Here we go again. It's been around 17 years.
At least it's Ubuntu which pretends to be easy.
M said she wanted easy access to movies and television shows for when the internet was down or when the power is out and we are running on generator.
I said I can get a media server for a couple hundred bucks. That's two. And I blew past at 20 bucks when you include the remote little keyboard/ trackball.
Okay, after a bit of wandering I ordered this:
Ubuntu Linux Mini PC,Intel Alder Lake N100 16GB DDR4 500GB SSD,2.5G Dual LAN Mini Computers Supports WiFi5/BT5.2/USB3.2/4K Triple Display,Home Server/Network Firewall https://a.co/d/1c1PP4b
Plus a miniature keyboard/ trackball to start off with. I have to come up with some type of desk solution for my lap that'll handle a decent trackball, I.e the Kensington expert mouse, and a decent clacky keyboard.
Fonicer Multimedia 2.4Ghz Wireless Mini Keyboard with Trackball Mouse Scroll Wheel for PCMacAndroid Tv Box, Remote Controller,X Structure, Black https://a.co/d/04axKPY
To start off with it is a Linux server. Linux multimedia server setup for the exact task that I want it for. Linux support. At least they claim support. Hopefully I will never need to contact them.
It has old old hardware. This old old hardware is still phenomenally faster than anything I've ever used. And this old old hardware should be well supported with all the bugs worked out.
4 CPU cores, 16. Gig of memory, local SSD Drive. Some embedded graphics that should show movies just fine. I don't expect to run any games on it, that's what the dedicated Mame machine is for, and I decided I have no intention of wasting time on the high-end games. A few minutes of occasional distraction is fun, I don't want to get lost for days into one.
It's goal in life is to serve as a media server for when we have cable outages or blackouts.
It needs to store as many seasons of as many things as M wants to watch with as many movies as she wants to watch.
It starts with a half a terabyte built in. That should handle it.
Remember, this is all legal stuff. We have various services that allow you to download for later if you don't have an internet connection. I'll just suck down as much as we want and can store.
If not an external sata enclosure for an external disc is 20 bucks. SATA disks run at about $10 per terabyte. 20 TB discs are $200. These discs are far faster than anything I've used before so I'm not worried about it slowing me down. A few video streams should be nothing to it.
If I want to get really fancy I can get an eight disc raid enclosure. That will make it safe and hot swappable if anything dies. That costs $200. That'll give me a raid 5 / 144 TB enclosure 5 in wide and 2 ft high. For $1,800.
Or just get a pair and mirror them. I'll have to see what the disc usage is.
I can also use it as a Linux development workstation but whenever I do any AI calls I will have to call an external service. That's okay. That'll cost around 30 bucks a month and it'll give me time to play and learn and then when the real stuff shows up I won't be pushing too hard to buy something as soon as it comes out.
M said she wanted easy access to movies and television shows for when the internet was down or when the power is out and we are running on generator.
I said I can get a media server for a couple hundred bucks. That's two. And I blew past at 20 bucks when you include the remote little keyboard/ trackball.
Okay, after a bit of wandering I ordered this:
Ubuntu Linux Mini PC,Intel Alder Lake N100 16GB DDR4 500GB SSD,2.5G Dual LAN Mini Computers Supports WiFi5/BT5.2/USB3.2/4K Triple Display,Home Server/Network Firewall https://a.co/d/1c1PP4b
Plus a miniature keyboard/ trackball to start off with. I have to come up with some type of desk solution for my lap that'll handle a decent trackball, I.e the Kensington expert mouse, and a decent clacky keyboard.
Fonicer Multimedia 2.4Ghz Wireless Mini Keyboard with Trackball Mouse Scroll Wheel for PCMacAndroid Tv Box, Remote Controller,X Structure, Black https://a.co/d/04axKPY
To start off with it is a Linux server. Linux multimedia server setup for the exact task that I want it for. Linux support. At least they claim support. Hopefully I will never need to contact them.
It has old old hardware. This old old hardware is still phenomenally faster than anything I've ever used. And this old old hardware should be well supported with all the bugs worked out.
4 CPU cores, 16. Gig of memory, local SSD Drive. Some embedded graphics that should show movies just fine. I don't expect to run any games on it, that's what the dedicated Mame machine is for, and I decided I have no intention of wasting time on the high-end games. A few minutes of occasional distraction is fun, I don't want to get lost for days into one.
It's goal in life is to serve as a media server for when we have cable outages or blackouts.
It needs to store as many seasons of as many things as M wants to watch with as many movies as she wants to watch.
It starts with a half a terabyte built in. That should handle it.
Remember, this is all legal stuff. We have various services that allow you to download for later if you don't have an internet connection. I'll just suck down as much as we want and can store.
If not an external sata enclosure for an external disc is 20 bucks. SATA disks run at about $10 per terabyte. 20 TB discs are $200. These discs are far faster than anything I've used before so I'm not worried about it slowing me down. A few video streams should be nothing to it.
If I want to get really fancy I can get an eight disc raid enclosure. That will make it safe and hot swappable if anything dies. That costs $200. That'll give me a raid 5 / 144 TB enclosure 5 in wide and 2 ft high. For $1,800.
Or just get a pair and mirror them. I'll have to see what the disc usage is.
I can also use it as a Linux development workstation but whenever I do any AI calls I will have to call an external service. That's okay. That'll cost around 30 bucks a month and it'll give me time to play and learn and then when the real stuff shows up I won't be pushing too hard to buy something as soon as it comes out.