A man working away from home found a simple way to stay connected with his mother without having to constantly call her. He set up an old laptop at home with a video call that stays on throughout the day, allowing the two to see each other even when they are busy with their own work.
The unusual setup, which uses Claude to help keep the call running, has now caught the attention of people online.
Old laptop keeps mother and son connected
The post was shared on X by user Harsh Savergaonkar, who explained how he used an old Linux laptop and a large screen on the dining table to create the setup.
“Leaving mom for work was the hardest this time. So I set up an old Linux laptop with a big screen on our dining table that stays on a video call 24x7,” he wrote.
He said he used Claude to write scripts that automatically reconnect the video call if the laptop or browser crashes. The system also attempts to reconnect if the Wi-Fi goes down.
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{{/usCountry}}“If it gets switched off, she just presses the power button and I’m back,” he added.
Savergaonkar said he was currently working and eating somewhere over Iceland while his mother remained at home and continued with her own work.
The two do not necessarily talk throughout the day. Instead, they simply remain visible to each other on the screen.
“We’re not even talking, but every now and then she looks up and I’m there, and I look up and she’s there,” he wrote.
He also shared a particularly touching detail about the setup. If his mother wakes up at around 3 am to get some water, she can see him working on the screen and simply say hello before going back to bed.
“Thank you, technology,” he concluded.
Take a look:
Internet calls the idea ‘beautiful’
The post received plenty of warm reactions, with many people praising the idea and asking how they could create something similar.
“Is it on GitHub? Open-sourced? Love the idea!” one user asked.
“Moms deserve tech support too,” another commented.
“This is beautiful, man! It’s tough living alone in another country, and kudos to you for going on!” another person wrote.
Several users also asked Savergaonkar to share more details about how he built the setup, with one calling it “super cool”.
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Others suggested adding features to make the system even more useful. One person proposed a notification whenever his mother appeared on camera, particularly if she woke up at an unusual hour or if neither of them had said hello for a while.
Not everyone was convinced the setup needed to be this elaborate, though. One user asked, “Great idea! But why not a CCTV or a baby cam?”
(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)