I’ve been using a winxp box in my living room for some time now, and while it works really well, I do find it lacking. Currently it has a 200gb hdd and a 80gb hdd, runs xp pro, has a video card with composite out so i can go straight to the tv, has Azureus and ted to get tv shows,
k-lite codec pack with Media Player Classic, and vnc so I can remote control it… Its pretty slick over all, but I’m running out of storage and I want something with more features.

So here are my new requirements:

  • Easily expandable storage, without reinstalling my os or adding raid cards etc…
  • Smaller form factor, my current machine is a full desktop tower
  • IR remote control and VNC
  • auto download shows
  • act as a backup resource for all my computers in the house, which means it has to have redundant storage
  • looks pretty, both hardware and software

Well, the only way I know how to meet those requirements is with a Mac Mini and a Drobo storage device.

How I’ll pimp the Mac Mini

I’ll need at least a gig of ram in the mini, doesn’t matter how big its hdd is though since the Drobo will be plugged into it. I’ll run Leopard with Azureus and ted to get my tv content. I’ll setup AFP and SMB file sharing on it so I can access this baby over the network. I’m not sure yet how I’ll remote control, might use VNC, might not???

What I’ll do with the Drobo

The drobo will be attached to the mini via usb 2.0. I’ll probably start with a few 250gb or 500gb drives, doesn’t matter cuz of the drobo’s magic!!! With the advent of Leopard and Time Machine I’ll be able to set this as a backup drive over the network for all my Mac’s, never having to worry about data loss again! I’m so excited about this part of it.

Anyways, there are more details to figure out, and of course I need to find funding ;-) But one can always wish can’t they…