Looking for the perfect gift for that geek in your life? Look no further.  The linksys NSLU2, aka the Slug, is a device that allows you to attach two USB devices from the factory, and that can be upped to basically the USB hardware limits any linux box would be subjected to with some hacking. This little device uses 10 watts of power and comes equipped with a 133MHz processor, that can also be “overclocked” to 266MHz with a pair of toe nail clippers. This thing has as much processing power, actually more, than the first Dell computer I bought back in the day for over $3,000.  All of this comes in a case that is smaller than most home routers.

From the factory, the NSLU2 is setup to support two USB hard drives. While this is “ok” for many people looking for a cheap NAS device, it is not enough for the average geek. If you spend $20 and a few hours, you can have a full blown Debian install on a flash drive and have a linux box that uses 10W and takes up no space….incredible. There are detailed instructions on how to install Debain on an NSLU2 and they work like a charm. Currently the Debian installer, they have official Debian support for the NSLU2 (crazy), but there are detailed directions on how to install it manual style.

If you don’t want to go that far, you can install any number of different pieces of software created by users for the NSLU2, by visiting NSLU2 Linux. New firmwares and other pieces of software enable the NSLU2 to do just about anything you can think up, without much work.

Conclusion? The NSLU2 by Linksys is the best piece of hardware a geek can own for under $100.

[tags]NAS, NSLU2, Linksys, Geek, Gift[/tags]

Just noticed that Xincom has finally released a firmware update for the DPG-502 Twin WAN router. The upgrade went as smooth as silk via my web browser after downloading the file and backing up the existing setup.  I love it when that happens. The new upgrade seems to have a number of different enhancements and revisions to the GUI interface.  Thanks for finally releasing the update Xincom.

[tags]Xincom, Twin WAN, Router, DPG-502[/tags]

Not sure why these things are so friggin’ hard to find. I am also not sure if it is hands free or handsfree. Either way, you can find a good selection of hands free faucets at handsfreefaucets.net.

[tags]Hands Free, Faucets, Disabled, Handsfree[/tags]

Saw this little bad boy on the plane tonight and thought I would post it here so I don’t forget about it. I don’t really have a need for it right now, well of course I do, but apparently you can’t get one anyway. Belkin has made a wireless USB hub so that you can connect up to four USB devices in a remote location (up to 30 feet away). Pretty cool if you want to put an array of USB drives in a hide-away location so that you can keep them from getting ripped off or to free up some desk space. Pretty spendy at $200, but I am sure that will change in the near future.

By the way, I sold my Tivo Series 2 with a lifetime subscription for $375 plus shipping.

For those of you who don’t know, Speakeasy is the best kept secret in broadband access since…well, they are the best thing going by far. Not only do they offer DSL packages that make sense (what is included in the bundles), they offer rock solid service at great prices.  But, even better is that they are based here in the US and you can actually get a real, English speaking person who knows what they are talking about, when you call their tech support department. I have nothing but great things to say about all of the guys I have spoken to and dealt with at Speakeasy.  They are truly a class act.

With that said, I have to say that I am happy and sad at the news this morning that Best Buy has acquired Speakeasy. I received an email that started like this:

I am pleased to announce that Speakeasy has been acquired by Best Buy, an innovative and growing Fortune 100 company and the top consumer electronics retailer in North America. This is a significant milestone for our company as our new relationship will help us realize our goals of becoming the No. 1 provider of voice and data solutions to small businesses. It is important to note that though Speakeasy will now be a wholly owned subsidiary of Best Buy, we will continue to operate as a standalone, independent operating division with headquarters in Seattle.

I am happy for all of the people at Speakeasy and that they have probably been able to put some well deserved cash into their pockets. However, I fear that this may mean that over time, things will change…but, maybe not. So, we will have to see how that goes. For now, congrats to the Speakeasy team and good luck going forward.

[tags]Speakeasy, DSL, Best Buy, Acquisition[/tags]

Okay, I knew I should have done this BEFORE I drove to the Radio Shack store on Polk. See, there is a store on Lombard that is very close to my crib, but the online deal said that the Polk store was the only one that had the best reviewed HDTV antenna. So, I drive down there, get the splitters, cable, connectors and such and then ask the girl that works there if she can find the model I was looking for. I was good enough to write down all of the model numbers for the items I wanted on a sticky note. Of course, she said, I don’t think we have that, but let me check. She goes downstairs, comes back a minute later and says, “Yeah, we are out of that one right now. But, one is on order and we should have it on Friday.”

