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Skip to:  Specifications

Introduction

I put up a page a while back detailing the parts and specifications of all of my computer systems. As mentioned on that page, the intent was to have an easily accessible reference of this information.  The same applies to this page, which lists the details of my home theater system.  There's not much to it, to be completely honest (being assembled back in 2003 when I was fresh out of college), but I recently had need to compile all of this information and figured it'd make sense to post it here for future reference.

I may add some more details in the future, but for now this is mostly just a component reference.

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Specifications

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Skip to:  blackdog  |  boxdog  |  showdog II  |  lapdog  |  litldog  |  bigdog  |  olddog  |  zero  |  miscellaneous

Introduction

This page lists the components and specifications for my various pieces of computer hardware. This is meant to be an easy reference for myself when I need to figure out, for example, what specific motherboard I had purchased for my last computer, where to get the latest BIOS update for my laptop, etc. I'm placing it on my website simply because it's the easiest thing for me to access at any given time. Feel free to take a look at the specs if you're interested in such things.

Note:  This page is still under construction.

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blackdog  Custom-built Desktop (upgraded)

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boxdog  Custom-built NAS

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showdog II  Custom-built Media Server, using recycled parts

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lapdog  Dell Latitude D620

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litldog  Dell Inspiron 3800

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bigdog  Gateway P500

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olddog  Gateway P500

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zero  Dell PowerEdge 2950

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Skip to:  Concerts  |  Games  |  Movies  |  Music | Archived Content

Note:  This page hasn't been updated for quite some time. I'm not sure whether I'll begin using it again, but for now I'm leaving it here for archival purposes.

Introduction

I often hear about various games, movies, products, etc. that sound really interesting, but are still only in developmental stages. While this is nothing new, the problem for me is that I then tend to forget about said item once it's finally released. To paraphrase one of the greatest movies of all time, this is something we shall have to remedy^[1].

In order to help with this problem, I'm going to start keeping track of new and upcoming stuff that I find interesting and/or particular noteworthy. Not only will this help me keep track of what's "Coming Soon", it'll also allow me to share this information with my visitors. Now everyone can see just how geeky I can be at times (though I maintain that I'm still not random!).

Each item will be posted to this page, along with a description and estimated release date. I'm not sure yet how populated this list will become, nor what I'll do with the entries once they're officially released, but I figure this will be an interesting experience regardless. To kick things off, here's the first batch of items.

• ^[1] http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Braveheart#Dialogue

Concerts

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Games

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Movies

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Complete Series

• Release Date: Tue, 10/02/2007

Yes, I'll admit it. I'm a Star Trek fan. I'm not a die-hard fan or anything, but I've always enjoyed the television shows and movies, going back to The Next Generation. (The Original Series, in case you're wondering, was well before my time and I never got into the reruns.) The Next Generation has been out on DVD for some time now, but it was originally released in season sets while I was still a poor college student. $110/season x 7 seasons isn't exactly affordable. Now that it's being released in a significantly discounted series box set, it's time to finally take the plunge. This is, after all, the TV show that got me into science fiction.

Stargate SG-1: The Complete Series

• Release Date: Tue, 10/09/2007

I've been wanting to catch up on Stargate SG-1 for a few years now, though I guess since it's no longer on the air "catch up" is no longer the right word. I really enjoyed the original movie back in the day, and have more recently been enjoying Stargate Atlantis, but I missed out on SG-1 entirely. At ten seasons, it was just a bit too much for me to borrow from a friend and work through. Now that they're releasing a complete series boxed set, though, for a pretty significant discount over the original releases, it looks like I finally have the excuse I've been waiting for. :-) Complete details of the release can be found here.

