Linux Toys

Alex Moskalyuk writes "Remember those 'how-to' and 'home improvement' books that you enjoyed reading as a little kid? In the first half of the last century there was a variety of books, with names like 'Boy Mechanic' or '1,000 Projects for a Boy,' which would give a teenager a variety of projects to work on productively. Building bird houses, creatively reusing helmets from World War I, and later different projects that had to do with radio and transistors - in the pre-television age all that guaranteed some creative time for geeks (whether kids or adults) and allowed them pick up skills, necessary perhaps in real life." Alex reviews below a book that fills a similar niche for the present day, outlining all 13 projects in Linux Toys: 13 Cool Projects for Home, Office and Entertainment. Whether you'd consider all of the projects toys is up to you. Linux Toys: 13 Cool Projects for Home, Office and Entertainment author Chris Negus. Chuck Wolber pages 360 publisher John Wiley & Sons rating 9/10 reviewer Alex Moskalyuk ISBN 0764525085 summary Variety of Linux-based projects for home, business or just for fun

Things changed in 21st century, so what's a geek to do? As for the household products, you can probably always get stuff cheaper at Wal-Mart than build it yourself. Radio-related projects just don't seem that much fun anymore, since there's little sense of discovery.

Linux Toys is just the book that fills that void.

What's covered Chris Negus (author of the Red Hat Linux Bible) and Chuck Wolber (from Tacoma LUG) came up with 13 different projects that one can do at home. All of them require a PC running Linux (the authors use and recommend Red Hat Linux 9, since that's the environment where the projects have been tested) and a variety of hardware (including none besides the PC), depending on which project you decide to go with. What are the projects? The entire listing is at the book's Web site, but here's a list of all thirteen with short descriptions of what's accomplished in the end (not necessarily in the same order as the chapters):

1. Digital Picture Frame: excellent endeavor if you have an old useless laptop with nice LCD screen lying around. The book has detailed step-by-step guide with pictures on how to turn an old laptop into a fancy picture frame playing a slideshow of digital images stored on the hard drive locally or uploaded from network (in case the old laptop has a network card and you decide to keep it when assembling the picture frame). By the way, these things do cost a lot commercially, while P200 and lower laptops are virtually free.
2. Arcade Game Player: how to turn an old computer with a good monitor into the arcade game player running XMame. Your house guests can then use joystick to play Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Asteroids at your next Blast from the Past party.
3. Digital Answering Machine: using the Red Hat Linux box as an answering machine that listens for incoming telephone calls (via vgetty), converts the voice messages into digitally compressed sound files and notifies the receiver about new voice message via e-mail.
4. Home Music System: have an old PC with fairly large hard drive and some good home entertainment speakers? This project allows the reader to build a jukebox used to play Ogg Vorbis files. The authors use ltJukebox and freedb for music management and information retrieval. The ltJukebox software (which comes with the book's CD) automatically rips the music CDs into .ogg files, though digitizing your collection (if you haven't done it yet) might take a while. After that, however, a standalone computer nicely tucked somewhere in the room behind the speaker system can provide for hours of music. And if you plug it into the network, you'll have the ability to change settings and playlists via telnet.
5. Home Video Archive: ever wanted to digitize your VHS collection? This chapter uses ffmpeg and nvrec for capturing and xawtv for adjusting television input. The authors then use Hauppauge WinTV Go and WinTV Theater TV capture card and then record the videos off the TV input into an AVI file. The resulting file is then burned to a CD/DVD (still using Linux tools) as well as into the VCD format that's recognized by most DVD players.
6. Personal Video Recorder: ever dreamed of cutting TiVo's market share with your own devices? Well, perhaps, maybe within just one market -- your house. The authors use the same nvrec utility to record the TV input, XmlTV and WebVCPlus for downloading the data on television shows and using Web interface to choose the ones you would like to record. Unlike TiVo though, this home-built digital PVR can only play the recorded shows on a Linux PC in AVI format, but if you followed the previous project, you can burn the resulting file into VCD format.
7. Providing dial-up access: this basic project is perhaps familiar to all those who bear the title Network Administrator or used to work for an ISP, but for beginners in the field (and especially for beginners with Linux) it provides a detailed step-by-step plan on how to setup your own dial-up server and become a small ISP. A computer permanently connected to the Internet with a static IP is required for this project.
8. Web hosting business: assuming that a computer with static IP address from the previous project and a domain name are available, this project takes the reader through the details of becoming a Linux hoster. This project is especially interesting, since it's applicable to those who have pretty good knowledge of the OS. Numerous online how-to's and manuals take you through separate processes, like adding user accounts, configuring Apache, setting up disk quotas, but few are "turnkey" solutions, where after closing up the book on the last page you can start the hosting business right away.
9. Home network with a Linux box: rather detailed description of properly configuring iptables, NAT, as well as DHCP and Samba servers to run the home network with a Red Hat Linux 9 box as a server with the firewall and various Linux/Windows clients connecting to it.
10. Video streaming server: set up a camcorder, Web cam or security camera to broadcast the video to the Internet. The authors use a camcorder and ffserver software to stream the video.
11. Temperature Monitor: here a temperature sensor kit from DigiTemp needs to be purchased and connected to the telephone cable, which, in turn, will connect to the parallel port. Apparently the ordering page is down as of writing this review, but DigiTemp developer uses Dallas Semiconductors temperature sensors. Then the software provided with the book (ltweather) allows you to look at the current temperature, log it consistently and display it on a Web page if needed.
12. Linux and some games on a single floppy: re-using that 3.5'' drive for something practical is the purpose of this project. Although the result - single-floppy with some essential Linux and character-based games on it, can be hardly practical in the modern world, perhaps it's worth playing with just to see how little you need to get the whole OS going from scratch.
13. Controlling RC cars from Linux: if you have a large collection of RC cars (and according to the spam messages I am getting, they're the hottest trend this Christmas), there's a variety of things you can do when suddenly instead of using the remote control you engage a Linux PC. Unattended races, testing your AI algorithms for entering DARPA autonomous vehicle challenge, writing some complex artificial life, where species of all sorts can see how well they can survive in a crowded world. The authors use a LynX-PORT board, a fairly expensive, but according to the authors, quite useful I/O board that could be re-used for all sorts of projects.

The Book With 274 pages of useful information (excluding the cover pages), the book creates a very favorable impression. The writing is clear and succinct; each chapter follows the same structure with an overview of the project first, the list of things needed for the project second, a step-by-step guide third, some additional information for those willing to go further fourth, and summary of the project fifth. Each step that requires interaction with a Linux box has the exact command-line instructions spelled out, no matter how basic. (On page 44, for example, the authors provide the mount /mnt/cdrom command, even though knowledge of this step is expected of a Linux user at the command line). Where interaction with the GUI is required, a screenshot is provided. The Troubleshooting section explains what might go wrong with a Red Hat Linux 9 box and how to react to it.

Furthermore, there is no dependence on previous chapters, making each project independent. You will not be told to "start up the video capturing as you have learned in the previous chapter" or refer to "previously described procedures". Theoretically, you could rip out the pages for a single project and give them to someone with no previous knowledge of the project and expect them to complete it.

Pictures are indispensable. Granted, they wouldn't be very useful for the Linux on a Floppy project, but for something like a digital picture frame, where you're required to disassemble an old laptop and play with the parts, it's essential. The pictures are all black-and-white, and by "pictures" I mean real photographs, not diagrams explaining how things should be done in theory.

The authors' sense of humor permeates the book, which makes it an enjoyable read. For example, on page 255, when completing the Linux RC toy car project, the photo of the race has a caption about every Linux car crossing the "Finnish" line. (Tip: Linus didn't always live in California). The layout of the book also makes it convenient to read and follow. A bar across the top of the page always tells you which project you're on. When enumerating the things required for the project, the authors use bulleted lists with clear explanations.

Another thing worth mentioning is the book's integration with the Web. The book's Web forums allow you to post questions and impressions from each specific project. The authors are also accepting submissions for new Linux Toys from the readers. The Web site in this sense is remarkable, as with too many technical books the so called "companion Web site" is not truly a companion, but a marketing pitch followed by a bookstore link.

Overall, I think Chris Negus and Chuck Wolber have done a very nice job. If I had more time, I would explore more of the projects personally (so far I am started on rebuilding my home network, but I do want to try out the digital picture frame, being a proud owner of Compaq LTE P100 laptop). The book would be a good read for anyone looking for some cool hobby projects, and perhaps would be a good gift for technically inclined kids, who are interested in technology.

Speaking from a different perspective, Linux Toys is the book needed by the open source community. While the usual arguments of being able to look at the OS's source code and concepts of Free software only vaguely interest most individuals, a book like this would spark interest in Linux OS as providing the opportunities to create a variety of cool toys and have fun doing it.

Read more of Alex's reviews of technical and tech business books. You can purchase Linux Toys: 13 Cool Projects for Home, Office and Entertainment from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to submit a review for consideration, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Comments

Mp3elf

[Anonymous Coward]

mp3elf is pretty cool. Open source design documents / diagrams, too.

Re:Mp3elf

[Kenja]

So wait, it costs more then an off the shelf network MP3 player and you have to put it together? Where's the fun in that?

Re:Mp3elf

[SquadBoy]

Some of us like putting things together. That would be thw whole point of this whole thread.

Re:Mp3elf

[Kenja]

So buy an off the shelf player, take it apart, then put it back together. Less money all around.

Re:Mp3elf

[Anonymous Coward]

I like to do small projects. The 'point' of doing these projects, for me anyway, is to do something cheaper or cooler than what the other guys do, instead of just using schematics off the net.

Re:Mp3elf

[Geek of Tech]

For most of us putting it together is the actual fun part.

