I finally decided to buy one of these to use as a small media server in my home theater. It is much slower than current hardware at only 800MHz and has limited RAM (I am going to try to find another 256MB-512MB stick for it, though). Hard drive space and lack of DVD-ROM are not a problem since this will only be used to play a small collection of MP3, Apple Lossless, FLAC, and WAV files through digital coax.
I am not sure what software to install on this machine, though. I have (legal) copies of Windows 98SE, 2000 Professional, XP Professional, Server 2003 (Standard and Enterprise), Server 2008 Standard, and of course can get any Linux/Unix. If I am unable to find additional RAM for a reasonable price (PC133 sure is expensive for 10-year-old technology), then Win98 or Ubuntu (probably Xubuntu, given my affinity for XFCE) look to be the best options for OS, given the 128MB restriction. If I can find additional RAM, I guess Windows XP is preferable. Any other suggestions here among the Linux varietal?
Aside from OS, I will need a media player that is simple to operate with minimal peripherals. Somewhere, I have an old (Windows 98 days) Creative Labs remote that worked with Winamp, WinDVD, and several other players. To minimize extra cost, it might be nice to use this remote. I think it is programmable, so I shouldn't be limited to the media players on the original list. What media players are good (and have a nice front end for standard definition viewing) for audio only?
Any other tips and tricks for building a media server are much appreciated... I have worked with computers for some time now, but my computer multimedia experience is somewhat lacking.
Thhank you!
I am not sure what software to install on this machine, though. I have (legal) copies of Windows 98SE, 2000 Professional, XP Professional, Server 2003 (Standard and Enterprise), Server 2008 Standard, and of course can get any Linux/Unix. If I am unable to find additional RAM for a reasonable price (PC133 sure is expensive for 10-year-old technology), then Win98 or Ubuntu (probably Xubuntu, given my affinity for XFCE) look to be the best options for OS, given the 128MB restriction. If I can find additional RAM, I guess Windows XP is preferable. Any other suggestions here among the Linux varietal?
Aside from OS, I will need a media player that is simple to operate with minimal peripherals. Somewhere, I have an old (Windows 98 days) Creative Labs remote that worked with Winamp, WinDVD, and several other players. To minimize extra cost, it might be nice to use this remote. I think it is programmable, so I shouldn't be limited to the media players on the original list. What media players are good (and have a nice front end for standard definition viewing) for audio only?
Any other tips and tricks for building a media server are much appreciated... I have worked with computers for some time now, but my computer multimedia experience is somewhat lacking.
Thhank you!
