Posts filed under ‘Tech’

Viking Modular Systems has announced the availability of its SATADIMM, an Enterprise Class SATA II Solid State Drive (SSD) in an industry-standard DDR3 240-pin DIMM form factor. The SATADIMM SSD derives its power from the 1.5V supply to the DIMM socket (operates from 1.25 – 3.3 vdc) and data transfer is enabled by using a standard SATA cable. New designs have the option of wiring the SATA through the DIMM socket so no external cable is required. The SATADIMM has built-in ARS-128 encryption for data protection and supports Trim commands. The different models include SLC (single-level cell) versions with a 25GB to 200GB range and MLC (multi-level cell) versions with a 50GB to 400GB range. The SATADIMM supports SATA 3Gb with sustained read/write speeds of 260MB/sec., plus sequential and random performance of 30,000 I/O operations per second.

A few of us have recently been playing around with thin client motherboards that Jim graciously donated. While I already have a project in mind for mine, I can’t get the thought of building a car computer out of my head, since these boards would be well-suited to the task.  Once I pay off my car, I may make my carputer a reality – until then, I figure why not dream on paper? Perhaps readers will get the same urge that I have, so here is a place for everyone to start.  Keep in mind that this system is not meant for performance, but to have just enough power to serve as your new front end.

ZOTAC NF610I-K-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 NVIDIA nForce 610i Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
[$44.99 - Newegg]

When considering a motherboard for this build, less is more.  There really is not a need to have a massive amount of components built in.  My mantra is, “The less we have, the less power the board takes”.  Reviews of the board on Newegg are decent, but varied.  Many people report problems trying to power this board, though those users might be mistaken.  In fact, one reviewer confirmed that the board only used 48w at idle and 62w under load.

Intel Celeron 430 Conroe-L 1.8GHz 512KB L2 Cache LGA 775 35W Single-Core Processor BX80557430
[$40.99 - Newegg]

I felt that finding a CPU with low power consumption would be the best choice for the power supply I selected.  Plus, to exceed stated power loads that the board supports, one would have to use a 35w Celeron 420, but the 430 isn’t much different in that area.  You can laugh, but this time the Celeron takes the cake.

Asus Triton 75 CPU Fan For Intel LGA 775 & AMD Socket 754/939/940/AM2
[$49.99 - PC Planet]

Since this is going to be a full dash install, I figured there wouldn’t be the need for a heat sink with a fan.  I felt that a fan might cause excess noise that would not be too pleasant when positioned just inches away from you.

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) System Memory Model F2-4200PHU2-2GBLA
[$49.99 - Newegg]

I honestly didn’t pick this RAM for any reason other than it having the heatsinks attached.  It was pretty much the first thing that I saw with 2x 1GB modules for a decent price.  Remember, this system is not geared towards performance, but 2GB should be enough to keep Windows moving along nicely.  (If you decide to go that route.)

Kingston SSDNow V+ Series SNVP325-S2B/64GB 2.5″ 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
[$189 - Newegg]

I picked this SSD for a few reasons.  No moving parts means higher shock resistance, a must have in a car.  However, I am still surprised by how little force the SSDs can take when operating.  This one has a higher non-operational max vibration resistance and also has low power consumption. (Though it really is about the same as any other SSD).  Again, low power is pretty key in this system.  You might want to still add in some sort of vibration resistant mounting just to be on the safe side.

PICOPSU-160-XT
[$49.50 - Mini-Box]

So when it comes down to running a tiny board and trying to fit it in a tiny space, you really need a tiny power supply.  No, make that a PICO power supply.  If you read the reviews on Newegg for the motherboard, you will have seen that at least 1 person had success with a PICO 200w.  Though I think this 160w should suffice it also provides 200w at it’s max.  This also does DC-DC conversion which, if you know anything about your car, is mandatory.