Re:Mp3elf

[mesach]

It is apparent that the WHOLE REASON THIS ARTICLE EXISTS is lost on you.

You apparently do not like to build anything, not just simply take something apart. There is no challenge in that. Just make sure you have no left over pieces at the end?

Personally I believe most of us here would rather build something ourselves and hope that you got it all right on the first try. That is what is fun.

meh

[Anonymous Coward]

"it provides a detailed step-by-step plan on how to setup your own dial-up server and become a small ISP."

how 1994.

Re:meh

[b17bmbr]

actually, this is very important. let me give yo a few reasons. not the least is that broadband has about 10-20% market, so 80% + are still dialing up.

one, at a school that has a fast connection, it would be great to offer students who don't have internet access at home the ability to log on...(this is a project i tried for a few years to get going, but district politics...arghhh). two, many times you go on vacation (and don't have an AOL coaster, er, CD handy.) you call home for 4-5 minutes at midnight, it isn't gonna cost a lot. remote access. three, cheap business VPN. most data can be easily web based, and this gives employees access from anywhere. this isn't so 1994. this is a very practical project. i mean, it isn't like everyone is downloading that latest linux .iso's every week.

Re:meh

[Anonymous Coward]

blah blah, ya da ya da, more blah blah

No one cares except for you. Don't take life so seriously.

Re:meh

[Total_Wimp]

Not to mention setting up your home broadband connection to allow you dial-up from your grandma's house when you go to visit her.

Why would you want to download porn on your g-ma's AOL account? Isn't she in trouble enough from all those MP3s you downloaded?

TW

Re:meh

[bluethundr]

Not to mention setting up your home broadband connection to allow you dial-up from your grandma's house when you go to visit her.

Wha? Your gramma doesn't have a broadband connection? Is she an aging sixties radical who thinks of this term as derogatory and insulting to women? My grandparents aren't alive. But if they were, I'd set them straight on this technology and it's termonology by gum!

Re:meh

[inode_buddha]

Yeah its "OldHat" (pun intended), but last I checked, my dialup ISP was a profitable family biz. OK, not huge $$$ or anything, but decent.

age?

[Savatte]

Remember those 'how-to' and 'home improvement' books that you enjoyed reading as a little kid? In the first half of the last century...

I think you vastly overestimate the average age here on /.

Re:age?

[A55M0NKEY]

I don't think he does overestimate the average /.-er age. Think about it: the project books that you read probably came from a dusty old bookshelf or from your local public library and were written pre-1960. Any new project books had crappy projects because they didn't want to get sued. The books from the first half of the 20th century had the really neet Van-Der-Spark generators and the X-Ray machine plans ( COOL! I can make my own X-Ray machine! All I need is copper pipe - check, tons of wire - check, a vacuum tube - check, tin foil - check, a distributer cap from a Model T - Bummer.. )

Re:age?

[Doug Dante]

My dad had one of those books of projects for the great outdoors.

It included instructions on creating your own Tepee and lounge chairs made of rows of freshly cut saplings.

We would have had to clear an acre of forest to complete that project.

Re:age?

[Suppafly]

Yeh, one of my favorite books as a child was a similar book that had several outdoor survival type projects and also several plans for rudimentary firearms.

Re:age?

[jdray]

Check out the Foxfire series sometime. It's got everything you need to live in the deep Ozarks, including instructions on "running 'shine" and "hidin' from them rev'nooers." I think there's about a dozen books in the series. Some really interesting American folklore for those of you who never get out of the city.

Re:age?

[jaciii]

Distributer cap for a Model T. http://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/catalog.htm?cata logmain.htm~main
Post pics of the x-ray machine when you finish it.

Re:age?

[Anonymous Coward]

I built one of those. The book was, I believe, 'Electricity for Boys' by Morgan. He loved spark coils from the Model-T because unlike modern spark coils, they would provide a continuous supply of high voltage. (They had a buzzer rather than relying on external points to interrupt the dc current.)

The thing kicked out rather a lot of x-rays. I did exposures using photograpic paper, not film! I quit using the thing when my doctor said something to the effect that although I knew how much x-ray was coming out the front, I didn't know how much was coming out the back.

The other warning I would give you is to supply the spark coil with a battery rather than a power supply. I managed to kill an expensive power supply because of the kick-back from a spark coil even though I had taken the obvious precautions.

Re:age?

[SubtleNuance]

Whatever 111615 -- Did you inherit that account? Or are you trolling for teenz?

Re:age?

[Anonymous Coward]

Van-Der-Spark ?

Probably Van Der Graaf.

Re:free laptops?

[Anonymous Coward]

Welcome to the Internet.
Try typing ebay dot com in that white thingie in your Internet program.

Re:free laptops?

[kryliss]

Yeah, if you find out let me know...
Just imagine a beow...... er ehem.....

Much more expensive now...

[malfunct]

The key to making the first books listed interesting to the parents of the geeks was that the projects were quite cheap to work on and used scraps from around the house. Unfortunately the linux projects use very expensive scraps that a majority of people don't have. I think that its very cool stuff but it is the sort of thing that I think most kids will only get to read and drool over because thier parents won't have the supplies to complete the projects.

As far as buying the supplies surplus it seems that the people that have them readily available think they are gold and want around $100 to $500 for the apparant junk. It would be cool if you could collect the stuff on its way to the landfill however and use it. Thats where I got a lot of my computer pieces before I had money.

Re:Much more expensive now...

[diersing]

I don't know. Most families (at least all my aunts and uncles) have upgraded in the past couple years. Usually they send me their old gateway junk forcing me to trash it. If my little cousins had this book maybe they'd give them the old box. Maybe after building the family a no-cost-to-them Freevo they might loosen the purse strings and fork over a couple hundred on an eBay machine in hopes of another family enchancer.

Damn this article for coming out AFTER my families' Christmas. Maybe I'll stock up for next year.

Re:Much more expensive now...

[dfn_deux]

Maybe after building the family a no-cost-to-them Freevo they might loosen the purse strings and fork over a couple hundred on an eBay machine in hopes of another family enchancer.

I'd hardly call a machine that allows one to watch more TV a "family enhancer". Unless it was built as a family project, however growing up a computer addicted child I find that most computer projects are not something you want your mom working on :)

Re:Much more expensive now...

[MrResistor]

growing up a computer addicted child I find that most computer projects are not something you want your mom working on

Maybe you should try finding a different "project" to do with your computer...

Re:Much more expensive now...

[jacem]

What about us 30 year old kids who are always looking for a fun new way to play with many aging boxen.

JACEM

Re:Much more expensive now...

[dfn_deux]

Perhaps, but i don't think any of the projects in this book would be reasonable to work on with someone who has little/no computer experience. I think that probably the majority of people in my generation have parents who have no idea how to use a computer beyond reading e-mail at work and writing TPS reports... Maybe I'm being narrow minded or ignorant, but the older books of this type only required a very general knowledge that could be easily learned by anyone (I.E. wielding a hammer, gluing wood, or attaching a lamp cord) which is quite different than the sort of specific an technical knowledge required to do even the simplest linux tasks (I.E. downloading and installing an RPM, Configuring a network interface) let alone the more complex tasks such as getting Vgetty to work in a practical application.

I'm not saying that any of this would not be suitable for someone who has the time/interest/knowledge to work on, but it may actually end up being a dividing wedge between children and parents and not necessarily the family building book it is billed as being. As a 12/13 year old I can remeber distinctly not speaking with my mom for days on end because because I was trying to setup a BBS or coding an adventure game.

Perhaps this book would be more relavent for families created by my generation, where computer knowledge is a fundamentaly more basic knowledge.

Re:Much more expensive now...

[MrResistor]

Dude, it was a joke. Note the quotation marks around "project".

Re:Much more expensive now...

[Anonymous Coward]

Some Goodwill stores keep the old computer equipment off to the side for a song.

Re:Much more expensive now...

[doublesix]

Damn this article for coming out AFTER my families' Christmas. Maybe I'll stock up for next year.

Roger that! My brother's been pestering me for weeks asking what I want for Xmas. The calls stopped on Sunday. Too late for me!

Re:Much more expensive now...

[malfunct]

Yeah that is true, though here in seattle you need 3 blockers with guns to get to anything good on those racks, its totally crazy.

arcade cabinets

[Anonymous Coward]

anyone know how to get empty arcade game cabinets? I've tried some local game stores, but nobody seems to have any.

Online, all I have been able to find is plans for purchase, not free ones..

Re:arcade cabinets

[Anonymous Coward]

Get yourself a pickup, a length of chain, and a ski mask. Contact me when this is together. I will tell you how to use it to get your very own free cabinet, at no cost to you.

Re:arcade cabinets

[cayenne8]

Keep an eye out in the paper...and even on eBay..there are tons of people out there selling cabinets, parts, etc to build MAME machines out of.

A friend of mine got all our cabinets and builds custom control stations. Mine is in an old Tempest cabinet...I have a 4 player station (joysticks and buttons) so I can play 4 player Gauntlent..plus trackball and spinner for other games (like Tempest). I still think Robotron is the best...

If you'd like to contact him about arcade stuff..email him at abefroman57@yahoo.com

They ain't free...but, can be found.

Re:arcade cabinets

[axis-techno-geek]

Try the classifieds or the local "bargin finder" type publication.

Re:arcade cabinets

[I8TheWorm]

It's not cheap, but Frye's has a completely built cabinet for the low low price of .

Re:arcade cabinets

[Anonymous Coward]

Check the Sunday papers. Here in Indianapolis, the last Sunday paper of the month lists an auction held at the State Fairgrounds where everyone carts their pinball tables and arcade games for auction. You can get them very inexpensively. After going & scouting them out, here's one helpful hint: take a *long* extension cord (100' minimum, coiled up) - if you want to know the targeted objects work. Most of the good ones are unlocked as well so you can tinker with them as well as to see there is no rust from improper storage. (I'm not pointing this out for everyone to make a road trip to Indy, just pointing out tips from observing) Sometimes going has been as interesting as purchasing anything.

none besides the PC?

