network appliance question

[Jeff Hamann]

I would like to take a ton of apps I've compiled from source, plus  
gobs of my own source, build a "distro" of that super solid freebsd I  
love,  and hermetically seal it up in a box that can be plugged into a  
network hub, so that users don't have to use anything but a web  
browser, sftp, or ssh to access the contents. My questions are as  
follows:

1) Is this possible?

2) If so, is there a network appliance "starter kit" I can play with  
first to prove the concept, and

3) If so, where? I haven't been too successful searching for "network  
appliance building for dummies"

Thanks,
Jeff.

Jeff Hamann, PhD
PO Box 1421
Corvallis, Oregon 97339-1421
541-754-2457
jeff.hamann[at]forestinformatics[dot]com
http://www.forestinformatics.com