Music

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Archived Content

The Bourne Ultimatum

• Release Date: Fri, 08/03/2007

This is another movie about which I'm cautiously optimistic. The Bourne Ultimatum is the third film in a trilogy of films based on the Robert Ludlum books of the same name. I thoroughly enjoyed The Bourne Identity, which came as quite a surprise to me as the trailer didn't excite me very much. I thought it had an intriguing story, a well-executed plot, and a great balance of action and drama. The Bourne Supremacy, however, was a letdown. The production quality seemed to drop considerably, and the provoking storyline was largely dropped and replaced by a number of boring and pointless action sequences. I can only guess that this shift was the result of a new director for the second film. Sadly, the director of the second film will also direct the third. I still find the world and overall storyline created by Ludblum intriguing, and am looking forward to watching the third and final installment of the franchise, but I think I may hold off and read some reviews of the movie before going to see it myself. I'd rather skip it altogether than spend money on another letdown.

I passed on this one. As I said, I'm a big fan of the original, but thought that the direction of the second film when severely downhill. Since the third was directed by the same as the second, I was nervous about the quality, and sure enough after seen a couple reviews similar to "The Bourne Ultimatum Made Me Sick", I knew this move wasn't for me.

Babylon 5: The Lost Tales - Voices in the Dark

• Release Date: Tue, 07/31/2007

Yes, I'll admit it - I'm a Babylon 5 junkie. The show was phenomenal. The character development and scale and complexity of the main story line is rarely rivaled even today, and in my opinion has yet to be topped. Needless to say, I was delighted beyond words when it was announced last year that he would be developing a new series of direct-to-DVD movies beginning in 2007 entitled "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales", after a 5+ year hiatus from any B5-related projects. There was much rejoicing in the streets (ok, in the homes of sci-fi geeks everywhere).

Voices in the Dark is the first of the series to be released. It features two mini-movies focusing on two of the core characters of the series (John Sheridan and Elizabeth Lochley) as well as a third character from the spin-off series Crusade (Galen). It will be released on July 31, 2007.

Note to self: Look into new soundtrack as well, released by Varese Sarabande.

Now this, on the other hand, was fantastic. The DVD is divided into two halves, each telling a story focused on one of the major characters from the show (Lochley first, then Sheridan). The Lochley episode was ok - not great, but ok. The Sheridan episode, however, was fantastic. If you're a fan of the series, you'll definitely want to pick this up. Also, if you're a movie soundtrack buff, I recommend picking up the soundtrack as well. It's scored by Christopher Franke, the composer for the entire original series. Very good music.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

• Release Date: Wed, 07/04/2007

I'm cautiously optimistic about this one. Despite the severe browbeating that the first Fantastic Four movie received by critics, I personally enjoyed it. Overall, it was a fun and enjoyable movie, with a decent storyline and a good cast that, for the most part, really nailed their roles. I'd expect the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, to be at least as enjoyable as the original, but I'm waiting for a proper trailer before making my decision on this one (the teaser trailer is omits any hint of plot or production quality).

This was pretty decent, but I can't say it lived up to my hopes. Overall the movie was enjoyable and fun to watch, but near the end it began suffering from shear ridiculousness (and yes, I know it's based on a comic book). I don't think I'll pick up the DVD when it's released.

Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos

• Release Date: Tue, 06/05/2007

Systematic Chaos will be the first Dream Theater album released under their new label, Roadrunner Records. Anyone that knows me personally is well aware that I'm a huge Dream Theater fan, so it goes without saying that I'm really looking forward to this. Their last studio album, Octavarium, was perhaps the best of their 21 year career (in my opinion, of course), and I'm eagerly awaiting my next musical fix.

This CD kicks ass. It's definitely not for everyone, but if you're a fan of progressive rock/metal, you definitely need to pick it up. It took a few listens before it really grew on me, but damn, it's hard to listen to anything else now (and I'm writing this about 3 months after it's release). It was so good I also planned a vacation to Chicago around their concert schedule to I could see them live. :-)

Sister Hazel

• Sat, 04/22/2007 - 20:00
• Horshoe Casino & Hotel
• 1021 Casino Center Dr.
• Robinsonville, Mississippi 38667
• 21 & Over, Doors @ 7PM, Hazel @ 8PM, Tickets $20-$25

This concert was awesome. Cheap tickets, short drive, GREAT music, and a fun show. I can't really ask for much more. :-) I strongly recommend seeing Sister Hazel live if they play anywhere near you.

