I just bought a pogoplug (mobile) for $7.35 shipped:

• 800MHz ARMv5 processor
• 128MB of RAM
• 128MB of NAND flash
• USB 2.0 port
• GbE port
• External 12v power adapter.
• Ethernet cable
• Tiny and sharp looking

What makes this interesting is that you can easily replace the built in software with ArchLinux for ARM using an external USB flash or hard disk drive.  With that, it becomes a full fledged linux server (albeit with less RAM than I’d like) that only consumes around 5W.  I installed ArchLinux 3.15 on it using an ancient 4GB USB flash drive I had lying around and I really like the result.  With the following installed, it still has 2.2GB free on the flash drive and 80MB RAM free:

• Apache
• PHP5
• Samba
• MariaDB (MySQL)
• Webmin
• gcc, perl, python
• SSH, NTP, Lynx, Vi, etc.

It boots very fast (much faster than my main server); despite having a relatively wimpy processor and drive, it feels snappy and responsive.

It’s hard to argue with the price, particularly since this makes quite a viable server for many things (mail, web, wordpress?, file storage?)

If I setup another, I’ll probably get the E02 Pogoplug which has 256MB RAM, 4x USB ports, and a 1.2GHz processor or maybe the series 4 that has a USB 3.0 port.

UPDATE: July 27, 2014

I liked the first pogoplug so much I bought another; this one is the slightly older E02 version and cost nearly $20 shipped but has better specs:

• 1200MHz ARMv5 processor
• 256MB of RAM
• 128MB of NAND flash
• 4x USB 2.0 port
• GbE port
• Built-in power supply and cable management
• Note quite as tiny but still sharp looking

Like the newer model, installing ArchLinux was a piece of cake requiring only a USB flash drive (I used a Kingston 32GB flash drive that cost $12) and following simple instructions.  After updating the install, I added a few packages to make it usable as a generic LAMP server including: apache, base-devel, hdparm, lynx, mariadb, php, samba, sudo, and webmin.  With everything configured and running:

• 2.75GB of flash storage was used (leaving 26.5GB free)
• 60.8MB of RAM was used (leaving 190MB free after buffers/caches)

I love a 4W completely silent $32 server.

Pogoplug Optimization

I bought an Obihai OBI202 VOIP box in November 2013 for my home office; these are $70 from Amazon and elsewhere and often on sale for less (I paid $52.24 shipped).

The Obi202 is another great VOIP box, even better than Ooma IMHO, but for more technical users.  For the first year, it provided an absolutely free phone line via Google Voice.  This year (May 2014), Google dropped its support for free outgoing calls, so I signed up for a year of service for $60 with PhonePower.  So far the service has been perfect.

The Obi202 features include:

• Supports 2 lines
• Supports multiple VOIP providers (unlike the Ooma Telo which only works with the Ooma service, the Obi202 is not locked to a particular provider and you can configure the box with up to 4 different VOIP providers)
• Crystal clear phone calls

dd-wrt is open-source linux-based firmware that can replace the stock firmware on many wireless routers and it is awesome.

I use dd-wrt with my dirt cheap ($22) Rosewill RNX-N300RT router and it takes a low-end router and makes it a powerful tool for managing my network.  Some of the key things I like about it include:

• Separate WiFi guest network that is fully isolated from my home wired and wireless networks
• Fine control over hours of usage by Wired and Wireless clients (helps limit kids’ access to reasonable hours)
• Superb web-interface for diagnostics and administration
• Excellent firewall

dd-wrt maintains a database of routers they support; if you are technically inclined and your router supports it, I highly recommend trying dd-wrt; note that you almost certainly void your router warranty by replacing its firmware.

In mid-May 2014, I purchased a Foscam FI8910W wireless IP camera to replace my ancient X-10 analog video camera and my experience with it is described below.  Overall, I’m very happy with the camera; it’s a great value.

PROS:

• Excellent feature set: pan/tilt, VGA resolution, awesome IR night vision, 2-way audio, motion detection, automatic uploads/emails, decent mounting bracket, long PS cable, etc.
• Low cost: I bought it for $55 on eBay from Adorama Camera.
• Good web interface (excellent in IE, adequate in FF, Chrome)
• Nice Firefox add-on available
• Great Android client application
• The IR night-vision works beautifully; images are clear as day.  This snapshot from my front porch was taken at night; the porch lights are off and it’s pitch black to the naked eye, but clear as day with the IR camera (sans color of course).
  This one shows the front porch (looking the other way thanks to the camera’s pan/tilt) so you can see how far the IR lighting reaches: you can see the pine tree at the edge of the property…notice how the American flag hanging above the bench has no color in IR.  Again, the front porch is pitch black to the naked eye.
  

CONS:

• Poor security:
  • Access requires unencrypted username/password (http/telnet/ftp)
  • Once logged in, you can ask the camera to display its complete configuration information which sends all users/passwords in plaintext!
• The web interface is optimized for IE.  The Firefox interface is adequate but a little kludgey (especially the audio).
• There is a known defect in the DSP image processor in some units that causes the video to drop and the camera reboots when pointed at an image with lots of fine detail.  It took me a while to figure this out; it worked fine until I pointed at my front yard in daytime where the fine grass, leaves, etc. caused constant reboots.  I sent the camera to Foscam for RMA service, they provided a free shipping label by email and within a few days I had a new camera that works perfectly.

