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Ask Engadget HD: How do I keep a closet full of home theater equipment from overheating?
Last week we asked how to achieve your wildest home theater desires and this week we have a followup in that same theme. Moving all those home theater components out of the way helps achieve the clean look so many desire, but Edward wants to know how do you do it? "I've seen different instances where people have moved the majority of their home entertainment components away from entertainment centers/tables and put them in closets. I'm interested in doing this with my system, essentially putting everything out of view except for the TV and speakers. I'm lucky in this instance because I have a closet on the opposite side of the wall where the TV is mounted and its an empty coat closet about 30 x 30. What I'm looking for are tips regarding IR blasters and shelving/cooling issues for the components in the closet. I'm looking to put a HK AVR-254 receiver, U-Verse STB (not DVR), Wii, Xbox 360, BDP-3600, and a small Ethernet switch in the closet. I live in Dallas Texas so summers are a concern and I want to know what people have been doing in regards to cooling since closets aren't well ventilated." We're sure you all have suggestions on how to keep the air and control commands flowing even in tight spaces. We put together our own how-to move your boxes away from the HDTV, but we don't have a lot of HVAC advice, so pitch in. Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.
Smart closet tells clueless geeks what to wear
If you count yourself as one of a legion of the "clothes clueless," then this smart closet could be the end of your troubles. It sounds as if you'll need a wardrobe full of RFID tagged clothes for it to work -- although the specific technology isn't clear -- but once your clothes are wired sown up, your wardrobe will inform you when you "accidentally" choose the same clothes the second time you meet the same person, and will give you advice on the correct shoes to go with your outfit, among other hints. Of course, the inventors have overlooked an array of paradoxes here (if you're organized enough to set this up, you've gotta have some common sense) but we like the wackiness of the idea anyway. If the future's anything like this, we better be ready for a whole lot of patronizing machines.[Via The Raw Feed]
Magnetic clothes hangers rearrange your closet
As with most things that have remained fairly constant over the years, it was just a matter of time before someone with a tick of free time and a bright idea gave a new face to the clothes hanger. Daniel To's simply-named magnetic clothes hangers maintain the same forked design to gingerly hold your favorite threads, but rather than sporting a rotating hook, a magnetic cube was attached in order to give design-conscience homeowners a new way to assemble their closets. Of course, you'll need a metallic rack / roof to take advantage of the attractive (ahem) design, but we sure hope these end up coming in a heavy duty flavor for the more weighted aspects of our wardrobe.[Via Freshome]
How-To: Rackmount your gear for cheap
Our simple network rack is an easy project that can really clean up a home network installation. Just a few square feet of floor space now keeps our cable modem firewall, Ethernet switch, server, wireless AP, KVM, monitor, keyboard and UPS neatly tucked away -- in a (decently well ventilated) closet, for example. It's also built to support rack mount hardware of shallow depth, like a router (the real kind) or network switch, so if you want to clear off that folding table in the basement, check out today's how-to.
