Usage

We plugged the external power supply into the back of the case, and immediately noticed that the VFD immediately lit up. This indicates that the iMON components are powered, so the IR remote will work to power on the machine. Instead of using the power button on the top of the case, I decided to use the iMON Pad to power on the machine.



With a fanless Mini-ITX motherboard, the system is near quiet. Unfortunately, after checking the system's health status in the BIOS, I noticed the CPU was running at 80°C. I guess this motherboard wasn't meant to be run without some airflow hitting it, so I decided to move the fan from the other side of the case to next to the motherboard. Thankfully, there is a fan mount right next to where the CPU is located. After screwing it in, I turned the system back on with the case's power button. Thankfully, the CPU was now at 38°C.



After installing Windows and the motherboard drivers, I inserted the Silverstone-supplied driver CD. The CD has a few utilities, but the main reason to install the contents of the CD is for the iMON software. With the iMON drivers and utilities installed, you'll be able to use the iMON Pad to it's full potential, as well as enjoy the VFD on the front of the case.

Most people will be interested in the iMEDIAN application, which is Soundgraph's own media center application. The software isn't unlike MythTV or Windows MCE and it has features such as Weather & News, Live TV, Movies, Music, and the like. Using the integrated setup, you can tell the application where to scan for media to add to its library.



The VFD is bright, but sometimes difficult to see from odd angles (and it photographs poorly due to the mirror substance on the front panel). Regardless, you can set the software to display almost any useful information you want, such as mailbox status, system health or statistics, or maybe a nice equalizer for the iMEDIAN application.

Linux Usage

It's no secret that Linux users are often screwed in the realms of audio and video, as far as new hardware goes. This time, fortunately, it isn't the case. The iMON-series of IR and VFD hardware has been supported in Linux for some time now, and distributions such as Ubuntu include the necessary packages in their repositories.

We found the standalone drivers at Venky.ws. We were scared for a short time, as the domain hasn't been updated since 2005. The forums that support the drivers, however, still remain active. Using some of the resources there as well as the detailed instructions on CheckThisSh*tOut.com, we had no issues getting the LCD to work in Linux. There are some parts that may not work, such as the spinning LCD, but so long as the text working, we're content.

It can also be noted that the power-on function of the iMON Pad is not software-based, so you will be able to use the remote to power the machine on or off regardless of your operating system.

Both the Gentoo and Ubuntu repositories' versions of LIRC include the iMON Pad driver, and it should work with little configuration. Also included are sample configurations for these remote, so anyone will be set to go.