I guess I did have the dough...

I picked up an Intel mini on eBay using the Live.com 25% back deal. Still have to wait a bit for the money, but I picked up a rather awesome nearly NOS 1.66 CD mini. Also picked up a T7400 2.16Ghz C2D CPU for it, as the 1.66 was having some problems with 5.1 sound and HD video clips. Most say that a 1.83GHz C2D works out, but 2.16 is a bit more future proof. What a nerve racking install that was! Spring loaded pins secure the CPU heat sink, rather than a clip, or screws. A clip would have been really nice! Of course you can't re-use the pins, so you use nylon 4-40 nuts and bolts. I had it over the edge of the coffee table and I'm working on it like I'm under my car. Holding it down with one hand, pushing the bolt through with the same hand, while trying to line up the bolt to go through the hole in the main board, and then screw the nut on when the bolt goes through the hole with my other hand. I was sure I had to have cracked the CPU, but it fired up fine, and seems to be running great.

Front Row is a nice media center app, but Plex rocks the mic right! Now if only the documentation was worth a shit...

I wanted to get a Mac Power(Taiwan) M9-DX2 for the external storage, and slam a 1TB Seagate in there, but Mac Power(Taiwan) doesn't seem to have a distributer in the US.

Picked up a Western Digital 1TB MyBook Home at Costco as it had an instant rebate. Now I just get to live on Ramen and hot dogs for a month, or three, to recover fiscally!

I think my only remaining expense on the Home Theater setup is a replacement battery for the Harmony remote, and I'll be set! Oh and some sort of DVR deal by the digital deadline...

If I don't waste your time again, before the end of the year - Have a great Holiday season!

SC