[kjba]

All of them require a PC running Linux (the authors use and recommend Red Hat Linux 9, since that's the environment where the projects have been tested) and a variety of hardware (including none besides the PC)

...

11. Temperature Monitor: here a temperature sensor kit from DigiTemp needs to be purchased and connected to the telephone cable, which, in turn, will connect to the parallel port.

...

13. ...The authors use a LynX-PORT board, a fairly expensive, but according to the authors, quite useful I/O board that could be re-used for all sorts of projects.

Sure, a temperature sensor and an expensive LynX-PORT board come with every standard PC these days!

Re:none besides the PC?

[Trigun]

The temperature sensor can be made from varoius parts, all free if you know where to get them. The sensors themselves can be supplied as samples , however only two will be shipped. I ordered similar parts as samples as well and got a total of six sensors. To hook them up to your port, you just need a length of network cable, some solder, and two schottkey diodes (whatever the hell those are), or you can buy a cheap serial converter on the net.

Re:none besides the PC?

[pavon]

I think what he was saying was that some of the projects don't require additional hardware. Why would he say that they require "a variety of hardware" if all you needed was a PC?

Re:none besides the PC?

[ahem]

I think perhaps the reviewer awkwardly phrased the last part of this sentence. When they said "(including none besides the PC)" it may have been interpreted as meaning: you don't need anything other than the PC to run all of these projects. What I think the reviewer actually meant was: "(including some projects where all you need is the PC)."

Have you noticed that you can't spell "awkwardly" without "awk"?

Re:none besides the PC?

[MrResistor]

You've failed your reading comprehension check. Please reread the article and try again.

Re:none besides the PC?

[Anonymous Coward]

While the parent post probably deserves being modded funny, I would point out that the original text is perfectly understandable: a variety of hardware, *including* nothing but the PC, but not limited to it, is required. I.e., some projects use nothing but the PC; others require more hardware.

Just my pedantic $0.02.

Re:none besides the PC?

[Anonymous Coward]

Offtopic M2'ed unfair.

Modern version of the book...

[Anonymous Coward]

SCO Toys: 13 Cool Lawsuits for Home,Office, and Entertainment.

With Backward by Darl McBride

where was this?

[Anonymous Coward]

a week ago when i could've asked somebody for it as a christmas/winter solstice/[insert holiday] gift

Evolution

[TimTurnip]

What I find most catching is the comparison between this book (more or less, toys for uber geeks), and books of last century that taught kids how to build things like birdhouses. Sure, they both let kids do fun things...but the former title encouraged kids to do something OTHER than sit on their asses. Yes, I'm a geek...but I'm comfortable with tools and physical labor; I owe that to my parents who FORCED me to go outside as a kid. I know too many guys and gals my age, who share my interests in computers, whose legs would have atrophied if the pizza delivery guy actually came IN the house. I bet the book is fun. But I'll also bet that it's no substitute for teaching "geeks" how to build birdhouses...

Re:Evolution

[MrResistor]

But I'll also bet that it's no substitute for teaching "geeks" how to build birdhouses...

Good Lord, man! Did you learn nothing from "The Breakfast Club"?

Re:Evolution

[Anonymous Coward]

Going outside is fine, but if you have a choice between having a child learning something productive or playing EverCrack [sic] sixty hours a week, which would you choose?

Re:Evolution

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps the anarchist's cookbook would be a modern example that is more along those lines.

Re:Evolution

[SubtleNuance]

but I'm comfortable with tools and physical labor
Really now. Dad has to have a garage, some 'spare' lumber, nailes/glue, power tools (table-saw/plainer/jig-saw/hole-saw/router), paint/stain, brushes, clamps, drop cloths....,....,.... too make a bird house. Not to mention a garage, basement or yard.

Do you think those things cost more than some old, virtually free hand me down techno-trash for the interested Geekish family?

Dont get me wrong, i am currently renovating a 100+ year proletarian brown-stone townhouse -- myself and my spouse -- i know what that work entails.... but that 'build a birdhouse' is also a privilaged experience.

It's Wolber

[chuckw]

My last name is spelled *WOLBER*, not *WOBLER*...

Re:It's Wolber

[prostoalex]

I am sorry, looks like I got it right in the book description box, but then misspelled it through out the review.

Re:It's Wolber

[Anonymous Coward]

Funny, you look (and read) like a wobler. Have you considered changing your name? I would.

Re:It's Wolber

[Anonymous Coward]

Grammer Nazi!!!

Re:It's Wolber

[DrStrangeLoop]

and here i thought it was pronounced raymond luxury yachT, but spelled throatwobbler mangroove

SCNR,
strangeloop.

Re:It's Wolber

[bbk]

It's "throughout" not "through out"

Just messing with you!

BBK

Re:It's Wolber

[chuckw]

No problem. Happens all the time :)

Re:It's Wolber

[topologist]

If you're curious about the "0xfeedface" in the header for mach_kernel, it's the MH_MAGIC constant present in every Mach-O executable (part of the struct mach_header that also contains things like the cpu type the executable is intended for). That constant is very cleverly called MH_CIGAM on machines with a little-endian byte order :-) See here for details.

Re:It's Wolber

[Anonymous Coward]

thats it man, stand up for yourself1

Re:It's Wolber

[Anonymous Coward]

Try "grammar". Sincerely, Adolph Spelling Nazi

Re:It's Wolber

[DrStrangeLoop]

i knew that, thnx :)
but maybe you can tell me why

printf("this is a %lx binary.\n",*(long*)getpagesize());

outputs the MH_MAGIC constant on osx and i386/bsd, but segfaults on i386/linux?
appearantly, linux does not load the binary to the lowest address in the address space of the new process?
well, seems like a good time to read tanenbaum again. and what better time in the year for that book? :)

thnx, strangeloop

Re:It's Wolber

[topologist]

That's interesting. I'm on a solaris system at the moment so I can't do this myself, but you can run objdump -h on the linux binary, and look for the VMA , which is the virtual load address for the binary. This probably gets set to some typical value, looks like ~128MB on linux, so the lowest 128MB is unmapped, which seems a little excessive (the lowest pages should definitely be unmapped as a trap for common pointer errors), but I don't know where linux typically loads its shared libraries. If you want to play with this, you can try generating the asm for some test program and inserting an org directive in there, where address could be say 4096!

plenty of things lying around

[manganese4]

Given what I have seen dropped off on days when the local recycler let people bring in used electronics for proper disposal (you would be surprised as to amount of hazardous waste in a computer or dvd player) there should be plenty of boxes sitting in people's garages. Put those local scout troops to good use. phase out the pinewood derby and see who could build the fastest single floopy version of lunar lander or that old star trek game. If we let them use a 64 mb usb drive, they could make it networkable.

P200 with decent screen?!

[tzanger]

By the way, these things do cost a lot commercially, while P200 and lower laptops are virtually free.

Where do you find a P200 with a decent wide-angle TFT screen that hasn't got the fluorescent tube dimmed out/grayed up/flickering??

Re:P200 with decent screen?!

[vu2lid]

I picked up working DELL laptops (TFT color LCD/Pentium 166MHz + 48MB) for $10 each sometime back from a computer show/fleamarket ... These were returns from lease used by some telecom companies ... Works great ... I have found similar stuff in a lot of shows - most of these will be missing Hard Disks so you may have to get an inexpensive 2GB HDD ...

Re:P200 with decent screen?!

[WoTG]

What type of shows are these? Sheesh, I can never find cheap working laptops like that...

My last used laptop recently died...so I've been on the prowl for a replacement.

How to make my own PVR?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone know if there are good open source projects for building a video recorder using basic pc parts?

Re:How to make my own PVR?

[Anonymous Coward]

Depends how good you are with gcc. I myself was able to compile a 80G hard drive, a 1.2GHz AMD Duron and a digital receiver for my Comcast cable outlet. It took a couple of days on my dual Pentium 100MHz workstation but it worked. You may need to upgrade to Red Hat 6.3.

Make sure you use the non-SCO-copyright file of io.h and print.h in your code.

Re:How to make my own PVR?

[Anonymous Coward]

Depends how good you are with gcc. I myself was able to compile a 80G hard drive, a 1.2GHz AMD Duron and a digital receiver for my Comcast cable outlet. It took a couple of days on my dual Pentium 100MHz workstation but it worked. You may need to upgrade to Red Hat 6.3.

You sound like a gcc and a linux expert. Tell me, what do I need to do to compile myself a sandwich? I am using RedHat XP and Visual GCC on a sparc workstation.

Re:How to make my own PVR?

[Anonymous Coward]

You sound like a gcc and a linux expert. Tell me, what do I need to do to compile myself a sandwich? I am using RedHat XP and Visual GCC on a sparc workstation.

Thank you.

Will you require cheese in said sandwich? If you, I suggest you investigate the Armstrad CPM subsystem and use a mix of Pascal and Cobol. If no cheese is required, then your current configuration should suffice. Make sure you use the "-yummyinmytummy" switch, otherwise you could produce stew, or worse, soup. HTH.

Re:How to make my own PVR?

[zoward]

Here are two popular ones:

Freevo

MythTV

Good Luck!

Old laptops and video drivers

[acomj]

I've been thinking of the Laptop picture frame program for a bit. I was going to code one up over the holidays using java. I never thought of loading linux but am curious how well those odd video cards in notebooks are supported?

Re:Old laptops and video drivers

[toganet]

-- Not too well, at least with XFree86 4.x.

I've had some luck using 3.3.6, but it can be difficult to get the full color depth and resolution that the Windows drivers provide.

