The $1,000 FreeVo

I get a lot of grief from my friends about this one. Unlike most of the people, I have a Mythbuntu box at home instead of a much less expensive DVR solution and what I struggle to explain is that this project started out as a different set of requirements. I wanted to have (purchase or build) a system that would have the following:

- Allow for 100's of GB of storage to be able to back-up all my photographic work and all the laptops at home (5 total!).
- Have a Linux O/S in order to be able to test some software solutions that would not run on any of the 5 Windows laptops.
- Full fledged development Web-Server with the LAMP stack installed, to be able to test sites on a local server.
- Central storage for all my music files.
- A networked, always-on system, accessible at any moment, from any place in the house.
- Being always-on, I wanted a SILENT, low-power consumption box, instead of a noisy, of-the-shelf server (I had a Cobalt before and it was like a hair dryer on all the time).

Then I figured:
- If this systems is going to be always on, and have all my music files on it, I want it to be hooked up to my Stereo.
- Now that it is hooked up to my stereo, Wouldn't it be nice to have my big-screen TV as its monitor?
- And, now that it is hooked up to my TV and Stereo, wouldn't it be nice to watch movies on it? Or even record TV shows?

So this is how I bumped into Mythbuntu. My decision of using a Linux O/S was pretty much a done-deal. This was a promise of having a full-fledged LAMP server with all the multi-media functionality I also wanted.

Hardware Spec:
- The application is not very CPU-demanding, so almost anything would do. I used a Motherboard and CPU I had around. A core-solo @ 2.66 MHz with 1 Gig of RAM and integrated Audio and VGA video.
- One 160 Gb PATA HDD that I had around for the system disk.
- Two 500 Gb SATA HDDs I purchased new for a RAID-1 array
- A Hauppauge PVR-150. I chose this one when I started this project BEFORE the digital TV transition. It comes with an MPEG dedicated compression chip, so this way the CPU would not be tied up doing this during recording. It also comes with a Phillips-MCE-Compatible remote and receiver. I will probably add a 1600 digital card soon, to be able to record off-the-air, straight digital signal.
- An Adesso 3000UB wireless USB keyboard. I wanted this to be able to browse the web, and use the actual Linux server without being tethered to the box. This model, despite some bad reviews, has withstood my abusive use pattern. It has a built-in trackball and a scroll wheel, so you can drive it kinda like a game console.
- A pair of Ethernet over powerline adaptors. I wanted to have this unit by my entertainment center (where there is no CAT-5 wiring), but still have decent connectivity, so I chose this over wireless.
- ANTEC box. I selected this one as I needed minimum wife friction. This box goes in the living room and the aluminum finish of this box is very discreet and looks like a Tuner. The box also has dual fans that can be throttled. I set them to the minimum speed and there is NO audible noise at all. The box has enough space for 3 HDDs and a DVD unit. This is a must if you are building a server. On the front of the box there is a VFD display. I had issues with this as the chipset has a IR receiver that is not functional but the O/S detects it in some cases. Because of this I disabled it by unplugging the USB interface that powers it.


Setting up the system:
When you install a UBUNTU system, things are just much more easier if you have everything in the box before you fire up the O/S. The plug-and-play functionality works well at initial install as long as your stuff is quite standard. Once the operating system is installed, dropping in an additional piece of HW can be more challenging (as it proved to be on my initial attempts).

1.- Under this configuration I would set everything in the box, except for the RAID-1 drives, then verify that it powers on without major errors.

2.- Download the Mythbuntu ISO. Mythbuntu is distribution that is a blend of Ubuntu and MythTV and comes with all the funky drivers, like the MCE Remote and the PVR150. I recommend you use a version based on one of the Server releases (8.04 was the latest LTS version at the time of this writing). Ubuntu has frequent updates for the desktop environment, but some of these updates can break your setup.

3.- Burn the ISO. You can use any software burner. In case you need one, CDBurnerXP is a good free alternative.

4.- Pop the CD in the optical drive of the newly built system. Follow the menues for installing UBUNTU on the system HDD and when prompted, select "Advanced Install". Here, add the VNC and MythTV services. On screen 12/15, enable the remote selecting "Windows Media Center (New)".

5.- Once UBUNTU has finished installing and rebooted, Launch the MythTV Setup. In my case I had to select General: US-Cable, Capture Cards: MPEG-2, setup the Database as "mythconverge" (is the default), and selected "Schedules Direct" (This is a Non-For-Profit Scheduling service that costs ~$20/year.) as my Video Sources. On "System Roles" select (add) "Ubuntu Desktop" so that all the stuff that comes with Ubuntu, such as Open Office, etc. gets installed.

