And requires me to remember to get up and hang it before a scheduled meeting. Or not hang it when someone calls me and a meeting erupts. And I need to remember to take it down after each call. (If I don’t, then it’s just up all the time and might be taken as seriously as a Prop 65 Warning.)
Automations are really nice for certain things!
And I'm sure you've set up all the systems that make sure the complicated system is actually working and not dead weight or doing something unintended.
Versus, I dunno a door lock
> Versus, I dunno a door lock
They just explained why a door lock has absolutely abysmal reliability.
"Making sure" the complicated system works significantly better than a door lock is actually really easy to do, because the door lock is so bad.
sir, this is hacker news
obviously you need a remote motor that spins the sign to "do not disturb" when the meeting starts and then back around when it's over. and a sensor to verify it's in the correct orientation.
so you get the simplicity of the sign with the automation desired by the OP.
A webcam in the corridor that shows your office door from the outside, machine vision reads the image to know which orientation the sign is in. If a meeting begins and the sign is wrong, a little LED on the desk starts flashing red.
An alternative would be to spin the sign constantly around its center of mass while a meeting is in progress.
The meeting state coheres when the sign is observed.