Hardware

Hardware news and reviews.

Cheap embedded or nearly embedded Linux servers.

For awhile now I have been searching around for a cheap and low power replacement for an old P4 3.0 GHz server that I use as a dedicated Linux/NAS. During the middle of last year I picked up a used Mac Mini off of eBay, loaded Ubuntu on it, and have been using that as a dedicated server with an external USB drive. This has served me well but, I feel like I’m waisting a perfectly good core 2 duo as a lonely file server. Linux doesn’t need that kind of horse power and the Mac Mini is better suited to being a MythTV front end. So the hunt is on.

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Linux unscathed at the PWN 2 OWN contest

The Macbook air went down quick in only 2 minutes on the first day of the competition. Windows Vista SP1 went down on the last day after 2 days of intense work. The only OS left standing (drum role please) LINUX. Reportedly, participants reportedly were not prepared to deal with the […]

Why do Monster Cables cost so much? Here’s your answer.

Why do Monster brand audio video cables cost so much? Do they really give your A/V equipment a better signal path from component to component. Is there some magical gas or material that is used to magically turn your system into the most efficient high bandwidth entertainment machine known to the planet. […]

New Dell Latitude E-series laptops leaked.

Engadget has the scoop on the new Dell Latitude E-series laptops. According to them there will be two new lines. The essential and mainstream series. The essential series is a budget laptop that will replace the Dell D531 and D530. The mainstream series will replace the D830 and D630. What is interesting is the spec […]

Finally get a stable router using open source firmware. DD-WRT or Tomato.

Every week I hear the following questions:

I just ordered a broadband connection. What do I need to share it among my computers?
What do I need to use the wireless card in my laptop at home?
I keep having to reboot my router to get my internet connection to work. What can I do to improve it?

The answer to the first question is you need a router. To cover question two, you need a wireless router. Finally, to cover all three questions with one answer, you need the WRT54GL.

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Asus Eee PC with Windows XP?

Asus announced it will begin shipping it’s Eee PC laptop with Windows XP pre-installed in place of Linux. Talk about the good chasing the bad. Don’t worry though. The Linux version isn’t going anywhere.

When Asus came out with the Eee in Japan it offered it with XP as its primary OS. The model number was […]

Everex debuts a tiny Linux PC. Mac mini watch out.

I’ll admit. I was a little late to the show on this one. Apparently Everex, you know those guys selling PCs at Wallmart, has announced a Mac Mini competitor. Who knew? Too bad I hate Mallfart. Anyway, beside my opinon of Walmart, read on to see the specs.

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How to get a blazing fast flash hard drive cheap…

If you are anything like me, and I’m willing to bet you are seeing you are reading this, then the appearance of SSD hard drives makes you drool. Think of those fast boot times. Ummm… Of course there is always a price to pay for that kind of performance and for now that price […]

The easy way to delete local printers from your Windows network pc’s.

You could go around to every PC in your network and delete the local printer that way. Hopefully you don’t have over 10,000 PC’s across the globe cause otherwise you’re about to blow your budget for the remainder of the year. Luckily for you, I found a little script that can run in command line or be written in a bigger script (if you know how) to delete those printers and maybe if you’re lucky, the company will give you a raise for saving them a lot of time and money. (I wouldn’t hold your breath)

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Installing a Mythtv OSX Frontend.

Install OSX and the Mythtv frontend on a clean system.
For Christmas this year I got an awesome gift of a Mac Mini core solo to use as a Mythtv frontend on my bedroom entertainment center. My brother had recently bought two of them and said they worked great. He configured the Mac against his own Mythtv system in Ohio and then shipped it too me in Florida. The unit booted fine when I got it but would not connect to my Mythtv backend. So I started from scratch and here’s how I did it.

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