Not impossible, though.

Re:Old laptops and video drivers

[StandardDeviant]

I've seen old copies of commercial linux X servers out there for stupidly cheap prices, that have better support for the laptop video cards found in old laptops. example: metro-x for three bucks.

Re:Old laptops and video drivers

[lublu]

Hey, if it doesn't work donate them to Afganistan.
Given the familiarity with certain drugs in that culture, like in Berkeley, the new assembly hacking culture is bound to spring up. Little something for the kids.
The electricity part could be a problem, though.

Cheers

Question for answering machine fans

[daviddennis]

One of the projects in the book is an answering machine/IVR/voice mail system.

It made me wonder if there is there any free or inexpensive Linux software, even highly experiemental, for taking a voice file and producing a crude translation to text?

I notice that IVR systems nowadays aren't bad at translating "David Dennis" to my extension, so surely we should be able to translate speech to text.

I really, really, really, really hate listening to voice mails, so it would be so cool to do an answering machine that would create that. I know the project in the book can do text to speech, but speech to text, even crudely, seems a lot more interesting.

Thoughts?

D

Re:Question for answering machine fans

[toganet]

Dude, I am totally with you on that. This would be the absolute answer to my problems, and my father's (he's hearing impaired). I've heard of this (voicemail-to-text) in some enterprise contexts -- It can't be too hard to reproduce.

Re:Question for answering machine fans

[Anonymous Coward]

There is a very big difference between a system that can automatically recognize that someone said your name (versus the name of one of your co-workers) and being able to recognize arbitrary speech.

Re:Question for answering machine fans

[CrazyWingman]

Check out The Speech Recognition HOWTO. It covers a variety of speech recognition systems that may be able to do what you want.

Re:Question for answering machine fans

[cattail.nu]

When I played with speech recognition software (YEARS ago), configuration to a specific person's voice pattern took quite a while. Is the current technology good enough to pick up and translate speech by a random person calling? Better still, is it good enough to recognize a telemarketer and hang up?

Re:Question for answering machine fans

[Skip Head]

uh yeah uh do you uh have that new uh voice recognition software uh on like you know your whats system yeah system I think you said you do so like this uh goes uh directly uh into your email or something huh huh huh uh i wonder uh never mind so like give me a call huh uh uh bye thanks talk to you later bye

Lame.

[Gannoc]

Providing dial-up access? Web hosting business? Home network with a Linux box???!!!

Wow, what marvelous and exciting toys for a growing boy's mind. Clearly their editor wanted 13 "toys", and things got a little hairy towards the end, where they dump in extra hardware, etc.

Do you remember

[euxneks]

"Remember those 'how-to' and 'home improvement' books that you enjoyed reading as a little kid? In the first half of the last century there was a variety of books, ... Building bird houses, creatively reusing helmets from World War I..."

Some of us were born in the 70's - 80's bub.

Re:Do you remember

[Anonymous Coward]

Doesn't mean you can't remember! TRY HARDER!

Re:Do you remember

[Anonymous Coward]

So you're answer would be "no".

Re:Do you remember

[GigsVT]

I was born in the 70s and still read such books. Older books of experiments and projects for kids are much much better than the modern stuff. I guess people are too afraid of being sued to publish anything exciting.

Re:Do you remember

[Anonymous Coward]

Ditto. b.1971. Modern science books for boys when I was a kid had experiments where you wrap a wire around a compass and make a meter. Screw that. I made a highly flamable hot-air baloon from paper. I made hydrogen. Those books were handed down from my grandfather to my father to me, and hopefully I'll be able to hand them down someday.

Re:free laptops?

[night_flyer]

nope, no free ones there

BSD has a similar book:

[Anonymous Coward]

Here are the projects:
1. Managing graveyards
2. Payroll for gravediggers
3. Computerized coffins
4. Email from beyond the grave
5. Epitaph generators

Re:BSD has a similar book:

[Anonymous Coward]

What are you trying to tell us? Do you feel like BSD is dead? I thought it was making a great recovery.

Re:BSD has a similar book:

[NateTech]

You have awakened the Spirit of the Great Bill Joy. Please prepare for the consequences...

(Bill, of course, is alive and well and hanging out in Aspen, CO last I heard. Probably figuring out the next interesting way to make a few more million bucks...)

Re:free laptops?

[Nasarius]

Even old laptops end up being a couple hundred bucks, plus shipping. Hardly "free".

$2200.00 for a digital picture frame?

[futuresheep]

The Ceiva digital picture frame is $149.95 with a $25.00 rebate.

Product Page

The frame dials into the Cieva site and gets it photos from there based on the ID of the Frame. Charges for this are about $3.00-$8.00 per month or so. It's 5x7 frame, and works great for any of you that want your tech-unfriendly grandmother to see new photos of her grandkids.

Re:$2200.00 for a digital picture frame?

[elviscious]

Or you could go to Ebay and only pay $76.00 (as of me writing this) for this laptop.

Re:$2200.00 for a digital picture frame?

[ediron2]

Charges for ceiva are $8 to $14 US per month, with a several percent discount on buying a year's subscription. That's not chicken feed, but it's manageable. There is assuredly no $3 monthly fee. Just bought two of them for my kids' non-techie great-grandmas.

Oh, and there's a fledgling linux-on-ceiva project that was my last enticement: I figured if granny didn't like it, I'd rip the guts out of it and make it mine.

For me, the ceiva 'Weatherchannel' with a 3-day localized forecast was the coolest thing so far. Although having cousins get into character-assasination games with funny pics and captions for granny has been a close second. We've also quickly decided it'd be nice to be able to eavesdrop on what everyone's uploading to the ceiva. For obvious reasons.

Re:$2200.00 for a digital picture frame?

[Anonymous Coward]

Got that beat. I made a used thinknic into a kitchen lan station with laptop harddrive & recycled k6-3 cpu that allows my Mom to surf (Firebird) and read mail (from main system's IMAPs server w/ Thunderbird). SSH+X enables remote applications like OpenOffice from main system. And NFS+automount + chbg allows a slide show of images from the main system to work as a screensaver if she's logged or even if she's not logged in. (chbg can be run in screensaver mode with XDM in background)
The monitor is a 13" acer tft bought new on ebay for $290

So my picture frame system also browses, reads email, and runs office and checkbook programs remotely without scattering her data and email across multiple systems.

I actually have a small colection of books....

[persona 9]

I actually have a small collection of books from that era. There were some fairly dangerous projects that were published in those pre-lawsuit-happy days. Spot welders, arc welders, melting down zinc and hot galvanizing your own stuff, making an air gun, making boomerangs, reloading shotgun shells...etc.

Re:I actually have a small colection of books....

[FireBird615]

Anyone know where I can get a copy of some of these old books?

I used to check them out from the library, but they don't seem to carry them anymore, at least not here at my local one.

Re:I actually have a small colection of books....

[Anonymous Coward]

egads. eBay's marketing deparment must be going nuts by now, knowing their jobs are on the line because someone hasn't heard of them before.



(Until now, it's been people cleaning out their rooms or attics, but thanks to eBay, there will never be anything which actually goes away completely. Someone will always keep at least one of something with the belief they'll be able to sell it on eBay someday.)

Thanks for the review!

[chuckw]

Thanks Alex for the nice review. I'm glad you liked the book and that you find it useful. I'm also happy that you received the book in the hacker spirit that it was written.

We spent a lot of time working on the projects to get them just right for nearly every situation, so the instructions are very accurate. If you find a variation that doesn't work, be sure to submit it to us over at the website.

If you don't mind, I have two corrections to your review:

1) My last name is spelled WOLBER (as noted in a previous post).
2) (SHAMELESS PLUG) I spend the majority of my time at my business rather than the LUG :)

Hijack this picture

[manganese4]

Could you imagine the shock granny would get when your kid's punk friends deciede to upload something besides the picture of your xmas tree?

Re:Hijack this picture

[elmegil]

which is why you don't give Johnny the password, and you pick a damn good one.

Re:Hijack this picture

[manganese4]

It will most likely be on a post-it in the same draw as the keys to the gun cabinet

Best description of shell scripting ever

[Anonymous Coward]

creatively reusing helmets from World War I

RE: Digital Answering Machine

[Eberlin]

TechTV did a bit a while back on some form of digital answering machine. Leo was designing a Linux box with vgetty to replace They Might Be Giants' "Dial-A-Song" machine.

For those that don't know, some public libraries offer a Dial-A-Story function for kids where they call up a local number and a recording plays a story that gets changed weekly or so.

I was trying to follow it as we are looking to implement something similar for an aging system that uses 8-track. I figure a low-cost, stable, low-maintenance, little-fuss system should do the trick for a public library.

Leo's hangup (apologies for the bad pun) was on tracking down a compatible voice modem to work with vgetty. I lost the trail since then.

Does any retail outlet sell compatible stuff or is it really a treasure hunt for one of those voice modems that work well with vgetty?

I figured it could be a cool thing to introduce Linux to a library that has seen nothing but MS products (thanks to a grant from the B&M Gates Foundation).

For others...

[Guano_Jim]

If you like your toys running OSX instead of Linux, there's always the iBrator.

Re:For others...

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot about the dMac, vMac, and biMac.

Cool

[Anonymous Coward]

Reminds me of Control Things with Your Timex Sinclair by Robert Swarts.

Linux Answering Machine

[chickenwing]

I wasted a couple weeks setting up a Linux voice mail system at work. Looking at the VOCP website, it seemed like an easy proposition, but it was quite a challenge to find a modem that actually worked with vgetty. In the end the Zoom 2949C and some hacking on the vgetty tools got the system working.

The system is kind of cool though. You can set it up to email an ogg or mp3 to the voicemail box owner.

