Not about the election

Not about the election. Not about the election. Not about the election.

I promise. Not about the election. I've heard too much.

Here's some info you won't get from watching the news: TwitterBerry has released version 0.8. It has a new look, and seems to be more stable, and maybe a little tad bit faster.

One of my part-time projects is a home media server. Let me explain what's on my network before I continue. I have two old TiVo model 2s, 40 hours each. (a side note for later, InstantCake and a new drive!). I also have many PCs running both XP and Vista, a network attached Brother MFC-420CN multi-function printer, an old HP LaserJet 4000n with duplexing, and to top it off, my Fedora 8 Linux box.

My Fedora box is an old Systemax custom build that has become what I lovingly call a Frankenputer (computer from multiple bits and pieces, like Frankenstein's monster). It's got an AMD Athlon™ 64 Processor 3000+ with 2GB RAM (Barnabas). It was my main computer before I replaced it with my newish Gateway GM5664 with an AMD Phenom™ 9600 Quad-core Processor @ 2.3GHz with 3GB RAM (Gateway). I'm running Fedora 8 32 bit version on Barnabas; why not the 64bit version? I couldn't get some of the printer drivers to work in Fedora 8 64 bit, so I re-installed the 32 bit version.

So, like I was saying, I have 2 TiVos on the network, and I have the Home Media Option, so they can see each other, and I can move shows from one TiVo to another. The problem was, shows would be deleted before I had time to watch them (because I was doing other things, like playing World of Warcraft). So I was missing shows, like Big Bang Theory (best geek show on TV, ever). I always seem to lose Monday nights and miss BBT. What's a geek to do?! I know that TiVo has TiVo Desktop, but I don't want to deal with the lag.

Galleon is the answer. What is Galleon (other than a Spanish sailing ship)? I'll quote their website, but you really should check it out.

Galleon is a free open source media server for the TiVo^® DVR which allows you to enjoy many kinds of content and interactive applications right on your TV. The server runs on your home computer and organizes your media collection so that they can be viewed on your home network. Galleon also brings Internet content and applications to your TV.

Galleon is written in Java, which is cool, and that makes it PORTABLE! It doesn't need to be on a Linux box, or a Windows box, or whatever. If you have a JRE, you can run Galleon.

What can you do with Galleon? Another quote from their website:

• Play MP3 files using the builtin player or with your favorite Winamp skins.
• View your photo collection using many slideshow effects and background music.
• View interesting information about each MP3 file such as album covers, lyrics and web images of your favorite artists.
• Listen to online streaming radio stations including Shoutcast stations.
• Organize your media files in many flexible ways.
• Play your favorite playlists including iTunes playlists or dynamically create playlists.
• View local weather forecasts and alerts.
• View internet webcams.
• Read your email.
• Read your favorite RSS feeds.
• Automatically download recordings from your TiVo using keywords.
• Automatically download your favorite podcasts.
• View local movie listings.
• Copy video files from your PC to your TiVo using GoBack.
• View Internet Slideshows.
• View online Videocasts.
• View upcoming events in your area.
• View traffic conditions in your area.
• Change the look-and-feel of Galleon by using your own skins.
• Share your apps over the internet with your family and friends.
• Group all the Galleon apps in their own menu .
• Send instant messages with Jabber .

Now THAT'S Cool! I'm not doing too much with Galleon yet, but I'm pulling specific shows off my TiVos and storing them on Barnabas. So many, in fact, that my 500GB of storage is getting full!

Let me put this in writing. I LOVE GALLEON. It's a great application, brilliantly executed, and extensible.

Now the strange part: I want to compare it to Windows Server Home. Here's my problem. I don't have the cash for a copy of the software. I know there are third party software tools for WSH that provide TiVo archival, PC backup/archival, and other tools.

If anyone can get me the software, or maybe someone at HP who has a really nice WSH box I can test?