Yes, I know that I'm lazy.

I'm bad at the whole blogging thing...I somehow assume that if I know that I'm going to do something, or am in the process of doing something, that everyone who should have any interest in it whatsoever already knows that I'm working on it...thus, I don't tend to, say, keep anyone updated on the status of things...

Ok-with that being said, I've made a bit of progress on both my projects. I have:

A) Secured a unit to work with my second project, a re-config of a Tablet PC to work with Ubuntu.

B) Further worked on my guidelines for my first project (and yes, I do know that I'm mentioning it second), just a simple, down-home, 500G Raid 1 (or possibly 0+1, depending on how I feel from day to day) Semi Media-Centric desktop setup.

Again, the tablet that I'm going to be working with is an older version HP Compaq TC-1000 (various information is available on this website-great resource, btw, whomever came up with this my thanks to you...), I'm just working on getting Ubuntu to load on a flash drive (which seems a fairly easy process, detailed here, if you'd like further linkus directus, you can also find some here). Once I get this functional, there are of course tons of things that I'll be letting go horribly wrong, so...er...stay tuned, I guess.

The desktop that I'll be trying to build has been refined in the past little bit...I realized that I was going a way too costly route (yep, lazy AND cheap), so I decided to get a bit of help from Ye Olde Internet...I checked out LifeHacker and remembered that they had done a build on a "Hackintosh", i.e. a PC built to use the OSx86 protocols & run OSX (specifically Leopard) on standard PC hardware...I then realized that I desperately needed to be able to dual-boot OSX with my new desktop (it's just so purty...and functional, easy to use, etc...) along with the Penguin. Thanks be unto Adam Pash who has handed this knowledge down to us (and, yes, I do know that it's available elsewhere on the intarweb, but LifeHacker puts a much more user friendly spin on it, and has fairly detailed instructions). Anyway, long story short, I'm just about to put in my order with the Newegg (after another day or two of bitching to myself about the cost...again, cheap AND lazy), we'll see how it goes from there.

Projecto Numero Dos...

Ok, so you might be saying "WTF-why is this guy starting on his 'second' project before completing (or, hell, let's be honest, really STARTING) his first project?"...well, the answer is two-fold:

I was inspired to do this project, because of its complexity and all the interesting things that might go...well, not wrong, but...sideways.

I got an opportunity to get my starting materials...inexpensively. Ok...cheap as hell.

What the basic gist of this is, is that I've purchased an HP Compaq TC-1000 Tablet PC and I'm planning to a) install Ubuntu on it (which has, shall we say, not the best Tablet PC support, though I've found helpful things for on-screen keyboards, screen rotation, and pen support, links to follow in later posts...probably) and b) mod the hell out of the case (I really don't like the whole grey-box-with-random-logos-and-stupid-stylings thing...I prefer a blacker/shinier/sleeker style, with as few buttons/protrusions as possible...maybe that's why I've been a Mac guy for years...well, one of the reasons). I plan on using lacquered carbon fiber for the body, with probably the same material for the face (if I can figure out the best way to install it, that is).

The bright side of all this is that I might (time/money permitting) have TWO projects to work on at the same time, and be able to take time off from one when it's bothering me and work on the other and that you, dear reader, will have two things to occupy your (otherwise obviously wasted) attention...

Just in case...

Ok, so I have a few ideas for cases-I think that I've narrowed it down to one, but we'll see.  I have two main concerns, which are:

1) Size-is it both large enough to hold all the innards that I'm looking for...I'm thinking at least two 500 G Hard Drives in a RAID 1 configuration, or (more likely) four 250 G HD in a 0/1 configuration (ahem...just in case you need the primer) AND is it small enough to fit in my cramped NYC apartment without infuriating my lovely missuz?

B) Price-I'm a cheap bastard, but I do realize that the whole "you get what you pay for" thing is often true.  I don't need to cheap out and get a $20 case that's hideous and annoying to put together, etc...  Also, I don't need to go and get a solid-aluminum-hand-milled-by-Belgian-monks mucho expensivo monstrosity either (well, if you could actually buy that case I might think about it), so I'm mostly looking for something around the $100 range, I guess.

All that being said, I spent a little time in the past few weeks (well, probably months) looking at cases, and I came up with this one...

Well, it's actually less expensive than I was shooting for (cheap bastard), it seems to have plenty of space (for 4 hard drives...we'll have to see if I worry much about expandability), and I like the look (I'm very tired of both the "big metal box" and "purple lucite thing with a dragon engraved on it" schools of design), so I'll probably be keeping this pretty high in my thoughts.

Projecto Numero Uno...

All right-here's the deal: I don't really know anything about computers (other than the whole "I use them 10-12 hours a day/can tell people where to find things in different programs by using my hands to illustrate drop down menus" sort of thing)-I really don't know how they're put together or how the OS interfaces with specific hardware, etc.  I figure, for my own personal edification, I should build one from the ground up and install a non-standard OS (i.e. I use Windows all day at work and OSX all night at home)-I'm thinking Linux, probably Ubuntu to start, until I get comfortable with command line interface, etc...any ideas?  I'll be working on my choices for hardware and posting them as I make them, and I'll be posting the whole process (so that all the 1337 kids out there can get a laugh and all the n00bs...as if there are any left...can color along).