When last seen, epsilon3.5 was almost ready to make way for epsilon4. All that was needed was a new hard drive, a clean install of openSUSE 11.4 and the restoration of all my files from my backups. I was fortunate enough to acquire a 640 GB SATA III drive with a 64 MB cache at [...] Continue Reading»
TWTW: Week Sixteen
There’s no imaginative pun in the title this week, and no mention of last week’s missing TWTW. In addition to being a busy little beaver this month, I’ve just been in an extended writing funk. I’ve started half a dozen different posts on a variety of subjects, but ultimately I’ve sent them all to the [...] Continue Reading»
Project Epsilon4: Getting Closer
Now that I had a machine that was usable, I started poking around the latest version of the openSUSE operating system (11.4) and familiarizing myself with KDE 4.6. I’d used Linux before, including openSUSE, back when I was first experimenting with different operating systems. I’d downloaded various distros and live CDs off and on for [...] Continue Reading»
Project Epsilon4: Start Me Up
So far I’ve installed a new motherboard, CPU, memory, video card and power supply into my old case along with a previously used SATA hard drive. Next up was the moment of truth. I carefully connected all the cables inside the case, leaving the case open when I was finished just in case I needed [...] Continue Reading»
Project Epsilon4: A Good Idea
I had the most important (and most expensive) components to my new computer in the house and ready to build. The original plan was to give my wallet a break and start accumulating the rest of the parts I needed one or two at a time as my paycheck allowed. It was then that I [...] Continue Reading»
Project Epsilon4: So It Begins
Once I decided that a new build was in order, I had to decide what I was going to build. The Prime Directive for this project was simple: the new computer should have the best chance to last at least as long as Epsilon3. Three quarters of a decade is a long time in the [...] Continue Reading»
Project Epsilon4: Old Faithful
As noted earlier, back in January the computer I built seven and a half years ago finally gave up the ghost. I felt that before I started writing about my new project, it was only proper to give a tip of the hat to the old system in honor of a job well done. Below [...] Continue Reading»