In 2000 I knew I wanted a new desktop computer, and couldn't decide whether I should try to build my own or just order one from Dell. Eventually I figured that if I really wanted to call myself a computer geek I should go the home brew route. I bought a beige case, an 800 MHz Athlon processor, 256 MB of memory, mid-range video and audio cards, and a 19" monitor (I think that cost more than $500).
Initially I installed Windows 98 on this box (which was later named "Ironhide"), and at one point I was triple-booting Windows 98, Windows 2000, and Red Hat Linux 6.2. I tried to move to Linux full time, but Becky didn't have my patience and she would constantly reboot back into Windows. Around 2003 I gave up waiting for Linux to become a useable desktop OS (I kept thinking, this will be the year!) and Ironhide ran Windows full time.
In 2004 I felt like it was time to upgrade, so I assembled my second homemade computer and installed Windows XP on it and Ironhide was repurposed to run Fedora Core full time as a headless server. It hosted a website I built using the latest Java technologies that hosted pictures of Kyla and my first blog. Eventually this site moved to Blogger and Flickr and ultimately to .Mac, so I shut Ironhide down to save on electricity.
After buying the new iMac it was clear that Ironhide needed to go, along with that huge monitor. I'm keeping the 2nd desktop, named Megatron, for now even though I no longer have a monitor for it, just in case I find a use for it.
I really love using Macs, which have the elegance of Linux and the usefulness of Windows, but I do miss building my own systems. On the other hand that aluminum and glass iMac looks a hell of a lot prettier than anything I would build.
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