As part of my self analyzation I've been doing lately, I've realized that I haven't had a good computer related personal project in a while. For years I always built my computers from parts, and did upgrades from time to time. But then a year ago I broke from that normal procedure, and bought a laptop. Don't get me wrong - I love my laptop, but I miss a good computer project.

For a while I've thought about making my own "Media Convergance Device". This would be an MP3 Player/Tivo/Picture Viewer that hooks up to your TV. I've done a lot of research on the topic, and put together my shopping list. I've decided to use MythTV which runs on Linux as the software to power the bugger. The only thing that really worries me is the Linux part. I really haven't done a lot with Linux lately. The only Linux box I've had was pretty much standard desktop hardware, so that part could get complicated. But that's the fun right?

Anyway, today I ordered the hardware for my new project (my credit card company is gonna love me this month):

• Via EPIA M10000 Mini-ITX Motherboard. It's tiny, it's quiet, and it's pretty damn powerful.
  
• Maxtor 120GB 7200 RPM Hard drive with an 8 MB buffer. It's big, it's fast, it has a big internal buffer for large writes, and it's also pretty damn quiet.
  
• Crucial 256 MB PC21000 DDR DIMM. Ehh... it's memory.
  
• Hauppauge WinTV 350 Video Capture Card. This is what makes the whole thing rock.
  
• Teac Slimline DVD Burner. So I can not only listen to CD's, watch DVD's, but also record TV shows to DVD.
  
• Morex 2699R Mini-ITX Case. Slick black case, that makes the whole thing look real nice.
  

I'll post more on my project as it moves along. But for now, all I can do is watch for tracking numbers.