Microsoft has released a home server operating system, Windows Home Server. It is based on Windows Server 2003 with some noteworthy exceptions. The biggest of these is that you do not create a domain. In order to use Windows Home Server (WHS) you run "connector" software on your windows client machines. This connector provides services such as security, logon, and maintenance.
WHS provides automated PC backup services that you can schedule. You can also get into your network from outside using remote desktop. Some of these services require the client PC's to run XP professional or Vista Business. This is due to WHS's roots in Windows Server 2003.
I have seen an implementation of WHS on the HP Media Smart Home Server and it is excellent. The Media Smart Server can be configured up to 1 TB of disk space on multiple hard drives. The server has three "drive bays" that have slide in/slide out "sleds" in which to mount your hard drives. When you add or remove a hard drive, the Operating System (O/S) recognizes what happened and reconfigures accordingly.
Although WHS can be considered Network Attached Storage (NAS), it performs many more tasks and does them well. I'd recommend getting the 500gb HP server, and adding your own disk drives. I am also hoping that developers will write home control and similar programs for use on a WHS server to truly give owners "homes of the future".
Peace,
Dave
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Quicken Saga - Continued
Well it's now April 20th and I still do not have a satisfactory answer from Quicken's authors, The Intuit company!! I've been working the problem of download issues with multiple banking institutions since January 2008 with no end in sight!!
The institutions originally were with the checking accounts of Washington Mutual, and Bank of America. Now my client cannot get downloads from his two American Express credit card accounts!!
I don't run into these problems because I do not download transactions. I input all my transactions manually so unless I forget to enter a transaction, everything is ok. Actually this is the recommended way to run Quicken even if you do download. In this case when you download, you get a window that details transactions and you can "match" them to the ones you input manually.
But my client is very busy and he does not want to manually input all his transactions. So I am in a continuing battle with Intuit. I have contacted their "office of the president" and had about 5 support phone calls with no resolution. The most recent phone call was about the Amex problem. Finally after about two phone calls, Intuit is now throwing the problem back at Amex.
Needless to say this is most frustrating!! And I do not know where it goes from here. Unfortunately, I think the only work-around right now is to input transactions manually. The client is not going to be satisfied with this explanation but since I did not write the Quicken program, I cannot go in and fix it.
Peace
Dave
The institutions originally were with the checking accounts of Washington Mutual, and Bank of America. Now my client cannot get downloads from his two American Express credit card accounts!!
I don't run into these problems because I do not download transactions. I input all my transactions manually so unless I forget to enter a transaction, everything is ok. Actually this is the recommended way to run Quicken even if you do download. In this case when you download, you get a window that details transactions and you can "match" them to the ones you input manually.
But my client is very busy and he does not want to manually input all his transactions. So I am in a continuing battle with Intuit. I have contacted their "office of the president" and had about 5 support phone calls with no resolution. The most recent phone call was about the Amex problem. Finally after about two phone calls, Intuit is now throwing the problem back at Amex.
Needless to say this is most frustrating!! And I do not know where it goes from here. Unfortunately, I think the only work-around right now is to input transactions manually. The client is not going to be satisfied with this explanation but since I did not write the Quicken program, I cannot go in and fix it.
Peace
Dave
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