I have a project that I need some hardware pointers for. I need to build some Centos "appliances" (dedicated boxes to do one thing only). Target cost is under $250/box.
Need: OS: Centos 5 Hardware Cost: less than $250 USD USB: at least 2 (not including keyboard) Memory: at least 128K Storage: prefer flash (USB stick OK) Network: 10 Base T
Want: Height: less than 4" (fit on a 3RU shelf) Width: less than 10" (slide keyboard beside CPU on rack shelf)\ Display: 80x25 (or better) LCD on front of case (comes that way or I mount it there) Network: 2 x 10 Base T
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box is required at each end, and the encoding box works much harder than the decoding box. Software to run will probably be Ices -> Icecast -> network -> mplayer. Will be using USB audio interfaces, probably something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Because of the nature of the application, once it is booted up the only disk activity is occasional logging when there is a problem with the connection.
Any advice, web links, battle scars, or advice gladly accepted.
Ted Miller Indiana, USA
I have a project that I need some hardware pointers for. I need to build some Centos "appliances" (dedicated boxes to do one thing only). Target cost is under $250/box.
Given the rest of the requirements, I would say something like: http://www.mini-box.com/M200-LCD-Enclosure
Find a distro more suited to the low power/mem environment like busybox or something.
jlc
Joseph L. Casale wrote:
I have a project that I need some hardware pointers for. I need to build some Centos "appliances" (dedicated boxes to do one thing only). Target cost is under $250/box.
Given the rest of the requirements, I would say something like: http://www.mini-box.com/M200-LCD-Enclosure
By the time I fully configure the box it is slightly over my target price, but given the user interaction on the front panel, I think I can live with that.
Have you used this box, or others from mini-box?
Ted Miller Indiana, USA
On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 12:15:05AM -0500, Ted Miller wrote:
Joseph L. Casale wrote:
I have a project that I need some hardware pointers for. I need to build some Centos "appliances" (dedicated boxes to do one thing only). Target cost is under $250/box.
Given the rest of the requirements, I would say something like: http://www.mini-box.com/M200-LCD-Enclosure
By the time I fully configure the box it is slightly over my target price, but given the user interaction on the front panel, I think I can live with that.
Have you used this box, or others from mini-box?
How about something like the Asus eeebox?
fred smith wrote:
On Sun, Nov 09, 2008 at 12:15:05AM -0500, Ted Miller wrote:
Joseph L. Casale wrote:
I have a project that I need some hardware pointers for. I need to build some Centos "appliances" (dedicated boxes to do one thing only). Target cost is under $250/box.
Given the rest of the requirements, I would say something like: http://www.mini-box.com/M200-LCD-Enclosure
By the time I fully configure the box it is slightly over my target price, but given the user interaction on the front panel, I think I can live with that.
Have you used this box, or others from mini-box?
How about something like the Asus eeebox?
Looks like it would work, but for my purposes it looks like the mini-box units fit better, and at a lower price.
Ted Miller Indiana, USA
On Saturday 08 November 2008 12:27:15 Ted Miller wrote:
I have a project that I need some hardware pointers for. I need to build some Centos "appliances" (dedicated boxes to do one thing only). Target cost is under $250/box.
Need: OS: Centos 5 Hardware Cost: less than $250 USD USB: at least 2 (not including keyboard) Memory: at least 128K Storage: prefer flash (USB stick OK) Network: 10 Base T
TigerDirect sells refurbished computers starting at $100.
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box
"leased audio circuit" meaning ISDN ? your $250 target price includes not only the built in flat panel and audio adapters but also the ISDN adapter? sounds like you're trying to reinvent the Telos Zephyr. http://www.telos-systems.com/?/xport/default.htm
have fun!
John R Pierce wrote:
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box
"leased audio circuit" meaning ISDN ?
Typo, a leased data circuit. Working with 256K per audio stream.
your $250 target price includes not only the built in flat panel and audio adapters but also the ISDN adapter?
