I've been using FreeNAS, a terrific open-source NAS based on my favorite server OS, FreeBSD. I'm running it on an MSI Wind PC, a tiny silent desktop based on an Atom processor. It's hosting a couple terabytes on my home network at very fast gigabit speeds, and also serves my iTunes library to the household.

I've been using MotionBox for video hosting for a month or so now, with good results. They support HD video, have fast rendering, and allow unlimited storage (and video length, and embeds) for a reasonable flat fee. Their flash player, while having a few warts, is pretty darn good. The video quality is really superb.

I ran into an issue configuring Linux (Ubuntu specifically) to use the native 1680x1050 resolution of a Dell 2007WFP widescreen monitor. So I came up with a modeline that worked, and thought I'd post it here. Following are the relevant sections my xorg.conf

BTW, I'm using the Ubuntu-provided NVidia drivers, and running a generic FX5200 card. Note that this is for the DVI input only (119mhz). Modelines for the analog input will be different. (Link to Dell's documentation)

SanDisk doesn't publish the steps to accessing the recovery mode on the e250 flash player. So when mine had some filesystem corruption, I eventually ended up with a device that would not boot. It went into database refresh mode, and stopped partway through, frozen. Read about my fix, after the jump.

I recently installed HyperLites LED brake lights on my BMW R1150RS. I feel that any way I can become more conspicuous out there, the better, and one of my greatest fears is not being noticed by a car coming up behind me, particularly if I'm slowing or stopped.

To install GhostPCL on FreeBSD, first install ghostscript. I don't run X on my server so I used ghostscript-afpl-nox11 found in /usr/ports/print/

Next get GhostPCL, and save the bz2 file in /usr/local/src. For this article, I'm using GhostPCL 1.41, and FreeBSD 5.3.

Compiling GhostPCL on FreeBSD requires some changes to get it to go. Two of the errors you might see are as follows:

I've recently been given some slides to scan, pictures from when Dana was a kid. After trying out the transparency adapter on my trusty Epson Perfection 1650, I realized that for these particular images I wanted more quality than the Epson could provide. It's an excellent scanner, but the slide/film part is a weakness.