Daniel Maclean

Updated 20/05/2013: Openelec keymaps have moved from /Userdata/keymaps.xml to /Userdata/keymap/keyboard.xml Ok, so thought it would be worth noting this down for others as well. I use a One For All Smart Control  to control my TV, Xbox 360, Surround System and SkyHD box. I figured that it would be a natural extension to include the new ER1401 system into this mix. Note: For those coming straight to this article, this is my system running OpenElec i.e. XBMC, i've written articles before on how you can build one of these systems if you can get the hardware. So, thankfully after a rummage through my "man cupboard" I found a old Microsoft Media Center remote and IR receiver which by luck works out of the box with OpenElec. So I configured my One For All remote control to send Media Center remote control signals and bush bash bosh, I had control of my OpenElec system.

Ok, so after the massive success of getting OpenElec up and running with little to no problems I faced what initially seemed like a big problem, but as always once you have a solution, it seems trivial. Within the XBMC Constellation application there is a button on the connection menu to send a WOL (Wake on Lan) or "Magic Packet" to turn on the device which it is controlling XBMC on. Clicking this buttons straight away did nothing except change the label in the menu within XBMC to "Package...". Not informative at all.

Ok, so spent a couple of days playing around with my newly built eMachines ER1401 and i'm really in amazement at how powerful the setup has become. Let me try and share some useful information so that others may benefit. First of all here is the specifications of the system itself, i pulled this from the site I purchased the system from. Here is a link, they still have the deal on for this system: http://www.ebuyer.com/267867-emachine-er1401-desktop-pt-nbzec-004

So after an evening of downloading distros and more reading I've now got OpenElec and XBMC on two separate USB sticks ready for usage on the new hardware when it arrives tomorrow. Interesting experiences getting them on sticks though, OpenElec was a breeze as it came with the software to do this as part of the distro download however with XBMC I had to use a third party tool called Unetbootin . Tested both of them on my normal desktop, so far so good. Will post a blow by blow entry of my experience with the installations soon.

I'm all for experimenting with OS's and discovering this for myself. However I was a bit disappointed to see that there wasn't a blow by blow comparison on the internet. I found the following pages for other peoples reference, they don't have pretty tables, but make for interesting reading, really to gauge other peoples experiences: http://htpcbuild.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/xbmclive-v-s-openelec/ http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=12376.0 http://xbmcmediacenter.com/openelec-htpc/

Just bought a emachine er1401 from ebuyer at a bargain price. Waiting for it to be delivered. http://www.ebuyer.com/267867-emachine-er1401-desktop-pt-nbzec-004 Planning on building a HTPC with this and xbmc. Will write an update once I get it. For reference I have a Buffalo LS-XHL sharing my content via smb, dlna and daap.

Mystery Flower… Any Ideas? , originally uploaded by Daniel Maclean .

Wedding Planning , originally uploaded by Daniel Maclean .

Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon , originally uploaded by Daniel Maclean .