Foscam High Gain Antenna

I initially attributed the DSP problem to an inadequate WiFi link because the camera worked beautifully indoors on wired Ethernet or on WiFi.  Foscam makes the camera with a standard SMA connector (I didn’t think this was allowed anymore under FCC regs) and the stock camera comes with a stubby (claimed 3dBi) antenna.  So I bought their add-on 9dBi dipole antenna ($8 on Amazon) that is 12″ long plus another ~2″ for the base!  Naturally it didn’t fix the DSP problem and the stock 3dBi antenna works just fine, giving me a very good signal through several walls.  However, the 9dBi antenna is very nice and well worth $8 if you need more range.

Update 8/24/2014: I just bought another…the best endorsement.

In December 2013, I bought an Ooma Telo at Costco for $100 and paid $40 to port my home phone number; the  monthly service is under $5 (you just pay the government taxes/fees) instead of $30/mo for Comcast phone service so it pays for itself in less than 6 months.  I have been using it for a few months now and unlike previous VOIP services I’d tried, the sound quality is excellent and the service has been very reliable.  The device itself looks sharp and works well, you connect the Telo to your Ethernet (broadband internet) and plug your old phone system into the Telo.  They have a wireless (wi-fi) version too, but I prefer wired.

Update: After 6 months, I continue to like the Ooma box; it just works.  I bought another for Deana’s home office use and it has provided a good experience too.

Another way to watch free TV is with the very cool SiliconDust HDHomeRun.  This device contains two digital (HD) TV tuners and an Ethernet network interface.  Using the included software or with the much better Windows Media Center (included free with many versions of MS Windows), you can watch and record live TV on your PC.  You can also watch on Linux systems (I use Linux Mint) using the

• SiliconDust HDHomeRun ($80 at amazon, often on sale for $60-70 at NewEgg)
• PC with Windows Media Center
• Windows Media Center Remote ($14.50 at amazon, often less than $10)

I have an amplified digital TV antenna in the attic connected through a distribution amplifier in the basement to several spots in the house (for details see here).  One signal from the amplifier connects to an HDHomeRun which is also connected to the home computer network .

Using the HDHomeRun, my kids can watch TV on their computers in their rooms over the network when they are home sick.  Using a low cost windows media center remote control, they can watch from their beds and get the full TV/DVR experience.

With two tuners, two computers can be used to watch two different channels at the same time or you can watch one channel while recording another.  You can add more HDHomeRuns for more tuners.  SiliconDust also has a cable version of the HDHomeRun called the HDHomeRun Prime that uses cable card technology; I had one of these and it worked well, but we didn’t use it enough to justify the recurring cost of the cable card (Comcast charges excessively for these…some other cable companies are much more reasonable).

The HDHomeRun tuners are pretty good and receive plenty of strong channels.  The Windows Media Center user interface is very good and includes a free program guide.  Picture quality is full HD.  It’s a nifty solution at a very low cost.

Linux users can watch using VLC viewer (included in most distros) or XBMC (setup) you may need to install hdhomerun-config.  Setup involves running “hdhomerun-config discover” to get the tuner ID (see instructions).

After getting frustrated with paying for 500 mostly worthless channels on cable, I decided to try old fashioned over the air TV again and was pleasantly surprised.  I used the following:

• Winegard MS-2002 antenna in my attic ($63 on Amazon)
• GE ConnectionCenter TV distribution amplifier (came with the house)
• Tivo HD w/lifetime service ($157 on eBay)
• 1TB Hard drive upgrade ($50 new, I used an old drive)
• Old Toshiba 27″ SD TV (usually free if you’ll pick it up – I had this one)

The amplified omni-directional antenna sits in the attic and is connected by coax cable to the distribution amplifier in my basement.  The distribution amp takes the antenna signal amplifies it and splits it to feed up to 5 coax cables taking the signal elsewhere in the house (including the guest room where the ancient 27″ CRT TV lives).

I was pleasantly surprised to receive nearly 50 channels including the major networks (ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX), smaller networks (USA, WB, ION, LWN, Cozi, Bounce, meTV, thisTV), lots of PBS channels, and some channels I’m not interested in (shopping/religious/Spanish).  The reception quality is very good no ghosts or snow.  The selection isn’t as good as cable (in particular I miss Comedy Central), but it’s not bad either and has plenty of decent programming including movies.

The Tivo has a very pleasant user interface and automatically records movies and your favorite shows so you always have lots of good programming available to watch.  The 1TB drives stores a ridiculous amount of video (144 HD hrs, 1367 SD hrs).  This setup eliminates a cable box rental and provides a reasonable media solution that is enhanced with a DVD player with internet connection for Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.

With OTA TV, a good DVR, and cell phones, the only reason I still have cable is for the internet connection and for the cable TV channels Deana likes that aren’t available over the air.  So the guest room has OTA TV and thanks to Tivo, dozens of good movies and shows recorded and ready to watch any time as well as access to the cable movies and shows recorded on the other Tivos in the house.

Some other useful OTA DTV resources:

• https://rabbitears.info Map showing where your local stations are and which you should receive (example)
• Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD – HDTV | AVS Forum
• https://www.facebook.com/groups/1576273552698216/