All posts by Chris

Home Media Server

Programming, Technology, , , ,

A while ago I purchased an HP Home Media Server as an external storage device for backups and other files. I really like the form factor and how it has a decent CPU. Most NAS boxes are crippled by their processor which severally limits network throughput. Not so with this guy.

There are many reviews out there saying how great this thing is. Hyping the merits of WHS (Windows Home Server) and the whole backup architecture. Some even proclaiming it has saved their marriage.

I admit that WHS is a cool concept, and for general home users it is great. More advanced users have even gone as far as creating custom add-ons that extend the original functionality. Then there are users such as myself who want even more control; so end up just installing Linux on the thing.

“WHY?” I hear you scream. “Why would someone want to replace the existing operating system that is purpose built for the box, and replace it with a harder to use system?”

Control. Being able to easily control which software is installed and what services are provided. This means my server now boots to a network ready file serving state in under twenty seconds. This would easily take over a minute if not more with WHS. Then again most users would leave their server running all the time. But we’ve already established that I’m not most users…

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Biggest problem to installing Linux on the MediaSmart server is that it doesn’t actually have a VGA/DVI/HDMI/display port. So you can’t even see what you are doing. Thankfully ymboc on mediasmartserver.net broke out an oscilloscope and worked out how to wire up a VGA port. Which is why you can see a VGA connector on the front of my server (pictured).

Everything else pretty much works out of the box. Except for the front LEDs. One of which blinks annoyingly at full brightness. This of course drove me nuts and I ended up writing a little utility to control them all.

Source for that Linux LED control utility can be found on bitbucket.

Pineapple Lumps

Food

Time for a new category – food.

Pascall Pineapple Lumps

If you were to take a chunk of pineapple, cover in chocolate, and then eat it. It would taste nothing like a Pineapple Lump. Which instead are chewy sugary candies unique to New Zealand.

This particular bag of Pineapple Lumps is thanks to Narnaman who was carrying a large assortment of Kiwiana back to London. Thanks Narna!

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Obligatory YouTube link

No Internet means it’s lunch time

Life, Work

When the office Internet goes down because the IT guys are reconfiguring the network. It is always a good idea to take that opportunity to go to lunch.

<cell phone rings>
IT: “hey, I’m at lunch”
<much complaining about not being able to remotely connect to an office server>
IT: “Strange, that server was working fine when we left”
Me: “oh that’s probably because the Internet is down”
IT: “Internet is down?!?”
Me: “Yeah, that’s why we went for lunch early”

Taking those IT guys to lunch with you however, may not be such a good idea…

Bacteria v0.21

Programming, Site

Just discovered that multiple monitors weren’t being drawn to correctly when arranged with negative coordinates. If you are having trouble with that, try the newer v0.21 version.

Apologies :-/

Bacteria v0.20

Programming, Site

Just released a new version of Bacteria.

  • Support a world of Bacteria per monitor (as requested by Zarek)
  • Completely overhauled Bacteria intelligence
  • Switched to Anti-Grain geometry for high quality graphics rendering
  • Increased Bacteria size and removed large option
  • Improved Bacteria movement
  • Slight improvements to configuration dialog
  • Statically linked so no more missing DLL errors
  • Many other internal optimizations and improvements

You can download Bacteria v0.20 from my programs page.

Well, it’s official…

Life, Work

Kortrijk, Belgium, 17 March 2009 – Barco announces it has acquired the products, intellectual property (IP) rights and know-how of Element Labs, an LED video systems expert based in Santa Clara, California. With a focus on mid-end market requirements in rental, staging and fixed installations, the Element Labs products complement Barco’s existing high-end product range.
Through this transaction, Barco strengthens its position as a leading provider of LED, projection, image processing and lighting products. This comprehensive product portfolio allows Barco to serve customers with different budget levels in the media and entertainment market. Barco will not book any goodwill on this transaction.

http://www.barco.com/en/pressrelease/2499/en

Titan Missile Museum

Life, Photos

Situated about half an hours drive south of Tuscon is the Titan Missile Museum. “The only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation.”

One Titan II ICBM

All of the other Titan II missile silos have been decommissioned and demolished. Leaving only this site as a historical landmark.

Launch Control Room

The one hour tour doesn’t really give you much time underground. You only get to see the Launch control room and the second level of the missile silo. However, there are much more in depth tours available. So maybe next time…

Titan Missile Museum