Years of Poems and Spirits

Problem statement:
1. My 1/2-T network storage has only 90 gigabytes left
2. The Linux box hosting that storage was built 5 years ago and has Giga-Ethernet compatibility and USB support problem
3. My Win-Tel box runs on an old Dell “space-saver” box with a 3.25″ disk and zero expansion slot
4. The Win-Tel box has only an mid-level graphics card that is not going to support video-editing and raw image processing
5. My daily backup job routinely fails because the Redhat-USB external hard disk issue

Proposed solution:
1. Build a new mid-level Win-Tel box
2. Convert the Dell box to a barebone Linux server
3. Use FreeNAS to build a NAS server with 1-T capacity

Budget:
1. PC: case, motherboard, graphics card, CPU, memory, XP Professional. Should use EIDE board so to reuse existing HDD. About $500 ?
2. Linux: nothing. Not sure latest Fedora has all the drivers though. If not … very very bad.
3. NAS: 1 SATA card, 2x 1-T sata HDD. 1 Giga-Ethernet NIC. total $750.

Risks:
1. I have an old IDE-board. But the new HDD are SATA. If I put in a SATA PCI card, does FreeNAS recognize it?
One user posted on 7/18/07: this card and this one both work with the latest freeNAS version.

2. What Giga-Ethernet card does freeNAS support?
According to freeNAS support page, “Any NIC controllers supported by FreeBSD FreeBSD is a Unix-like free operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD).are supported by FreeNAS ”
The FreeBSD site lists the following NIC: 3Com 3c996-T (10/100/1000baseTX), Netgear GA302T, Intel PRO/1000 GT Desktop Adapter (82541PI),

Candidates:
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822145167&ATT=22-145-167&CMP=OTC-pr1c3watch&cm_mmc=OTC-pr1c3watch-_-Hard+Drives-_-Hitachi+Global+Storage+Technologies-_-22145167
SATA card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16815124020

Barely two years into its life span my iPod Mini battery is dying. I didn’t even use it that much! Anyway, got the word that I can replace the battery myself and did so moments ago. I order a kit from TechForLess.com and finished the job in 30 min. I don’t like iPod’s proprietariness (?) but I am impressed with its workmanship. It is almost European in that regard. Beautiful piece of work. Too bad now it has two ugly screwdrivers marks on both ends.

Frontal view. All the buttons and circuits … oh yeah	Back view. The kit comes with a special screwdriver and a replacement battery for $16.

This is the review I posted on Amazon.com for “eBags Downloader Laptop Backpack“.

This bag is perfect for what I need: I am a graduate student. My typical load consists of: a 6lb laptop with all the accessories. Plus several books, notepads and printouts.

The bag has enough room for all the stuff abovementioned but is tightly constructed so with even 20 lbs on my back, it doesn’t swing left and right when I walk.

It also has the right combination of padding and pockets. The only feature I wished for was the ability to stand on its own under all load conditions (when load is too light or too heavy, you have to lean it against something).

Overall, highly recommended.