Always wanted a PVR (personal video recorder) like a Tivo, but couldn't justify the expense (both from buying the Tivo and the ongoing monthly subscription) or don't want to rent a PVR from your cable/satellite provider? Then, MythTV may just be what you are looking for. This guide walks you step by step through installing Ubuntu and getting MythTV up and running. While I haven't used this specific guide my self, upon initial inspection it looks like a great guide. I can however vouch for the stability and ease of use with Myth on Ubuntu as I have a similar setup at home. While building your own PVR can seem like a daunting task (and at some times it can seem difficult), it is well worth the effort and time.

MythTV Edgy Backend Frontend [via Digg]
DIY, computers, PVR, Linux, MythTV, Ubuntu

Today is the traditional start of the shear lunacy that is the holiday shopping season. Already a difficult task, your annual gift procurements can be made even more difficult by having a geek/tinkerer/open source advocate/hacker on your list. As if the crazed mall-goers, lunatic drivers, and half-assed morons hired on by stores to service the holiday rush (apologizes to all the hard working retail folk out there, but I am sure you know at least one of the dill holes I am talking about) wasn't enough, now you have to shop for a finicky ubergeek that loaths the proprietary crap that big business tries to foist on them year after year. Fortunately, MAKE: has you covered. They have a great list of open source/tinker type gifts that will bring smiles to the hardest of the hardcore. The list also has some great items for ubergeeks to give, helping expose your friends and family to the wonderfull world of open source.

The Open source gift guide - Open source hardware, software and more for the holidays @ MAKE:blog

Gadgets, DIY, open source, gifts

The holidays are fast approaching and for many that means entertaining guests of the younger variety (or, possibly, your own progeny). While I don't have any ankle-biters of my own (for now), it seems that at almost every holiday gathering I host or go to, I end up being the token babysitter (why, I am not quite sure, but that is the way always it seems to work out). While I don't mind looking after the kids, I do find having some activity ideas in hand seems to make the experience a bit more pleasant for every one involved. So here are 5 geeky projects that can help keep the younger guests at your holiday gatherings entertained. (NOTE: I tried to pick projects that would appeal to different age groups, so some of the projects may not be suitable for younger kids. Just use some common sense.)

Here is a quick little hack that I came across on Instructables that may be handy to some of fairer skinned geeks among us who find themselves unexpectedly venturing out into the sun to enjoy some 4th of July festivities. Invented by locals on the Marshall Islands, this sun hood is simply constructed out of a t-shirt with its arm tied behind your head (making the neck the "hood"). This could come in handy if you find yourself stranded out in the Sun (at a picnic, on the water or a desert island) and have a spare t-shirt handy.

Island Ninja T-shirt Sun Hood @ Instructables
DIY ninja sun hood