Inspired by various slashdot articles, I decided to turn my defuct Compaq iPAQ 3650, which was collecting dust in a drawer, into a picture frame. I'm almost positive I've seen someone else turn an iPAQ into a picture frame, but I can't find the link; let me know if you see it. After some thinking and suggestions from folks, this is what I came up with:

1. Picture Frame. I thought the hardest part would be finding a physical picture frame with an appropriately sized opening. I found a 3x5 picture frame matted to ... at Wolf Camera on sale for less than $5--a great find! Horizontally, it's perfect, but vertically it's a few millimeters too small, which is fine.

2. Affixing the iPAQ. I needed Kayvon's help as I was trying to attach the iPAQ to the backing (the cardboard part with the fold-out foot for balancing the frame). He suggested velcro, which is ingeniously simple. Now, I would suggest plain velcro, because what I bought was super-3M locking strips, which really hold the iPAQ too tightly--so tight that I only put one strip on the iPAQ itself.

3. The backing. I lucked out here as well: I went to Target and got some little white screws with hooks on them. In retrospect, the hooks are a little large since you can see them as you view the frame from the front and if you don't position them carefully, the one on the bottom sticks out below the edge of the frame (putting the frame on a fulcrum of sorts).

The backing slides under the hooks and here's where the screw part comes in: you tighten the screws so that the backing stays in the right place (with the iPAQ centered in the matte).

4. Configuring the iPAQ. Originally, I was going to install Linux and write my own X-based slideshow application. But, when I discovered I left my iPAQ serial cable on the other side of the country, and when I ran out of time to write my own app, I decided to go with some PocketPC app. After looking around a little while, I found DAVA, which is not perfect (it doesn't do fades between photos, which is what I wanted), but it will do.

Next, I set it to never turn off or dim the display when plugged in. One thing I haven't done is make it start the slideshow on boot--sometimes I pull the plug on the picture frame and just want to plug it back in and have it work.