Here's a short but sweet question left in my in-box by an anonymous birdie: "How safe is it to leave a PC running continuously in a domestic environment? Are there any precautions that one could/should take?" Now computers running 24/7 can put out quite a bit of heat, but I wasn't aware that such things made them fire hazards. Can someone clarify this issue?

kronoman asks: "I've got a multiple-soundcard setup (three cards, four DSP devices) under Mandrake 7.0. Currently, I have an Ensoniq ES1371 on /dev/dsp0 and /dev/dsp1, an SB AWE64 on /dev/dsp2 and an AU8830 on /dev/dsp3. I'm already using ESD to send all ESD sound (especially xmms/mpg123) to /dev/dsp3, and timidity and kmidi use /dev/dsp1. I want to use /dev/dsp2 for emulator output and /dev/dsp for system sound and programs not smart enough to be able to put sound anywhere else. Unfortunately, most of my emus only want to output to /dev/dsp (in particular, UAE, Bochs, Snes9x). Is there a way to either A) get those emus to send output to /dev/dsp2 or B) get kaudioserver/kwmsound to output on a different DSP device (can't seem to find it in the docs, don't know enough C/C++ to find it in the source without some clue what to look for)"

stoat asks: "I am a rather large man looking for exercise alternatives. I was thinking that an under desk pedaling machine might be just the ticket. Could perhaps hook it up to your computer and log total calories burned. The question is, has this already been done? It would seem to be the rather large number of 'large' people in the geek community could really use something like this."

augurist writes: "Own a Pilot? Think there's nothing worth listening to on the radio these days, and you could do better? Or maybe you're a frustrated composer, or (like me) have to sit through hours of mind numbing meetings. Swivel Systems has produced a General MIDI synth and associated music software for the Pilot. Their SG20 looks pretty cool, but I just wonder how fast it gobbles batteries. 'No, no, really, I'm taking notes. What? These? Earbud headphones? Oh no, they're noise cancellation units that my doctor prescribed.'"

levendis writes: "Ars Technica has an excellent article up on the future of the x86 architecture. It touches on new idea from Transmeta, Intel, HP's Dynamo, and a bunch of other technology that keeps the 20+ year old architecture alive and kicking." As always, the Ars take on this (specifically, Hannibal's) is lucid and thoughtful, and grounded in some interesting history.

dewboy asks: "We're trying to set up a rack of SBC's (Single Board Computers) that will allow us to plug a certain number of SBC's into a backplane which will provide power. All interfaces (mouse, keyboard, VGA, Enet, etc) are on the faceplates of the cards, so all they really need is power. All we've been able to find so far are chasses that support a single SBC and a (4-20 slot) backplane. What we'd like is a chassis that supports 20 SBC's. Has anyone found anything like this?"

orKiD asks: "Since PDAs are becoming very common in today's world, is there any possibility of a PDA clone? A lot of the computer buying boom was caused by the AT clones that came onto the market. They brought prices down, they let people customize and get exactly what they wanted. This didn't really happen with laptops, so can it, and will it happen with PDAs? If not, perhaps a PDA designed by the people, for the people? An OpenPDA? I am currently contemplating on buying a PDA, and even though many of the PalmOS PDAs are similar, each one has its advantages, and disadvantages. I want to be able to pick and choose exactly what I want in my PDA." Hmmm...interesting thought. Read on for more info...

mvw asks: "I spotted this organizer by Siemens that together with my infrared interface equipped Nokia mobile might give me WAP browsing. Anyone has experiences with this? If this is programmable (under Linux, FreeBSD) as well, this is more interesting than a palm pilot to me, due to its (supposedly) better integration to mobile phone standards here in Europe." Has anyone played around with other PDA/phone combinations in order to do this? Thoughts?

Tairan asks: "I work for a small company that has recently been growing. We are very short on space, but may be expanding in the next month or so. I just bought a couple new servers, and need a way to contain them. Right now, they are all stacked on my desk, around my office, and down the hall. I would like to have a central location where I can get to all the machines. I?ve been thinking about a rack unit. I hear many racks are extremely noisy , and quite bulky for the small amount of space they provide, so I am doubtful of that option. What I am considering, is building a custom cabinet/ shelving unit. Has anyone ever tried anything like this? What are some things I should keep in mind during my endeavor? If I do have to buy a commercial rack, are there any other considerations or recommendations from anyone?"

