Building a new Desktop PT.1

I love building computers. Not only do I love building them, but also taking them apart. Tracker and I [Dark] have striped an entire computer down to nothing in just 1 minute flat. Thats no joke either. When building a new Desktop there are many things to consider. These are just some of the ones on my top priority list.
1. OS
An OS is a very funny thing. If your like me you want a Hack-n-tosh. At the same time you want to run Windows 7 and a Linux distro. OSX is very picky I hear about running on special hardware, atleast if you want it to run well, so maybe you really want to get an Intel processor with an ASUS motherboard because I hear they work best. Now for Windows 7 your also going to need a decent card, not to mention OSX. Linux is happy on almost any system so really if you wanted to you’d be fine getting lower specs.
2. Uses
Different uses of a computer are also important to me. Can I make this computer a Home server? Or will it only be able to surf the web? Will it be an HD movie machine or a gaming PC perhaps? I love all of thee above so my new machine is going to have to be powerful in many areas. But if maybe I wanted to make a simple computer for lets say, Boxee? Then I would be able to not spend so much money.
3. Lifespan
Lifespan is important because even if your computer is outdated before its even shipped (and it is) it still should last you a good 3 to 4 years, hopefully more, but that is very unlikely in these times where everything it obsolete the moment its created.
4. Hardware release dates
If you buy something the day it comes out its extremely expensive, but if you wait to long then its outdated and worthless. So your pretty much playing russian roulette and hoping you don’t shoot yourself later on down the road.

-Dark

Thoughts on planing a project.

laptop

Well Tracker and I [Dark] are starting to get more active on modding everyday items. I’m coming up with a few ideas but I am always restricted. Some of my ideas are easy and really not at all hard. Others will require me to do extensive research and cost me oodles of cash. Those are tw0 things I don’t have, Time and money. We [Dark and Tracker] want to make something we know everyone will love. It has to be unique and it has to be “kool” so to speak. On top of that we are attempting to make our posts and future podcast, much more interesting and to the point, no longer about stupid products, but we will probably keep posting *Fail of the day* Because well, everyone needs some humor.

Now to the topic at hand, Modding. Im going to go ahead and tell everyone my plans for modding my ol’ Toshiba Satellite M45-S169 (Amazon page)
First off, yes this is my main computer. Yeah get the laughs out. It has barely more power than most net books. Yes I know this. I’m getting a new one soon, and because of that I have to find some use for this one. This is step one in my planing, Make sure you have something that you can lose and not be in deep shit! Modding is something for experienced users in electronics and programming. I am a novice at best. So I picked something I can mess up and not really care about. Next is now that I have this object, what can I do with it? Well this is a 4 year old laptop. And seeing as it travels almost everywhere with me, it has gotten its fair share of wear and tear. So now I something to do, Fix or upgrade my object. Now as a modder I’m going to try and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Not only am I going to fix this worn out thing, but I’m going to give it a few perks. First, a new paint job. Then add an internal USB hub, for more USB ports and internal USB goodies. Now this is the fun part, what goodies can I add? Well here are some of my ideas. Some extra internal storage?, Bluetooth?, a built-in wireless mouse receiver? Multi-card reader? The sky is the limits. Then there are some of my more… wishful ideas, like a built-in small lcd that can display pictures? or maybe even system data? or even better network info? Any way I’m still in the planing stages and can’t even start on this project until I get my replacement laptop.
-Dark

Jumbo DS Mod

Well I was actually going to post this last night, but I didn’t get around to it. So when I look to buy a new product the first thing I always do is look for creative mods and hacks. For this particular find I was looking into some DSi hacks. While I have found a few PoC Videos (Proof of Concept) and a few flash carts I have yet to see any real progress as of yet to make me want one of these instead of just working with my normal DS. So as I was trolling through youtube looking at some PoC’s I found this. A DS that has been modded to play on two tablet screens! Apparently there is quite a lot of hardware hacking in this, its not so simple that you could just go buy a touch screen and go to town on it. This was really just something that interested me and I would really love to try, but with this recession I really can’t afford it. In any case its pretty interesting to watch.
-Dark (happy tracker? lol)

-> Source: http://home.comcast.net/~olimar/DS/jumbotron/

EDIT: Just a thought but let me break down the cost that he estimates it would be to make this again and this is a direct quote:

“Parts and approximate cost (you can do better scrounging for stuff on eBay):

Gateway M275 screens (14″ 1024×768): $100*2 (eBay)
LVDS modules (Advantech PCM-205): $60*2
Digilent S3BOARD + headers: $130
Nintendo DS: $100
Wacom pen: $30

Grand total: $580 (let’s make it an even $600 for any other miscellaneous junk). However, _MOST_ of these things were spare parts I had laying around from earlier projects, so it didn’t cost me anywhere near that much. I wouldn’t have bothered if it did.”

There you have it, now I know I can’t afford it! Dammit its just so cool!

[Tracker: OMG HE LIVES!!!!!!!]

Ever wonder what a google server looks like?

googleserverlarge[click image for full size]

Notice the custom design along with the built in 12v battery. Lots of ram and dual sata drives.

There is a whole write up on googles goodies over at cnet quite an interesting read if I do say so myself. Check it out.

[Source: cNet]

-Tracker

P.S. Setting up a VOIP phone to work with a remote server is a major pain in the ass!

Googles April First 2009 Pranks!

Google is just having all kinds of fun! Here are there pranks for today!

This video was featured…its a panda with what sounds like a modem! [Link]

streetview09[click image for full size]

Take a look at the bottom right hand corner….Another panda wtf? That is on streetview just go look at any place on streetview and you will see it.

fireshot-pro-capture-9-youtube-broadcast-yourself_-www_youtube_com_t_new_viewing_experienceYoutube again…there new viewing experience. [Link]

China Blocks Youtube…again

Techdirt has a post about china blocking youtube and its really interesting. The government has filters on all the networks so in reality they can block any and all sites they want. Australia was [is?] trying to get a filtering system in place for block adult content but who is to say they wont take it a step further and block any sites that are not kid friendly or what ever. Am I the only one who thinks we should just let the internet be open from filters? Damn you over controlling governments!!!!!!!!!

Lots of headlines today about how China has blocked access to YouTube, apparently because of some videos posted by a Tibetan exile group. Of course, this isn’t the first time China’s blocked the site — it did so about a year ago, again because of videos related to Tibet. Around the same time, it also started enforcing laws against non-government owned video-sharing sites, and took action against more than 50 of them. This latest block shouldn’t be particularly surprising to anybody, but it stands as a reminder that the flow of outside information into China on the internet is like a faucet the government can shut off at any point. The only real question is when did the country lift last year’s YouTube block?

[Source: TechDirt]

-Tracker

TMS Episode 4: What to do with your old computers – ISP Ranting – Panoramic Photos

In this episode I have some friends joining me! Welcome the newest members Caboose and Care Bear!

We are talking about what to do with your old computer that you have collecting dust in your closet. A rant about ISP service and support and some panoramic photos. This show was recorded using ventrilo and I am not to proud of the quality but I am working on some stuff so hopefully it will get better over time. Any comments or suggestions just post them as a comment I welcome them all

[Links]

[audio:http://themodshop.net/pcd/click.php?id=4]

Enjoy

-Tracker