Use cases for the LED Matrix module

Framework Laptop 16
41
  • Thunderbolt / USB i/o rate meter.
  • Digital level (assuming there’s an accelerometer)
  • Audio out / mic VU meter
  • Snake
  • Two-sided retro ping pong across the RGB backlit keyboard. (i.e. left and right side LED matrix modules)
  • Retro space invader when you put two LED matrix modules side-by-side.
  • Tetris…
2 Likes
42

So, the “two sided pong” of course brings up the fact that you can put the two modules side-by-side (maybe? Right-side only?), and a 3×5 numeric font is easy… so having clock and calendar across two modules should be doable.

43

I’d love the ability to tie progress bars to the panels. Updates, installations, compilation, etc.

This’d be quite useful for those long operations that you switch off to another task for to monitor progress while doing that something else.

Spotify or other media progress would also be a nice-to-have for these panels I could get behind.

2 Likes
44

Slightly touching ideas that are mentioned already: a status or progress notification screen while watching video, playing games or when the computer screen is locked. The displayed notification can have many forms like progress bar (waiting for a certain time or any kind of progress), blinking lights if something relative urgent happens, short messages, etc…

I’m not sure how bright these lights can be though, especially in the dark :slight_smile:

1 Like
45

Also: Download progress for larger downloads

46

Now I’m thinking about a lack of colors, this can be worked around with these plastic color filters I guess. Or you use a single color, or you split up the grid in imaginary parts (for example, cpu in green at top) and use a plastic with multiple color filters.

47

Microphone audio waveform or level meter. Might help diagnose when your own microphone is off/muted/low/high/distorting during a video or audio call/conference. (Speaker meter on one side, your own mic meter on the other?)

(I needed a reminder of the appearance, from Input Modules)

LED Matrix module image (9×34 white greyscale LEDs)

RGB Macropad image (4×6 RGB LEDs)

5 Likes
48

Oops, similar capability already listed as “input equalizer”

1 Like
49

Being able to sync up the LED Matrix to the RGB Macropad so they can light up or display animations synchronously if they’re both installed would be great!
I.E. You get a notification, and both the LED Matrix and the Macropad perform an action.

This may have less widely applicable use cases compared to some of the previous suggestions though, and I’m unsure of how the LED Matrix and Macropad controls are implemented, so I don’t know if it would be possible (or worth the effort) to do.

50

I don’t think you can fit both at once. The LED matrix modules are sort of “half-wide” and you can use one or two (if you use only one, you’d have to use a blank to fill in the remaining space). The RGB macropad is a full-width module. I don’t believe you could use it at the same times as an LED matrix module.

2 Likes
51

Can you not put the LED Matrices in the bottom section, next to the touchpad?

52

I was under the impression that they could not. But I’d be happy to be proven wrong if someone knows otherwise.

53

I was thinking something with Doomguy, but you’d need two of these matrices next to eachother and some cropping to fit him. Health = battery, Armor = volume %

A bit-crushed representation of the Aliens motion tracker, with “hits” at certain “distance” representing wifi signal strength normally measured in bars.

A self playing game of Tetris or Snake as a “screen saver”, really a lot of things that you used to see on graphing calculators

I’d probably go for raindrops streaking down glass Matrix style, possibly looking into replacing the LEDs with green ones (or using a green plastic filter somehow)

54

It’d be cool to get some progress bar integration. For nerds like a plugin/fork for Python packages like tqdm or progressbar2, or (I don’t know if this is possible) for anything that would put a progress bar on a Windows desktop icon like a file transfer.

55

You can not. Doesn’t fit. The top / keyboard section is larger than the bottom / touchpad section. There are also tracks taking up room on the bottom.

1 Like
56

I see. I thought they were the same size, and had data/power connection points, thank you for the clarification!

57

What about stats for a tamagotchi style app?

1 Like
59
  • set a scrolling marquee (horizontal or vertical)
  • games statistics like ammo count/ health/ etc
  • music player integration: song name, playtime, etc
  • pc statistics like cpu/gpu temp, cpu and mem usage, etc
60

I think you’re way too optimistic about the resolution available there. I would love ALL of these, with a paper display in a spacer tho. Possibly with a simple touch? Like what’s in the samsung buds (1 touch play, 2 next 3 previous, swype up down for volume), I don’t even mind if there’s no info, but there’s toch on the matrix. But it’s way too low for anything too informative.

61

really just want the app to be to run on startup, and execute the previous settings, also to be able to save current setting to the hardware, so when the os isnt running, it defaults to whatever preset you have saved. also need the missing modes added to the app (start a game, clock, eq wavefrom from mic input, alot of commands missing from the app) and app stability definately needs work…