My bad.

This just proves, that no matter how much homework you do online, you still have to call to make sure that a store actually has what their online deal says they have on hand. Something about the computer not updating every day was muttered by the girl that worked there.  I didn’t even respond.

[tags]HDTV, Antenna, Radio Shack[/tags]

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to have a couple of arcade style video games in my house. Of course, many of the ballers on MTV Cribs share my passion. But, what do you do if your Sega arcade game breaks? There is only one person that I have heard of that can repair the actual logic boards that these machines use. Ken Westerfield worked for Sega for something like 18 years, and as far as I know, he is the only guy in the United States that can fix these things the right way. So, if you are looking to fix your sega arcade game, you will want to give Ken a call.

[tags]Sega, Repair, Arcade, Games[/tags]

As if it should come as a surprise, Microsoft is apparently interested in putting one of their Operating Systems on the OLPC (aka One Laptop Per Child) computers.  At the NetEvents conference in Hong Kong this past weekend, Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC, said:

I have known [Microsoft chairman] Bill Gates his entire adult life. We talk, we meet one-on-one, we discuss this project.

Well, duh. Of course Microsoft and Bill Gates are going to want to get in front of a computer using audience as early as they can.  As much as I hate it, why the heck not. Maybe this will finally put an end to that stupid fruit company’s users battle agains the Microsoft tyranny.  Let’s all just become robots shall we?

[tags]OLPC, Microsoft, Apple, Laptops, Computer[/tags]

If you live in San Francisco, you know that there is a big ass tower on Twin Peaks that must have some kind of television channel transmissions coming from it. Well, you are correct. I have an OTA (Over the Air) HDTV tuner coming for my new Microsoft Media Center Edition 2005 box that I am building and I wanted to see what HDTV channels I could expect to receive over the air for free.  I did notice last night that there are about 5 or 6 local channels that Comcast cable throws you for free with your basic cable package. That is kinda cool, but I want more.

According to this Digital Television list for the bay area, I can expect to receive the following channels VERY clearly with just about any UHF antenna:

19.1    KBWB    – -    HDTV
19.2    KBWB    – -
24.1    KGO    ABC    HDTV
24.2    KGO    ABC-r
24.3    KGO    ABC-AccuWx
29.1    KPIX    CBS    HDTV
30.1    KQED    PBS-HD    HDTV
30.2    KQED    PBS-r
30.3    KQED    World
30.4    KQED    Life
30.5    KQED    Kids
33.1    KMTP    OneLife
33.2    KMTP    KBS-World
33.3    KMTP    5-DayNews
33.4    KMTP    WTV
33.5    KMTP    NTDTV
33.6    KMTP    Education
34.1    KFSF    TeleFutura
34.2    KDTV    Univision
39.1    KCNS    Shop@Home
43.1    KCSM    PBS
43.2    KCSM    MHzWorldview
43.3    KCSM    KCSM-FM
45.1    KBCW    CW    HDTV
56.1    KTVU    FOX    HDTV
56.2    KTVU    FOX
57.1    KRON    MyNetTV
57.2    KRON    MyNetTV

That is pretty sweet. Now I am going to have to figure out how to get all of these channels supported in MCE because I am not sure it is going to want to add it to my list of channels off-the-bat.

[tags]HDTV, Channels, San Francisco, Bay Area, UHF, List[/tags]

Well, I just got an email from Vonage letting me know that they released their new V-Phone.  Cool, but here is my one-and-only question.  Can you use your existing Vonage phone number when travelling about with the new V-Phone. I poked around for a few minutes on the Vonage site, checked out their “Help” section and here is my conclusion. They do not mention what phone number you get to use, so I will assume that means that you have to get a new one. That seems to be the way that companies “tease” you into using a product that does not work exactly as it should these days.  In my head, the way it should work is, when you plug your new V-Phone into your computer and it is connected to the internet, it let’s the Vonage system know you are in mobile mode and it routes all incoming phone calls to your Vonage number or numbers you specify to the new V-Phone. When it is not connected, they get routed as they normally do.  Done.

Vonage, V-Phone, VoIP, Telephone, Mobile