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April 25, 2005

DIY Web Server guide

When I got always on internet via DSL back in 2000 the first thing I set up was a website hosted on my own computer. This is one of those 'Why? Because I can!' things that you just have to do. Here is a detailed how to with all the information you need to set up website hosting on your own computer. DIYwebserver - build and run your own webserver from home dsl broadband connection using windows, apache, IIS, FTP, email server and more

Posted by The Technician at 08:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Portable software

With USB drives becoming more popular for transporting files and documents they are also becoming popular to transport programs. When you are not working at your own computer you can use your favourite programs that are installed on your USB drive. Portable versions of Firefox and Thunderbird are already available and this site 'The Portable Freeware Collection' has a good list of other portable software.

Posted by The Technician at 06:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 23, 2005

Another free Linspire coupon code

Digg.com again has a post about a coupon code that will allow you to download Linspire the Linux OS for free. This time the code allows you to get the new Version 5.0. FREE linspire 5.0 (five-0). Also here is a link to a Linspire Commercial that I heard about in the Linspire Newsletter.

Posted by The Technician at 10:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 20, 2005

Site update news - good and bad

I will start with the bad so I can end on a happy note. I have had to disable the 'Live Feed' links that were being provided by BigBold.com as the service was timing out and stopping the site from loading. Hopefully this disruption did not stop any new visitors to the site. Which brings me to the good news. Yesterday my site received it’s first ‘trackback ping’ from Michael Ridley’s blog. Michael wrote some very interesting thoughts on Data Protection Manager and backup solutions in general which is well worth reading. I hope that we continue to receive trackback pings and comments to help build this site. If anyone is interested in helping edit this site please contact me.

Posted by syndicateone at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2005

Great day for Podcasts

Today was a busy podcast day with the release of two new podcasts by some very famous tech people.

First the old ‘The ScreenSavers’ crew created a reunion podcast which ended in discussions of reviving TSS online in some form maybe with video conferencing software being introduced with OS X Tiger. It was great to hear them all together again and to catch up on what they have been doing since TechTV ended. TROTSS.COM - The Revenge of The *Beeeep*

Also Phil Torrone who first started podcasting with Engadget.com is now podcasting with Make magazine. I have not listened to this podcast yet but his Engadget podcasts inspired discussion and creativity with technology, so I know it will be good. MAKE: Blog: MAKE:DIYcast- our new audio/podcast experiment!

Posted by The Technician at 06:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 18, 2005

Data Protection Manager beta available

Microsoft is building its server market with additional add-on server programs and recently Microsoft released a public beta for it’s Data Protection Manager for Windows Server 2003. DPM is designed to streamline disk based backup and allow for faster recovery of data and most importantly allow users to recover their own documents. Companies are moving away from unreliable tape backup and moving to disk based data centre backups and one company LiveVault have a very funny site promoting disk based backup.

Posted by The Technician at 07:40 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 13, 2005

Free Network Utilities

Following on from yesterdays post about Lan Tools I discovered some more free tools today with the help of PocketPCThoughts.com. eEye Digital Security a company which develop Vulnerability Management Solutions offer some free tools after free registration. The tools are designed to search networks for machines with known vulnerabilities and also for wireless Access Points. There is a PocketPC version of the wireless Access Point discovery tool which could prove useful when WarDriving.

Posted by The Technician at 08:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 12, 2005

Network tools at LanTricks.com

Having the right tools can make any job easier and for a Network Technician having tools that save you leaving your office and swivel chair are a godsend. There are a good collection of Lan Tools available at LanTricks.com which include a calculator to work out network addresses and a program to remotely shutdown workstations.

Please post in the comments if you know of any other useful Lan Tools.

Posted by The Technician at 08:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 11, 2005

Learn with a Virtual PC

The best way to learn about computers is by experimenting with live systems but unless you have a spare computer it is not always possible to take your main computer off line and install another operating system like Windows 2003 Server and play around with Active Directory. With Microsoft Virtual PC you do not need an extra computer as with the software you can install another operating system and run it within your current OS. I am not sure what the cost of the software is but
Microsoft offers a full 45-Day Trail Edition
that you can download.

I am lucky enough to have a number of computers to experiement with but if you are restricted to one computer I recommend downloading the trial and learning. I will install the trial myself and will attempt to make a ‘How to’ about using Microsoft Virtual PC to help new users.

Posted by The Technician at 08:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 08, 2005

The GateKeeper Test

'Think you know all there is to know about IT security? Put yourself to the ultimate test.' From May 2nd Microsoft is running a security competition where you can win a Tablet PC and also claim the title of ‘The European Gatekeeper Champion of 2005’.
I have already signed up and you can to from the Gatekeeper Test website. The site has test questions and revision information so you can prepare for the test. Even if you don’t enter learning more about computer security is a good thing.

Posted by The Technician at 11:07 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 07, 2005

Free backup software

You never think about backup software until it is to later. You either learn by your mistake or learn from someone else’s. Backup software is not just for big businesses and even as a home user you should have a backup plan. From hearing of another users hard disk failure and loss of data, I found Karen's Replicator a free backup solution that allows you to select files and folders to be backed up and scheduled. The files are backed up without any form of custom compression so if needed you can search your backup and just recover the files needed. I will setup a backup schedule before it is to late and I recommend you do the same.

Posted by The Technician at 01:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 05, 2005

More on Batch files

I previously posted about Microsoft's information site about Scripting and Batch files, but I have now found another site with easier and simpler information to understand. Batch File Help

Posted by The Technician at 10:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack