I'll be buying a new laptop or netbook and also upgrade my PC after a few months.
So, I'm thinking of recycling the netbook I currently have.
My plan is attach a few usb ethernet cards to it and have it act as a router, taking my DSL connection..and making it available through the extra ports.
I can also remove the little hard disk present within and put a monster there for data storage.
It also has a wifi card , so it could be set up for broadcasting the connection for all the other wifi-capable devices I have (and will have).
I've a few questions, though..
1. Is this a good idea or a ridiculous one ?
2. If I plan on keeping it on for large amounts of time, would the power consumption be too high ?(It does not take much power now...and with some underclocking, I think it should be viable...(?right?).
..Also, how do I measure the power ..say.. with a multimeter ?
3. If usb ethernet cards can't be found, or does not work without drivers...can generic cards be attached to the board directly ?
4.Will a normal old PC be a better alternative for this?
Any other suggestions.. if any of you have done something similar ?