3rd Place - Harrison Pham

Project Description:
Internet Relay Chat, also known as IRC, is a very popular protocol for multi user chat and collaboration.  It is commonly used in gaming communities and open source project collaboration.
Many IRC users tend to ‘idle’ in channels.  This allows them to keep logs of chats so that they don’t miss anything.  Keeping a desktop PC on just to idle in an IRC channel can be very expensive.  Current alternative solutions are not easy to configure and tend to be frowned upon.
This is where PropIRC comes in.  PropIRC implements a minimal client that directly connects to remote IRC servers via a standard Ethernet connection.  The only required external devices are a standard VGA monitor and a PS2 keyboard.  This minimizes power consumption costs and provides a quick and easy method of accessing IRC without having to resort back to using a desktop PC.

Features:

• User Interface
  Text based with a clean color scheme
  Simple intuitive keyboard interface
  Built in web server for remote access
  Intuitive key / value settings for configuration
• Hardware
  10mbps Ethernet Connection
  1024x768 VGA Output
  PS2 Keyboard Input
  Configuration stored on code EEPROM
  Tiny 2”x2” PCB
• Software
  Modular design using objects
  Abstracted TCP/IP stack for internet connectivity
• Supported Commands
  /nick – Change nickname
  /join – Join channel
  /part – Leave channel
  /quit – Disconnect from the server
  /msg – Send private message
  /set – Modify / view current settings
  Many other built in IRC server commands via direct / pass thru 

Downloads:
PropIRC Source Code (.zip)
PropIRC Schematic (.pdf)
Full Description and Data (.pdf) 

Judges Notes:
- Who needs a computer? The PropIRC implements a TCP stack and IRC wit ha a keyboard input and VGA output, all running on a single Propeller - all this and there is still an extra cog left to run a HTTP server.
- Demonstrates an application where the Propellers multiprocessing capabilities allow it to stand in for a entire PC, and save energy. Nice job on the custom TCP/IP stack.