No, $250 price tag includes only the computer, not the audio adapter or the display.
sounds like you're trying to reinvent the Telos Zephyr. http://www.telos-systems.com/?/xport/default.htm
Not really. The Zephyr is a short term use unit, what I want will be installed and operate for years at a time, preferably without any operator interaction
Ted Miller
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box is required at each end, and the encoding box works much harder than the decoding box. Software to run will probably be Ices -> Icecast -> network -> mplayer. Will be using USB audio interfaces, probably something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Because of the nature of the application, once it is booted up the only disk activity is occasional logging when there is a problem with the connection.
Any advice, web links, battle scars, or advice gladly accepted.
Not quite a match, but maybe worth investigating the hackability: the $99 Roku box sold initially to stream Netflix but supposed to be getting other capabilities. Or for just audio, their soundbridge products that are more expensive but some include speakers. Development specs are available for the soundbridge along with source for gpl'd code included with the netflix box. Not sure about development on the netflix box, though. Might be worth $99 just to take it apart and see what's in there.
Les Mikesell wrote:
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box is required at each end, and the encoding box works much harder than the decoding box. Software to run will probably be Ices -> Icecast -> network -> mplayer. Will be using USB audio interfaces, probably something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Because of the nature of the application, once it is booted up the only disk activity is occasional logging when there is a problem with the connection.
Any advice, web links, battle scars, or advice gladly accepted.
Not quite a match, but maybe worth investigating the hackability: the $99 Roku box sold initially to stream Netflix but supposed to be getting other capabilities. Or for just audio, their soundbridge products that are more expensive but some include speakers. Development specs are available for the soundbridge along with source for gpl'd code included with the netflix box. Not sure about development on the netflix box, though. Might be worth $99 just to take it apart and see what's in there.
Or this: perhaps a little too cutesy, but... http://www.chumby.com/
Les Mikesell wrote:
Les Mikesell wrote:
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box is required at each end, and the encoding box works much harder than the decoding box. Software to run will probably be Ices -> Icecast -> network -> mplayer. Will be using USB audio interfaces, probably something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Because of the nature of the application, once it is booted up the only disk activity is occasional logging when there is a problem with the connection.
Any advice, web links, battle scars, or advice gladly accepted.
Not quite a match, but maybe worth investigating the hackability: the $99 Roku box sold initially to stream Netflix but supposed to be getting other capabilities. Or for just audio, their soundbridge products that are more expensive but some include speakers. Development specs are available for the soundbridge along with source for gpl'd code included with the netflix box. Not sure about development on the netflix box, though. Might be worth $99 just to take it apart and see what's in there.
Or this: perhaps a little too cutesy, but... http://www.chumby.com/
Cute little thing. Would probably work, but I have my doubts whether it would come back to life after a power failure, persistently retry an interrupted connection, etc, and with an ARM inside, I have no idea how hackable it would be. An interesting hardware platform, if it is programmable.
Les Mikesell wrote:
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box is required at each end, and the encoding box works much harder than the decoding box. Software to run will probably be Ices -> Icecast -> network -> mplayer. Will be using USB audio interfaces, probably something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Because of the nature of the application, once it is booted up the only disk activity is occasional logging when there is a problem with the connection.
Any advice, web links, battle scars, or advice gladly accepted.
Not quite a match, but maybe worth investigating the hackability: the $99 Roku box sold initially to stream Netflix but supposed to be getting other capabilities. Or for just audio, their soundbridge products that are more expensive but some include speakers. Development specs are available for the soundbridge along with source for gpl'd code included with the netflix box. Not sure about development on the netflix box, though. Might be worth $99 just to take it apart and see what's in there.
This would be more interesting for the playback end (no audio input capability is visible) if this were a one-time project, but we will probably have to supply more pairs in the future, so a more stable platform is more interesting. Price is certainly right, but unlikely to hold, as they are charging $200 for their SoundBridge.
Ted Miller Indiana, USA
Ted Miller wrote:
Les Mikesell wrote:
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box is required at each end, and the encoding box works much harder than the decoding box. Software to run will probably be Ices -> Icecast -> network -> mplayer. Will be using USB audio interfaces, probably something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Because of the nature of the application, once it is booted up the only disk activity is occasional logging when there is a problem with the connection.
