Back to the Egg

...finally, back to work

Had to take some time away from the Vegan Myth project due to work related travel... back now, and making some progress.

Here is an updated shot of the "Vegan Myth" unit. You can see I now have MythDora installed. So, to bring you up to speed on the recent events, here is a list of what has transpired:

- > put DVD ROM drive from my Firewall server in
- > found extra sound cable to connect DVD drive to motherboard
- > purchased 3 pin splitter to attach second case fan to power

The missing parts

I got the parts that I needed from CompUSA today, but I certainly didn't buy my replacement DVD drive there. I was looking around at the store, and found the Liteon DL DVD burner with every possible format for $64.99 + tax ($4.53). The exact same drive (rated very highly in consumer reviews) is on at NewEgg for $34.99 (incl tax) + $6 shipping. I think I can wait the 2 days for it to arrive, and save the extra $30.

The install begins

After getting the final pieces in place, I began the install of the OS and other software. The MythDora install went smoothly, no issues with the hardware (vid card, capture card, optical disk, etc.), but there were some issues that were Fedora specific (no native NTFS support, also didn't work with WEP/WAP out of the box). I ran a cable across the living room, and got on the internet to get the missing packages to get the NTFS and wireless support I needed (my external drive with all of my music, pictures, videos, etc is NTFS).

Once the install was complete, I had some display issues (namely, it would push out a frequency not supported by my flat panel). I had to hook up my 19" LCD monitor to the box to alter the display properties, then was able to get it to work. Once I got the display on the plasma, I was off and running - and it also on next reboot was able to auto-configure to match the proper plasma model.

One annoying thing I found, the "myth" user that was created at install didn't have the proper access rights to some of the folders (storage), so I had to chown and chmod a bit, as well, some folders weren't created, so I had to add them. All good now.

I ran through a series of brief tests, and we did watch a DVD using it tonight. I have to say, the box is completely silent... I mean, if you rest your head on it, you will hear it, but it doesn't exceed our ambient noise levels in our place.

What's next?

So, I have to now get the satellite link working, the VFD drivers downloaded, the IR receiver and blaster working, and the channel changing perl script going (thanks to my co-conspirator for passing that on to me).

I'm away (again) for a week on business, but next week I may have a guest host coming to work on the finishing touches with me... stay tuned.

-VG