Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Viewer Mail #2 - The Dell Optiplex GX110 and the cast of M*A*S*H
Lee M., from Canada, wrote me the other day (say two months ago) and asked the following question:
Lee M., I researched your answer right away, then promptly forgot about replying - mainly because I had no idea and I was still frazzled from completing my Ph.D. I found out however that my chassis' name is... Trapper, following the M*A*S*H theme. I have the huge mid-tower version. Three possible CD-ROM bays, the high life for me. Below, I post pictures to the site to let others know just how big it is (but how small it really is vs. the speakers and the TV itself.) The PVR-250 looks lonely inside the cavernous beast. But, it is quiet.
Lee responded to an e-mail, requesting a follow-up to his story:
I'm currently in the contemplation stage of building my own PVR, and as
coincidence would have it, I have my eye on an Optiplex GX110 P3 866 MHz and
already own an Hauppague PVR250.... My question is this: What type of case is your GX110? I assume you bought the beige model, is it a Small Desktop Chassis (Hawkeye) i.e. one CD-ROM bay, or the Medium Desktop Chassis (Hunnicutt) i.e. dual CD-ROM bay?
The reason I ask is because the power supply differs between the two cases, which may affect compatibility with PCI cards. I'm concerned the Hawkeye won't power two PCI cards. In case you're wondering, the power supply for all post 1998 dell cases can be upgraded, but requires an adaptor to use ATX supplies.
Lee M., I researched your answer right away, then promptly forgot about replying - mainly because I had no idea and I was still frazzled from completing my Ph.D. I found out however that my chassis' name is... Trapper, following the M*A*S*H theme. I have the huge mid-tower version. Three possible CD-ROM bays, the high life for me. Below, I post pictures to the site to let others know just how big it is (but how small it really is vs. the speakers and the TV itself.) The PVR-250 looks lonely inside the cavernous beast. But, it is quiet.
Lee responded to an e-mail, requesting a follow-up to his story:
A funny thing happened on the way to the auction.... My other computer is an Athlon XP2500 tower with TV out, so I decided to set it up in the living
room to show my girlfriend the possibilities of HTPC. I had several movies
ready to go, but one look at the tower (she rarely ventures near my home
computer) and one listen to the stock fan was enough for this project to be
scrapped. She couldn't stand the thought of seeing my desktop on the TV screen
either, it reminded her of work :) There would be no inexpensive PVR in a
beige case. My PVR would have to be small and fan-less. It's the only
diplomatic solution.
Sunday, October 17, 2004
This link is worthless without pictures.
I have never included any photos of my PVR because it is a rather dull, beige box. Some of you visual learners out there might want to see what I have here. In one respect, the PVR is greater than all outdoors. In another, the triumverate of cards inside (PVR-250, video, and sound) have lots of room to operate. Yet in the end, it is just one component of a larger system.
Click on these thumbnails to see larger (1 MB) photos.
Click on these thumbnails to see larger (1 MB) photos.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Now, with e-mail.
On three occasions, I have received e-mails regarding my personal video recorder. The first message warranted a Viewer Mail segment. A second message went unanswered as it contained code for burning DVD's, which at the time was a moot point thanks to a defective drive. The third message came in the aftermath of my doctorate and was not answered, especially since I did not know the answer. I have asked permission to use the third e-mail as a second Viewer Mail segment.
These three individuals found our my e-mail address through my resume at my Research website. To make things easier, I now show my e-mail address at the right. If you e-mail me about my PVR I will assume from now on that you'd like to give me material for my web log (unless you say otherwise).
These three individuals found our my e-mail address through my resume at my Research website. To make things easier, I now show my e-mail address at the right. If you e-mail me about my PVR I will assume from now on that you'd like to give me material for my web log (unless you say otherwise).
Friday, October 01, 2004
My blogging hiatus is over.
On August 5, 2004, I successfully defended my Ph.D. dissertation entitled "Correlating the Physical Interface and Magnetically Active Thickness of Ultrathin Cobalt Films." The degree was officially conferred on August 22, 2004. My formal physics education is over, but I can explain how the 160 GB hard drive in my PVR works. Awesome.
In this (hopefully) brief interlude between the time I stopped patting myself on the back for finishing and the time I am gainfully employed, I will be able to do more work on this site. Watching MythTV is highly addictive, especially when one has had to forswear good television to accomplish an academic goal. Two examples: First, I may have been the key demographic for Futurama, but I never had the time to invest in the series. Repeats on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network have finally enabled me to watch the entire series. Just yesterday, my MythTV setup let me know that I had seen them all. Done. Finished. I have caught up to the rest of you.
Second, here in the Washington, DC area we have access to Aussie Rules Football on the MHz Networks, an independent public broadcaster. Though the matches are delayed by one week, I was able to actually integrate myself into the AFL this year. I had always kidded that as a fan of the New Orleans Saints that I should support the St. Kilda Saints of the AFL. As it happens, St. Kilda had the best goal scorer this year and made it to the semi-finals (prelimatry finals, as they say). Congrats to the Saints, and to the Port Adelaide Power, who won it all.
In this (hopefully) brief interlude between the time I stopped patting myself on the back for finishing and the time I am gainfully employed, I will be able to do more work on this site. Watching MythTV is highly addictive, especially when one has had to forswear good television to accomplish an academic goal. Two examples: First, I may have been the key demographic for Futurama, but I never had the time to invest in the series. Repeats on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network have finally enabled me to watch the entire series. Just yesterday, my MythTV setup let me know that I had seen them all. Done. Finished. I have caught up to the rest of you.
Second, here in the Washington, DC area we have access to Aussie Rules Football on the MHz Networks, an independent public broadcaster. Though the matches are delayed by one week, I was able to actually integrate myself into the AFL this year. I had always kidded that as a fan of the New Orleans Saints that I should support the St. Kilda Saints of the AFL. As it happens, St. Kilda had the best goal scorer this year and made it to the semi-finals (prelimatry finals, as they say). Congrats to the Saints, and to the Port Adelaide Power, who won it all.