6.- If you want to use Pandora on your box, you will have to install Flash. There is no Pandora applet for Mythbuntu at this moment. The Web browser on Mythbuntu is a Konqueror port. So you have to install Flash on the Konqueror browser. To do this, go to the menu (by pressing Ctrl-Esc) and select System>Add/Remove. Look for Konqueror. You might have to enable all software sources to do this. After you have installed Konqueror, open Firefox and close it. Now run Konqueror and install Flash (by navigating to Adobe's site).

7.- If you will be installing RAID devices, run in a console "sudo apt-get install mdam" and "sudo apt-get install raid". I followed the full How To published HERE.
- Partition your drives using fdisk. You can list your devices without risk using "sudo fdisk -l" If your first disk of the RAID array is your SECOND drive, you would use: "sudo fdisk /dev/sdb"
- Once you have created the raw partitions, these will be "ext3", the default Linux type, which is not available for RAID, so you will have to change their type to "Linux RAID Auto - fd" by using the "t" command in fdisk. Make sure you write your changes (command "w").
- Create the raid device using "sudo mknod /dev/md1 b 9 2"
- Create the RAID-1 array "sudo mdadm --create /dev/md1 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sdb1 /dev/sdc1"
- Verify that the array is created and synced: "sudo cat /proc/mdstat"
- Once it is synced, put a file system on the array: "sudo mke2fs -j /dev/md1
- Now mount the array on the /raid folder: "sudo mount /dev/md1 /raid
- Once everything is checked, create a line in /etc/fstab using: "sudo nano /etc/fstab"
- Add line "/dev/md1 /raid ext3 defaults 1 2" so that the array mounts with every boot.

8.- Once you have installed your RAID devices, now you can reconfigure your system to RIP your DVDs to the redundant array and also the music utility to save on this one. This way if your system drive fries, you will still have the files.

9.- Now you can configure other stuff like the MythWeather applet to display the maps and forecasts you want as well as the MythFlix applet to show your queues.

There is no easy way to configure your MythFlix queue now. You have to input some parameters into the MySQL database. To do this, it is best that you install PHPMYADMIN. You can find instructions on this HERE. Once you have this installed add the parameters following the instructions HERE.

10.- Create SAMBA accounts for everybody who needs to backup. This is something that I struggled with. In Linux, you need to have a local account and a Samba account in order to have a share. Download the SAMBA administrative application going to the system meny and selecting System>Add/Remove.

Other Add-ons:
1.- LAMP server:
One of the things that I wanted is to have a full LAMP stack to be able to run websites off this box for development purposes. One of the easiest how-tos is HERE.

2.- VMWare Server:
At this moment there was no other way to use NetFlix instant watch but on Windows machines. So I installed VMWare and XP on this box. I used the tutorial published HERE. I found out later that Sun's Virtual Box uses much less resources so I switched to that.


Issues:
On my way here I have found a number of good How-Tos.

1.- If you have problems with your IR Remote:
- Install LIRC on Hardy - Step by step diagnostics
- MCE on Hardy problems - an entry on the Ubuntu Forums, with many different issues

2.- If your PVR card is not recording:
- Hauppauge Wintv pvr 150 - A good case where many diagnostics procedures are described

3.- If you have Audio problems:
- Comprehensive Sound Problem Solutions Guide - Self explaining...

4.- Alright, you obsess about getting the VFD working:
- VFD on Antec fusion (look for the iMON section!)
- LCD Proc on MythTV.org
- HOW-TO Configure the VFD to work with MythTV on a Antec Fusion case - This even gets into using the Control Wheel on the box to drive the menues

Other improvements:
1.- RAID upgrade. I recently changed my 500 Gbs to 1.5 Tb drives. There is no way to "grow" a RAID array, so I had to create a new one and transfer the data using an external box.

2.- Backup system HDD. As you can imagine, after this server is up, it becomes critical to everything you do, backups, Websites, etc. So I decided to create a second drive that I could throw in, in case of a problem. I cloned my system HDD with G4L. The "receiving" drive was bigger, and G4L seemed to be confused by this, it was just taking to long to clone. By creating a partition on the second drive of exactly the same size as the source drive, the image was completed in 20 minutes. This larger drive now holds a partition exclusively for recordings, this way overrecording cannot ever cause problems with the O/S.

3.- Digital card. This is one that I want to do as I cannot get any content directly from the air right now.

4.- Version upgrade: Newer version now features MIRO and other plug-ins. I will try to figure out a safe way to perform this upgrade.


The $1,000 FreeVo, asides from humor, is an understatement as this is not a DVR. This is my home server with full LAMP capabilities, disk redundancy for backing-up my laptops and a central repository for my music files (several iTunes instances can sync onto these files through the network straight to an iPod, without taking up space on a laptop). On top of this, the box also acts like a DVR which justifies its place in the living-room. The fact that it is a regular computer, allows for running HULU and Pandora. Obviously, when you want to make a change, you usually have to open up that terminal window...

