable and toss the adapter into the junk drawer.

any old pice of crap could do whay you want, assuming it has SATA and room for multiple HDD drives, and as you wont be using the built in optical, or external 3.5, you can put more HDDs there. so any case can house enough drives.

I've never used a conversion kit, but I'd assumne they wouldn't be overly durable. I'd look for a tac ball and screw it down. maybe 1 built into a keyboard

you might want to get a base PC with a Kensington lock slot in the case, so you can lock it down. you can get double headed Kensington lock cable to lock the PC and the screen all to 1 cable and ancker point.


another option might be to just pick up a cheap laptop, bolt it down like they do in the stores, and use some form of external storage for your 2tb, like network or external HDDs