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there is both free and commercial AirPrint server software that can make any printer available to an iOS device..

I own an OfficeJet 4500, which is not AirPrint compatible. I checked the Wikipedia article you linked for more information about this "AirPrint server software" you mentioned, but the first footnote after "GNU/Linux" resulted in "Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at www.rho.cc". The second link works, but it's very complicated to set up. Furthermore, it mentions that it uses Avahi, and I've found that Avahi doesn't work if a Windows Server is on the same network because Windows Server's use of the .local top-level domain by default conflicts with Zeroconf.

I've been doing this for months. Avahi can share any cups queue as an Airprint queue. I used this howto:

http://www.finnie.org/2010/11/13/airprint-and-linux/

There are also scripts that will autogenerate the Avahi service files for you. The only real new thing here might possibly be a better UI for doing this.

(Stereotypical click-n-drool Mac users look away now)

Now, it just so happens that my printer is connected to my old PPC Mac Mini running Debian because (a) that's my "always on" system and (b) the Mac OS USB driver for my cheapo Samsung laser is b0rked.

I stumbled upon this page and, Lo!, now I can haz airprint from my iPad without even having to switch on my main Mac. This looks as if it should work from your typical hackable NAS boxen, provided it can run CUPS and AVAHI...

I love Mac OS on the desktop, but, seriously, on the server side, Linux is cookin' with gas.

If, however, you want something that Just Works on your Mac, though, Printopia is worth a look.

Nothing huge, but his name is spelled Scot. I know this because there are relatively few "well known" Finnies in the world (at least with that spelling), and I happen to be one of them.

-- Ryan Finnie

(hey, it looks like I finally have more google juice than him.)

(subliminal message: download Finnix.)

I created a map hack for all recent recorded Nevada and Eastern California earthquakes a couple weeks ago. A few days ago, the hack stopped working. I noticed Google changed their code and many of the map hack sites stopped working. "Oh well, maybe I'll fix it later."

But with today's announcement, I grabbed a key, read the documentation, and had the site back up (and with a few new features) within about an hour. Their API documentation is VERY good.

Further proof.

a good recipe for a 1.2TB Linux-based RAID for under US$1600.

BACKGROUND:
Inspired by http://www.finnie.org/terabyte/, a few months ago I started a thread to discuss the idea of building my own 1.5TB storage array using software RAID50 to hold video files.

The main hitch keeping me from going ahead was that I had trouble finding eight 250GB drives at the price I wanted. Clearly, I wasn't thinking big enough; just before Christmas, I lucked out and bought nine Seagate *400GB* drives at $230 each (plus a $30 rebate on the first one) from CompUSA. I now have 3.6TB of raw storage sitting in a shipping carton in my apartment. Even with RAID 5 and keeping a drive as a spare, I'll have 400GB*8-400GB=2.8TB of space.

PURPOSE:
Video files (episodes of TV shows I already watch and enjoy, plus rips of TV shows on DVD sets I own). I'd like to build a MythTV system too, but the storage array comes first. No games.

PRIORITIES, in order:
* Stability. I'm very much in favor of build-right-and-leave-it-be as opposed to constant hardware tinkering.
* Minize heat/noise. I have a studio apartment.
* Price. I've already spent a fortune on the drives; I don't want to spend more on the rest than I need to.
* Performance. Not that I'm against a fast machine, but I know that a storage server doesn't need the latest-and-greatest in terms of horsepower.

PARTS:
Advice is always appreciated. All prices are from ZipZoomFly.com unless otherwise specified.

* Case: Antec SX1040BII, $92. I almost went with an Antec PlusView1000AMG ($72), but decided that a) the SX1040BII's 430W power supply might be enough for my purposes and b) if it isn't, a quality Antec supply for $20 that I can use someplace else is hard to pass up.
* Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2 Rev 2, $98. I'm building a system with *massive* amounts of PCI traffic, and I'm hoping a Nvidia-chipset board will prove more stable than the hordes of Via-based models out there.
* CPU: AMD Mobile Athlon XP 2400+, $89 at Newegg. The 2200+ is $10 cheaper but they're both rated at 35W. If there's a sub-35W processor that supports a 266-MHz FSB I'd like to hear about it.
* CPU heat sink: I'm lost here. I've had a good experience with a Thermalright SLK-800 I installed three years ago, but current Thermalright heat sinks all seem to specify Athlon 2500+ and up. What gives?
* CPU fan: A leftover Vantec 80mm fan. Loud but effective.
* Memory: One 512MB DDR PC3200 DIMM. $80 at Crucial. My leftover 256MB PC133 168-pin DIMMs aren't going to work with the motherboard, right?
* Power supply: Thermaltake PurePower 560W, $102. In case the Antec 430W supply mentioned above proves insufficient.
* Drives: Eight Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 400GB ATA drives plus one cold spare, $230 each at CompUSA without rebate; currently $230 each after $70 rebate. Lite-On DVD+-RW drive, $60-100. Leftover Maxtor 13GB ATA drive for booting.
* ATA controller: Two Highpoint RocketRAID 454, $87 each at Newegg. Unlike Ryan Finnie I am *not* planning on doing hardware RAID features; rather, I'm simply looking for high-quality ATA controller cards. If anyone can recommend high-quality non-RAID controller cards with four channels (or more) on each, I'd like to hear about it. For that matter, if four two-channel ATA controller cards are doable with my motherboard setup, I'd like to hear about that too.

