SlashGear

Standalone Twitter displays aren’t anything new, but we’re particularly enamored of David Nichols’ Tweetster.  Whether it’s the open-air aesthetic, the laser-cut wooden parts or the fact that it reminds us of a flashing, Twitter-blurting sleigh, we don’t know, but we’ve the OpenWRT project and an ASUS Wireless Router WL-520-GU to thank for the functionality.

Having been stripped on its casing, the WiFi router uses OpenWRT to run Python from a USB flash drive hanging off the back of the device.  David’s setup automatically polls Twitter for the latest 20 messages from his followers, displaying them in turn on the Sparkfun serial LCD.

Of course, this isn’t much use for things like following links to articles, checking out TwitPic images or actually replying to what tweets you read, and nor would it be much good if you subscribe to so many different people that it ends up being a firehose of rapid messages.  Still, if you subscribe to a few alert services, or sites that send out self-contained messages, this could be a handy addition to your desk.

[via MAKE]