The software
So what software will this box be running then? Obviously there are far too many packages to list, but of the larger packages used the reasons for
choosing each are as follows:
- Gentoo - This distribution is compiled from source, meaning that kernels and other software can be optimised for specific hardware by compiling them
locally. Also, gentoo can be updated with just one simple command which is always a bonus.
- Myth TV - After checking out a couple of different options for software to be used as a PVR, I found Myth TV to be the most supported, with the
ability to be used with DVB cards.
- BerliOS Atmel driver - A rewritten version of the sourceforge wireless driver which is claimed to be more cleanly written. Since the configuration
of this driver is painless, it was an obvious choice.
- IPTables - It is the firewall built into the kernel, hence its fast.
- Samba - It allows the sharing of filestores between all combinations of linux and windows machines, giving flexibility over the operating system
that the client machines need to run.
- Azureus - Lightening fast for large file downloads such as linux distributions.
- and many many many more!
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