Morning Walk

Every day looks pretty much the same. In fact, it can get sickening sometimes.

You leave the home, lock the door and the expected entourage of characters start to show-up.

The lady in the pink shirt walking the pomeranian, the asian guy that runs shirtless with a little dog that does not match his attitude, the woman in the hat.

After a while you just know them all, it gets boring and you just stop looking. So you come up with passtimes, you make up games.

This morning I spotted a gentleman on the other side of the street. I decided to get into an imaginary race. I was doing good under my opinion, my steps were long and cadence was actually faster than his. Still could not pass him. Stepped it up, lengthened my stride, still having a hard time.

He seemed to be leisurly strolling, and I still couldn't pass him!

Next time I decide to get into a race, I will pick the inner side of the curve...

The four biggest mistakes in Channel Management

In my 10+ years of managing Channel Partners I have had the opportunity to confirm over and over again my common-sense approach towards Management and Leadership. I have put together this list trying to make it as short as I could, forcing me to prioritize. This is what I came up with:

1.- Failing to choose the right model from the start.

It seems simple, but it can really make a difference. The right decision will depend enormously on the client base you are trying to reach and second, your product. There are certain products that are just not made to be sold through a distributor, or maybe the Internet. Conversely, there are customers (and demographics) that you will never reach effectively unless you utilize the same reseller/retailer that they are used to make business with. Same applies for wholesalers, your product has to be carried by those who sell to your retailer of choice.

2.- Not declaring it to the world.

We like to go around making our own decisions and we don't really bother on letting people know what we do but letting the market know what type of Channel you are using and what is your policy is crucial to have the community properly aligned. Those who feel that your model resonates with them, will look after you.

3.- Not being honest

If you have decided to sell direct, say so. You can suddenly become someone's competitor but you will still be known to be a trustworthy individual (and Company!) in the industry. Allways stick to the rules that you put out, if you need to change them, do so but honor whatever happened under them when they were valid.

4.- Not having a "Channel Specific" plan

Let's face it. Channel Partners in general are in the business of sustaining their own companies and they will only behave in a way that supports these objectives. Vendors and Manufacturers COMPETE for their mindshare. You as one of the many that they carry have to make it easy and profitable to do business with you. Failing to have a Channel-Specific team and tools such as Channel support, Channel Marketing, Channel Portal, etc. will not get you very far or at least, will make things much slower.
More on this on an upcoming edition.

Dogs on a leash...

Nice day to walk the dog. Kind of chilly for Florida.

It has been some time that I haven't taken my 9-year old boxer on a morning walk, so I thought it would be great that she would come with me this morning. Shorts, a fleece for the chill, leash and off we went.

There I was, pulling on her at every step when something caught her attention, and I got to say, this was pretty often. Every time I would get up to my burn-these-extra-10-pounds-that-I-packed-on-the-wrong-job pace, she would make sure to slow me down to do her thing.

So when I reached a stretch where there was no one nearby, I released her from her tether.

Now, we would walk harmoniously side-by-side. She would just wander out and investigate "places of interest". Would stay behind, but eventually speed up and come back to my side.
Now, my stride was steady, focused on the goal. I was walking in a straight line. We finished our walk at home on time an happier we could not be.

That's when it hit me, how real leadership has to behave.

The difference between a micro manager and a good leader who knows where he/she is going. A good leader sets the pace through example and recognizes diversity both in background, knowledge and style (BTW the similarities between my boxer and I end on how fast we both eat...), and allows his/her team to explore areas of interest that may seem important at their level of influence. Finally, lets them figure out the best way to keep up with the pace.

No leashes for me...

Why a Proxy makes sense (as a security device for exploring the web)

The Proxy is the ultimate security device, and I am going to make my case by an analogy. Let's say I need to go to some dangerous place, for example, my Inlaw's or my younger daughter's room (translate this into any treacherous place).

The safest alternative is to not go.

The next best thing, is to send someone else, Right? This is exactly what a proxy is designed to do and there are things that are possible in the virtual world. A proxy
can:

• Perfectly impersonate you
• Transmit the whole experience to you, safely

For this to work, the proxy also does some other things -besides having to be a heckuva robust machine-, to know:

• It has to know where NOT to go
• It has to know what not to touch, eat (or open, execute) and how to get rid of some stuff

On the other side proxies are not perfect, they CANNOT do all you can do. They usually don't speak all protocols, they give you a watered-downed version of the experience in some cases and on top of that, they have to know all your stuff to properly impersonate you and they will know all the nasty places where you want to go...

Help! I am buried by emails!

(and -by the way- I happen to be stepping on that important one of yours...)

Everybody seems to have this mixed rhetoric, everybody complains about how many emails they get, but they also use it in kinda fashion of "look how important I am, I get 150 emails".

