A quick team Display Readerboard

Problem:

Do you need a Display Screen, that can convey information to your working crew throughout the day?  Your Project Dashboards, News, Web Comics, Stock Prices?

This describes a simple setup.  Basic to start with and easy to maintain, you can customize it after it is working. A Linux based setup is described, but Windows or Mac work the same way.

I also have installed the Extension described on my meeting laptop.  If I am at a Conference or Meetup, it is a great way to have a quick Readerboard running in the background.

Ingredients:

• Computer: Laptop, NUC,  PC-on-a-stick or even a VM.  Something that drives a Monitor.
• Monitor
• Network Connection
• Chrome/Chromium Browser
• Revolver Extension from the Chrome Web Store.

Setup:

• Install your favorite OS on the Computer.  I now prefer Ubuntu or Kubuntu for these kinds of systems.  Something small and light.   I have also used Linux Mint and Windows.
• Remove everything you don't like.  
• Set up a system account that autologins on reboot
• sudo apt-get install -y chromium-browser
• (optional) sudo apt-get install -y gnome-desktop, if you want to get rid of Unity
• Install the TabCarousel Extension from the Chrome Web Store.  I've tried the Revolver Extension and a few others.  This is probably the simplest and best.  Get this one running first, then try the others.



TabCarousel Icon, next to Address Bar

• Note that TabCarousel will refresh each open tab every 5 minutes, regardless of what the page refresh may do. 
• Setup any cron/Jenkins tasks that you want, especially a reboot schedule for the machine.
• Open a few tabs, to items you want to display.   Then save that tab set.
• Be sure to Autohide the Task Bars, and any other screen artifacts.  Pop-up notifications or other junk that might clutter the display.
• Be sure that the Browser will start on login.  Just add it to the Startup List.

Test:

Be sure to power off and reboot the system a few times, to make sure that the login and Browser all come back up reliably.

Backup: And of course, backup your system or settings.

Possible Display Sites:

• xkcd.com or other web comics
• Project Dashboards - may require a user login
• Build Server Status / Version Control Status
• Sigalert.com - your local traffic patterns
• Traffic Webcams
• Conference Schedules
• Social Media feeds
• Space.com - orbiting satellites over your location
• USGS Earthquake page
• Aquarium Cameras, or simulated Aquarium

You can overwhelm with information.  Finding a right balance will take a little while.   And some pages may require additional tweaking, or won't display right or have too many ads.  Drop them or save them for later.

TeamDev:

Opportunity to involve the Team in the decision of what items to display.  Maybe even building pages themselves to have displayed.   Use it to help build team cohesiveness.

This is also a great side project for interns or other team members who need a break.  Rotate responsibility ever so often.

Options:

• Display hours - turning off the system at off hours to save energy.   If a browser is running, it might not go to sleep.  Play with cron/Jenkins to get to sleep modes on the Computer.
• Install a local webserver, to provide information from the display system too.  It can act as a local gathering point for data.
• Install a Version Control(git/svn/etc.) repository and Jenkins, and let your team put stuff onto the display thru regular checkins/checkouts. Avoids having to login.

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