Ledge Kindred asks: "I recently bought a Palm IIIxe and I'd like to start writing apps for it. I've installed the PRC-tools, Palm's 3.5 SDK for the PRC tools and PILRC (I've even gotten the POSE Palm emulator compiled and running) but I have basically no idea how to use them. I've hunted around the 'net and I've found virtually no references for writing apps with the PRC toolchain, which is apparently quite a bit different from using CodeWarrior and "the standard" Palm SDK as most of the code samples with the SDK don't compile at all, complaining about various missing header files. Are there any good, recent references on the 'net, sample code or books I can buy to get up-to-speed writing Palm apps under Linux, or should I just buy CodeWarrior for PalmOS and build a Windows box to do development on? Do any "hardcore" PalmOS developers even use the PRC tools under Linux to write their apps or is it so deficient compared to CodeWarrior that I should just stop putting any more effort into getting it working? If PRC is complete enough to do "real" work with, where are any good references on setting it up so that it can be used? "

3107813 asks: "Are large IDE drives a good alternative to tapes for backing up a server? I have a server with about 40GB of storage that I backup nightly. I have a tape rotation and end up saving the monthly tapes in case someone comes back and wants a file they messed up. Could I replace the tape system with large cheap ide drives?" The thing that makes tape popular as a backup medium is due to the fact that they are portable. Now that IDE drives are becoming cheaper and smaller, would something like this be practical?

Deslock asks: "I drool over the Compaq IPAQ hardware, but don't want to deal with WinCE (ver3.0 is an improvement, but retains much bloat). According to this story, the IPAQ stores the OS in FlashRAM, so I'm wondering what other OSs I can run on this cool device (Both the next PalmOS and the Yopy will supposedly use the StrongARM)."

solmssen asks: "I've decided to take the plunge and build a system into my car to play MP3s, light e-mail and browsing, and GPS mapping. I have a lot of stuff I'd like to use already, like a Netwave basestation and PCMCIA card that will allow me to access the filesystem when the car is parked at my house, a Ricochet modem for access on the road here in L.A., a GPS receiver, etc. What I lack is the central unit. I've done all these things with my Sony 505, but I'm loathe to give that up to this project. I'm thinking instead of an older 486 or Pentium touchscreen "Pad-Style" computer. These used to be advertised 3 or 4 years ago - I can't seem to find one on the refurb or used sites I know about. It would need to have PCMCIA slots, a serial port,and a 2.5" hard disk I could replace with a 8-12GB unit. Any thoughts? I used to get catalogs with stuff like this in them, but I can't find anything out there right now." Anyone have pointers as to where you can find them, online or off?

luddite writes: "Two guys at Purdue University have assmbled a FreeBSD based cluster built cheap - very cheap. With under $2500 spent on the cluster, it's one sweet set-up. Just shows that if you take the time and put some effort into something, money doesn't have to limit your resources! The site also goes into some detail about what the cluster is made of, where they found the parts, how it's been configured, and what they plan to use it for."

Halcyon writes: "The maker of the Flat Panel Linux Box for $99, Netpliance once again gains the interest of the open source community by posting the winners of the Pilot 100 Program. The program originally started by the development department of Netpliance in order to tap a new market created by these $99 Internet terminals turned portable pc's. Some skeptics of Netpliance have speculated that these refurbished machines are a cheap way to conduct R&D through easily bought community members, but I don't see any of the winners complaining. Decide for yourself. " What's strange is that they are trying to get people to put Linux/*BSD on machines, when I had thought that's what they were trying to *stop* before.

CmdrPorno asks: "I've been looking for a way to listen to MP3's without physically connecting a computer to my stereo. Ideally, I would be able to listen anywhere in my house. The popular FM modulators, such as the Arkon, seem like an ideal solution, with only one problem: the Web site states the modulator will only transmit four to six feet. Is there any way to tweak one of these modulators to transmit a greater distance, or does the device I'm describing already exist?"

theguy writes: "HP is offering a refund for dissatisfied Jornada owners. Hooray, I'm a big HP fan and its good to see some of the big ones listen." Check out the original news bit we wrote about this, if you're just tuning in.

NT Convert asks: "I'm looking for an embedded firewall solution for my home network - The smaller and cheaper the better. Does anyone out there know of any products, or work being done in this area? It seems a shame to throw a full-sized computer at something like this, especially when the full-sized computer could be used for something important, like Quake..."

An anonymous reader pointed us to a press release from SIS that proclaims that they will support Linux DVD soon as well as 3D stuff. It's a little sketchy, but looks positive on the 3D stuff, and aims to support LiViD. Here's hopin'

`Sean writes: "Sosik-Hamor Projects has posted an article entitled 'They Don't Make Them Like They Used To' that, with the help of some semiautomatic weapons, documents the durability of old school hardware versus the flimsy cases being used in newer peripherals. The Sun 3/50 came out victorious and was stolen from the trash the next day, probably to be turned into body armor!"