Project 002: FreeNAS Project

Well, this project didn't turn out as planned. but its definitely functional. its very simple actually,
the software I'm running is called FreeNAS.


The hardware I'm using is as follows:
Enermax 350W Power Supply
Intel® Desktop Board D945GCLF Motherboard + Processor
2 x 1Tb WD SataII Hard drives
1 x 120 Gb Hard drive for OS






The idea was to create a wall mountable server that i can install beside my utlity panel with all my other networking hardware. so the 120Gb hard drive that is now installed on the side was not suppose to be there, i was intending to run the software off a USB key. but for some reason the PS3 media server software cannot be installed with FreeBSD on the USB key, strange, but it doesnt really matter considering its a working functioning server. it is running 24 hours 7 days a week. sending email reports to my email with status updates, automatically mirroring my data and compressing at the same time. it is almost a living breathing being.

Project 001: Digital Media Frame

This being my first creation posting. I don't expect it to be the best. what i built was basically what I call a 'Media Frame'. i took my old unreliable HP dv1000 laptop apart, and made a framed box out of plywood around it. then i picked up some white presentation board and cutout the front opening, and lastly i bought a nice trim to go all the way around. i also painted it all black except the white layer, to show some contrast. I expected it to look a lot cleaner than it is, i am very happy with the results.
so now i am running windows off of it, and using a free open source software called Elisa media center to run slide shows, videos, music, and stream media off the internet as well.

The features are:
14" LCD screen
1 DVD/CD drive
2 USB ports
8 in 1 Media card Reader
Altec Lansing Speakers
6 cell battery (roughly 1.25 hrs of run time)
Remote control
Wi-Fi

so basically, it is a PC in a frame, everyone seems to love the concept and i am enjoying showing my family pictures from the past on a larger format. the next project is to build a FreeNAS system to store all the data on and access all the data wirelessly. hope this inspires some people to build and create your own or innovate the idea to become better or more efficient.