So, what do y'all think?

Here you go.

0) Software http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Software-RAID-HOWTO.html
1) Hardware HOWTO with example http://www.ram.org/computing/linux/dpt_raid.html
2) http://www.finnie.org/terabyte/
3) Plder http://www.nobell.org/~gjm/linux/ide-raid/ but useful info on controller companies.

...and found hardware to be a good thing.

http://www.finnie.org/terabyte/

Subject: I want to build a 1.5TB storage array for MythTV

Recently ran into the account of a guy who built his own 1.2TB RAID50-based storage array for $1600. I really like the idea and have been thinking about following suit.

Like Finnie, I want to be able to store huge amounts of DivX/Xvid files online. In addition to the storage array, I also plan to build a separate MythTV box, which among other things will let me play them at will. My 200GB Series 1 TiVo's been serving me well for more than four years, but I really like the idea of being able to seamlessly integrate my AVI collection with TV recordings, and from what I gather MythTV has finally matured enough to be a realistic TiVo alternative.

I have been 100% Linux at home for almost a decade and am quite comfortable with most of the technical aspects of the project.

I'm planning on making the following changes to Finnie's build configuration:

• Instead of 200GB ATA, use 250GB SATA drives for a total of 1.5TB. Outpost.com offers a Western Digital 250GB SATA drive for $170. I just missed the chance to get a $30 rebate off each drive, but I'm sure Fatwallet will alert me to a similar opportunity sooner or later.
  
• Accordingly, get a HighPoint SATA RAID card instead of the specified RocketRAID 454 ATA RAID card. I think the RocketRAID 1640 is the way to go.
  
• Instead of ext3, use XFS as the file system.
  

My questions:

• If I connect the storage array to my Linksys WRT54G router, will 100Mbps Ethernet be fast enough to pump the AVI files to the MythTV box without dropping frames?
  
• Conversely, will 100Mbps Ethernet be sufficient to let me use the storage array as the primary storage medium for MythTV's recordings? What about HDTV encodings (using the pcHDTV Linux-only card)? Or do I have to upgrade to a Gigabit Ethernet router? Or would the encoder card and MythTV software have to run on the storage array itself in order to achieve acceptable performance? (Actually, I'm not opposed to doing so, if one box can simultaneously handle both storage and MythTV tasks.)
  
• Anything else that I'm missing or should keep in mind?
  

Almost exactly what I want to do (I'll RAID 1 the 2 RAID 5 arrays and take the spare set, on removable carts, to the safety deposit box).

Yes I do have (with the missus) enough CDs and DVDs to make this desirable. Do the math on replacement, and this is fairly cheap insurance.

Here is the article: http://www.finnie.org/terabyte/

Awesome!

Somebody describes building a terabyte storage server at http://www.finnie.org/terabyte/ with Linux and hardware and software RAID. Total cost = less than $1,600

It seems that RAID 5 or 10 is the way to go. Here are some instructions on building a fairly fault tolerant server. The page deals with setting up a server with RAID 50 but can be switched to 51 for superior redundancy.
Over all it's about how much money you want to spend. If you have ooodles of cash go for a real server with RAID 60 and daily tape backups.

IMHO, it beats the pants off re-burning a huge stack of CD's every year, while praying that none of them turned out to have a lifetime of 364 days.

1. Download this and save somewhere
2. Double-click on the file you saved
3. Click "yes" to import the registry entries
4. No, there's no profit here

Please don't flame me for trying to sell something on slashdot. At $7.50/DVD, after figuring in media costs and shipping (and the fact that it takes 1.5 hours to burn a DVD), I'm definitely not going to make any money. :) I'm just doing this because I know people are interested.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 14, 1980

LOS ANGELES, Calif (January 14, 1980) - On January 14, 1980, in response to the illegal hacking of the videocassette player system "VHS", and subsequent distribution of so-called VCR's, the major motion picture companies files injunction complaints in the Southern District of New York and District of Connecticut against anyone found distributing videocassette recording hardware or blank VHS media.

The plaintiffs are Universal City Studios, Inc.; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.; Tristar Pictures, Inc.; Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.; Time Warner Entertainment Co., L.P.; Disney Enterprises, Inc.; and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

Announcing the court action, Jack Valenti, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), made the following statement:

"The MPAA is striking a blow today in defense of the future of American movies. We have filed suit in federal court to stop videocassette hackers from distributing the hardware and media designed to circumvent the technology that prevents unlawful copying of broadcast shows and VHS movies."

"This is a case of theft. The distribution of blank VHS cassettes is no different from making and then distributing unauthorized keys to a department store. The keys have no real purpose except to circumvent the locks that stand between the thief and the goods he or she targets," said Valenti.

The MPAA refuses to realize this new "VCR" technology may have many uses, such as allowing the development of video cameras for the average home, or the ability to record broadcasts for legal personal home exhibition at a later time. Furthermore, it refuses to realize that an open hardware specification scheme may lead to new advances in home viewing, such as a personal digital video disc that would have sharper picture and better sound than the current VHS standard.

"The U.S. movie industry intends to defeat anyone who steals our intellectual property. We are determined to defend the technology that protects artists' and intellectual property holders' rights," vowed Valenti. "If you can't protect that which you own, then you don't own anything."

Additional information on this case may be found on MPAA leaflet's.