Ubuntu Server + CoovaChilli + DD-WRT = an easy and free captive portal system
WARNING: this is not a drop-in solution, some customization and piecing-together required. Throw FreeRADIUS or CoovaRADIUS into the mix for easier user-level authentication.
I have one of the firesale Touchpads. I think it is a great product. I mean how many Apple or Android tablets let you run vanilla debian? I'd get the Go in a heartbeat.
"Let you" is a little vague. It's more like webOS "doesn't stop you" from doing it, like iOS or Android would. Either way, it's not very simple. And it's not like webOS devices come with an "Install Other OS" option like the PS3. Oh wait...
Works great with my PS3! Just make sure you hook up your console with an Ethernet cable - I got a lot of stuttering on fast-paced video over the wireless. I can play full 1080p MPEG4 video over 100 Mbps Ethernet.
Maybe a mall SUV? The Mazda CX-9 has a rear cargo area but no partition to cover the space and make it a "trunk" - it's just one big open area in the back.
I've purchased dozens of refurbished consumer electronics, and I know other people who have as well, nearly all of those devices are still working just fine months and years beyond their warranty expiration. I've seen maybe 5-10% failure rate on refurbs, which is about the same as my record with "brand new" consumer electronics. YMMV, IANAL, KTHXBYE
I've been using the Alternative CD for years. Is it so hard to "Install a minimal system" and then "sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop" afterward? No. Do I expect the average user to be able to do this? Again, no. Would it be so hard to teach them this? Once more, no.
I do IT support for a company of about 800-1000 people. All of our executives and corporate staff wanna use their goddammed iPads, iPhones, Androids, and other personal wotsits or doo-dads to do their work. Enough is a-freakin-nuff! We're a corporation and we need to maintain stability and compatibility over fancy and chic. You get a laptop. With Windows. And a BlackBerry... if you're lucky. Oh, and don't get me wrong... it's not like I'm being elitist or something. I love these consumer devices for home use. I have all sorts of digital toys. But they belong AT HOME!
Or... follow me on this... put together a knowledge base of common break/fix issues, and point people to that instead. Providing end-users with a well-defined set of Officially Approved Answers much safer and more reliable than ever ever sending them to Google, etc.
...you could continue to run webOS on the damn thing. Since, you know... it's better and all. I still cannot find the appeal of Android. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but something tells me I shouldn't have to.
My home Internet connection is still only 4 Mbps. I'm totally jealous of those Martians right now.
Also, "in about like"? Seriously, who edits these summaries? A twelve-ye... never mind.
Hardware is completely different. At $200 - $400, I have literally dozens of monitors to choose from so I can pick out exactly the one I want with precisely the features I want. I can even support a company I favor while ignoring those I do not. I have little to no such choice in the way of office suites, operating systems, or other proprietary software. Most of these things have one or two options, neither of which I may want, so my only other choice is free software (or nothing at all).
These are XviD AVI files at about 1 Mbps, and generally less than 720p. I'm not shooting for high-def. For really high-def stuff I usually queue up the file on the hard drive of the PS3 first and watch it from there. I was just rebutting that "just playing back from media" does not suck, nor does "UPnP suck" as previously stated.
Cant be more than $10,000? I have single switches worth 6x that.
When I said $10,000 that was clearly tongue in cheek. As in the PHB saying, "Do whatever it takes to get this up and running! Hear me? Whatever it takes. As long as you can do it for free."
You'd be surprised how often some people actually get this as a demand from their boss, myself included. It's amazing how one can build an entire infrastructure for free nowadays with open-source solutions like Zimbra*, Resara*, and Bacula*, along with a few little TurnKey appliances here or there. The only real cost is hardware which, thankfully, is getting cheaper all the time...
I run my PS3 off a Mediatomb server over standard wireless-G across the house, and it works damn near flawlessly. The *only* thing that stutters for me is the intro to The Big Bang Theory.
The feature with the coolest potential is a gyroscope, which tells the remote which side is facing upright. That means you can hammer away at the miniature keyboard without triggering an unintended volume change from the buttons on the other side.
Except when I'm laying in bed watching TV and I want to use the remote upside-down. I think I'll keep my AVS Gear infrared remote for now, kthx.
I use MediaTomb for my digital media library. It manages all my music, videos, and photos and is quite extensible through scripting if you are familiar with JavaScript. Then I use XBMC or my PS3 as the front-end to MediaTomb. I'm currently managing over 1 TB of data without issue. I cannot speak for other media, such as books, as all my books are still in dead tree format.
Slashdot Mirror
http://coova.org/
Ubuntu Server + CoovaChilli + DD-WRT = an easy and free captive portal system
WARNING: this is not a drop-in solution, some customization and piecing-together required. Throw FreeRADIUS or CoovaRADIUS into the mix for easier user-level authentication.
I have one of the firesale Touchpads. I think it is a great product. I mean how many Apple or Android tablets let you run vanilla debian? I'd get the Go in a heartbeat.