Spider-Man 3

• Release Date: Fri, 05/04/2007

Have you seen the trailer for this? It looks freakin' amazing! I normally don't get this exited over sequels, but the story, action, and effects all look top notch. This is one movie that I will see in theaters this year, without question. Given the extremely high quality production of the previous two films (both of which were better than I expected, especially story-wise), I think Spider-Man 3 will be sure to please.

I don't care what anyone else says - this move was awesome. Yes, there were some weaknesses, as many have pointed out, and I won't dispute that. However, on the whole the movie was extremely fun and engaging, and very much a worthy end to a phenomenal movie trilogy. I highly recommend going to watch it if you haven't already done so.

Dawn of Mana

• Release Date: Tue, 05/22/2007

Secret of Mana, released for the Super NES way back in 1993, was one of my favorite games released for that system. Developer Square (now Square Enix) did an amazing job of blending traditional console RPG elements with action/adventure style gameplay popularized by The Legend of Zelda. I have longed for a sequel for many years, and despite numerous related releases, I never was able to enjoy one (due to Japanese-only releases, the choice of console, etc.).

That's about to change. :-) Square Enix is set to release Dawn of Mana in North America on May 22. Despite my self-imposed ban on buying any new games until I finish playing through all of the older ones that I already own but have not played, I think I'm going to have to make an exception for this. The graphics look pretty amazing (despite the somewhat overly-cartoony style), and if the gameplay and story lives up to that of its predecessor, it should make for a damn fine game indeed.

Well, this one has come and gone, and unfortunately I didn't pick it up as planned. Despite the amazing potential, most of the reviews I read rated game play and control very poorly. As much as I would like to play through it anyway just for the story, I just don't have much time to spend on video games these days, and I'd rather continue working through my backlog of games rather than pick up a less-than-stellar new one that will undoubtedly take many hours to complete. Come on, Square. I expect much better of you. :-)

This is a test

Note:  This page is likely very outdated.  I've left it here primarily for archival purposes.  Please refer to the following to links for current information and support:
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-49036.html
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-52290.html

Purpose:

Recent versions of the top-tier Linux distributions (SuSE, Red Hat, etc.) include splash screens at the LILO prompt, and sometimes even on the console when booting the system.  While this is really no more than eye candy, it does have the "Ohh" factor that can attract other people to Linux, which is a Good Thing.

This HOWTO will detail how to enable these splash screens on other distributions, as well as how to change, customize, etc. the splash screen if your preferred distribution already includes one.  This will focus on Gentoo (since that's all I have to work with), but I'll attempt to make it as generic as possible.  Let's get started.

Update:  While this HOWTO was originally intended to be a guide for setting this up on all distributions, it currently covers Gentoo exclusively.  Many of the steps automated by the Gentoo ebuild are quite low-level (patching your kernel, modifying your bootloader, etc.), and as such it will take some time for me to figure out how to reproduce these steps manually.

Prerequisites:

• kernel patch - included with Gentoo ebuild
• splash screens - example artwork is included with the Gentoo ebuild; additional artwork may be obtained here

Installation and Configuration:

Installation under Gentoo is very easy, thanks to the bootsplash ebuild.  Follow the steps below to install it.  Note: These instructions are specific to bootsplash-0.4-r1.  The procedure may differ for later versions.

The ebuild command above will patch your kernel for splash screen support during boot, so the next step is to enable this in your kernel and recompile it.  Enable the following options:

Be sure to compile and install your new kernel.

Next, you'll need to install your splash screens.  Decide which resolution you want, and substitute that in for the commands below.  By the way, it's not necessary to use the symlinks (you can call the files directly), but it does make it easier when trying to use additional splash screens.