LITE-ON Slot Load CD/DVD Burner Black Slim SATA Model DL-8ATS
[$49.99 - Newegg]

I am unsure about using an optical drive in a moving system.  You should consider using some type of spring and rubber mounting system to ensure that you can avoid skipping and grinding on the disc.  I also consider this optional because many carputer builders skip it.  After all, won’t all your music be on a hard drive?  Of course, having a way to update items from disc might be nice as well.

Sharp 7″ Touchscreen TFT-LCD Panel
[$106.91 - GoodDeals]

This is the key component of any good car computer.  It provides the ability to see and interact with whatever software you have installed.  Take note of the web site’s instructions on how to wire this up in a car.  You will need to attach the cable labeled “light switch” to your positive battery lead in order for this to operate when the car is turned to ACC mode.

Now I know this probably leaves you with burning questions on how to piece it all together or what to install on it, but there are plenty of websites dedicated to carputers.  This is simply a list of a few suggestions on how you might piece one together.  In total, all of the parts listed clock in at just under $600 before shipping, and I feel it would be a great way to get somebody started on a build.  A few extra items that might be needed, depending on what you want it to do, would be a GPS unit and perhaps some hardware to use all six channels of sound coming out of the motherboard.

Comments? Suggestions?

While BitTorrent might be all the rage, I’m a Usenet guy.

I am honestly not very patient when it comes to obtaining things I want, so waiting hours or days for downloads to complete has never been my strong suit. Aside from the original Napster, BitTorrent and similar P2P apps have never been something I have enjoyed using. Usenet however, is a completely different experience – one which I highly recommend.

You may or may not have heard of Usenet before, but it has likely been around longer than you have. In fact, the first spam message ever delivered was done so via Usenet. It’s the Internet’s oldest and best-kept “secret”. This is partly because Usenet is kind of like “Fight Club” in that the only real, yet unofficial rule is, “You do not talk about Usenet.”

I on the other hand do tell people about Usenet. However, I only do so provided I have deemed them technically capable enough to handle the task. This is really one of the main reasons why I think Usenet remains a little more obscure than most other online technology. While Usenet is not as complex as say, compiling your own Linux distro from scratch, there is definitely a learning curve that stretches beyond the patience and understanding of most people. I find that the benefits of Usenet far outweigh the cost and effort associated with using it.

The major highlight of Usenet is that there is virtually no waiting. You don’t have to wait hours for a slow download to complete. You don’t have to sit and hope that there are enough peers available to grab that old file you are looking for. When something is posted to Usenet, it’s there for good (almost). When you select a file that you want, you are able to download it as fast as your broadband connection can handle, provided you selected a good Usenet provider. Everything is “just there” – no waiting, no fuss…you just grab and go.

That said, if you are contemplating leaving the world of trackers and leechers behind, I will be more than happy to lead you to the path of enlightenment…

Continue reading “An Introduction to Usenet” »

Here is last week’s “Weekly Build” – sorry for the delay!

Recently, the enthusiast oriented builds we have put together have been relatively expensive, usually around the $1,000 mark. After seeing my article on the $500 PC for grandma, Jared became curious as to how cheaply you could build a machine but still be able to use it for gaming. I set out to see what kind of gaming performance you could squeeze out of $600. As it turns out, quite a bit.

Continue reading “Weekly Build – Gaming on the Cheap” »

Every electronics workbench needs a power supply. Depending on your experience and type of projects, you might even need multiple power supplies. Converting a PC power supply to bench use is one option, but I needed something smaller with variable output voltage. A variable output of 0-15 vdc @ 1 amp and a built in voltmeter, to more more specific. So off to eBay I went looking for a project case, panel mount voltmeter and some other small parts. One of my eBay searches turned up a new tattoo power supply for $6. Well here was my case, digital voltmeter, switches and power cord for a fraction of the price of the individual parts. If I was lucky, some of the internal parts could also be used.

Continue reading “A Mini Benchtop Power Supply” »

Metasploit architect HD Moore has let it slip that he has discovered a major vulnerability affecting a wide range of Windows applications. This vulnerability, not unlike one patched in the Windows version of iTunes a few months ago affects around 40 applications including Windows Explorer, which is a major component of Windows.

