for the past couple of years i've been running an old laptop with a busted screen as an "always on" client that's hardwired to my network at home, using logmein to access it

sometimes for torrents but mostly for accessing data on my NAS and moving files from the NAS to dropbox for other folks to use...it's pretty much just something i want on all the time

i have a desktop that i could use, but there's two reasons i'm avoiding it...my wife is in school and might be using it when i need it, and i don't want to interrupt her...then there's the power draw of having a desktop on 24/7 (though this is secondary as i can't imagine it's drawing THAT much power)

anyway, the laptop is pretty much shot...it's running XP and can't be updated, the hard drive and/or memory has bad sectors, it overheats, etc

i want to replace it with something else...i could get an old laptop to do this and nothing would change, but i thought i'd look at other options...perhaps something running android? i don't actually care if it's running android, though

what i want it to be able to do:
1.) allow for off-network access (preferably through a browser interface like logmein, but it's not necessary)
2.) be hard-wired to my network
3.) be able to access shared resources like my NAS and networked printer/scanner
4.) torrent
5.) ideally, it would have an actual USB port for attaching a hard drive or USB stick, though this isn't a requirement
6.) around $100 or less...though i'll spend more for a perfect solution

thoughts?

12/17/2013 9:43:26 AM

This would be easiest with Linux, IMO.

12/17/2013 10:26:32 AM

suggestions on hardware? it's been a long time since i messed with linux, but i'm happy to start with ubuntu (last thing i used) on some small, cheap, efficient hardware

12/17/2013 10:36:47 AM

that doesn't exist. and Linux still sucks as much as when you used it last time. find a cheap used pc somewhere and get windows 7 on it and then stick it somewhere and forget about it. don't go the Linux route unless you want to spend all your time trying to get stuff to work.

also don't use amd

12/17/2013 1:25:24 PM

android sux except on dedicated devices

if you want to slap a new OS on the old hardware, try Linux Mint (Ubuntu fork that doesn't suck the way Ubuntu now does)

[Edited on December 17, 2013 at 7:38 PM. Reason : android is for mobile, not desktop

12/17/2013 7:38:18 PM

If this dude wants to spend $100, why would Shaggy suggest he spends the entire budget on a W7 license

12/17/2013 9:24:28 PM

I've got a shitload of old laptops laying around that could be re-purposed.

I've also got one of these that might fit the bill too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856167032.

In general though, it might be hard to keep this under $100 if you're going the Windows route unless you have access to a cheap/free Windows Vista/7/8 OS.

12/17/2013 11:26:17 PM

i ended up doing a mini-itx setup with the ECS KBN-I/2100 using an AMD APU (which has some decent features like USB 3.0, HDMI, 6Gbps SATA, and mini-PCIe expansion slots)

using a legit win7 ultimate key i had, a spare HDD that was just collecting dust, and 4GB of RAM that was FAR, it only cost $80

1/14/2014 10:30:00 AM

[Edited on January 14, 2014 at 8:45 PM. Reason : nvm]

1/14/2014 8:44:43 PM

not sure that anyone cares, but the board/CPU i posted above is now only $33 AR shipped: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135364

1/22/2014 9:28:48 AM

My Asus RT-N66U router has a feature built in where it will download torrents and save them to whatever you've attached to the USB ports. I haven't tried it yet to see how easy it is because I tend to just leave my machines on anyway.

1/22/2014 6:58:46 PM