isolated hardware downpours

The shuttle xpc that I decided to get as a media server / d-i test machine instead of buying a second used laptop arrived today. Just after I'd gotten that Asus router that seemed to die in Oldenburg back to working.

I didn't really spend much time choosing it on ebay from amoung the other used shuttle machines on there. For example, I had thought this was a new enough AMD chipset to be an amd64, but it's not, it's a k7. This probably shows how out of touch I am with current hardware. Since I didn't buy based on wanting an amd64 particularly, I'm pretty happy with it just the same.

Especially since it already has a 4 in one memory stick reader that includes a compact flash reader, so I can stop messing around with compact flash on pcmcia for work and just set up boot disks for my arm machines using the shuttle pc on my desk. And it can also serve as the terminal server for my arm boards.

I think it'll run vmware fast enough to do some good d-i development, and it can also boot from USB, although not using d-i (yet). And netboot, so if vmware feels pokey and I can do without the music that's the only other thing it is likely to be doing, I can reboot it for d-i tests too.

Reasonably quiet too, although it'll probably be turned off at night.

Anyway, I christen thee.. dodo.