He says he discovered this exploit while researching the Windows Shortcut bug that was recently the subject of an out of band patch by Microsoft.

Moore suggested a workaround, stating, “Users can block outbound SMB [by blocking TCP ports] 139 and 445, and disable the WebDAV client [in Windows] to prevent these flaws from being exploited from outside of their local network.”

[via ComputerWorld]

BoyGenius is reporting that there is code deep within iOS 4 that suggests the CDMA version of the iPhone and iPad is ready to be tested by carriers very soon.

This code allows certain units to bypass otherwise mandatory activation steps, allowing the use of the phone by partners and carriers for testing purposes without any hassles. The source cited in the article states that this sort of code always precedes the release of a new product and is promptly removed just before launch.

It should be noted that this is not a guarantee that this is the long-awaited Verizon iPhone, as Sprint’s network is also based on CDMA technology. Then again, who are we kidding?

Let’s just hope that this time around, Apple has a tighter grip on their testing units, so we don’t have a leak like the last time around…

[via BoyGeniusReport]

Thanks to a friend, I received 11 non-working Itona VXL thin clients. All exhibited the same symptom, no power. While disassembly is a little more involved than other thin clients, the repair only requires a soldering iron and ~$10 in parts.

Continue reading “Itona VXL Thin Client Repair” »

For this week’s build, I am going to piece together what I would likely buy if I were constructing a home media server. As a forewarning, I have been known to over-spec a machine from time to time, and this will likely be no exception. I like to ensure that my builds are future-resistant, as there is no such thing as future-proof, so you may feel that this machine has more power than you would want in your home media server. That’s totally fair – feel free to use my recommendations as a base on which to build, toning down my hardware choices to fit your needs.

For me, a home media server needs to fulfill several requirements. It must:

1. Provide ample storage with room for expansion
2. Provide ample power with room for upgrades
3. Be robust enough to last at least 5-7 years
4. Be reasonably quiet
5. Be somewhat attractive – I’m not looking for a Lian Li case here, but the computer should look fine sitting under my desk, or in a closet, should I so desire.
6. Finally, it should be relatively affordable

With these rules in mind, here is what I came up with, all for less than $1,200…

Continue reading “Weekly Build – A sub-$1,200 Home Media Server” »

While not the geekiest thing in the world, cleaning is something that has to be done.

One tool that I use to keep things tidy happens to be a Bissell SpotBot. I have a cat, and as cats are known to do, she enjoys leaving hairballs in all sorts of inconvenient places. The SpotBot is a miracle worker when it comes to cleaning up the aftermath. I fill it up, set it on the spot, hit “Surface Stain” and I walk away. The machine sprays, scrubs, and suctions off all the nasty stuff while I go about my other business. Anyone that has a pet or child under their care knows that stains on the carpet are inevitable, so I wholeheartedly recommend this machine to everyone.

That said, after 5 years of abuse, my SpotBot stopped spraying solution. I knew that something was up a while back when the manual attachment stopped spraying anything more than a trickle. The death knell came the other day after my cat spewed up what appeared to be a completely separate feline in various places throughout my house. The SpotBot stopped spraying altogether right as I started cleaning. The pump, it seemed, had given up the ghost.

Because I am a geek at heart, I will not let any electronically powered device I own hit the trash heap before I get a chance to take it apart. I thought that the pump was dead, but I wanted to ensure that it was not just a simple blockage or crimped hose.

A word of caution – This tutorial involves the disassembly of a consumer product that utilizes 120v A/C current. Taking this device apart not only voids your warranty, but it may also be dangerous. Exercise caution when working on this machine as it operates using water. As you may recall from childhood, electricity and water do not mix. For safety’s sake, at least unplug the SpotBot before working on it!

Taking the SpotBot apart is a pretty easy task. All you really need is a Phillips head screw driver and a few minutes. A pair of pliers will be useful later on when moving hose clamps.

Continue reading “Bissell SpotBot Pump Repair” »