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Well, the CPU for the setup would be very small (depending on how much I modify the case I get and how small a space I can cram the stuff into), maybe about a foot wide.  And if you buy the right equipment, it's cheap.  Like this one: http://mini-itx.com/store/?c=2#p1601 (yes, that's a normal sized soda can)

You might need to step up the hardware a notch or two.  Our rig uses a 1GHz Nehemiah chip, and it chokes on DVDs and DivX files when there's a lot of moving objects on the screen.  (the slipsteam effects from Andromeda are really bad for this, they play at about 3 FPS)  I doubt a 533MHz Eden like you linked to is going to be enough if you want to watch compressed movies and TV shows.

I planning on something with a bit more power - that's not the actual motherboard that I want that I linked to, for most of the reasons you posted.  The one I want, while it has an identical processor to yours, I'm fairly sure I can 'tweak' it a bit (I've got my current 300mhz compy rendering images in Blender at a faster rate than my friends 400mhz computer (which just bit the dust the other day)) on a low-as-possible Video card (2 friggin megs of RAM and no acceleration, only because it was the last ditch after all my other cards didn't want to work).  The one I posted to is pretty much a small (although outdated) motherboard.

Heheh... we've got something like that set up in our living room already. Though no plasma TV, just a regular one. Well, the whole thing is the ghetto version of that. Much older Via board, less ram, smaller hard drive, and just a cheap usb joypad for a remote. Still though, it's networked, and so I can play all my downloaded videos and music in the living room... AND it's got a SNES emulator on it, with nearly every rom ever made, so that's nice as well.

Now if only I could build one into my car...

Well, the CPU for the setup would be very small (depending on how much I modify the case I get and how small a space I can cram the stuff into), maybe about a foot wide.  And if you buy the right equipment, it's cheap.  Like this one: http://mini-itx.com/store/?c=2#p1601 (yes, that's a normal sized soda can)

What do I want?

Most of this stuff can be found at the store at http://www.mini-itx.com

VIA EPIA PD 10000 LVDS All In One Motherboard
1GB RAM
A Low-profile Media Case (you'll get what I'm saying if you go to the store)
80gb Hard Drive (Laptop sized - getting conversion cables as well)
Panasonic CW8124 Slotload Slimline Combo CDRW/DVD
Small, 20x4 Front LCD display
PCI USB Card (with adapter to fit in case)
Wireless mouse and keyboard
Regular keyboard (I'll have two, of course.  Fear my gaming abilitiies...)

To top it all off, I want any sort of a plasma screen TV with computer input..  As large as I can get.  Wall sized, pretty much.  Imagine DOOM on that thing.  Total cost is in the $2000-$7000 range (depending on the size of the TV).  The computer system itself is well under $1000.

I'd also like a few PDAs... a TREO 650 and a LifeDrive for that matter (http://www.palm.com), with a bluetooth headset.  

But what I really want is (yep, you guessed it) this:  http://startrek.publispain.com/imagenes/1701c000.jpg  (the only good picture of that ship that I could find)

Frack... there's still an entire botnet attacking the server. I'm starting to wonder if the reason this all looked so odd was that there's more than just one person/group trying to get in. Did I mention I hate people?

Write a file in the server's root directory (where most hackers land after they get in), titled "Xepher's Bank Password".  Have it set so that anyone who accesses it has the unfortunate consequence of their computer deciding to shut down on them.

Well... I don't know if it could be done, but it's an interesting form of revenge...

Go find a book/website on hacking whatever OS/software the server is running, and figure out how exactly you'd go about getting into the site if you were a hacker - and then figure out how to keep whatever vulnerabilities you're able to exploit from being exploited.  Alternatively, find someone you trust who knows how to hack and get them to attempt to hack in; have them tell you if they could get in, and if they did, how they did it.  Each has it's pros and cons; no offense, but someone new to hacking isn't going to be able to have the ability of a pro, but likewise asking someone to try creates a bit of temptation, although you're more likely to get all the flaws in security worked out.

