Ben Hovinga

So up until yesterday I have been using my laptop (with Boxee Media Center installed) connected to my TV via HDMI for watching my movies. This was a pain in the butt if say my mom wanted to watch a movie but I needed my laptop for work (aka play games). So set out to find a way to for my mom to watch her movies an I can still use my laptop. The result a laptop (other laptop) server.

I could have put together a bunch of parts from old broken down systems that I have sitting in the basement to make a cheap tower server that would be loud and take up a bunch of space. But that was just the problem. I don’t have much space for it and my parents would complain about the noise, trust me I have tried. Then there would be the issue of network wires to get to the server.

I remembered that I had a old laptop that nobody would use. In fact it was so old it wouldn’t be the effort to sell. Just clean it up with a new OS and install some software, it was perfect.

Now it is small, it is quiet, it has WiFi and built in battery backup. I can store this thing almost anywhere. Under or behind a couch, under a bed, behind the TV, strapped to the underside of a table behind your current computer. The options go on and on.

My Setup

• Old acer laptop that took 5 minutes to load Windows
• External 320 GB HDD
• xubuntu
• wine
• utorrent (with web gui enabled)
• PS3 media server (because I have a PS3 connected to my TV)
• SSH

I hid mine behind the couch and also decided to put the rest of the network gear there so I can free up some space on my desk.

My hidden network

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The year is almost over so I decided that I would start doing the 2009 top stuff that I like and first on that list is Windows Based Software.

The great thing about this list verses all of the other 2009 top lists is everything on this list is free. I like free and a lot of other people do too.

This year I have been concerned about keeping things as simple as possible. What most people don’t realize is that when you keep your computer as simple as possible then it runs a lot faster, something my father still hasn’t figured out. Keeping it simple will not only improve computer performance but also is simpler to use and that could make your performance faster also. What I mean about keeping it simple is, if you know that you don’t need it then don’t install it. Or if you need a program but know that half of the features that are included in that program will never be used then try to find a simpler alternative, a program that you know has only the features that you need. I will talk more about keeping it simple throughout this post and many other top 2009 lists.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is the fastest, securest, and simplest browser that I know. The reason that this browser blows the others out of the water is that it is very minimal. Internet Explorer is just a slow insecure browser but Firefox gets slow and has problems when you install extensions. Chrome looks a lot different then IE or FF but the speed and security of having  simple, minimal and basic browser is worth getting used to a little bit of change.

OpenOffice.org

OpenOffice.org is not just the name of the website but also the name of the program. This program is not simple compared to its expensive competitor Microsoft Office (newer versions) but this program is free and works with a large array of file formates. OpenOffice.org is a free open-source office suite that includes program to write documents, manage spreadsheets, create presentations, organize databases, and even a drawing application.

VLC Player

VLC Media Player is an all in one media player. This very small program is a very powerful player that is still simple to use. This little program can read almost any audio and video file standard available. No need to mess around with codecs and different software for different media types, this program will do it all. Talk about simple.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials is the most basic antivirus program there is. It is quick and doesn’t slow down your system when it loads, gets updates or scans. It is lacking in some features that a computer expert would prefer to have access to but being basic is perfect for the average joe looking to get some easy to understand security. And I don’t mind that some features are not there, I would never use them anyway.

I could go on with all of my favorite programs but these are my top favorite. I might continue later on in the new year with some more that I like.