"Let you" is a little vague. It's more like webOS "doesn't stop you" from doing it, like iOS or Android would. Either way, it's not very simple. And it's not like webOS devices come with an "Install Other OS" option like the PS3. Oh wait...
A great host I found on lowendbox was RAM Host. I got a 128 MB/10 GB VPS for $15/year. That's per YEAR!
http://mediatomb.cc/
Works great with my PS3! Just make sure you hook up your console with an Ethernet cable - I got a lot of stuttering on fast-paced video over the wireless. I can play full 1080p MPEG4 video over 100 Mbps Ethernet.
Net neutrality would be the regulation that no one be allowed to regulate the Internet, i.e. "Rule #1: There are no rules."
Maybe a mall SUV? The Mazda CX-9 has a rear cargo area but no partition to cover the space and make it a "trunk" - it's just one big open area in the back.
I've purchased dozens of refurbished consumer electronics, and I know other people who have as well, nearly all of those devices are still working just fine months and years beyond their warranty expiration. I've seen maybe 5-10% failure rate on refurbs, which is about the same as my record with "brand new" consumer electronics. YMMV, IANAL, KTHXBYE
I've been using the Alternative CD for years. Is it so hard to "Install a minimal system" and then "sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop" afterward? No. Do I expect the average user to be able to do this? Again, no. Would it be so hard to teach them this? Once more, no.
I do IT support for a company of about 800-1000 people. All of our executives and corporate staff wanna use their goddammed iPads, iPhones, Androids, and other personal wotsits or doo-dads to do their work. Enough is a-freakin-nuff! We're a corporation and we need to maintain stability and compatibility over fancy and chic. You get a laptop. With Windows. And a BlackBerry... if you're lucky. Oh, and don't get me wrong... it's not like I'm being elitist or something. I love these consumer devices for home use. I have all sorts of digital toys. But they belong AT HOME!
Palm/HP Pre/Pixi/Veer + Preware + freeTether No muss, no fuss, no rooting. kthxbye
there is no default app to take a picture with the camera
The latest update to webOS for TouchPad (ver 3.0.4) includes a "Camera" app. Just sayin'.
Or... follow me on this... put together a knowledge base of common break/fix issues, and point people to that instead. Providing end-users with a well-defined set of Officially Approved Answers much safer and more reliable than ever ever sending them to Google, etc.
...you could continue to run webOS on the damn thing. Since, you know... it's better and all. I still cannot find the appeal of Android. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but something tells me I shouldn't have to.
My home Internet connection is still only 4 Mbps. I'm totally jealous of those Martians right now. Also, "in about like"? Seriously, who edits these summaries? A twelve-ye... never mind.
you're thinking with ponies!
Was his ego writing checks his body couldn't cash?
Not out of the box it can't: DVDX
Hardware is completely different. At $200 - $400, I have literally dozens of monitors to choose from so I can pick out exactly the one I want with precisely the features I want. I can even support a company I favor while ignoring those I do not. I have little to no such choice in the way of office suites, operating systems, or other proprietary software. Most of these things have one or two options, neither of which I may want, so my only other choice is free software (or nothing at all).
These are XviD AVI files at about 1 Mbps, and generally less than 720p. I'm not shooting for high-def. For really high-def stuff I usually queue up the file on the hard drive of the PS3 first and watch it from there. I was just rebutting that "just playing back from media" does not suck, nor does "UPnP suck" as previously stated.
Cant be more than $10,000? I have single switches worth 6x that.
When I said $10,000 that was clearly tongue in cheek. As in the PHB saying, "Do whatever it takes to get this up and running! Hear me? Whatever it takes. As long as you can do it for free."
You'd be surprised how often some people actually get this as a demand from their boss, myself included. It's amazing how one can build an entire infrastructure for free nowadays with open-source solutions like Zimbra*, Resara*, and Bacula*, along with a few little TurnKey appliances here or there. The only real cost is hardware which, thankfully, is getting cheaper all the time...
* why do all of these things end with "uh"?
Especially since the two are mutually exclusive. How exactly does one run a pirated PS3 game from within Linux? An emulator? GLWT
I run my PS3 off a Mediatomb server over standard wireless-G across the house, and it works damn near flawlessly. The *only* thing that stutters for me is the intro to The Big Bang Theory.
He recently made a commercial for DieHard as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vktqUM0VDtU. Pretty sweet IMHO.
FTA:
The feature with the coolest potential is a gyroscope, which tells the remote which side is facing upright. That means you can hammer away at the miniature keyboard without triggering an unintended volume change from the buttons on the other side.
Except when I'm laying in bed watching TV and I want to use the remote upside-down. I think I'll keep my AVS Gear infrared remote for now, kthx.
I use MediaTomb for my digital media library. It manages all my music, videos, and photos and is quite extensible through scripting if you are familiar with JavaScript. Then I use XBMC or my PS3 as the front-end to MediaTomb. I'm currently managing over 1 TB of data without issue. I cannot speak for other media, such as books, as all my books are still in dead tree format.