It also seemed to confuse the telemarketers too, before installing the system, we got several calls a day, now we get one or two a week.

Re:Linux Answering Machine

[Anonymous Coward]

If you don't mind my asking, how much did you pay for the modem and where did you get it ?

Re:Linux Answering Machine

[Nos.]

I did something similar. A buddy had an old USR voice he wasn't using that seemed to work fine except one small thing. It wouldn't do caller-id. Turns out had to play around with the init strings a bit and turn caller-id on. After that, things seemed to work okay, though I still haven't gotten around to replacing are cheap ($20) digital answering machine that sounds worse than any tape I've heard.

Re:Linux Answering Machine

[budhaboy]

It also seemed to confuse the telemarketers too, before installing the system, we got several calls a day, now we get one or two a week. did you set this up around the first of October... when the National do not call registry took effect?

Re:Linux Answering Machine

[TheMysteriousFuture]

Why didn't you just use Asterisk ?

Asterisk is an AWSOME PBX system that doesn't get mentioned enough on /.

It's supported features are equivalent to a PBX costing several thousand bucks. Including support for VOIP and T-1(E-1)'s

Some of the other features include Voicemail, Conference calling, Caller ID, an Auto Attendant (press 1 for sales, 2 for support,), Call Queuing (for call centers), Call Detail Records, more

The documentation is a little sparse but they are currently working on the
Asterisk Handbook Project (warning PDF).

I also found the Getting Started With Asterisk Guide by Andy Powell very useful.

And there's a IRC channel #Asterisk on FreeNode (try irc.debian.org) (argh /. mangles the irc link)

There's some more links to support pages including a Wiki at the bottom of this page

Re:Linux Answering Machine

[Anonymous Coward]

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Re:Linux Answering Machine

[Anonymous Coward]

Asterisk Features

Asterisk based telephony solutions offer a rich and flexible feature set. Asterisk offers both classical PBX functionality and advanced features, and interoperates with traditional standards-based telephony systems and Voice over IP systems. Asterisk offers the features one would expect of a large proprietary PBX system such as Voicemail, Conference Bridging, Call Queuing, and Call Detail Records.
Telephony Services:

* Voicemail System
o Password Protected
o Separate Away and Unavailable Messages
o Default or Custom Messages
o Multiple Mail Folders
o Web Interface for Voicemail Checking
o E-mail notification of Voicemail
o Voicemail Forwarding
o Visual Message Waiting Indicator
o Message Waiting Stutter Dialtone
* Auto Attendant
* Interactive Voice Response
* Overhead Paging
* Flexible Extension Logic
o Multiple Line Extensions
o Multi-Layered Access Control
o Direct Inward System Access
* Directory Listing
* Conference Bridging
o Unlimited Conference Rooms
o Access Control
* Call Queuing
* ADSI Menu System
o Support for Advanced Telephony Features
o PBX Driven Visual Menu Systems
o Visual Notification of Voicemail
* Call Detail Records
* Local Call Agents
* Remote Call Agents
* Protocol Bridging
o Provides seamless integration of technologies
o Offers a unified set of services to users regardless of connection type
o Allows interoperability of VoIP systems

Call Features:

* Music on Hold
* Music on Transfer
o Flexible mp3 based system
o Volume Control
o Random Play
o Linear Play
* Call Waiting
* Caller ID
* Caller ID Blocking
* Caller ID on Call Waiting
* Call Forward on Busy
* Call Forward on No Answer* Call Transfer* Call Parking* Call Retrieval* Remote Call Pickup * Do Not Disturb
Scalability:
* TDMoE
o Allows Direct Connection of Asterisk PBX
o Offers Zero Latency
o Uses Commodity Ethernet Hardware
* Voice over IP
o Allows for Integration of Physically Separate Installations
o Uses commonly deployed data connections
o Allows a unified dialplan across multiple offices

Voice over IP Interoperability:

Asterisk provides transparent bridging between Voice over IP protocols and traditional telephony equipment.
In addition, Asterisk can transfer calls from one system to another via the Inter Asterisk Exchange protocol.

* Inter-Asterisk Exchange (IAX)
* H.323
* Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
* Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP)

Traditional Telephony Interoperability

* Robbed Bit Signaling Types
o FXS and FXO
o Loopstart
o Groundstart
o Kewlstart
o E&M
o E&M Wink
o Feature Group D
* PRI Protocols
o 4ESS
o Lucent 5E
o DMS100
o National ISDN2
o EuroISDN
o BRI (ISDN4Linux)

Codec Support

* GSM
* G.729 (available through purchase of commercial license(s))
* G.723.1 (pass through)
* Linear
* Mu-Law
* A-Law
* ADPCM
* ILBC
* LPC-10
* MP3 (decode only)

Re:Linux toys...

[grub]

How about a vibrator that runs off of Linux instead of batteries? That thing would never die...

You'll have second thoughts after this thing chips all your teeth.

DVR

[AssClown2520]

One topic that really interests me is the Digital Video Recorder. Most of the other things I've done or don't care to do. The DVR links and information I have found haven't been that good. Does anyone here have good links to information about using an old linux box as a TIVO type system?

I know zero about this right now, only that a subscription service is required for TIVO and I am not a big fan of that. I was going to give a TIVO for christmas, but I hate giving gifts that require a subscription.

Re:DVR

[cayenne8]

"One topic that really interests me is the Digital Video Recorder. Most of the other things I've done or don't care to do. The DVR links and information I have found haven't been that good. Does anyone here have good links to information about using an old linux box as a TIVO type system? "

I'm playing around building a media computer right now...have an old P3 600 I'm using...loading it up with harddrives. I've got quite a .flac library of my CD's now, and is great for parties (no one messes up the discs, etc, and anyone can play DJ)

I'm about to start the video part of the project. I'm going with MythTV. However, if you're wanting to do things like watch live tv and record...you'll need either a video capture card WITH hardware compression built in...or a much faster CPU. MythTV is now supporting the WinTV PVR...so, I'm hoping this will work for me. Go check out the site..there is some good info there and there are neat things you can do with the system...Weather, etc.

MythTV

Re:DVR

[AssClown2520]

Thanks for the link. This looks to be exactly what I was looking for. Hopefully, I will get some time over the holidays to try this out.

Re:DVR

[cayenne8]

Oh...and I have heard some people have problems with all the different dependencies with MythTV and all. I might recommend you give it a try with Gentoo as your Linux distro. I figured the custom compiling on my older machine would help squeezing all the power I could out of it...and just doing an emerge mythtv...downloaded everything I needed, and compiled it with my custom flags. Not to mention, that I have installed on this box, only what I need for network connectivity, my media applications, and X.

Just a suggestion, and so far it has worked out pretty good for me...

Re:DVR

[TheMysteriousFuture]

I considered building a MythTV box a couple of months ago, but when I started adding up what it'd cost I found I could get a DirecTivo for a lot less ($100 w contract). Though I would like some of the MythTv features such as the photo slideshows.

I haven't gotten the DirecTivo box yet. We have COX Digital Cable around here and they just started offering the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 which you rent for $15 a month). This box is absolutely HORRIBLE! It's features are beta...no, alpha quality.

For example, if you are watching a Live show that is being recorded, and you are watching say 15 minutes behind real time, when the show ends in real time the box will STOP playing from the delayed point you were watching and jump to the next show that is just beginning. Then if you wish to continue watching the show from the point you were at you must access the recorded show list, scroll through ALL of your recorded shows (no search of any kind), find the show that was just on, then you gotta FAST FORWARD to where you were. Oh yeah, you might as well go get a snack as there's only 3 fast forward speeds, slow (too fast for fine tuning), medium and fast (32x iirc, sounds fast but it's not fast enough when you want to get 3/4 of the way through a hour program in a hurry).

I'm ditching Cox for the DirecTivo very soon. Or I might reconsider MythTV again. Only thing is I REALLY like that you can record two shows at once with the DirecTivo, and to do that with MythTv I'd have to have two DirecTv boxes (or two cable boxes)

Anyway why am I posting this......Oh yeah. I was going to ask which capture card you are using. Guess I got a carried away. :p

-TMF

Re:DVR

[Anonymous Coward]

One more thing. The latency on the Explorer 8000 is AWFUL! It will freeze up OFTEN for 5-6 seconds. Changing the channel ALWAYS takes 3-5 seconds. And don't even think about pressing the up arrow 5 or 6 times in succession to scroll up the guide! Guaranteed 10+ second freeze.

Not to mention I had to have the box 'reset' twice by a CSR already. It simply stopped recording. You'd hit the record button and it'd ask you how long to save, etc, and tell you please wait for the standard 10-12 seconds, but it simply didn't record.

Re:DVR

[cayenne8]

Don't know if you'll see this or not...but, I'm using the WinTV PVR card to capture. The MythTV Project will allow you to use multiple tuner cards...so, if you are not using a cable box...you can split the cable for each card and record as many channels as you want at once. cayenne

Re: Digital Answering Machine

[AGTiny]

After going through 2 modems that were supposed to be compatible but weren't, I gave up too. It was too much of a headache. About the only modem most people are using costs about $200, so I said forget it.

Re:1000 projects for a boy

[JooBYE]

I don't think the book is targeted 100% towards kids.
They might be calling them "toys". But I found most of the projects interesting. Something that I would tackle for fun and reward.

Just because it's a toy doesn't mean it's restricted to kids only.

Whee!

[superdan2k]

Wow! I can spend hours beating my head against a computer screen trying to turn a Wintel box loaded with Linux and extra NICs into a router...OR I could do the cost-effective thing and go buy a cheap-assed LinkSys router for $40 ($60-$80 if I want wireless), and get everything up and running in 1/10th the time.

Note: I'm not trying to bash on Linux...I'm just trying to point out that there are better ways to skin a cat.

Re:Whee!