Otherwise, your plan sounds good.  Although I'd reccomend backing up files more often (I do weekly backups of critical files to a secondary hard drive on my computer).  That way if anything happens, you aren't completely lost - recently, a group I'm a part of was hacked by an anti-Enterprise (or anti-trek in general) hacker, who deleted everything on the server (TrekUnited.com).  Having backups every week can prevent the problems posed if the next person who hacks in isn't as nice.

You know you're a nerd when you clean out the room, and your comments on stuff you find under your bed is "Oh, THAT's where I put the motherboard." or something similar.

For the game - I'm one of the nerds who doesn't like educational games.  Gimme Descent, or Gimme death!

You know you're a nerd when your best friend asks you if you have any broken old PDAs and you just happen to be carrying one in your pocket, and when, instead of looking up the latest and greatest in cars and how to make them work better, you're looking up processors and figuring out how to hardware overclock them, and how to fit a liquid nitrogen cooling system into your PDA without changing the case.

You're also a nerd if you create, or reply, in a topic such as this one.

Cool.  Of course, we're still going to have idiots who try to nitpick it all over the place.  It always happens (normally those people don't know what they're talking about).

Maybe the prices will drop down sometime in the next few years.  Hopefully.

3.15 per gallon

Where do you live?  Gas is all but nonexistant here (my state's supplied by two pipelines that run through Louisiana).  Most stations have prices between $3.50 to $4, and the lowest seen are only twenty cents cheaper... for regular gas.  A few places don't even have gas at the moment (shipments are scarce and going to where they're most needed - government, schools, emergency response, etc).

These would be the same people that try to use cheat codes all the time while gaming (my little brother being a good example).  Of course, I'm not going to shell out money for a game then never play it.  It's just throwing your money away.

BTW, is there any way to contact the people that pay others to play games with them?  If they're willing to throw money around like that, I wouldn't mind a bit thrown my way .

Used to be that way between me and my brother.  But the only game that he's any good at is Descent... funny story about how he doesn't want to play me anymore.  It was a big "Plasma vs. Fusion" debate (the two biggest guns of Descent 1.  I thought Plasma was better because of rapidity, he thought fusion was better because of pure power).  First round, he point-blanked a robot with a mega missile (which kinda is a big missile... killed himself instantly).  Second round (rematch, because he "didn't know your own weapons could hurt you") he found me before I'd found the plasma, opened up with his fusion... and missed every single shot until I got the plasma and opened up on him with it.  He refuses to play me in Descent because I "cheated" (in Descent multiplayer, entering any cheatcode sets your sheilds and energy to 1 and informs evetryone of your "nice try")



You know you're a nerd when you spout off about some fight you had in a game.

In other news, Battlestar Galactica is the best television show in existence.

That is all.

What!?  Any of the Star Trek series are the best shows in existance!....








....Okay, you know you're a nerd when you defend your favorite TV series.  And your choice of TV series can also be determined by your screenname.  Or when you look up and find "Weapons Grade Plutonium" on eBay.  Or when you've put two keyboards on your computer soley for the purpose that you can now game with your toes and your hands at the same time (yes, I've done that).

My livejournal is at : http://www.livejournal.com/users/trekkie1701c  (yep.  I use the same name a whole lot).

Going to be really hard to figure out what band I like, isn't it? (Avatar, Signature, etc).

Yep.  I'm one of those Pink Floyd fans.  If you don't like them, you haven't heard some of their good songs, like "Wish You Were Here", "Comfortably Numb", "Money", "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" and "Time".

I also like a few other bands.  Lynard Skynard, Black Sabbath (or just Ozzy himself), Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, The Who, Queen, The Beatles, etc.  But Pink Floyd's my favorite.  I'm planning on getting their not-so-well-known first ablum "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" at some point, if I get another job (I tutor kids during the school year).