New Unreal Tournament game will be free, developed by Epic and UT community
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Linux
New router with DD-WRT
So I had to reset my server a few times. With the normal stability of my server needing to restart is really unusual. I normally only need to restart when updating the kernel but I have recently had the system lock up completely. The only change being that I set up my server to act as a wireless access point in February. I think that was one task too many with all the other network intensive tasks I had it doing. So I felt it was time I just purchase a replacement router/wireless access point.
I decided this time around that I would get a router compatible with DD-WRT an open source Linux based firmware for routers and access points. There is a plethora of router firmware projects out there so you have a wide choice if you want to do a similar project. I decided to just go with DD-WRT because it’s one of the most popular and supports a wide variety of hardware. I also took a look at Tomato and OpenWrt but I have to admit I didn’t try either of them out.
As far as hardware I wanted:
1. The device needed DD-WRT support, since that is what I wanted to put on it.
2. Something inexpensive with a good hardware specs to price ratio.
3. Something that supports wireless N. Most of my devices are wireless B/G devices but I have one or two wireless N devices.
After looking over several reviews I discovered the Belkin N300 Wireless Router F7D3302.The bad reviews on Amazon were all for the stock firmware. All the DD-WRT reviews on Amazon gave it five stars and I also found a post on the DD-WRT forums that spoke well of it. For $20 I figured it was worth a shot. Spec wise the router has: 64 MB of Ram, 8 MB of flash, and a Broadcom BCM4718 @ 480MHz. I downloaded the two firmware files I needed from the DD-WRT Router Database, you just search for the model number to find the correct device. After installation I changed the password and set up wireless security. So far it has been a really solid device. I’m considering connecting my printer to it next because the router has a USB port but I will see. I could also use it as a NAS with a portable HD but my home server does well in that role.
New router with DD-WRT Read Post »
CyanogenMod 10.1 on my HTC EVO LTE
Last night I flashed the June 8th IRC build of CyanogenMod 10.1 on my HTC EVO LTE. In addition I flashed a modification that will give a transparent status bar on Android 4.2.2 devices. As a launcher I am using Apex Launcher with the dock disabled. Do actually launch my commonly used applications I use Unity Launcher with auto hide enabled. This gives my phones home screen an extremely clean look. If I need an app not on Unity launcher I have my phone configured to bring up the app drawer with a long press of the home button.
Here are a few pictures of what this configuration looks like while in use:
It’s pretty fun to have such a minimalistic yet functional setup.
Adding in the wallpaper for those that want it:
CyanogenMod 10.1 on my HTC EVO LTE Read Post »
My Crunchbang home server
I thought I would give a quick update on my home server for my fellow Linux geeks.
I currently have it running Crunchbang Linux. If you are unfamiliar with Crunchbang it is a low resource Linux Distribution based on Debian. I chose Crunchbang because of how much I like Openbox as a low resource window manager and Cruchbang comes with Openbox configured nicely. It’s much quicker to use Crunchbang as a base as opposed to trying to configure Debian to pretty much the same way.
One of the primary purposes that I use the server for is to act as a home webserver for my wife’s blog SarahDarr.org and my blog here at PaulDarr.org. The software I use to support the blog is Apache webserver, MySQL database and WordPress.
Another use I have for my home server is to act as a media and file server. For media I run Plex, which allows me to stream my music, home movies and DVD copies to my Roku boxes and Android Smartphone. I already had several Roku boxes and Plex is currently one of the best ways to stream media to them. As a file server I just connect using SFTP and do manual backups of my data.
Yet another duty for my home server is to act as a print server. That’s taken care of using CUPS and the Chromium web browser. The use of CUPS is a no brainer but some of you might be wondering why I’m using a web browser. Both Chrome and Chromium support Google Cloud Print. Google Cloud Print enables my wife to print from her Chromebook and me from my Android devices. I don’t run Chromium all the time but it does have a service running for cloud print.
On the hardware end of things my home server is running on an Acer Aspire One D255 Netbook. I upgraded my laptop in 2011 and I had this sitting around as a spare. The D255 has a 1.6 GHz Atom processor, 1 GB RAM and 160 GB hard drive. I have an external 320 GB hard drive connected for additional storage. I have the laptop connected to the 32inch TV in the room for extra eye candy and the laptop is suspended on a shelf. As a father of a soon to be 2 year old son it’s good to keep the server out of his reach.
To connect with a keyboard and mouse I use Synergy to use my desktops mouse and keyboard with the Netbook.
So far the Netbook does a surprisingly good job as a multi-role home server. Even with all the extra programs I have running it uses less that 300 MB of RAM while in it’s regular use. Overall I would say I am pretty happy with my hardware and software setup. The only addition I have planned is to automatically sync the backups from my desktop.
My Crunchbang home server Read Post »