I tend to measure workload more on how many I have to send, as this is a more accurate depiction on which ones are really relevant.

The truth is, it takes up a whole lot of our time everyday to sift through those messages and respond on those that are important. Anything we can do to make this task quicker and less frequent works in our benefit.

I have some suggestions to move in the right direction, some of these things are just common sense, some of them I borrowed from RFC1855 on "Netiquette".

Here I go:

• Be conservative in what you send
• Think twice on hitting "Reply all". Be toughtfull on who you copy, move away from a "Cover your ASSets" mindset. Encourage people to do the same.
• Be a man (or woman) of word. If you keep your word, people will not feel it is necessary to leave an email trail.
• Be thoughtful on who (and how) you copy. Who should receive this email and respond to it? (To) Who should just be aware? (CC) and Who should just be aware but is not part of the conversation? (BCC) Use this last one sparingly and with respect.
• Email, even when we have the Blackberry, is not instant. Allow 2 days for a response before resending an email, if your recipient is already overwhelmed, you are just making things worse. Type "URGENT" in the subject line if it is so, or pickup the phone.
• Use descriptive subject lines. If you are replying on an old message for a new topic, change the subject line.

Email is asynchronous and for medium sized messages (one page?). Use other forms of communication when you require:

• Quick answers: IM or SMS
• Decision from a group, coordination: Conference call
• An explanation that requires feedback if you are being heard: Phone, Face to face meeting
• A very long process or other that requires documentation: Make an attachment, point to a link.

Here are some good -already- old ones:

• Remember that the recipient is a human being whose culture, language, and humor have different points of reference from your own. This is true also on the receiving end.
• Use mixed case. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU'RE SHOUTING.
• Use smileys to indicate tone of voice, but use them sparingly. :-) is an example of a smiley (Look sideways).
• Wait overnight to send emotional responses to messages. If you have really strong feelings about a subject, indicate it via FLAME ON/OFF enclosures. For example:

FLAME ON: This type of argument is not worth the bandwidth
it takes to send it. It's illogical and poorly
reasoned. The rest of the world agrees with me.
FLAME OFF

("The rest of the world agrees with me" ...Love it!)

Last but not least: Send less, receive less...

Social Networking comes of age

I was one of the early adopters.

Maybe because I did not have to pay a premium to be one of them, as you usually have to, to be the first to get the newest gizmo. I somewhat did foresee the benefits to be able to "virtualize" our social environment. I should be able to keep in touch in my own terms and through my busy travel schedule and to sustain friendship on our new global reality, where I have more friends scattered around the world than in my hometown.

I joined LinkedIn in 2005, when it was little more than a contact manager. It has evolved to what it is now, the premium Social Networking site for professionals, with capabilities that allow to create business and employment opporutnities, as well as to maintain a peer-support system, instead of trying to make it on your own. Now I count almost 400 real connections on it.

Social Networking sites have undergone a transformation in two major aspects:

1.- SN sites are becoming more and more useful. With the incorporation of new functionalities, SN sites are now addressing real needs and reaching a wider audience.

2.- SN sites are now experiencing geometric growth. With adoption, viral expansion of the use of SN sites is something that is happening finally.

A year ago, my oldest daughter perfected her MySpace template and introduced me to this teenage-bound site. Today, Fortune 500 companies and Presidential Candidates have MySpace pages, it is no longer reserved to "indie" rock bands.
Another popular site, Facebook, opened up an API for third parties to develop Social Network-supported applications, creating a burst of creativity.

These tendencies manifest in a number of obvious ways, and at least two not-so-obvious:

- SN applications are becoming a very important content provider, creating steady, heavy traffic.

- SN applications are starting to be looked at as something that can be leveraged by the business world.

After all, people are at the heart of everything.


A quick overview of the existing Social Networking sites:
http://www.MySpace.com
This is one of the biggest SN sites, in terms of subscribers, and probably the best known. Tends to be a more "push"-like site that allows users to post info about themselves. Applications are controlled by MySpace.
http://www.LinkedIn.com
This site is directed towards the working professional. A must to be in for anyone working in a technology-related field. Application is closed-developed by LinkedIn. Has remarkably good privacy guards.
http://www.Facebook.com
Often seen as a "MySpace for grown-ups", Facebook offers the possibility of developing applications that "piggyback" on the social capabilities of the core application. For example, an external "birthday reminder" application when properly installed and authorized, willtake your birthday date and will remind all your friends linked (that have the application installed too), of your upcoming birthday! Pretty good privacy features.
http://www.hi5.com
Very similar to MySpace. So far I have experienced privacy issues.
http://www.Plaxo.com
Not really a Social Networking application, it allows to update your contact list automatically. At the end, useful to keep in touch.