Note that there are two different splash screens, one called bootsplash and one called consolesplash.  bootsplash is displayed during the boot process, appearing once the kernel begins to load (after LILO), and until lasts until the Login: prompt.  consolesplash, as you can guess, appears at the login prompt, and remains present on any virtual terminals.  I should point out here that bootsplash is enabled and controlled by your boot loader (LILO), while consoleplash is enabled by the /etc/init.d/bootsplash init script (yes, the consolesplash init script is called bootsplash - just ignore this bad naming convention).

Why have two separate screens?  Well, in addition to the obvious reason (two separate pictures), you can also control the size and shap of the text independantly.  For example, during boot you may prefer to have a tall and narrow text area so that you can easily view the boot messages as they scroll by.  Once you login, though, you may prefer to work in a shorter but wider environment, allowing you to view more text on each line.  The default splash screens are configure like this, and details for changing them are provided below.

Now that you have your splash screens installed, the only remaining task is to configure LILO to display it during boot.  This involves two steps.  First, you have to set LILO to boot in high-resolution mode.  Second, you'll need to set it to display the image.

Decide which resolution you want to use and consult the following table for the VGA number you'll need:

If you're not sure which resolution and color depth you want, I recommend 791 for 1024x768x16.  I've had the best luck with this setting.

To enable everything, add the following lines to the default stanza of your lilo.conf:

Substitute your resolution number for 791, and don't forget to run lilo afterwards to install it.

At this point everything should be installed and configured.  Reboot, and you should be greeted by Larry the cow (yes, the default splash screen can be changed).

Configuration:

Now that you have everything setup, you'll probably want to change the splash screens.  This is pretty easy to do, but you must follow two important guidelines:

• The images must be the same size as your console resolution
• The images must be the same color depth as your console

You can grab additional images here.  Each of these images are 1024x768 and 16 bit.

Remember, whatever images you use must conform to the above specifications.  Once you've ensured they do, the rest of the process is relatively easy.

To change your bootsplash screen, copy the new image to /usr/share/bootsplash/, delete the bootsplash.jpg symlink pointing to the old splash screen, then recreate it pointing to your new image.  Unless your image is very similar to the old one, you'll also need to reconfigure it.  Copy the file bootsplash.cfg is linked to so you'll have a template, then open your new .cfg file in an editor.

There are 3 settings you can modify in this file: the border coordinates, the text foreground color, and the text background color.  The coordinates (in pixels) define what part of the screen will display text, and the text color settings should be self-explanatory.  Here's my bootsplash.cfg file:

Remember, the coordinates are in pixes, so this says to start the text area at (20,10) and end at (990,655).  tx and tw define, from right to left, the start and end points along the x-axis, and ty and th define from top to bottom the start and end points along the y-axis.  Don't confuse this with the mathematical coordinate system, in which the y-axis origin starts at the bottom.  This configuration also specifies to make my text white with a black bacground.

Note that it's very difficult to guess what the correct coordinates should be, so you may have to resort to trial and error by taking your best guess, rebooting to see how it looks, then trying again.

Once you're happy with the configuration, make the bootsplash.cfg is pointing to your new .cfg file, then install it as your did before:

This created the new initrd file, and updates LILO to use it.

Modifying your consolesplash image is easier.  As before, copy the new image to /usr/share/bootsplash/, and update the consolesplash.jpg accordingly.  You'll also want to copy the file consolesplash.cfg is pointing to so you'll have another configuration template, then update consolesplash.cfg to point to your new .cfg file.  As above, you'll also need to make sure the .cfg file is properly configured for your new image, then save any changes.

Your new consolesplash screen should automatically be loaded by the bootsplash init script on the next reboot.  Edit /etc/init.d/bootsplash and make sure /usr/bin/splash line is pointing to /usr/share/consoleplash.cfg.  As long as consolesplash.cfg and consolesplash.jpg are linked to the correct files, you should be good to go.