[Eberlin]

From the review, it seems the book was written in the spirit of those DIY projects for younger people. The value is in what you learn and the satisfaction that you were able to create something for yourself.

Yes, it would be easier to buy something but for a lot of people, having made one for yourself is a much more gratifying experience. This is especially true for people who follow Linux and the Open Source community.

Re:Whee!

[pavon]

Since when did this site become News for Consumers, Stuff that's Easy? There is an imposter among us - someone call the geek police!

Seriously if you don't concider building things (electronics, software, whatever) fun, then you are not a nerd.

Re:Whee!

[Anonymous Coward]

WEll..... eat a dick then i guess....

Re:Whee!

[richmaine]

Ok, I'll bite..so to speak. Though it seems a little off topic.

What are the best ways to skin a cat?

I have a feeling that no matter what way I used, my daughter would be really, really pissed at me, though. :-(

Re:Whee!

[ibpooks]

Don't forget that you could have that old PC consume 200 Watts of power, take up several cubic feet of shelf space and sound like a windtunnel was installed in the closet.

Re:Whee!

[97cobra]

Or you could take the same computer, load smoothwall on it in about 5 minutes and have the same thing for free.

Re:Whee!

[buss_error]

Wow! I can spend hours beating my head against a computer screen trying to turn a Wintel box loaded with Linux and extra NICs into a router...OR I could do the cost-effective thing and go buy a cheap-assed LinkSys router for $40 ($60-$80 if I want wireless), and get everything up and running in 1/10th the time.

Those are toys, not real routers. Fine for many SOHO uses, but not useful for real routing needs, while on the other hand using some nics, fast serial cards, and a linux box with IPTABLES can be (not always, but can be) a solution for quite a bit less than a Cisco 7005 or 12000. Using a package such as Zebra is a more effective solution if you require RIP, BGP and other things.

Re:Whee!

[rk_nh]

That is your choice. For someone that WANTS to learn how to do it a book like this can point them in the right direction.

Re:Whee!

[doublem]

Well, "The joy of Cooking" tells you how to skin a rabbit. I guess you can just adapt those directions for the cat.

Re:Whee!

[swillden]

What are the best ways to skin a cat?

While I've never applied it to cats, here's a very slick way to skin most animals.

Note: If you've never been exposed to the realities of gutting, skinning and butchering animals, what follows may be somewhat disturbing to you. If this describes you, I recommend skipping this post. Reading it might interfere with your next juicy steak.

Start by cutting the skin from the genitals to the throat -- generally this is part of the gutting/cleaning process. Then cut through the skin forward of the ears, down around the side of the head and around the neck, taking care to make sure the cut around the front of the neck intersects the cut up the front. All of these cuts should go all the way through the skin to the subcutaneous fat, but not into the flesh underneath, obviously. Then cut all four legs off at the "knee", and slit the skin up the remaining stumps, connecting the cuts to the long cut up the belly/breast. Next, using the standard skinning technique of slicing the fat that connects skin to flesh, separate the skin of the top and back of the head from the head. The goal is to free a good flap of fur that includes the ears.

Preparation complete, here's the nifty part: Tie a rope (chain for larger animals, like mule deer) around the ears. A slipknot should allow the rope to tighten quite securely around the lump created by the cartilage in the ears. Tie another rope around the head (for deer, hook it to the antlers). Attach the rope on the head to some solid object (trees work well) and the other rope to some object that can pull. For small animals, a person or two can apply enough force. For large animals, a truck is recommended.

Next step: Pull. As long as you've got it cut in all the correct places, and as long is the animal's neck is intact (if it has been weakened by some sort of damage, it may separate) the skin should peel right off of the body.

This is a very quick and easy way of skinning a cat, but it can fail in various ways. In particular, it may damage or rip the pelt. If you just want the skin off, or if you just want some cat leather, but don't particularly need it all in one piece, this is a good approach. Most of the time it will come off cleanly, but there are exceptions, and if it matters, you should probably stick to a more manual approach. Obviously, if the neck or the pelt do break, you'll have to fall back on the manual process anyway.

I have a feeling that no matter what way I used, my daughter would be really, really pissed at me, though. :-(

Very true. Try it on the neighbor's cat.

Re:Whee!

[xchino]

Perhaps you don't understand, but there is a huge difference b/w what your crappy $40 linksys can do and what a Linux router can do. There are very advanced features that can be implemented with a linux based router that are not present in ANY consumer grade gateway/firewall. I've yet to see anything that costs less than $5000 support advanced Quality of Service options such as Class Based Queing. Apart from that, you have an ability to install any software on your Linux router. I don't see LinkSys's running ethereal or ettercap any time soon.

all of this aside, my #1 reason for using a DIY router over a cheap consumer model is that I can build my own interface to it. My current setup includes all the functionality and ease of use of a LinkSys router, and a whole lot more. i have nmap, nessus, ACID+snort for IDS, portsentry for proactive attack detection and response, and much else, all within a simple web interface.

Also, it's geeky, and this is a geek site.

Re:Whee!

[Anonymous Coward]

Does the cat fight back during this process?

Re:Whee!

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice post, although I like cats, so leave 'em alone unless you really need to eat. I was once party to disassembling a rabbit. Pelt cured in salt for 3 weeks hung around the kitchen after we the the meat, because the guy who shot it wouldn't waste what he'd killed. Respect, as AliG used to say.

Reading Comprehension

[Willis Wasabi]

"...require a PC running Linux...and a variety of hardware (including none besides the PC)." means that some of the projects require nothing besides the PC, but others require additional hardware. Where did you (and your moderators) learn to read English? You need more practice before you complain about things like this. /. needs a "Just Plain Wrong" moderation. Not that I have mod points today...

Re:Reading Comprehension

[kjba]

I agree that this is the most likely explanation, but I strongly disagree that the other one (including no hardware besides the PC) is wrong: A PC IS a variety of hardware. It isn't a hardware component, but consists of a variety of components.

Re:Reading Comprehension

[hoop33]

"...require a PC running Linux...and a variety of hardware (including none besides the PC)."

Where did you (and your moderators) learn to read English? You need more practice before you complain about things like this. /. needs a "Just Plain Wrong" moderation.

The sentence from the blurb hardly qualifies as unambiguous English. Bully for you that you understood it, but to spew such vitriol toward someone who read it with a different (and, IMHO, just as valid) interpretation smacks of superciliousness. You've had to apply external meaning to the sentence to make it read that way, just as anyone reading that sentence would have to apply external meaning, because the sentence is poorly constructed.

GAH!!

[devphaeton]

Although the result - single-floppy with some essential Linux and character-based games on it, can be hardly practical in the modern world,

Impractical? The reviewer must be quite young, or i'm just a dinosaur. Personally i quite enjoyed those "character-based games" (though i prefer to call them Text Adventures). In the days of FPS and classic literary works being turned into movies, perhaps some ppl lack imagination.

[/soapbox]

All in all, looks like an interesting read. :o)

My own Linux toy project

[nathanroberts]

I'm a bit of a talk radio junkie. A couple years back I put together something that would record a local talk radio station 24/7. Basically it was a radio plugged into the soundcard of an old P120, which recorded it into 16kbps MP3s.

I wrote a quick-and-dirty program that would record from the soundcard, pipe the output into LAME, and break it up into 1-hour chunks. Later versions were a bit more sophisticated, using liblame instead of piping to a separate LAME process, and using libshout to send the output to a shoutcast server on localhost live.

There were also a couple cleanup shell scripts that would delete old files when the drive began to fill.

But probably the most interesting part was, it was web-accessible. I had a few quick-and-dirty CGI scripts that would make an HTML index of the files, and provide links to the files, and also links to .m3u files that would stream in WinAmp or whatever when you clicked on them.

Rather than create an .m3u file for each mp3, I just wrote a CGI script that would automatically generate an .m3u file on the fly, and scriptaliased it to an appropriate regex that would call it when an .m3u file was requested. That way the browser really thought it was downloading an .m3u file, instead of a .cgi file or something.

Of course, I find out much later that mod_rewrite would probably have been a cleaner way to do it.

Naturally it had NFS and SMB access as well, so I could just pull up a show from any of my Linux or Windows machines over the network.

Re:My own Linux toy project

[NateTech]

If you'd have added a cron job to shut down the recording process during Rush Limbaugh... it would have been even better, and saved hard disk space!

If we had speech-to-text capability, Limbaugh would compress nicely though... very little unique content. ;-)

Re:My own Linux toy project

[nathanroberts]

If you'd have added a cron job to shut down the recording process during Rush Limbaugh... it would have been even better, and saved hard disk space!

If we had speech-to-text capability, Limbaugh would compress nicely though... very little unique content. ;-)

Bwahahahaha!

Actually, the station I was recording didn't air Rush. This was a station that largely ran moderate to liberal hosts. Yes, there is such a thing as liberal talk radio. At least in San Francisco.

Re:My own Linux toy project

[NateTech]

Some conservatives are interesting and even educational to listen to. Rush is just boring. SSDD.

We have a newer station here in Denver supposedly devoted to "both-sides", KNRC AM 1150, owned by Phillip Anschutz, which has a number of liberal show hosts. They do have their content on their web page also... www.knrcradio.com. Greg Dobbs is hilarious, wake up most mornings listening to him ranting and raving about the Bush Administration. Sometimes it gets old hearing that same old schtick, but a few days away from it and it's entertaining again later.

As one of the black talk show hosts in Denver (Desi Cortez) pointed out - KNRC is mostly catering to white conservatives and liberals, and the experiences of other races are completely ignored. That's kinda sad, but Denver's a damn cow-town anyway.

