To help you
start building the projects in Linux Toys II, hardware you can use for
each project is listed below. Click on the link to each item to read a
description and purchase the item online.
NOTE: Over time, the best
hardware to use with any Linux project will change. Hardware that we
used may no longer be supported in later versions of Linux. Likewise,
new hardware is coming out all the time that might work better than the
hardware we suggest. Although most of the hardware listed on this page
is exactly what we used to build the projects initially, you should do
your own homework to make sure that the same hardware will still work
for you.
Project
1: Gallery (Photo Gallery Server) Any PC that can
be used as a server will work for this project. No additional hardware
is needed.
Project
2: MythTV (PVR/Entertainment Center) Tom Weeks put
together a very cool entertainment center PC for this project. While
you can get by with a reasonably good PC (with a sound card and network
connection built in) by only adding a TV card, the hardware listed
below is what Tom used to create a MythTV entertainment center that is
the envy of his neighborhood. Here's what it included:
Project
3: eMoviX (Bootable Movies) No special
hardware required.
Project
4: Damn Small Linux (DSL on a Pen Drive) Choose the size
of USB flash drive you want for the project. DSL requires about 50MB of
memory, so choose how much more space you need for other applications
and data. TigerDirect.com has some good deal on USB
flash drives.
Project 5: HeyU and BottleRocket (X10 Home Automation) This chapter
describes two different computer interfaces you can use for operating
X10 appliances from your computer in Linux. BottleRocket lets you use
an inexpensive Firecracker
kit. HeyU uses the slightly more expensive, but more powerful, ActiveHome
CM11A hardware. With your basic kit in place, you can add as many
different X10
modules or other devices as you like.
Project 6: BZflag (Tank Game Server) No special
hardware is needed for this project.
Project
7: Devil-Linux (Dedicated SOHO Firewall) While all you
need for this project is a PC with two Ethernet cards, Tom Weeks
created a cool modified PC that included a network switch inside. For
the two Ethernet cards, the one facing the Internet should be at least
a 10Mbit card, while the one facing your LAN should be a 100Mbit
card. Ethernet cards are cheap and plentiful, but here
are some examples to look through. Tom also builds a network switch
into his firewall PC. While most small, cheap 100Mbit auto-crossover
detecting switch will do, Tom particularly likes the GigaFast
EZ800-S 8-Port 10/100Mbps Network Switch.
Project
8: Icecast (Internet Radio Station) No special
hardware is needed for this project.
Project
9: Linux Terminal Server Project (Thin client server and workstations) While most any
PC can be used as a thin client for the Linux Terminal Server Project,
if you are in a professional environment, you may want to purchase new
machines that were made particularly to be used as thin clients. A Web
site associated with the Linux Terminal Server Project itself called DisklessWorkstations.com
sells workstations that are certified to work with LTSP.
Hardware for
Linux Toys Projects
Here is a list
of hardware that might be useful for projects described in the original
Linux Toys book.
Project 1: Music Jukebox
Most any PC with a CD-ROM
drive and sound card will do. I used a Shuttle XPC because I think it
looked nice in my entertainment center. You can read about one here: Shuttle
XPC.
Project
2: Home Video Archive
For any of the video projects, you need a
TV card that is compatible with video4linux drivers. We tested the
Hauppauge WinTV-go card and Hauppauge WinTV Theater card. For a low-end
configuration, I used a Hauppauge WinTV
Go card; on the higher
end, you can go for Hauppauge
WinTV-PVR-500MCE
card.
Project
3: Television Recorder/Player
Same hardware as for the home
video archive.
Project 4: Arcade Game Player
Although
you can just play Xmame without any special hardware, if you are going
to build the project into a gaming console, you might want to get some
controls other than your keyboard. While I haven't tried the HotRod or X-Arcade
Joysticks, they are well-recommended in the XMame community. HotRod comes
with 14 Capcom game ROMS (yeah, legal games!). Click on the links below
to find out more about the the HotRot Joystick and how to order
it: HotRod
Joystick FAQ
and HotRod
Joystick Purchase.
Click here to find out more about X-Arcade Joysticks.
Project
5: Home Network Server
Once you have your Internet connection
hardware in place, to connect your computers together to share that
connection you need an Ethernet card in each computer, a switch or a
hub, and some Ethernet cables (Cat5e with RJ-45 connectors). Examples
of inexpensive network hardware are contained in the Devil-Linux
hardware listings for Linux Toys II.
Project
6: Home Broadcast Center
Same hardware as for the home video
archive.
Project 7: Temperature Monitor
The Digitemp
project (www.digitemp.com) has stopped making the temperature monitor
hardware needed for this project. Although, the ibuttonlink site has
agreed to put together some kits as described in Linux Toys, readers
have reported that is doesn't work with the software delivered with the
Linux Toys book. I would suggest going directly to the Digitemp site
for information on their current software and available hardware.
Project
8: Digital Receptionist
Getting a good voice modem is difficult.
We used the Multitech Multimodem MT5600ZDXV. We have also heard good
reports for the Zoom 2949C modem. Although those modems
are now outdated, the newer models available include the Multitech
MT5634ZPX-PCI-U and the Zoom 3025
modem.
Project
9: Mini ISP
Any dial-in modem supported by Fedora Red Hat Linux will
work for this project. Aside from that and the hardware you use to
connect your computer to the Internet, there are no special hardware
requirements for this project.
Project 10: Web Hosting
Service
As with the Mini ISP, you need only the hardware
required to connect your computer to the Internet to build this
project.
Project 11: Little Linux and BSD
Games
No
special hardware is needed with this project.
Project 12: Toy
Car Controller
Although you can use most an radio controlled (RC) toy car for this
project, we used Zip Zaps (which
you can get from Radio
Shack) because we thought they were neat. The more critical
component is the Lynx-PORT board from Marrick Limited. You
can purchase the LynX-PORT board from Smarthome.com.
