Special kind of Fire Tablet case?

haertig · 08-20-2019, 03:54 PM

I am looking for a solution to turn a Fire Tablet - temporarily - into a pseudo kiosk. I want to be able to view the screen but in a display-only mode, with the touch portion of the screen disabled.

In case you are wondering why, the plan is for the Fire Tablet to become a simple Time/Day/Date/Calendar event display for an elderly person with dementia.

This can be accomplished by using a kiosk app, a web browser app that can go full-screen, and some other app that disables other Fire/Android keys (like the home and back buttons). This can get a bit complicated finding these lockdown apps that work well (there are plenty of them, but you see many complaints about them).

Or, you simply put a piece of glass in front of the Fire Tablet. Bingo! Touch screen is disabled.

I was thinking I could make a custom picture frame where the Fire slides in from the side and is protected behind glass.

But even more ideal, would be a standard Fire Tablet "book cover" type protective case like many of us have, but with the front of the case being clear. So it becomes "you can see it, but you can't touch the screen".

Has anyone run into such a case for sale?

I understand that I would have to deal with issues like power failures and restarting the web browser to the correct URL. But leaving the thing plugged in all the time you'd be somewhat protected from power failures because the internal battery would take over. I'd also have to figure out how to configure the Fire so the screen never sleeps or dims.

The way to create the Time/Day/Date/Calendar display with by using https://dakboard.com/site You can create custom displays here, the simple one I would be needing can be accomplished with the free version of DakBoard.

e.g.,

stumped · 08-20-2019, 04:26 PM

Amazon already sell the solution. They call it show mode. Look it up.

haertig · 08-20-2019, 07:14 PM

I appreciate your response, but Show Mode is not what I want.

Show mode does not disable the screen touch sensor. Nor does it allow you to specify exactly what you want displayed on the screen at all times (Time, Day, Date, and abbreviated Calendar). Show mode is designed to respond to voice commands, which is out of the realm of possibilities for Alzheimers patients when they're in one of their "bad" periods. Show Mode would be a disaster for what I need to accomplish here. But thanks for responding, I appreciate any and all ideas!

stumped · 08-21-2019, 01:36 AM

yes but show mode solves the always on power requirement via the special dock.
you can them probably disable alexa without losing show mode

on a fire tablet ( outside of show mode) alexa is disabled if you turn on parental controls

now all you need as a calendar or time app with preferences that you can tweak, and have it always running, I expect the app store has lots of candidates. dont rule out weather apps as they also display time

alternatively, a cheap micro PC ( which can be hidden away) connected to a wall mounted screen would seem to be a better way forward. Something like an Lenovo M93p tiny which you can pickup on ebay. Or an Acer veriton. avoid cheap no-name crap in amazon marketplace ( like ACEPC) and get a reliable brand - but old & used will be fine
the 2 I named are about the size of a hardback book, can be wall hung or stashed away horizontally or vertically. Have a usb KB/trackpad combo that you can unplug once the PC is up and running, and reconnect if you need to tweak stuff
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-Thin.../dp/B00E2TYAXS

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Verito...mputers&sr=1-5

Barbara1955 · 08-21-2019, 03:08 AM

Why would you want to disable the touch? Download Audible books the NAs would be willing to start them for her. Give her something to listen too.

stumped · 08-21-2019, 03:44 AM

ps. my mother had dementia and we went looking for solutions to "what time is it" etc. because she took to wandering down the high st at 5am wondering why the shops were closed
checkout the shops/sites who specialise in solutions for dementia/altzheimers. we did not not buy in the end but I recall finding clock/calendar solutions..

e,g, here, for UK ( but you need to check shops for your country)
https://shop.alzheimers.org.uk/daily...tches?page=all
and here
https://ukcareguide.co.uk/dementia-clock/
lots of advice on buying options.
early stages: they can still read a traditional clock face, later stages, they need something different...

update- spoiler tags fixed I hope

Spoiler:

or search amazon for "dementia clock"

you will see tablet style solutions, which you could try to emulate or just buy one already done.

