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DCS-Media provides reviews, techniques, technologies, programming and design tips to help you conduct not just business, but smart business.
This Christmas, my parents are in Orlando, FL and I couldn't be with them. So I improvised.
DCS-Media provides reviews, techniques, technologies, programming and design tips to help you conduct not just business, but smart business.

This Christmas, my parents are in Orlando, FL and I couldn't be with them. So I improvised.
Since my mother and father have their own laptop, one of their laptops has a webcam (Acer Aspire Netbook as previously mentioned in a post).
Recently, I had someone send me a question from a previous post about how to hook up a FreeNAS to a TiVo. Bob Bakh was generous enough to provide a description of how he hooked everything together.
Take it away, Bob!
anewmorning.com posted a quick tutorial on how to create the Ultimate Windows XP installation CD/DVD and it looks pretty thorough.
However, even though the tutorial is thorough, I didn't see any links to the supporting software to create the ultimate installation CD/DVD.
I haven't ran through the tutorial, but it's bookmarked when I get some time to dedicate to it.
Looking for some software that performs like a TiVo? Linux.com has the scoop.
For those who've been following my posts on how to build a TiVo clone (part II), you'll be happy to hear that more Linux-based PVR software is becoming readily available every six months-one year.
Linux.com posts a review of three MythTV Linux distros. For those who don't know what MythTV is, it's a popular open-source PVR recording software for building your own DVR, or TiVo.
I'm currently using Ubuntu with MythTV and I'm quite content, but as time ticks by, I may install the MythBuntu version eventually.
Ever since I watched my first movie when I was a child, I was amazed as to how much equipment it took to entertain people with so much excitement in one room.
Flash forward to 30 years later. Now, you can equip a specific room with the best technology for possibly a new music server for your entire home, your own PVR (Personal Video Recorder), an extreme HD TV with surround sound, or the ultimate: an extreme home theater system. Since this is a technology site, I thought it'd be great to talk about these various systems and what it would take to setup these entertainment rooms.
Heck, why go to the movies?
For those who are interested and VERY passionate about Apple iTunes, I've found a great post about how to create your very own Mac-based iTunes Media Server in your home.
For the other individuals who have no interest or are looking for an alternative to iTunes, make sure you check out Songbird.
If you're a help desk user, you've no doubt heard of VNC. Install the server on one computer and install the client on the other.
One of the advantages of having VNC is that you can troubleshoot someone's computer remotely if the software is installed properly.
But how do you know the connection is secure? There are a couple of sites I've found that talk about this topic.
I felt it was time to upgrade my Tivo media box to MythTV 0.20, so I started to research on adding a little bit more to the Linux box.
Since Ubuntu 7.04 is one of the best distributions of Linux out there, I thought I'd take a look around and see if anyone had an ISO or build of Ubuntu/MythTV together.
As it turns out, it's easier to just install Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn) and then download and install MythTV.
For those who are still paying a subscription fee for TiVo as opposed to building your own TiVo, SatelliteSweeper.com posted an article on 23 ways to supercharge your DVR.
Again, great article....if you have a TiVo. ;-)
A user recently posted a message in the discussion of my How to create a TiVo clone post about creating a TiVo using Windows software as opposed to the Linux path.
The two individuals who built TiVo's with me purchased the same hardware. They went down the Windows path. With me, though, I went the cheap route with Linux. If you have the funds, go with Windows.
Keep in mind, though, I have not used any of these software based solutions, but recommend the hardware sites. With that said, let's get on with some links.