Ubuntu on new HTPC

Use x11vnc instead of vino

Update alsa to 1.0.20 to get spdif working.

Use arialuni.ttf to replace /usr/share/xbmc/media/Fonts/arial.ttf, and choose GBK as charset in XBMC settings to get Chinese filenames working.

Mythtv:
Couldn't connect to database after installation. Had to:

mysql -u root -p
mysql>grant all privileges on mythconverg.* to mythtv@"localhost" identified by 'avxGzq44';

Use tar to backup and restore the system: link
Using rsnapshot, rdiff-backup, flyback and timevault look interesting too.