j.p.s · 08-21-2019, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

ps. my mother had dementia and we went looking for solutions to "what time is it" etc. because she took to wandering down the high st at 5am wondering why the shops were closed
checkout the shops/sites who specialise in solutions for dementia/altzheimers. we did not not buy in the end but I recall finding clock/calendar solutions..

e,g, here, for UK ( but you need to check shops for your country)
https://shop.alzheimers.org.uk/daily...tches?page=all
and here
https://ukcareguide.co.uk/dementia-clock/
lots of advice on buying options.
early stages: they can still read a traditional clock face, later stages, they need something different...

sorry - i cant figure out how to do spoiler tags, or to search the site for instructions. searching for "spoiler tag" is useless

Spoiler:

or search amazon for "dementia clock"

you will see tablet style solutions, which you could try to emulate or just buy one already done.

You got it right except you used "\" instead of "/" to close the tag

stumped · 08-21-2019, 11:37 AM

thanks . i don't want to totally sidetrack the thread but I tried very hard to locate instructions on how to use spoiler tags. Does any help they exist & if so where please.
i even tracked down examples of ones in use but could not see how they were set up
There should be something in help or FAQ ?

meanwhile I will see if I can edit the previous post and put them in

stumped · 08-21-2019, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haertig

I am looking for a solution to turn a Fire Tablet - temporarily - into a pseudo kiosk. I want to be able to view the screen but in a display-only mode, with the touch portion of the screen disabled.

In case you are wondering why, the plan is for the Fire Tablet to become a simple Time/Day/Date/Calendar event display for an elderly person with dementia.

....

Or, you simply put a piece of glass in front of the Fire Tablet. Bingo! Touch screen is disabled.

...

But even more ideal, would be a standard Fire Tablet "book cover" type protective case like many of us have, but with the front of the case being clear. So it becomes "you can see it, but you can't touch the screen".

Has anyone run into such a case for sale?

e.g.,

that is doable- with my Fire HDX tablets I had covers where you slide the tablet into the cover then a velcro flap secures it, and the cover creates a border all around the front, like a picture frame. It would be simple to cut a piece of see thru acrylic ( a.k.a.perspex ) to size and slip that in the front.

e.g. here is a Moko case for the HD 8 at amazon uk that you could slide a glass or perspex front into
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/MoKo-All-...ateway&sr=8-19

tomsem · 08-21-2019, 01:40 PM

An Echo Show (as well as Fire HD in Show mode/dock) might work as well. Many people get them for their elderly parents and assisted living facilities are deploying them. E.g.:

https://seniorhousingnews.com/2018/0...essful-pilots/

haertig · 08-21-2019, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stumped

that is doable- with my Fire HDX tablets I had covers where you slide the tablet into the cover then a velcro flap secures it, and the cover creates a border all around the front, like a picture frame. It would be simple to cut a piece of see thru acrylic ( a.k.a.perspex ) to size and slip that in the front.

e.g. here is a Moko case for the HD 8 at amazon uk that you could slide a glass or perspex front into
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/MoKo-All-...ateway&sr=8-19

This is a great idea! I will investigate here in the US to see if someone sells a similar case. You're right - it would be trivial to slip a piece of glass of acrylic into a case like that.

I am also toying with the idea of using a standard computer monitor (you can get a 24" screen - an el cheapo model - for $129 these days). I would then drive that with a Raspberry Pi or similar single board computer. One one hand, this type of setup would provide much more functionality and configurability - but on the other hand I'd lose the elegant form factor of a Fire Tablet and it's built in battery that would serve as a backup during a power failure. But back to the first hand, with a single board computer controlling things I'd have remote access to the Linux OS and could change and fix things remotely. Fire Tablets don't support remote access and control (that I know of). And on the other hand again, a computer monitor is not going to look anywhere near as nice as a Fire tablet mounted to the wall or sitting on a coffee table. So I'm not sure which way I want to go.

haertig · 08-21-2019, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barbara1955

Why would you want to disable the touch?

Watching someone with even mild dementia try to work a touchscreen (swipe, tap, pinch, tap-n-hold, fling) would not be a pretty sight. Even when not trying to work it, just accidentally bumping into it, they could easily send an app to some unknown and unexpected screen that would totally confuse someone with dementia. We're talking people who have trouble reading their wristwatch. Using a touchscreen? Might as well ask them to pilot a fighter jet while you're at it. Dementia is a very sad thing.