And then there's AM 850 - KOA... owned by ClearChannel, of course. Their motto for themselves is "the 50,000 watt blowtorch of the Rockies", heard in 38 states at night. Desi's letter regarding KNRC also called KOA the 50,000 watt "flaming-cross" of the Rockies! LOL... funny stuff.

The only problem with flaming KOA is that Rick Barber, their very weird and intelligent super-late-night guy has been there far longer than ClearChannel and is beloved by many of us who've done late-night Western U.S. drives or worked late-night jobs... he's great. Him and his decade-long sponsor, Sam Taylor's BBQ! (Which really is tasty, by the way... but don't take my word for it... http://denver.citysearch.com/profile/1862008/).

where?

[Suppafly]

Where does everyone get these free/ dirt cheap p200 class laptops? The only laptop I ever got for free was a broken p133 and I had to trade a semester worth of cobol homework assignments for it.

Re:free laptops?

[yiantsbro]

I think the point here is "virtually" free. You just have to know where to look. Check local business IT shops or even better University IT shops.

I know at our shop we hate to simply throw out functional laptops but we can't find uses for man of the 486 and original Pentium laptops we absorb (from upgrades/replacements). Hell, we've given several to our kids to just play with (5yo kids).

Re:1000 projects for a boy

[zakezuke]

How very sexist to assume only boys are wired to do mechanical or technical shit. What's on the girls shelf? "How to Get a Boy to Build You a Bird House"? "How to Get a Boy to Fix Your Toyota and Save a Bundle"? "How Suferage for Women Was a Bad Idea and That's Why You Must Fix Your Own Damn Car"?

Re:free laptops?

[Anonymous Coward]

Making off with old hardware, after getting laid off from your job is one excellent way to get a couple free laptops. I've never tried it, but I heard it's a good way ...

um...

[JooBYE]

Did I make mention that it was targeted towards "boys only"?... no. I believe that was the post I replied on.

Try replying to the correct comment.
I just don't understand it. Why can't people understand how this works?!? I just educated someone not two hours ago on how to properly post a reply.
sheesh!

Re:um...

[Anonymous Coward]

> Did I make mention that it was targeted towards
> "boys only"?... no. I believe that was the post I
> replied on.

you know what they say about women drivers...

Re:um...

[Anonymous Coward]

you know what they say about women drivers...

They like to be on top?

Re:um...

[Anonymous Coward]

Did I make mention that it was targeted towards "boys only"?... no. I believe that was the post I replied on.

Try replying to the correct comment.

Actually, you were being a critic of the parent, I was being a critic of the parent. I didn't direct the comment tward you, otherwise I would say you are being sexist, rather then (for boys) how sexist. I consider following up on a critic thread point out something else i'm critical of to be on topic and approperate.

As far as not understanding how this works, I got modded up, you got modded down. I win, yay \o/

PS: I did find his comment to be funny, not flamebait. Though not as funny as mine

P.s.s. off topic, going AC

Re:free laptops?

[cayenne8]

"i wouldn't call 200$ and up exactly free."

If you can't afford to drop about $200/mo on new toys...you seriously need to look for a new job/career...

:-)

I mean, unless you are a starving college student...this shouldn't be a problem I wouldn't think.

Boy Mechanics were deadly

[mr_lithic]

The machines and projects in The Boy Mechanic: 700 Things for Boys to Do were fun to read but no one with an ounce of sense would ever try to construct them.

Some classics:

Fourth of July Fun - aka Pipe Bombs for the Feeble of mind

Classic Glider - They don't tell you that the original model killed the inventor Otto Lilienthal in 1896

How to manufacture Hydrogen or Acetylene for more explosive fun!

Thankfully today we only have idiots with the Anarchists CookBook in pdf format.

Oh, sure, *now*.

[dmorin]

I've been questing for a digital picture frame for ages. Had an Audrey, got it working, but never found a place for it due to the extra space ethat the wireless adapter took up.

My latest project was to hide the old laptop behind the tv and connect it up to one of the video in ports. Not the same thing as an always-on picture frame, but at least we could just push the tv input button and get the slide show for when guests come over, etc. Plus, biggest frmae you're gonna get :). The advantage to this approach would be the full computing power of the laptop, which a regular frame would not have, plus the easy ability to do things like take a peek at mail, or hook up mame, and so on. kinda just like this book :).

But then I couldn't find the combination of software I wanted -- something to smartly search a directory of images so that I could constantly refresh it, resize them while keeping aspect ratios, and display a slide show. sounds like this book has exactly that software!

Why didn't I write my own? Welll, I started getting greedy and looked more toward stuff I do know (web/xml) and said "Hey, this would make a cool traffic/news monitoring station, too..." and got all distracted with RSS feeds and other silly things, and basically just ran out of time for it to be a christmas present for the missus.

I'll still check this out, though. Cool.

Re:free laptops?

[Anonymous Coward]

$200 a month on toys? Just out of curiosity, how much credit card debt do you carry?

If it's over, say, $50, then I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you can't afford $200/month for toys, either.

I think you missed the point

[meowsqueak]

which is, to do things *yourself*, no matter how long it takes. The book isn't '13 projects to make you rich quickly' or '13 projects to save you time'.

Brilliant timing

[SteveAstro]

NOW, NOW you point out a cool gift idea. The 23rd of F^&*(( December. ONE shopping day to go.

Brilliant timing (not)

Steve

Shut up

[Anonymous Coward]

Shut up, you pedantic twat.

Re:free laptops?

[JVert]

I'm going to add you to my friends list... But only because I expect a gift from you this christmas...

Re:free laptops?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a rather elitist post and I do hope you were kidding. There's quite a bit of unemployed slashdotters out here and a comment like that could offend especially in this most consumerism-driven season.

done, done

[timothy]

Chuck:

I should have caught Wolber/Wobler -- my apologies.

Tim

Re:done, done

[chuckw]

Tim,

No worries, thanks for fixing it!

-Chuck

Digitemp alternative ?

[Prop]

now that Digitemp has stopped producing and selling their 1 wire interfaces, are there similarly priced alternatives ? Their kits used to be less than $50 with a handful of probes, but it's more than $100 for the equivalent now on the links they supply... Kicking myself for not ordering before ....

Re:Digitemp alternative ?

[smartin]

$20

Re:Digitemp alternative ?

[pHDNgell]

Just buy the stuff from www.ibutton.com or Dallas Semi (or whatever they're called now...Maxim?) directly. It's cheap. I think I've been paying around $5 per sensor.

Linux Wonderland

[sumit_b]

Once upon a time, I had my P233 box setup at home It did the following:

1. NAT
2. Fileserver
3. Web server
4. Record Caller ID of incoming calls
5. Monitor temperature and light intensity in the room.
6. Control lights in the house using X10.

I used Apache, PHP and mySQL to orchestrate the whole thing. It had a web user interface to remotely view the Caller IDs, temperature/light values and also to switch ON and OFF lights (I drove my roommate nuts once with this feature)! The hardware required was a modem and X10 Firecracker which connects to the serial port.

Those were the days!

Re:Boy Mechanics were deadly

[NateTech]

?Sacrifices must be made.? - Otto Lilienthal

Re: Digital Answering Machine

[Anonymous Coward]

Eh, if you just need voicemail, get one of these; they're *specifically* supported by Asterisk, a fairly nice PBX/answering package built on top of vgetty.

Re:Boy Mechanics were deadly

[Khan Fused]

And there we see the first filter to prove you truly have what it takes to be called a geek.

If you don't ... the spirit of Darwin takes over and removes you cleanly from the gene pool.
__________________

Help me find a book

[Angst Badger]

When I was a kid, one of the books in the local library -- which had a misogynistic title along the lines of The Boy's Book of Science or somesuch -- had a variety of fascinating projects, including building a wax-cylinder recording phonograph. Does this ring a bell for anyone? I'd love to find it again, but there must be a blue million books with vaguely similar titles.

Re:Help me find a book

[Anonymous Coward]

What's mysogynistic about that title? It's not The Boy's Book of Science That Girl's Shouldn't Attempt Because Girls Should Stay Home And Cook. Are you so full of liberal guilt that you think anything gender specific is sexist? How about The Girl's Big Book of Menstruation? Is that sexist? Generally speaking, you'll find boys are more likely to be interested in science than girls and it's been that way for some time. And it's all the big bad men's fault, right? Like those nasty book publishers conspiring to keep women down? The hand that rocks the cradle rules the word, buddy. Women create our culture too, even those parts that you liberals would be loathe to admit that they create.

Use and old Laptop Screen???

[bogie]

Everyone I have ever heard talk about this says don't bother. Basically they all have proprietary connectors. You can't just yank a laptop apart and then easily attach a vga cable, which I think this article is implying by saying " P200 and lower laptops are virtually free".

That doesn't mean some engineer can't figure it out, but for even the average normally adept person this isn't a task worth taking on. If this huge supply of old 10-12.1" monitors was so easy to recycle into working monitors the whole world would be doing it. Hell I'd have these old LCD's all over my house if it were doable.

Maybe this book keeps most of the original laptop intact and hides it in the frame, because any other way seems unlikely for the reasons I listed above.

If times have changed and its now possible to just start yanking lcds from old laptops and easily/cheaply using them seperately please let me know.

"Toothpick TNT"

[GeekWade]

That reminds me of the trouble I got into for duplicating an "expirement" from on of those books. It involved weaving together toothpics and then lighting a corner of the device.

I think it was called "Toothpick TNT" or some such thing. Results were as follows:
-Flat toothpics make for easy assembly but have no boom.
-Round tooth pics take forever to assemble, many will break, and when if you ignite it make sure there is nothing your parents care about within a large radius.

