Tag Archives: Computers & Technology

Windows Home Server

I have to admit, even though I am rapidly heading towards a Windows Free Home ™, I am quite intrigued by Microsoft’s Windows Home Server. It is the exact product I have had floating around in my head for quite some time, an easy way to store all of your home’s data in a central location for backup purposes.

Of course it requires Windows, which limits its usefulness in my case. However many homes have easily 2-4 PC’s and could definitely use this. Microsoft could have a winner here.

However, there is probably a catch: how much will Windows Home Server hardware be sold for?

Random brain dump

Some random stuff that I have been meaning to write about:

  • What is up with the weather? Tonight it is going hit -2 degrees according to weather.com and my morning commute looks like it will be in the 4 degree range. It is so cold that my stereo system in my car takes a few minutes to heat up before it will talk with my iPod (note to self: gotta get that fixed). By 3:00pm on Saturday (roughly 42 hours from now), it will be 47 degrees out and all next week we will be flirting with 50 degrees. Welcome to spring in New Hampshire.
  • It has been about 9 weeks since I started using Invisalign braces. I just started aligner set #5 (of 12 for my bottom teeth, of 24 for my top teeth), so I am almost halfway done the bottom teeth and almost a quarter done the top teeth. I switch to a new set of aligners 2 weeks on Wednesday. Usually by Friday (48 hours or so), my mouth is no longer sore from the new set and I can easily take them off. So really, it is just 2 days of being sore and having a relatively difficult time taking them off. I think that with the last set is the first time I think I started to notice something, but it is tough to tell since each set does such a small amount of change on its own. I think I will have to look at the before/after photos to really appreciate the amount of change.
  • I have a good feeling about the Red Sox this year. This is one of the deepest starting rotations around (even deeper then 2004′s) if everyone stays healthy. The offense looks pretty well rounded. Only concern is the bullpen, but those are always a crapshoot and it is the one thing Theo can’t seem to get together (outside of 2004).
  • Speaking about good feelings, how about the Patriots? They are schooling everyone in free agency. So much for being “cheap” like some members of the media (*cough* Ron Borges *cough*) think they are.
  • On the other hand, those Celtics are doing a great job working for that #1 (or #2) pick!
  • On the geek front, the DST changes are a bane to my existence. This is one of those (many) times where the government did more harm then good…why break something that was working fine? I think at work we got everything patched up on the Windows side, but I am worried about Lotus Notes…calendar systems are really weird to begin with when it comes to time zones. Nothing can be simple and easy I guess.
  • I have been reading Barack Obama’s two books and I don’t think I ever been more impressed with a politician. He is exactly the type of leader that should be President.
  • Tomorrow marks the return of me to the gym at work. Actually, technically I returned yesterday when I got fitness tested (being entered in a drawing for a new iPod had nothing to do with that, I swear). So anyways, tomorrow I going to restart working out and be very sore this weekend.

Why the Zune 1st Generation will fail

Fellow geeks today probably know that Microsoft has released the long awaited “iPod-killer”, aka the Zune.

Already there is two big issues Microsoft has to overcome in my above statement:

  • Geeks know about the Zune, but not the average music listener. I just asked my fiancee if she knows what a Zune is. She gave me one of the weirdest looks I have seen.
  • The fact that people want to label the Zune as an iPod killer.

A huge reason why Apple scored it big with the iPod is marketing and the fact that it really backed up what its marketing says the iPod can do. There is no better device that integrates every part of the process from buying music (iTunes Music Store), to listening to and ripping music on your computer (iTunes), to the syncing part. It is so easy that anyone can walk into a store, find an iPod, and set it up in minutes. A minute of experimenting with the iPod and the scroll wheel really makes the buyer have a lot of fun.

The word-of-mouth from all of this integration instantly gives Apple a ton of free press. Combined with stellar marketing and that is why the iPod is successful.

Compare this with the Zune: It isn’t cheaper then an iPod, it doesn’t play previously purchased music from iTunes. It isn’t compatible with other Windows-based stores like Napster and Rhapsody. It is thicker, heavier, requires you to purchase points, cripples the wireless features to the point where it is annoying to use, has more barriers of entry, and doesn’t even use the one piece of software that Microsoft already has marketed as its music jukebox (Windows Media Player).

I don’t see how that will kill the iPod. It won’t, I guarantee it. The iPod has so few barriers to entry that it really makes people want to buy an iPod and they enjoy every second of the exprience.

I can just picture people being frustrated during the long/buggy install of the software, learning a whole new piece of software, wondering why they have to purchase points when it is just $0.99 to buy a song on iTunes, struggle to find someone to try the wireless features with, curse at why their iTunes Store music doesn’t work on it, curse as to why Naspter/Rhapsody music doesn’t play on it, and so on.

Microsoft whiffed on Zune 1.0. I give it a D-, with it missing a failing grade because of its slightly larger screen compared to an iPod and a wireless feature that has potential if they ever make it usable.

Again, the barriers of entry have to be non-existent or Microsoft will not make even a minor dent into iPod sales. Microsoft has to make people say that not only does the Zune have more and better implementations of features, but that the Zune is simpler to setup, simpler to use, just as fun to talk about, and just as fun to use.

Basically, the Zune has to stand on its own without being compared to an iPod. Instead, it has to make people want to compare iPod’s to IT!

Else, it will be an expensive failure. At least the first XBOX actually offered something against the PS2.

What if your computer is stolen?

Just now I was catching up on some articles posted on Digg and stumbled across an interesting one: How to Prepare for a Stolen Mac.

Most of the tips apply to any computer, Mac or PC, so it should be a good article for anyone to read.

This has been something that has been bothering me greatly lately. While I backup my computer nightly to an external hard drive, it doesn’t help much that my backup is sitting on my computer desk, just 3 inches from my Macbook! In the event of theft or fire, I am almost guaranteed to be screwed big time.

What do I plan on looking into to solve this issue?

  • I am going to look into either a fireproof safe or a safe deposit box at my local bank. I can then burn a weekly backup of my data onto DVD’s and keep it protected.
  • I will make sure my renter’s insurance covers all of my equipment (laptop, printer/scanner, external hard drive, wireless router). That way I can get up and running as quickly as possible.
  • Right now I have a Dashboard widget that e-mail’s me whenever my computer’s public IP address changes. If someone activates Dashboard and they are online, my e-mail account will get an instant e-mail containing the new IP address. In theory, this would let myself and law enforcement to track down (or at least narrow down) a search for a stolen laptop. I will look into other solutions that make this happen automatically, regardless of Dashboard being activated or not.

You can never be too safe.