Quote:

Give her something to listen too.

Dementia + hearing loss + concentration needed for an audiobook = not a pretty sight either. Music is better, especially old songs that they know. Old TV shows that they used to watch, now on rerun, are good too. For a while. But pretty soon, even that gets to be too much for them to process.

haertig · 08-21-2019, 11:28 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I plan to look into everything that has been mentioned. Trying to find the right thing to help, at the right stage of the disease, is not an easy task.

stumped · 08-22-2019, 01:18 AM

Do look also at the ready made ones, which have been designed especially for folks with various levels of dementia/Alzheimer
I linked before to uk societies' shops - there should be usa equivalents
and searching amazon for "dementia clock" will provide ideas, even if there's no ideal product on sale

Back to fire tablets- you can access remotely using ADP debugger. Once you have enabled developer mode you can connect via LAN and push apps / files. I have done that with fire tv so same methods shoudl work with fire tablet.
To ask the experts on how to do clever stuff with tablets go here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/

I asked google for dementia clock app and found this.
you can add google store and apps easily to fire tablet
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...dayclock&hl=en
A clock that shows the time of day to help people with dementia. Can be run as a 'daydream' screensaver to keep it visible at all times.

haertig · 08-23-2019, 01:06 PM

I have looked at the ready-made ones. You can get them with a large time display, and a day/date display. Some of them allow you to add reminders, but those are extremely limited - you have to create them locally.

The day/date display is good, but I don't see the reminders as being workable. You need to be able to remotely change them at the very least. And even better, is to sync them to an online calendar - Google Calendar for example - so that the maintainer (me!) only has to modify the online calendar and the changes automatically appear on the display.

I have found two ways to do what I want. The first is the DakBoard website that I mentioned previously. That can be displayed on any device that has a web browser, be that a Fire Tablet or a computer screen.

The second way is a local application called MagicMirror2. I don't know of any tablet (Android) version of this - it's pretty complex). So it would be best run on a Raspberry Pi that is connected to a standard computer monitor. I am experimenting with both DakBoard and MagicMirror2 now. DakBoard is much easier, but I see several issues with it. For one, if you change the entries on Google Calendar that it is linked to, those changes do not get pushed out to the display for up to one hour. And if that's not bad enough, the auto-refresh interval on their screen is six hours! Huh?! So when you make a change, it may take up to seven hours before the screen updates. Who in the heck whose those defaults? I figured out how to modify that, but it makes the whole DakBoard operation more complicated than it need be. For that level of complexity I might as well switch to MagicMirror2. There is MUCH more configurability and flexibility in MagicMirror2, but you're gonna have to be a programmer to access it. You'll be writing code and CSS at minimum. Pretty straight forward for a programmer, especially one experienced in web development, but would be out of reach for a non-technical user.

I am now leaning towards a solution using a Raspberry Pi, computer monitor, and MagicMirror2 (I have been a programmer and system administrator for decades, so I will be able to muddle my way through it!) But my decision is certainly not final at this point. I am in the "trial all solutions, pick the best" mode right now.

08-20-2019, 03:54 PM	#1
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 26006874 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	Special kind of Fire Tablet case? I am looking for a solution to turn a Fire Tablet - temporarily - into a pseudo kiosk. I want to be able to view the screen but in a display-only mode, with the touch portion of the screen disabled. In case you are wondering why, the plan is for the Fire Tablet to become a simple Time/Day/Date/Calendar event display for an elderly person with dementia. This can be accomplished by using a kiosk app, a web browser app that can go full-screen, and some other app that disables other Fire/Android keys (like the home and back buttons). This can get a bit complicated finding these lockdown apps that work well (there are plenty of them, but you see many complaints about them). Or, you simply put a piece of glass in front of the Fire Tablet. Bingo! Touch screen is disabled. I was thinking I could make a custom picture frame where the Fire slides in from the side and is protected behind glass. But even more ideal, would be a standard Fire Tablet "book cover" type protective case like many of us have, but with the front of the case being clear. So it becomes "you can see it, but you can't touch the screen". Has anyone run into such a case for sale? I understand that I would have to deal with issues like power failures and restarting the web browser to the correct URL. But leaving the thing plugged in all the time you'd be somewhat protected from power failures because the internal battery would take over. I'd also have to figure out how to configure the Fire so the screen never sleeps or dims. The way to create the Time/Day/Date/Calendar display with by using https://dakboard.com/site You can create custom displays here, the simple one I would be needing can be accomplished with the free version of DakBoard. e.g., Attached Thumbnails

