Current Cost Update

It does not feel like getting on for two months since I blogged about my experiences with the Current Cost energy meter but here is a catch up on what has been happening.
I settled on Dale Lane’s Python code as the PC application to graph and monitor the house energy use. Running this for several weeks to get an idea of the base use.
As I blogged before I wanted a months worth of data, and then planned to see where I could make savings. The temptation was too great though, and I ‘may’ have turned a few things off to see the results.
But then a friend started to develop an application for the current cost.
I like the idea that there is a small agent tray application that runs on the PC connected to the current cost. It’s polling the device every 3 seconds to get data and storing it in a database. The previous software I tried, as far as I could tell, you had to manually hit a button to extract data from the current cost. Even if you had the later current cost device, it only held a days worth of history, so if you missed a day, you didn’t have complete graphs.
There is also a client application that you can run anywhere, and it connects to the agent via IP, so you can run the client on the same PC, or any other PC. Handy when away from home to still be able to see and graph your energy usage.
Development is still in the early stages, but has been rapid with new builds daily, fixing bugs, but already adding new features based feedback from a small group of beta testers.
I’m most impressed at the functionality already done, which includes the ability for now not only the client code to connect to the agent, but also Web Browser requests of the agent.

Almost forgot, I also installed XP on my Viglen tiny PC so its a very neat, low power, and small setup.

There is lots more beta testing to be getting on with as new code builds are released, and I will move the Viglen and Current Cost down to the garage and stick them on the UPS.

Current Cost Agent Image

Current Cost Client Image

Viglen and Current Cost ( credit card for scale )

Viglen and Current Cost Connections

Take some Xbox’s, add Screens and copies of Forza2

Just add screens

Now that you can pick up Xbox 360′s so cheap thought it rude not to grab a couple to have for spare parts, media extenders and having as “development” boxes. Before gutting them I spotted you can hook up 3 together for the Forza2 driving game I like so much. In fact rare I play anything other that Forza2, and Call Of Duty 2/5 now.  The idea is that you need 3 Xbox 360′s all networked, 3 copies of Forza2 (I happened to have two, a third used copy cost me £5), plus screens, cables and controllers.

After much arranging of cables, and trying to get the three screens the same height, I thought the final stage of just starting up the game would be so easy. How wrong I was. Some faffage with network cables and my Linksys WET54GS5 wireless 5 port bridge was required first. But then still one of the three Xbox’s refused to play with the others. After swapping of cables/games/memory cards, I remembered that the offending box was just back from Bill, and was a Virgin box. Hence it did not have the latest updates for Forza2 installed. You have to be “online” when you start up the game for it to check and give you the option to download the latest updates. Internet connectivity was already done, issue was that you need Xbox Live Gold (maybe silver works?) Membership. So this required me getting my Xbox gamertag from the living room Xbox (for those counting at the back, yes I now have 4 boxes) onto a memory card, to the offending Virgin box. Login with my gamertag, start up Forza2 and as I expected, was prompted that an update was available. Once the update had installed, all three boxes did indeed hug each other, and fire up a three screen view for me.

Was more impressed than I though I would be at the improvement in gameplay, really rather good. I grabbed a quick video using my phone, so sorry about the quality, will try and get some decent footage another time. You can view the video by following this link

The General