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I built a bittorent server using an old pentium III M chip. It uses 17 watts AC at idle, including an external 2.5 inch hard drive. The upside is it is very quiet, low power, and can run any distro. The only downside is it doesn't have ECC memory, but as far as I know, no laptop does, and neither do any very low power computer. It has a dvd drive, and thanks to a notebook card, USB2. It doesn't have gigabit ethernet, but it supports a standard PS/2 keyboard, mouse, and VGA external video, so I can use a KVM switch to control it.

You can read about my quest for a low power bittorrent server at http://www.weasel.com/comp_server.html#bit2

You need to name the retailer. Some retailers are great, and some suck. I have reviewed many, explaining the details of my dealings with them.

You also need to name the NAS and what is wrong with it. The way the internet works, everyone gets to benefit from the experiences of others. Saying some nameless NAS sucks doesn't help anyone else. Saying XYZ NAS sucks because of a, b, and c means something.

On my personal web site, I have details of my dealings with many computer hardware and software vendors. Some are really good, and some are really sucko. I had some serious problems with Netgear, and someone else read about it and asked Netgear why their support was so bad, and not getting a decent answer, ended up getting $10k of gear from a different vendor.

If you want to see all my computer related reviews and comments, check out http://www.weasel.com/comp.html

I understand you using the shorthand. However, it can be a bit misleading as pure dyneema is much more expensive, and to some much more desirable. I noticed that is was often misspelled on your website as dyeema or some such.

I really prefer to call it dyneema ripstop or spectra ripstop or whatever the fabric manufacturer calls it. I happen to like pure spectra backpacks (which are quite expensive and rare), and when I use a search engine looking for 'spectra backpack', I don't want to see the dyneema ripstop stuff. I have reviews of six of my spectra packs at http://www.weasel.com/gear_pack.html

I happen to have a The North Face expensive pack made of spectra ripstop. After two or three uses, it developed two holes in the spectrum fabric, and I returned it for repair. They wouldn't fix it, either under warranty, or with me paying for it. I was a bit upset at that.

I do think it a somewhat odd choice of material for inside a bag. Overall, your bags look to be quite well engineered.

Real Dyneema is ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, and is always white, though it can be waterproofed and dyed to a light grey. It is much more expensive than nylon, and its main claim to fame is it is roughly 10 times more abrasion resistant than nylon. It is commonly used in bullet-proof vests, replacing kevlar as the material of choice.

Since the Tom Bihn site is down, I can't check their use of spectra. A common use is as a ripstop which is used along with nylon. A common name for such ripstop is Spectrum. It is very expensive to coat (as most things don't stick to polyethylene) and always has white grids.

I am not sure what the reviewer is referring to when they say 'bright yellow ("Solar") version of Dyneema that is used for some Bihn products (or in red), but a white-grid-on-grey isn't bad.', but they are clearly not referring to Dyneema fabric, as there is no such thing as yellow or red Dyneema fabric.

For info referring to backpacks made of spectra, see http://www.weasel.com/gear_kelty_spectra.html or http://www.weasel.com/gear_pack_mchale.html

Real Dyneema is ultra high molecular weight polyethylene, and is always white, though it can be waterproofed and dyed to a light grey. It is much more expensive than nylon, and its main claim to fame is it is roughly 10 times more abrasion resistant than nylon. It is commonly used in bullet-proof vests, replacing kevlar as the material of choice.

Since the Tom Bihn site is down, I can't check their use of spectra. A common use is as a ripstop which is used along with nylon. A common name for such ripstop is Spectrum. It is very expensive to coat (as most things don't stick to polyethylene) and always has white grids.

I am not sure what the reviewer is referring to when they say 'bright yellow ("Solar") version of Dyneema that is used for some Bihn products (or in red), but a white-grid-on-grey isn't bad.', but they are clearly not referring to Dyneema fabric, as there is no such thing as yellow or red Dyneema fabric.

For info referring to backpacks made of spectra, see http://www.weasel.com/gear_kelty_spectra.html or http://www.weasel.com/gear_pack_mchale.html

I have sent in several hundred rebates. A few (mouse systems) were not honored. The retailer (CompUSA) paid me for those rebates, and told me they stopped carrying mouse systems products. Then I bought two items from Vastec at fry's. I got neither rebate back. I emailed the company. They ignored me. I called the company (nobody ever answered). This is not an isolated incident. This is corporate policy. I ended up giving copies of the rebates to fry's. They sent them to fry's corporate, and they say I will get my money back. I noted this at http://weasel.com/comp-rebate.html#vastech . By the way, Microsoft always pays their rebates, and does so quickly. I have the results of my rebates by company at http://weasel.com/comp-rebate.html

I have sent in several hundred rebates. A few (mouse systems) were not honored. The retailer (CompUSA) paid me for those rebates, and told me they stopped carrying mouse systems products. Then I bought two items from Vastec at fry's. I got neither rebate back. I emailed the company. They ignored me. I called the company (nobody ever answered). This is not an isolated incident. This is corporate policy. I ended up giving copies of the rebates to fry's. They sent them to fry's corporate, and they say I will get my money back. I noted this at http://weasel.com/comp-rebate.html#vastech . By the way, Microsoft always pays their rebates, and does so quickly. I have the results of my rebates by company at http://weasel.com/comp-rebate.html