This is where I lay out my aspirations, dreams, and plans for our home computing setup.  Various editions of the Plan have existed over the years, but I have finally decided to keep one central page with the most up-to-date version of the Plan.  Maybe it'll help someone.  Mostly it will help me.

TOC

Needs Assessment
Precious Data
Personal Processing
Access Anywhere
Next Steps

Needs Assessment

The Home Computing Master Plan has several components that fill basic needs in our digital life. Those needs include keeping our data safe, having decent computers to work on, and being able to get to our digital life from anywhere.

  1. Precious Data: We have a lot of data that only exists in digital form. Pictures, movies, music, documents, etc. Much of that (the photos especially) is priceless and irreplaceable. In 2007, we spent upwards of $2,000 recovering that data from two failed hard drives, and I don't care to do that again. Our data should be secure and backed-up.
  2. Personal Processing: The original plan called for "Powerhouse Processing," a tower-grade computer somewhere in the house that could really crunch. At the time, I was coming off of a job where I had that kind of power, and I thought it was a required item in the Plan. Well, it isn't. We just need competent computers. But we each need our own, that much is clear.
  3. Access Anywhere: To best enjoy our digital life, we need to be able to get to it from where we are: the TV room, the kitchen, the car, the store, school, vacation, wherever.

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Precious Data

Status

In June of 2008 we upgraded this system extensively. Right now we have a Mac mini with an attached 1TB disk (one of those footprint-matching jobs from Newer) and that whole combo contains all of our data. That is backed up hourly (via Apple's Time Machine) to a 1.5TB NAS device (Infrant's, nee Netgear's ReadyNAS NV+). So our data is backed up hourly to a redundant RAID storage device. Pretty sweet. We have one slot left on the four slot NAS, if we really end up needing more storage space. I can't imagine that.

Thoughts

I really like having a redundant backup that I can recover from with the flexibility of Time Machine. I've already done that with a couple of files. Really nice. What's missing from this system? Off-site backup, and I don't really have a plan for that, unfortunately. When are holographic discs coming out? And I keep eyeing those nice Drobos everyone is talking about, but until the power supply goes on my Infrant, I think I'm stuck.

The Plan

I'm using the mini as my main computer right now, and eventually (see the laptop below) that will change. When it does, and the mini becomes just a file/iTunes server, I'll have to decide if I want it to have a monitor, or if I'll just VNC to it when I need to. Probably the latter.

Key Items (current)

  • Mac mini, 2.0 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 120 GB HD
  • NewerTech miniStack v3, the 1TB edition
  • Infrant (now Netgear) ReadyNAS NV+ w/1.5 TB storage

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Personal Processing

Status

Right now the adults have their own computers. I'm using the Mac mini mentioned above as my main machine, coupled to a 24" Dell widescreen LCD, and we still have the 1.0 GHz G4 iBook, too. My wife has a Windows laptop. My kids don't need computers yet (though they watch movies on our laptops when we travel).

Thoughts

The pent up need for a new computer has been quenched with the mini (but wow was I hurting before that). My use of the iBook has really fallen off, too, much more than I thought it would. I would still love a laptop at some point, but I am no longer really sure I need one. Just looking at the cost of a laptop, plus all the docking station stuff I'd want... I could just wait and buy a faster mini in a couple of years (assuming Apple keeps making the mini).

The wife will be sticking with her Windows laptops for the foreseeable future. Plus, she gets them from work. More power to her.

The boys are a little trickier, and they don't need anything right now, but I have an idea. I can see them wanting, or needing some sort of Internet device by the time they are... eight or nine years old? What if, instead of giving them computers, we gave them iPod touches? Bear with me. They need to surf the Internet. They'd like to watch movies. Maybe listen to music. $400 and done. Much cheaper than a laptop, since they won't need that for years to come, not until they start getting serious homework. Still, there are no parental controls on the iPod touch currently, and previews of the 2.0 software coming (ant day now) in July 2008 seem rudimentary at best. Maybe the SDK will let someone fix that.

