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You can dust off an old computer you don't use and set up a VPN/web server. Tack on everything on your check list and there you go.

by riprock 16y ago

deleted 16y ago
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gdl 16y ago
That was my first reaction, too. Once you add enough features (streaming video, web interface) it stops being a "storage device" and quickly becomes a general purpose computer, which have existed for a while now. It's not a sleek and trendy answer, but it would sure do the trick. And it would be a lot more customizable for whatever additional crazy plans he dreams up for it, while any gadget equivalents quickly fade into obsolescence.
- andreyf 16y ago
  Why are you taking his advice literally? His advice is to a hypothetical startup. The point the author is making that a startup that would make what you describe into a zeroconf plug-it-in-it-works solution would be very successful.
  - gdl 16y ago
    It seems to be phrased both ways, like "I want something that does these things, and I think there is a market for it". We were mostly addressing the first part. I agree that a consumer-oriented gadget to do the same thing easily could be neat. I don't know that there'd be that big of a market though. I suspect most of the general population wouldn't see the need, and the very geeky would tend towards existing free methods of doing the same thing (MythTV and the like).
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - riprock 16y ago
    The author also wrote in the context of a problem and under his "solutions out there" he did not list the self-configuring solution as a possibility. Presumably, the author may not be aware of this solution and we are just throwing it out there as a suggestion. As gdl noted, there are advantages to this solution over a plug-it-in-works solution. It's pretty straightforward to configure and set up too (google instructions, download, and tweak some settings); provided you have the hardware lying around.

You can dust off an old computer you don't use and set up a VPN/web server. Tack on everything on your check list and there you go.

by riprock 16y ago

You can dust off an old computer you don't use and set up a VPN/web server. Tack on everything on your check list and there you go.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

gdl 16y ago

That was my first reaction, too. Once you add enough features (streaming video, web interface) it stops being a "storage device" and quickly becomes a general purpose computer, which have existed for a while now. It's not a sleek and trendy answer, but it would sure do the trick. And it would be a lot more customizable for whatever additional crazy plans he dreams up for it, while any gadget equivalents quickly fade into obsolescence.

andreyf 16y ago
Why are you taking his advice literally? His advice is to a hypothetical startup. The point the author is making that a startup that would make what you describe into a zeroconf plug-it-in-it-works solution would be very successful.
- gdl 16y ago
  It seems to be phrased both ways, like "I want something that does these things, and I think there is a market for it". We were mostly addressing the first part. I agree that a consumer-oriented gadget to do the same thing easily could be neat. I don't know that there'd be that big of a market though. I suspect most of the general population wouldn't see the need, and the very geeky would tend towards existing free methods of doing the same thing (MythTV and the like).
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- riprock 16y ago
  The author also wrote in the context of a problem and under his "solutions out there" he did not list the self-configuring solution as a possibility. Presumably, the author may not be aware of this solution and we are just throwing it out there as a suggestion. As gdl noted, there are advantages to this solution over a plug-it-in-works solution. It's pretty straightforward to configure and set up too (google instructions, download, and tweak some settings); provided you have the hardware lying around.