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Borg Cube Case
Steelduck writes "A person nick-named Xor'Arch at the CaseJunkies forums has made an uber-cool case mod. A Borg cube based on a Via EPIA-M platform. The project took them 9 months, in which they spent 250 hours of their spare time. In total, they used about 60 meters of steel wire, and 1,5 m2 cardboard.The Borg Cube is presented at Casejunkies website.
http://www.casejunkies.com/index.php?upn=010001&hl _id=1873"
Just in case the site goes down..... http://biggestpos.com/pics/gallery/borgcase/
What, me worry?
Introduction
A couple of months ago, Xor'Arch posted some pictures of his new project on our forum. These first pictures created such a huge anxiety and hunger for more that we contacted Xor'Arch, and decided to keep the project a little bit secret. This way we could prepare ourselves for a worthy Caseview that this case absolutely deserves.
CaseJunkies proudly presents: Xor'Arch's Borg Cube.
We asked Xor'Arch how he came up with the whole idea. He explained that his Router had some problems with his ISP's Cable internet connection. He needed another way to provide his network with an internet connection. The only possible way was to implement an extra computer to share the internet connection, so the router would be unnecessary. Read on, and see how the project went from idea to reality.
[Inline picture] [Mirror]
Why Borg?
The plans for an extra PC, functioning as a router, firewall and download-machine were made long before I got the idea to make the Borg Cube. I first intended to use a small midi case (A-Open H340B) with a Via EPIA-M 933Mhz chipset and 256MB RAM memory. After having put it all together, I was not really satisfied with the way it looked. It looked kinda boring to me, and that's when I got the idea to build a case myself. Here's why I chose Borg to be the design's theme:
* To Route: Collective - A central point where everything comes together and gets sent out to multiple computers.
* Act as Firewall: To prevent hostile attempts to penetrate the system, and neutralize them.
* To Download: All your bytes will be assimilated...
* And, the Borg are just cool.....
Since I wanted the project to be 100% original, I searched the internet for similar projects. Fortunately none of them came close to what I planned to make. After having collected as many pictures and information as possible, which was harder than I first thought, I started the construction of the Borg Cube.
Gonzo Granzeau
"Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you into heaven for.." -Roy Batty
this picture shows you where the input devices go - at the bottom.
The purpose of the box is to be a router/firewall. He doesn't need a a Athlon or P4 for that.
"that kid" == Justin
I can't find a site for him, but I bet there's one out there. Anyway, that kid does absolutely incredible stuff with paint and metal.
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lds
The problem is that in America, we have bullshit laws like the DMCA that make the status of proxies less certain. If you run a proxy and someone downloads illegal material from the web, are you liable for damages? It's an uncertain enough question that nobody wants to set themselves up to be the legal test case.
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They're here.
-Turkey
Huey, Dewey, and Louie. No Google used. What do I win? =)
BTW, Silent Running is a seriously cool movie. They'd play it every so often on the Big Chuck and Little John show when I was a kid. As for Big Chuck and Little John...well, it's a Cleveland thing.
Bonus points to any Clevelanders out there as old or older than I who can name Big Chuck's previous guest host.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
The machine is a 900Mhz Duron with 512MB RAM Running RHL. Nothing fancy, in fact most people have better desktops now.
The key seems to be a carefully configured Apache using in-memory caching where possible, generous "Expires" headers for caches, long keepalives, and having the server thrash as little as possible starting and stopping children. Even under the most extreme load the box tends to be responsive, and has impressed the hell out of me for doing so.
With cory moving from SSI-based pages to the DB-driven MT, it will be interesting to see exactly what happens to performance as his next /.-ing :)
Actually, the DMCA contains specific "safe harbors" from charges of copyright violation for purposes like caching and routing.
Safe Harbors for System Caching
A third safe harbor in the Act limits an OSP's liability for system caching, in which an OSP makes a temporary copy of popular Internet material requested by a User so that the OSP can deliver that copy to subsequent Users, which can be done more quickly and efficiently than obtaining the original material for each subsequent User.
This exemption applies to material (a) that is originally placed online by someone other than the OSP (the "Originator") and (b) that is transmitted from the Originator, through the OSP's system, to a third party at that third party's request. To qualify for the exemption from liability for the intermediate and temporary storage of such material, the OSP must meet the following conditions:
(1) the OSP's storage of the cached material must be made through an automatic technical process and must be for the purpose of providing the material to subsequent Users who request the material;
(2) the OSP must transmit the cached material to subsequent Users without modifying its content;
(3) the OSP must comply with any rules on updating the cached material that are specified by the Originator using a generally accepted industry standard protocol, as long as such rules are not used by the Originator to prevent or unreasonably impair system caching;
(4) the OSP must not interfere with technology associated with the cached material that returns certain information to the Originator, as long as such technology doesn't significantly interfere with the performance of the OSP's system and is consistent with generally accepted industry standard protocols;
(5) if the Originator has placed conditions (such as payment of a fee or entry of a password) on access to the cached material, the OSP must allow access to the cached material only to subsequent Users that have met such conditions; and
(6) if the original material from which the cached copy was made has been removed or blocked and a copyright owner provides notice to the OSP (pursuant to certain "notice and take-down" provisions discussed below), the OSP must act expeditiously to remove or block access to the cached material that the copyright owner alleges is infringing.
Safe Harbors for Transmission and Routing
A final safe harbor in the Act covers an OSP's transmission, routing, or providing connections for material through the OSP's system and for intermediate and transient storage of material in the course of such activity. In essence, this safe harbor covers an OSP's activities in acting as a conduit for material travelling between other parties.
To qualify for this exemption, several conditions must be met:
(1) the transmission of the material must have been initiated or directed by someone other than the OSP;
(2) the activities covered by the exemption must be carried out through an automatic technical process and not by any selection of material by the OSP;
(3) the OSP must not select the recipients of the material except as an automatic response to another person's request;
(4) the OSP must not make any copy of the material ordinarily accessible to anyone other than intended recipients and must not keep any copy for longer than reasonably necessary for the OSP's transmission, routing, or connection; and
(5) the OSP must not modify the content of the material as it transmits it through its system.
http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/band.html
60 meters x (estimated) a gram per cm is 6000g... 12 lbs. Even at triple-0 wire (the main leading into your house), 200 feet is a 'toss over one shoulder' quantity... I'd guess 15 kilos.
I'd bet it has weight of a similarly-sized TV.
http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/ 879641
this site has some pics of the case.
enjoy
Lizard "Never let them set limits on your mind!"
Final results
But, with no forther adue, I present the final result! Enjoy!
Pic7
Top side Borg Cube
Pic8
Right sidepanel
Pic9
Left Sidepanel
Pic10
The full monty
Credits:
I'd especially like to thank Gerard for the many hours we spent in the workshop creating the Borg Cube.