Reboot and be amazed by your handiwork.

If you notice any errors in this document, or if you have trouble getting something working correctly, send me an e-mail.  It took me several tries to get everything setup correctly, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't work right away.  Good luck!

Note:  This page is completely out of date.  I've left it here primarily for archival purposes, and also because it still contains some useful reference information for my own system.  Everyone else should refer to the Gentoo Linux Handbook instead for installation assistance. 

What is Gentoo?

In short, Gentoo is a source-based, community-driven, and heavily-optimized distribution.  There are no RPMs, no DEBs, and no .tgz binaries - just about everything you install on your computer will be built from source code.

What does that mean?  It means that Gentoo is a complex and difficult to install operating system, but the rewards for taking the time to learn and configure everything are nearly endless.  Whether you want performance, configurability, stability, security, or maintainability, Gentoo will work for you.  In addition, Gentoo's community involvement and support is the best I've ever seen, so you can rest assured that friendly assistance is but a forum post away.

For more information about Gentoo, visit the Gentoo home page at http://www.gentoo.org/.  For support, head to the forums at http://forums.gentoo.org/.  And finally, check out the "About Gentoo Linux" page at http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/about.xml if this is your first experience with Gentoo.

Purpose:

This document is NOT intended to be a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to installing Gentoo Linux.  The official Gentoo Linux x86 Installation Guide already does an extremely good job of that.  You can view the guide here: http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gentoo-x86-install.xml

Instead, this document is meant to provide supplemental information to the guide, such as example config files, additional reference material, etc.  In addition, it will list the installation steps on my specific hardware (see next section).  Any installation on similar hardware should be very similar to the process described here; as a result, this can provide a good reference to make sure everything's on track and no steps have been missed.

Please also note that this guide only covers the installation and initial configuration of Gentoo, just enough to get a functional system.  Additional help and configuration guides can be found on the Gentoo documentation site at http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/docs.xml.  I strongly suggest browsing through the available documentation to see what's there.

My Systems:

Included here are hardware specs for the systems on which I've documented my installation of Gentoo.  This is for your reference.  Find the system that most closely matches your hardware configuration, and use my setup commands for that system as a guide for your own installation.

Prerequisites:

• Time - this distribution will take a lot of time and effort to install, especially if this is your first time installing a source-based distribution.  Save this for a day when you're able to spend a decent amount of time tinkering with it and reading through documentation.
• A Pentium II-based machine or better, with at least 64 MB RAM and 2 GB hard disk space.  It's possible to install on a lower-end machine, but not any fun at all.  More RAM and more hard drive space is also a good thing.
• The Gentoo Linux x86 Installation Guide - read it now, and have a copy available while installing Gentoo.
• Gentoo Linux installation CD - grab the latest release ISO from http://distro.ibiblio.org/pub/linux/distributions/gentoo/releases/.  If you plan on doing a Stage 1 install, you can get the x86/livecd/gentoo-basic-x86 ISO.  Otherwise, download the gentoo-3stages-x86 ISO.  Burn to CD.
• **NOTICE**  These instructions were written for Gentoo 1.4_rc3.  Other releases will be similar, but will undoubtedly have some variation.  If anything here conflicts with the official installation guide, give precedence to the official guide.

Preparation:

You have two main decisions to make up front - how you want to setup your partitions, and which "stage" you want to install.  The installation guide covers both of these topics in detail.  Read through sections 1 (Introduction) and 5 (Partitioning) now to make sure you understand what's happening, and plan ahead for what you want to do.

For partitioning, I generally like to create a /boot primary partition at the very front of my hard disk, allow space for any other OS partitions after, then create a large / (root) logical partition and usually about a 256 MB logical swap partition.  I also like to use ext3 for all my filesystems.  It may not be as efficient as reiserfs in some situations, but it's generally regarded as safe and well-supported journaling filesystem, which, in the case of my data, is more important to me.

