Microsoft has recently announced that it is phasing out some versions of Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista as of July 13, 2010. Specifically, if you have any edition of Windows 2000, Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or the original release of Windows Vista without any service packs (Release to Manufacturing or RTM) then support is dropping for your operating system.
Have you ever thought about setting up a home server? Especially if there are more than a couple of computers on your home, it can make a lot of sense to have one machine where everyone’s data is stored. This also makes backups a whole lot easier for the local administrator, i.e., you. A NAS might be just the thing.
‘NAS’ is short for Network Attached Storage. Basically, it’s a machine on your network that serves as a big hard drive for the users of that network. They’re very common at large- and medium-sized businesses, and they’re popping up in small businesses and homes more and more. On a home network, you can give each of your users a chunk of disk space on the NAS for their documents and media. It’s not recommended to actually install programs to the NAS, but this stuff, especially photos, music and video, can quickly take up a very substantial amount of hard drive space. Having it all in one place reduces duplication, and allows to set up a workable backup regiment.
A consumer-level NAS works more like a little network device, rather than a computer, even though, deep down, it is basically just a PC. You usually don’t actually interact with the operating system on the device, but instead a web interface or a piece of software that you install on some other machine on your network. There are even some routers to which you can connect storage (via USB, usually) that can then act like a NAS themselves. Ars Technica recently had a quick write-up on NAS devices; it’s worth reading.
If you’re a little more technically savvy, you might consider just buying a smaller desktop whose sole purpose would be to store your users’ files. Then you could dispense with the web interfaces and whatnot, but you would have to be comfortable with configuring those file services yourself. Microsoft sells Home Server to help with that, as well. Any number of Linux distributions would be ideal for this purpose too. You could also be sure that it includes a DVD burner to make those backups even easier. A home server, though, is a bit more than a NAS. And it’s enough of a topic for a whole other article..
The next major version of Microsoft’s desktop operating system is being released into the wild soon, October 22nd to be precise. This will be a very important release for Microsoft, who have experienced increasing pressure recently from Apple on the high-end and Linux netbooks and nettops on the low-end.
So, whether you’re upgrading from Vista, you’ve been holding out since XP, or you’re thinking about jumping (back?) to Windows from Mac or elsewhere, there’s a lot to take in about this latest OS from Microsoft.
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With the announcements this week that Verizon will be launching Android phones with Google Voice capability and AT&T will also be allowing VoIP services on its iPhone after pressure from the FCC, it appears that we are at the beginning of a revolution of how traditional phone calls are made and placed. Today, you can make cheap or even free phone calls using Voice over IP technology (VoIP).
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September 10th, 2009
Mike
Last month, Brian wrote about his Home Theater PC which he created for streaming web content such as Hulu and YouTube to his television. I have actively been planning to build my own Home Theater PC for some time, but I had hoped to build in DVR functionality so that I could use my PC as a TiVO-like box, which I could then use to store and burn recordings of shows and movies that I enjoyed.
It turns out that Microsoft Windows Vista included just such functionality through the Windows Media Center, a free Windows extender that allows you to run your media (whether audio, video, or pictures) by use of a remote control, and includes an Electronic Program Guide and ability to DVR, as long as you have a tuner card to which you can connect your incoming TV signal. However, because of restrictions imposed by the Cable industry, digital cable signals are often scrambled, and require a cable box to be able to change channels. Most digital cable cards have no ability to descramble these channels, making them useless for any digital cable setup.
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September 10th, 2009
Brian
Ars Technica is one of my favorite sites on the web. They can be very technical sometimes, but when they post something relevant to our topic here at HTH, we’ll let you know.
Today’s link is a write-up they did in response to a recent FCC report on parental controls across all sorts of media. The report is very comprehensive, but the article boils it down nicely. It’s definitely a good read for the parents in the audience tonight.
Now that we’ve got a little history, terminology and use of Wi-Fi down (see our previous article), we can jump into the more practical matters of actually finding and setting up a wireless router.
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If you’ve bought a new Windows PC in the last few years, you’ve probably become familiar with Microsoft’s latest OS. Windows Vista definitely had some teething pains, like any major new OS release has, but due to a variety of factors, Vista gained a very bad reputation out of the gate that it really hasn’t been able to shake completely. So how does Microsoft fix it? They release another OS.
That might sound like a bad thing, but really, it’s very good. In reality, Windows Vista is a very good performer on recent hardware. Releasing a new OS gives Microsoft the opportunity to really polish its next OS. The new OS: Windows 7. Read all about it:
Before the final version comes out in October, we’ll do a full review, especially in setting up Windows 7 to use in your household. Stay tuned.
Not that long ago, wise homeowners started wiring their homes with Ethernet cables for easy internet and network access throughout the house. Some even tried to future-proof by installing conduit piping for the cable, so they could easily string a different cable through, if the technology moved in that direction. Thankfully, through the the magic of radio and computers, Wi-Fi has made all our lives easier. And maybe a little harder. Read more…
My wife and I recently moved into our first house, so now that we’ve got the immediate issues good-enough-for-now (walls painted, wallpaper removed, water heater replaced, yadda yadda), we’ve each settled into more fun projects. My first project along those lines was setting up a home-theater PC. I’ve got a few observations from the experience.
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