Re: Switching audio via an Ocelot and SECU's

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"Bill Kearney" <wkearney99@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:9KGdnXp5roiE-H7enZ2dnUVZ_tqdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > And I get green stamps, too!
>
> Heh, kids today would have no idea what that means.

It's Old Geek Code.  I still have a GE vacuum in service paid for in green
stamps (it was that well made it's lasted well over 30 years).   Now you're
lucky if a gas station has a bucket and a squeegee for you to wipe your own
windshield.

> Remember the coupons they used to give out with packs of cigarettes?
> Fine way to involve the whole family!

The family that smokes together, chokes together.  I had forgotten all about
the ciggie coupons.

> > You'd better pray your chances of getting hit by a meteor aren't
equal!!!
>
> Or by a bus while crossing the street.

One of the dead links on ADI's website points to the defunct
futurestandard.com site.  An ironic reminder of the high mortality rate of
new small businesses!

> > It's a danger that simply disappears with the mini-PC option because
other
> > manufacturers make similar boxes.  Try converting your Ocelot setup to
Elk
> > with just a copy of Ghost and a blank DVD-R.  When enough servers have
> been
> > converted from Dell and HP to VIA machines, Intel and AMD might nose
into
> > the waters.  VIA's been making support chips for a long, long time.
They
> > have a proven track record.
>
> It's not so much the chips as the OS running on top of them.  Often it's
> just plain more reliable to have NO operating system and just run the app
> itself on the bare iron.  Quite a few appliance-like devices do this.
They
> end up lacking all the other doo-dads you see on an actual OS but at least
> they stay running.

It's not impossible to keep well made, well-powered (UPS w/auto-shutdown)
and well-cooled PC's going for long periods of time if you set them up
properly and don't overload them or feed them too much M$ stuff.

The mini-PC that's going to take the place of the Ocelot in my design will
mostly control relays and talk to Dave's BXAHT and the powerline.  AV and
phones will be handled via a different PC because those are the apps most
likely to blow up for some obscure reason.  With WOL and other options that
are standard in the PC HW, it should work out quite nicely and very
cost-effectively both for the equipment and the cost of operation.

But it's no big thing for me if I have to remote reboot the AV server from
time to time or even if it fails and requires occasional tweaking.  The
alarm system is completely separate as well, handled by an OmniLT.  The HVAC
part is still up in the air because it depends a lot on what kind of heating
and cooling goes into the next house.

> > With power prices up, 15 watts instead of 150 for people running
multiple
> > PC's isn't chump change.  The Ocelot consumes less power, true, but try
> > getting it to play a DVD or pipe your front door cam to the wall LCD
while
> > simultaneously recording all front door activity and keeping a running
log
> > of all home events.
>
> Hold on, let me juggle those knives, that bowling ball and a chainsaw!
One
> foot, now HOP!

I noticed that HomeSeer is selling a Mini-ITX (For about $2K, IIRC) to run
their SW.  Sign of the times, indeed!

> > I'm convinced from reading all the posts that I have from server
operators
> > that the VIA machines are pretty robust under Linux.  They even seem to
be
> > stable under W2KPro although I doubt I would use it.  Lots of people are
> > writing drivers for the VIA boxes and there's lots of enthusiasm for
them
> > because they conserve so much (increasingly) expensive electricity to
> > perform the same tasks nearly as well as their full-sized brothers.
>
> Yes, I agree.

I've been reading about folks in CA (where electric bills apparently soar
during the summer) who have small server farms at home that have cut $300+
from their monthly bills.  One guy said he knew he had to do something when
his electric bill got bigger than his T-1 charges.  So that's a lot of smart
people whose PC needs include long periods of uptime putting these babies
through their paces.

I frankly couldn't be happier if VIA and Linux ate big holes in Intel and
MS's profits.  Maybe then they'll even start listening to the consumer
again.  HA Har!

It's also clear that VIA listens and watches intensely and makes very quick
modifications based on user feedback and requirements.  I like that.
They've even come out with a dual CPU Mini although I can't see how.  The
one CPU board is so crowded they have to resort to space saving tricks like
mounting the RTC/CMOS battery vertically!

--
Bobby G.