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Turn an Old TV Into a Smart Wall Display Using Only an old Laptop + Browser

Energy needed to make [e.g., 150 MJ per unit]
Critical earth materials [e.g., 5g cobalt, 2g lithium]
Energy needed to disassemble [e.g., 10 kWh for full dismantle]
Energy to procure materials [e.g., 50 MJ for CRMs procurement]
Total supply chain emissions

If you’ve got an unused TV and an old laptop lying around, you can turn them into a modern smart wall display using Dakboard — completely free.
Mount the TV, hide the old laptop behind it, set a browser in full-screen mode, and load this:

https://dakboard.com

Instant smart wall clock.

But that’s just the beginning.

Here are all the features you can display, each with example URLs so you can plug, play, and experiment.

Core Setup

  1. Connect laptop → TV via HDMI.
  2. Open Chrome.
  3. Choose what to display.
  4. Full-screen (F11).
  5. Leave it running 24/7.

Best Sites for Clock + Info Dashboards

Dakboard (free):
https://dakboard.com
Shows clock, weather, calendar, photos. Lightweight and ideal for permanent display.

Full-Screen Clock Websites

Clockface Online:
https://clockface.online
Dozens of digital, flip, minimalist, or creative clocks. Full-screen. Customizable.

Flocus Clock (Aura Clock):
https://flocus.com/clock
Clean digital clock. Aesthetic. Full-screen.

Relaxing Clock:
https://relaxingclock.com
Simple, adjustable colors, fonts, contrast. Good for long-term display.

Ambient Video Sources (Aquarium, Fireplace, Space)

YouTube:
Search “4K Aquarium Live”, “Fireplace 10 hours”, “Space screensaver”.
They run endlessly and loop cleanly.

Websites with looping ambient visuals: Vitality Aquarium (browser-based aquarium):
https://www.virtualfishtanks.com/aquarium
Simple animated aquarium with moving fish.

Pixel Aquarium (browser):
https://aqarium.net (lightweight pixel-style aquarium)

Game-Style Aquarium Alternatives

Android’s “iQuarium” doesn’t have a web version, but these are browser-friendly equivalents:

Neon Fish Aquarium:
https://neonfish.net (looping dynamic fish)

WebGL Aquariums:
Search “WebGL Aquarium” — they run in-browser with real-time 3D fish, great for TV displays.

Please reuse hardware you already own.
You get a giant wall clock, dashboard, or ambient screen without spending money.

Clock + Basic Dashboard

Main display (Clock, Weather, Calendar):
https://dakboard.com/app

Weather data example (OpenWeather):
https://openweathermap.org/city/658225 (Lappeenranta example)

Calendar example (Google Calendar):
https://calendar.google.com/calendar

15 Geeky Things You Can Add to Your Wall Display

(Each with example URLs)

  1. Task Board Integration
    Todoist example project:
    https://todoist.com/app/project/123456789
  2. Trello Board Overview
    Example Trello board:
    https://trello.com/b/3B0OqfXx/example-board
  3. Minimal News Ticker
    BBC RSS feed example:
    http://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/rss.xml
  4. Weather Radar Animation
    Windy radar example:
    https://www.windy.com/-Radar-radar
  5. Live Stock & Crypto Ticker
    TradingView example:
    https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NASDAQ-AAPL/
    https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/BTCUSD/
  6. Google Photos Slideshow
    Example shared album:
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/abcd1234EFGH5678
  7. Digital Fireplace / Ambient Video
    Example Fireplace YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_LUpnjgPso
    Aquarium:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49a0-Pu5c0s
  8. Smart Home Panel
    Home Assistant demo dashboard:
    https://demo.home-assistant.io/
  9. Traffic Overview
    Google Maps live traffic:
    https://www.google.com/maps/@?layer=t
  10. Spotify Now Playing Widget
    Example embed:
    https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/37i9dQZF1DXcBWIGoYBM5M
  11. Countdown Timer
    Example online countdown:
    https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/create
  12. Motivational Quotes Feed
    Quotes API example:
    https://api.quotable.io/random
  13. GitHub Contribution Graph
    Example profile:
    https://github.com/torvalds
  14. Home Network Monitor
    Pi-hole admin panel demo:
    https://pi-hole.net/pages/demo/
  15. Security Camera Feed (IP cam)
    Example IP cam test stream:
    http://195.196.36.242/mjpg/video.mjpg

How It Looks in Real Life

Set your browser to auto-start full-screen (Chrome kiosk mode):
https://peter.sh/experiments/chromium-command-line-switches/#kiosk

Use a simple webpage auto-refresh tool:
https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/tab-r-refresh/kbefammbgnaapbmfckhibjihfpgofkhl

And your old laptop becomes a silent dashboard engine.

This tiny trick turns unused tech into one of the most beautiful functional items in your home — a living wall of information.

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