My feelings when it comes to building systems is that you at certain times, use legacy/old/slow hardware. If you can get it working ok and to your needs, then you can move it to newer/faster iron. By that time, it will be optimized and worth the initial effort.
Currently building a Win10 VM to run Natural Reader. It will convert websites/pdfs/documents to MP3 for me to listen either while I am driving or doing chores.
Part of a future project !
This is a good first step towards autonomous vehicles on the challenging road infrastructure in the Caribbean.
Got my snd_hda device running ! Was simple, thanks the Sound Setup in FreeBSD handbook
One note to use /dev/dsp when testing
e.g mpg123 -a /dev/dsp <mp3file>
As I read the book BS Jobs by David Graeber, I wonder if automation’s affect the Caribbean’s 
major industry of Tourism will be measurable. I guess it will come down to some metrics.
I am not interested in gathering the numbers to model this I am confident I can get it to show this. My interest is only seeing how this plays out.
So I made the jump to using FreeBSD on the desktop and it’s beginning to grow on me. Some notes.
All in all, a challenging experience, but one that I am glad I did.
The TODO list
This book by David Graeber should be read by technologist and anyone who is interested in systems and processes.
Spent some time, but I got my voice communications system up. Tested it and now feel confident that I can stay in touch, wherever I am in the globe, at least wherever there is a GlobalStar Satellite coverage.
My configuration is this :
Hardware/Services :
My Sprint phone number is linked with my Google Voice account. For this, you have to have a number with an area code in one of the 50 states. I haven’t tried Puerto Rico.
This linking gives you a lot of features. The most important one is the ability to forward calls to verified phone numbers. In my case, I have a SkypeIn #, an 8×8 phone service, and a GlobalStar Satellite phone. With this feature, calls coming to my Sprint #, ring on all these devices.
To make use of a prepaid GoPhone for use on the AT&T service, I configured the SkypeIn number to forward to the local AT&T number. I wanted this configuration, because when I travel to a location outside of the US, I can just get a local number and then configure Skype to forward to this number.
Is this configuration expensive ? Yes ! However, what is more expensive, is the lack of communications in my line of business.
Over time, I will figure out ways of optimizing this configuration for both cost and dependence on various service providers.
I build tools for my use. Hardware, Software, and services. I build not to sell, rent and/or give to others. One cannot solve the problems of others, until she can solve her own.
While I am supporter of Free Software, both beer and freedom, I most importantly support the freedom to do what you want. This is because I don’t want anyone telling me what to do with my life.
If I follow your instructions, know that it is because I deem it in my own best interest. Our goals have been aligned. Nothing more, nothing less.