08-21-2019, 03:44 AM	#6
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	ps. my mother had dementia and we went looking for solutions to "what time is it" etc. because she took to wandering down the high st at 5am wondering why the shops were closed checkout the shops/sites who specialise in solutions for dementia/altzheimers. we did not not buy in the end but I recall finding clock/calendar solutions.. e,g, here, for UK ( but you need to check shops for your country) https://shop.alzheimers.org.uk/daily...tches?page=all and here https://ukcareguide.co.uk/dementia-clock/ lots of advice on buying options. early stages: they can still read a traditional clock face, later stages, they need something different... update- spoiler tags fixed I hope Spoiler: If you are in the early stages of dementia Those in the earlier stages of dementia may still be able to read a clock face, but need one that is clearly marked with all the numbers, as well as the day, month, and year. Digital calendar day and date clocks could therefore be useful as they clearly show whether it is am or pm (or operate on a 24-hour clock mode) as well as the time and date, month and year. Some also have a digital alarm clock to help ensure that any medication is taken. Day and night clocks may be suitable for people in the early stages of dementia. By recognising when it is day and night it may encourage patients who tend to wake up and wander around in the night to stay in bed and go back to sleep. If you are in the mid to late stages of dementia A person in the mid and later stages of dementia may struggle to read a clock face. It would then be better to choose a simple clock that states the day and what part of the day – morning, afternoon, evening and night – they’re in. Bear in mind that people react differently to different products. What might suit one person might not suit another. For example, whilst one person may find it useful to have a recorded message reminding them to take their medication, others may find it confusing. It is important to choose a product that suits the individual and their situation. or search amazon for "dementia clock" you will see tablet style solutions, which you could try to emulate or just buy one already done. Last edited by stumped; 08-21-2019 at 11:37 AM.

08-22-2019, 01:18 AM	#14
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	Do look also at the ready made ones, which have been designed especially for folks with various levels of dementia/Alzheimer I linked before to uk societies' shops - there should be usa equivalents and searching amazon for "dementia clock" will provide ideas, even if there's no ideal product on sale Back to fire tablets- you can access remotely using ADP debugger. Once you have enabled developer mode you can connect via LAN and push apps / files. I have done that with fire tv so same methods shoudl work with fire tablet. To ask the experts on how to do clever stuff with tablets go here https://forum.xda-developers.com/ I asked google for dementia clock app and found this. you can add google store and apps easily to fire tablet https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...dayclock&hl=en A clock that shows the time of day to help people with dementia. Can be run as a 'daydream' screensaver to keep it visible at all times. Last edited by stumped; 08-22-2019 at 01:22 AM.

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08-20-2019, 04:26 PM	#2
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	Amazon already sell the solution. They call it show mode. Look it up.

08-20-2019, 07:14 PM	#3
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 26006874 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	I appreciate your response, but Show Mode is not what I want. Show mode does not disable the screen touch sensor. Nor does it allow you to specify exactly what you want displayed on the screen at all times (Time, Day, Date, and abbreviated Calendar). Show mode is designed to respond to voice commands, which is out of the realm of possibilities for Alzheimers patients when they're in one of their "bad" periods. Show Mode would be a disaster for what I need to accomplish here. But thanks for responding, I appreciate any and all ideas!

