[mythtv-users] Asus Eee Box vs Dell hybrid vs Mac mini

[Reid Anderson]

I'm in the market for a new (additional) frontend and am considering
one of a few machines for it.  The machine will be attached to a 32"
HDTV in the bedroom, so it has to be silent, or very nearly silent...

The Asus Eee Box would be the cheapest of the bunch, but I've read
about the Atom processor not having hardware support for HD decoding
(and I do have an HDHomeRun with several HD channels and more on the
way) and thus leaving the CPU to handle the decoding in software,
pegging it out for even modest bitrate 720p.  That alone could nix
that machine.

The next on the list would be a Dell hybrid, and the only thing I've
read being an issue with them is the Intel X3100 integrated graphics
and the lack of support for it in Ubuntu 8.04 (I run Mythbuntu across
the board).  VESA drivers apparently do the trick, and 8.10 will
hopefuly solve this as well.  I suspect that I would need to bump up
to 2GB over the standard 1GB RAM since the graphics memory is shared.
I'm also curious about support for 802.11n (draft, I know).

The last one would be a Mac Mini, but that too has intricacies
revolving around Intel graphics support among other things.  It is
also the most expensive (or very near it depending on particular specs
of the hybrid and the mini) of the options.

So, In looking for a FE for a bedroom (considering volume as a key
component), any thoughts or experience with one or more of the above?
Anyone by chance running the alpha release of 8.10 and able to speak
to the concern on Intel integrated graphics (namely the X3100) or
Ubuntu support for the 802.11n cards in any of the above machines?

Thanks,
     Reid

PS- Am I correct in thinking that 802.11n would be the way to go?  To
push 1080i/p HD content wirelessly would take some throughput and if I
want to still use my laptop reliably, do I need (or would it be worth
it to use) n instead of g?