I heard a Wilhem and then something like "my carpet" and then "get a belt"

YMMV

-Wade

Great Old Book - UNESCO Science Projects

[wsanders]

I have this great old book of science projects for underdeveloped nations published by UNESCO in the early 60s. Things like building a dimmer by wrapping wires around two rocks and moving the rocks around in a pan of salt water. They had a great project for building an arc lamp by sawing two non-alkaline D-cells apart, salvaging the carbon rods inside, and connecting the rods to he mains. I kept blowing fuses until I got older and got to use a friend's arc welder. Works so-so with a 20-amp battery charger.

Re: Digital Answering Machine

[mamcinty]

If you can swing $99 then this might be something to check out. I use one very sucessfully with the asterisk open source PBX and it does quite well. To do what you want to do the configuration is quite trivial also. You would have to supply the audio source in either mp3 or gsm audio and could even create a simple menu that would allow them to select a story to hear.

book itself is pretty lame

[Daytona955i]

I got this book hoping for a but more information than what the author gives but the scripts are useful.

My biggest gripe is they are only available in rpm format. I ended up using alien to convert them to debs but they still require some tweaking.

The book goes over a little (mostly stuff I already knew like init scripts and stuff) but I was looking for something a little more. (information wise) I don't want to just install some scripts and voila! I want to know what's going on and the book does little to help with that.

Probably the only way to get good audio quality

[jalano]

I've debated about setting one of these up too. I've been rather disappointed with the audio quality of all of the consumer answering machines out there. Way back when they were new, I understood the need to skimp on memory and use rather lossy compression algorithms, but now, it seems you can't get any decent audio out of an answering machine these days. Part of me thinks this is a conspiracy to get you to purchase a telephone company supplied subscription to their service. Has anyone found any good quality answering machines? Or even low-cost business voicemail systems?

A web browser accessible mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

I built a network-configurable mp3 player using a Thinkpad 760EL (P133) I bought second-hand a few years ago and recently retired. I put on a tiny slackware 9.1 install as well as the Otto Jukebox and MySQL. I loaded it up with 40 hours of music my parents would like on the 2gig hard disk (18 more hours can go on) and gave it to them as a gift.

I plugged it into their LAN (and they plugged it into an RF transmitter) and through a web browser on any of their THREE machines they can see currently-playing tunes, request tunes or albums or stop a tune from playing. They can also make database queries for artists, songs, albums etc. all through a little box on the browser screen. They can listen to the music wherever their RF transmitter reaches on the property. The system is plug and play. It automatically starts up on bootup. Fool proof.

I've installed SAMBA and with some tweaking, I'll allow them to add/delete music files through drag and drop from their windows machines. I'll have Otto in a cron job to update the available music every 12-24 hours.

I don't even have a computer science degree. I'm just a lowly novelist, but this sounds a lot better than telnetting in to request a tune! (blech! blech! blech!) You call yourself a GEEK Wolber?????

Re:A web browser accessible mp3 player

[Anonymous Coward]

Have a more detailed description of your project you can share with others? It sounds interesting and something we are working on here. Nice job!

Nope, reusing whole laptop

[doublem]

Maybe this book keeps most of the original laptop intact and hides it in the frame, because any other way seems unlikely for the reasons I listed above

Actually, that's exactly what they're doing. This provides all the computing power necessry to run Linux and attach to a network. A laptop will work much better hidden behind a frame than a full sized PC.

I think most /.ers picked up on that, because there has been a couple repeats of an article on how to turn an old MAC laptop into a picture frame. The case was torn apart and the parts moved around to fit into a custom built (But fairly large) picture frame.

The main difference is this book tells you how to do it with Linux and an old wintel laptop instead of MAC and Appletalk.

Re:Insider secret

[persona 9]

Insider secret

1. Go to you local public library used book sale.

2. Get there early and get in line behind your local used bookstore dealer who probably spent the night there.

3. By great old books at the .25 to 2 dollar range that are selling at the used book store for $4 - 15.

Don't do this unless you love sorting through old books. This is not my idea of making a living.

More than one way to skin a cat

[Myrthe]

Ok, I'll bite..so to speak. Though it seems a little off topic.
What are the best ways to skin a cat?

Way #37: Crazy glue and a toothbrush
(Attribution lost in time)

Book reprints and other good info

[Avihson]

Check out Lindsay Publications for a fine collection of reprints.

Look at The Boy Mechanic Series volume 1: (1913) "700 Things for Boys to Do. How to construct wireless outfits, boats, camp equipment, aerial gliders, kites, self-propelled vehicles, engines, motors, electrical apparatus, cameras and hundreds of other things which delight every boy."
You get wall-to-wall projects that in most cases are not too detailed, but are more than enough to whet the appetite and make you want to get started. Build a Wright-brothers style glider! A Wimshurst machine! An arc light! An electric stove! A toy steam engine! A telegraph key! A water rheostat! An alarm clock chicken feeder! A flat bottomed boat! An induction coil! A library table! A machine to put paraffin on wire! A pipe fitting steam engine! An electric postcard projector! An ammeter! A paper hot air balloon! A workbench!
It's a combination of practical projects, not-so-practical projects, crazy ideas, and plain ol' fun nostalgia. 1913 edition. It's a classic book well worth your consideration. Order a copy today! 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 softcover 469 pages

Every book and reprint I got from these guys was a keeper. I have some of the project books and most of the Gingery foundry/casting books. I use the charcoal foundry to recycle old hard drive aluminum platters & shells into shop tools.

Have Fun, read the safety precautions, and don't burn down your garage!

Linux Toys and LinuxToys.net

[ChrisNegus]

Before the review disappears off the front page, I just want to say thanks to Alex Moskalyuk for your kind review and for everyone else who piled on afterwards. If nothing else, I wrote Linux Toys in the spirit of having fun and sharing experiences with Linux projects. You all seem to have caught the spirit. I'll go through and post responses to some of the queries, ideas and bashes that have come from this review. In the mean time, I've gathered a few things I have to say on our LinuxToys.net web site. We're glad to have you come join our forums and continue discussions on any of the projects (or even projects of your own!)

Re:free laptops?

[reality-bytes]

If you happen to be from the UK, you can walk into any public library and get free internet access at any time of day.

Re:free laptops?

[itwerx]

$200 a month on toys? Just out of curiosity, how much credit card debt do you carry?

If it's over, say, $50, then I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you can't afford $200/month for toys, either.

Damn, wish I had mod points right now. That's a fer-shure Funny/Insightful! :)

Ouch

[Anonymous Coward]

1. Your sentence is interrogative. It should end with a question mark.
2. Your name is right there on top of the post, yet you felt the need to retype it anyway. And in all caps.
3. Last, and worst, you said "boxen."

That is three strikes and you horribly, horribly fail it. You are out.

FLAC Jukebox

[ratamacue]

I did the jukebox, but I used FLAC instead of lossy compression. Why? Because with lossless compression, you will always have the master digital copy, bit for bit. If the original CD is lost or damaged, you still have the master copy. Not so with lossy compression. Once you go lossy, you're stuck. If you compress a WAV file into FLAC, and then uncompress back to WAV, you will have the original WAV file bit for bit. Not so with ogg or mp3.

The jukebox is killer, but the main reason I did all this was to permanently archive my CD collection. In the event it was destroyed or stolen, I would still have the master digital copies.

I don't think you need to use all that fancy database-driven jukebox software that he suggests in the article. I use plain old XMMS in random/repeat mode, usually with every song from every CD in the playlist (this is guaranteed to impress the guests). If you structure your directory tree by music category (rock, jazz, new age, etc) then you can easily select playlists by category.

Of course, you will need a large hard disk in order to do this. I have one 120GB main disk, and another one for backup (yes I know it's not the most reliable backup solution), but large disks are getting so cheap that I'll probably buy another one for redundancy.

Anyone want to buy a 5-disc CD changer?

Re:FLAC Jukebox

[Pejorian]

I gave mine away 3 years ago to some deserving friends.

Top Seller...

[Cybo2002]

Interesting how with one day on /. the book has already jumped onto the daily amazon.com best sellers list as #3. :)

Missiles from Scientific American "Am. Scientist"

[coyote-san]

I remember that in the late 70s my HS had a book of experiments from Scientific American's "Amateur Scientist" columns from the 30s through 50s.

I had played with model rockets powered by Estes rockets. Model rocket engines that now fall under terrorism regulations even though they're pretty small. This book discussed turning a metal rocket engine bell on a lathe, mixing your own chemicals for the propellant and pouring it it into the metal fuselage, etc.

On the one hand that's madness. It's one thing to fling metal high in the sky in a rural area, it's a very different thing to do it in an urban or suburban environment.

On the other hand as I get older I find myself agreeing with authors just a few years older than me - people who never actually did stuff - build model rockets, hike and camp in the boy scouts, etc., have missed something important.

I know, gross generalization. And I would have killed to get my physics and math degrees with modern computers even if inverting large matrices by hand did teach me to be careful and double check each step of my calculations.

My project

[ExCEPTION]

Can someone help me? I am still working on my tin foil hat project.

correct

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be 'under correct'
Mods....
bite me
Cnet reject!

Re:free laptops?

[Anonymous Coward]

> how much credit card debt do you carry?

> If it's over, say, $50 [...] you can't afford
> $200/month for toys

Actually if it's over 0 you can't afford toys :-)

That's why credit cards suck...they deceptively shift the major red line of "no more money left". Use debit cards without overdraw options if you must use plastic at all.

Re:Linux toys...

[Anonymous Coward]

You'll have second thoughts after this thing chips all your teeth.

Are you implying that I am a male?

more reviews of this book

[Anonymous Coward]

This site has more reviews for this book.

Re:Boy Mechanics were deadly

[evilviper]

Classic Glider - They don't tell you that the original model killed the inventor Otto Lilienthal in 1896

When I get on a commercial jet, they don't tell me that many people who flew on early planes were killed. It's pretty irrelivant, since designs have improved just a bit over the past 100 years.