08-21-2019, 01:36 AM	#4
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	yes but show mode solves the always on power requirement via the special dock. you can them probably disable alexa without losing show mode on a fire tablet ( outside of show mode) alexa is disabled if you turn on parental controls now all you need as a calendar or time app with preferences that you can tweak, and have it always running, I expect the app store has lots of candidates. dont rule out weather apps as they also display time alternatively, a cheap micro PC ( which can be hidden away) connected to a wall mounted screen would seem to be a better way forward. Something like an Lenovo M93p tiny which you can pickup on ebay. Or an Acer veriton. avoid cheap no-name crap in amazon marketplace ( like ACEPC) and get a reliable brand - but old & used will be fine the 2 I named are about the size of a hardback book, can be wall hung or stashed away horizontally or vertically. Have a usb KB/trackpad combo that you can unplug once the PC is up and running, and reconnect if you need to tweak stuff https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lenovo-Thin.../dp/B00E2TYAXS https://www.amazon.co.uk/Acer-Verito...mputers&sr=1-5

08-21-2019, 03:08 AM	#5
Barbara1955 Non-Techy Posts: 4,454 Karma: 15499273 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: WV---USA Device: Samsung Cell Phone & Amazon Fires & Kobo eReaders	Why would you want to disable the touch? Download Audible books the NAs would be willing to start them for her. Give her something to listen too.

08-21-2019, 11:37 AM	#8
stumped Wizard Posts: 3,305 Karma: 10259306 Join Date: May 2016 Device: kobo forma, Kobo Libra, Huawei media Tab, fire HD10, PW3 HDX8.9,	thanks . i don't want to totally sidetrack the thread but I tried very hard to locate instructions on how to use spoiler tags. Does any help they exist & if so where please. i even tracked down examples of ones in use but could not see how they were set up There should be something in help or FAQ ? meanwhile I will see if I can edit the previous post and put them in

08-21-2019, 01:40 PM	#10
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	An Echo Show (as well as Fire HD in Show mode/dock) might work as well. Many people get them for their elderly parents and assisted living facilities are deploying them. E.g.: https://seniorhousingnews.com/2018/0...essful-pilots/

08-21-2019, 11:28 PM	#13
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 26006874 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	Thanks for all the suggestions everyone! I plan to look into everything that has been mentioned. Trying to find the right thing to help, at the right stage of the disease, is not an easy task.

08-23-2019, 01:06 PM	#15
haertig Wizard Posts: 1,738 Karma: 26006874 Join Date: Sep 2017 Device: PW3, Fire HD8 Gen7, Moto G7, Sansa Clip v2, Ruizu X26	I have looked at the ready-made ones. You can get them with a large time display, and a day/date display. Some of them allow you to add reminders, but those are extremely limited - you have to create them locally. The day/date display is good, but I don't see the reminders as being workable. You need to be able to remotely change them at the very least. And even better, is to sync them to an online calendar - Google Calendar for example - so that the maintainer (me!) only has to modify the online calendar and the changes automatically appear on the display. I have found two ways to do what I want. The first is the DakBoard website that I mentioned previously. That can be displayed on any device that has a web browser, be that a Fire Tablet or a computer screen. The second way is a local application called MagicMirror2. I don't know of any tablet (Android) version of this - it's pretty complex). So it would be best run on a Raspberry Pi that is connected to a standard computer monitor. I am experimenting with both DakBoard and MagicMirror2 now. DakBoard is much easier, but I see several issues with it. For one, if you change the entries on Google Calendar that it is linked to, those changes do not get pushed out to the display for up to one hour. And if that's not bad enough, the auto-refresh interval on their screen is six hours! Huh?! So when you make a change, it may take up to seven hours before the screen updates. Who in the heck whose those defaults? I figured out how to modify that, but it makes the whole DakBoard operation more complicated than it need be. For that level of complexity I might as well switch to MagicMirror2. There is MUCH more configurability and flexibility in MagicMirror2, but you're gonna have to be a programmer to access it. You'll be writing code and CSS at minimum. Pretty straight forward for a programmer, especially one experienced in web development, but would be out of reach for a non-technical user. I am now leaning towards a solution using a Raspberry Pi, computer monitor, and MagicMirror2 (I have been a programmer and system administrator for decades, so I will be able to muddle my way through it!) But my decision is certainly not final at this point. I am in the "trial all solutions, pick the best" mode right now.

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