Any advice, web links, battle scars, or advice gladly accepted.
Not quite a match, but maybe worth investigating the hackability: the $99 Roku box sold initially to stream Netflix but supposed to be getting other capabilities. Or for just audio, their soundbridge products that are more expensive but some include speakers. Development specs are available for the soundbridge along with source for gpl'd code included with the netflix box. Not sure about development on the netflix box, though. Might be worth $99 just to take it apart and see what's in there.
This would be more interesting for the playback end (no audio input capability is visible) if this were a one-time project, but we will probably have to supply more pairs in the future, so a more stable platform is more interesting. Price is certainly right, but unlikely to hold, as they are charging $200 for their SoundBridge.
The netflix box is new hardware - and there doesn't seem to be much reason for promotional pricing. They claim that they will release an SDK soon for anyone who wants to generate their own channel (but not opensource the box itself). But as long as you can send some standard-protocol stream, why worry about matching the hardware? A sip speakerphone might even work as an endpoint.
Here's an interview with the roku CEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z3zUCiELcI
The chumby is probably more hackable, but it already plays network streams.
Les Mikesell wrote:
Ted Miller wrote:
Les Mikesell wrote:
Ted Miller wrote:
Application (in case anyone cares): Move better-than-FM quality audio across a leased audio circuit with delay under 10 seconds. No Internet exposure. Obviously one box is required at each end, and the encoding box works much harder than the decoding box. Software to run will probably be Ices -> Icecast -> network -> mplayer. Will be using USB audio interfaces, probably something like the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. Because of the nature of the application, once it is booted up the only disk activity is occasional logging when there is a problem with the connection.
Any advice, web links, battle scars, or advice gladly accepted.
Not quite a match, but maybe worth investigating the hackability: the $99 Roku box sold initially to stream Netflix but supposed to be getting other capabilities. Or for just audio, their soundbridge products that are more expensive but some include speakers. Development specs are available for the soundbridge along with source for gpl'd code included with the netflix box. Not sure about development on the netflix box, though. Might be worth $99 just to take it apart and see what's in there.
This would be more interesting for the playback end (no audio input capability is visible) if this were a one-time project, but we will probably have to supply more pairs in the future, so a more stable platform is more interesting. Price is certainly right, but unlikely to hold, as they are charging $200 for their SoundBridge.
The netflix box is new hardware - and there doesn't seem to be much reason for promotional pricing. They claim that they will release an SDK soon for anyone who wants to generate their own channel (but not opensource the box itself). But as long as you can send some standard-protocol stream, why worry about matching the hardware?
According to their FAQ the only "standard-protocol stream" it understands is "Windows Media formatted files from Netflix content servers", and according to the manual they are using Macrovision DRM software to control access. That kind of approach is not compatible with the project I am working on. We will encode with MP3, Ogg, or FLAC among other possibilities.
A sip speakerphone might even work as an endpoint.
This is not to play background music at somebody's desk. This application literally puts a company out of business any time it is not working. It has to recover automatically and immediately following the removal of every possible problem that would interrupt the audio stream. It will eventually be equipped with a USB drive full of MP3 material so be a temporary substitute in case the main audio source is lost. Once I go to the work to get it right, I don't have the time to go back and rework it every time a consumer-type platform does a revision. I want something that I can get working and know that six months from now, when I get a request for another system, I can order the hardware, program it up, and send it out the door.
Here's an interview with the roku CEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z3zUCiELcI
At the moment Firefox doesn't feel like playing any Flash, so I can't see this.
The chumby is probably more hackable, but it already plays network streams.
Same problems with persistence in the face of obstacles. My guess is that if the stream ends the Chumby is quite content to sit there silently.
Ted Miller Indiana, USA
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Bobby -
fred smith -
John R Pierce -
Joseph L. Casale -
Les Mikesell -
Ted Miller