Plus, we have the 800 MHz G4 iMac (swing arm, baby!) just sitting around...

The Plan

I'm in a very comfortable waiting mode right now. New chips for laptops are rumored for next year sometime (Spring 2009) and I can bide my time until then. Even then I may not jump. We'll see. In any case, I'm not in the market for a laptop right now. Still curious about the feasibility of an iPod touch for the kids (and for me) so I might try for one of those. Or I might wait until the touch 2.0 rumored for the Fall of 2008.

Key Items (planned)

  • iPod touch?
  • New laptop?
  • Meh

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Access Anywhere

Status

An inconvenient gremlin in our AirPort Express caused us to have to buy a new wireless network early, so we are rocking the 802.11n via new AirPort hardware. That has very little effect on our setup right now, but paves the way for large data files, like movies, in the future. Also, we've gone to a more secure WPA2 encryption on our wireless system.

Our music listening system is just about perfect. iTunes runs on the desktop, sends the signal to the AirPort Express, which sends it to a hobby-built (by someone else) FM transmitter, which is received on our household radios. Which already exist in every room. But to change tracks we have to go to the desktop machine.

Other media is sort of at a standstill. Our TV is not hooked up to our iLife ecosystem, so we don't watch movies or slideshows or anything like. We still have our HD TiVo, which I still love, and that sates a lot of my boob tube desire.

And it has always been way too complicated for me to figure out reliable ways to access our data remotely from outside the home.

Thoughts

I'd very much like to be able to manage our music listening without having to go to the computer running iTunes. I'd like to work with our photos wherever I am in the house. I'd like to be able to get to my Precious Data when I am away from home. I want to show off my photos, or watch my movies, or play games on the biggest monitor in the house, the 46" TV.

The Plan

Leopard's Back to My Mac feature (requiring a MobileMe subscription) looks like a painless way to get your stuff remotely. I'll check that soon, as I bought the discounted MobileMe package (... shudder) when we bought the Mac mini (not here yet). An iPod touch with Apple's own Remote app would rock the iTunes management issue. And an Apple TV would work with our ecosystem to make our TV part of it all.

Finally, to really get the most out of our digital life, I need to make more picture books. I've made a few, but they are a little expensive, so the incentive is not there. I could also make some DVDs, but I am perennially waiting for the next version of iDVD to make the process easier. I wait still.

Key Items (planned)

  • 802.11n AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express
  • .Mac subscription
  • iPod touch
  • Apple Remote app for iPhone/iPod touch
  • Apple TV

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Next Steps: What am I getting, and how much will it cost?

This is where I prioritize the plan, where I can come and look and know what to buy next.

  • Next: Music Nirvana - $500
    With the mini in place, this is all that is missing for music listening nirvana: an iPod touch, and a copy of Apple Remote for iPod touch. It looks like the touch may be getting a Fall 2008 update, so I expect to hold off (unless I can find an edu Mac buyer who doesn't want their free iPod!). If the iPhone gets better (e.g. more compelling, e.g. cheaper), then I could get one of those in the future, and pass the touch down to the boys, per the plan.       

  • Spring 2009: The laptop - $3,100
    And just the laptop. Well, some extra RAM. Already purchased the monitor for any future docking solution. With Intel's Nehalem processors coming in Spring 2009, and no real money to buy this anyway, it might behoove me to wait until then.  

    • $2,943 - MacBook Pro, 2.6 GHz, 2GB RAM, 200 GB SATA 7200 RPM, Glossy Display, AppleCare
  • Summer 2009: The laptop dock - $350
    Set up the laptop as desktop. This is mostly extra stuff, and could definitely be purchased after the laptop. The dock, a keyboard, a mouse.       

    • $50 - Apple keyboard. Wired.
    • $0 - I'll keep my Kensington Expert Mouse, thank you, until something better comes along.  
  • Other items. There are a few items that don't fit neatly into the schedule. Fun things, or future things. They could be bought anytime. Extra battery for the laptop, with an external charger. iPod touches for the boys. iPhones for everyone! The Apple TV. I expect I'll need a USB hub at some point.

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