You may also want to consider adding a separate /home partition as well, in case you'd like to keep your personal data separate from the rest of the operating system.  In general, though, just use whatever partition layout you used with your previous distribution - that should work fine.

One more note about the stages - this document will cover a Stage 1 (most involved) installation.  If this is your first Gentoo install, though, I'd recommend going with a Stage 3 installation.  I'll mention below what parts you can skip if you're doing a Stage 3 install.

Installation:

Initial Steps

Remember, you need to have a copy of the installation guide available.  If you have a second computer, just keep it loaded in your web browser.  Otherwise, print it out.

To get started, boot from the installation CD.  At the boot: prompt, enter 'gentoo'.  Choose your language when prompted, then immediately enter 'passwd' to set the root password after it's finish booting.  Don't forget to set the root password here - if you don't and you have some kind of problem during the install, you will not be able to login on a different terminal to fix the problem.

Next, load whatever hardware drivers you need.  The installation guide explains this process well.  Gentoo recognized and auto-configured everything on my Latitude C400 without any problems.

At this point you need to configure your network interface.  If your NIC is recognized by Gentoo and you're on a DHCP network (as was the case with my Latitude C400), this may be done automatically for you.  If not, you can use 'net-setup eth0' to configure it.  Refer to the install guide for many additional details.

At this point, I've done the following on my systems:

Partitioning

You already have your partitioning scheme planned out from earlier, right?  Re-read section 5 to make sure you didn't overlook anything, then use either cfdisk (easier) or fdisk (more powerful) to make any necessary changes.

Once your partitions are in place, it's time to initialize the filesystems.  Follow the instructions in the installation guide, and use there examples to create whichever filesystems you'd like.

Next, you need to mount your new partitions.  Again, follow the directions and examples in the install guide.  Also, be sure to activate your swap partition.  This is particularly important if you have less than 256 MB RAM - if you do not have extra swap space, the build process will probably fail.

This is how I setup my systems:

Configuring Installation Environment

Decide which Stage you want to install.  Remember, Stage 1 requires compiling EVERYTHING on your system, and as such will take quite a while.  Stage 3 includes prebuilt system packages that will greatly speed up installation.  You should only need to install Stage 1 if you're obsessed with getting every last bit of performance out of your system, or perhaps if you simply want to feel more manly.  Otherwise, go with Stage 3.

Follow the directions on the web site to get (if necessary) and extract your desired Stage tarball, then enter the chroot environment and update the portage tree as described.  Note that at this point you must have networking enabled to continue.

Finally, make sure your make.conf file is configured properly.  This file defines portage's behavior, and contains the two most important settings on a Gentoo system - your USE flags, and your CFLAGS.  USE flags basically describe what components you want to be enabled/disabled in programs, which optional components are installed, etc.  CFLAGS set which options gcc will use when building packages.  Aggressive CFLAGS can lead to good performance gains, but it can also cause some instability.  I've included my USE and CFLAGS settings below for reference, but BE SURE TO READ section 10 in the install guide, and The USE Variable HOWTO, available at http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/use-howto.xml.

You'll notice that my example USE flags below contain all options those preceded by a - are disabled, those not are enabled.  Please note that I only do this for my reference and that it is NOT necessary - USE flags are disabled by default, and as such will only be enabled if explicitly mentioned here.  Be sure to check your /etc/make.profile/make.defaults file, however - it contains some USE flags as well.  To disable any listed in there, add them to your make.conf list and prepend them with a -.

Stage 1 Installation

If you're performing a Stage 3 installation, skip this section.

The first thing that must be done is bootstrap your system.  This will build and install your compiler, and other essential system programs.  Read section 11 of the installation guide for additional info.  This step will take awhile to complete.

After the bootstrap is complete, it's time to install the base system packages.  Again, read section 12 for more information, and be prepared to wait an even longer time for this to complete.

My steps: