Author: Jim Collison

HP Mediasmart Server – Deals on Recertified and New!

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eCost.com has AGAIN put the HP MediaSmart Server EX470 (a referb unit) on sale for $330 for the next couple of days.  If you have been waiting to enter into the Home Server space, this might be a great opportunity.  The lowest we have seen to date is $299 here in the US.  NOTE: This unit has been HP Recertified. The 512 MB of memory that comes with this unit is not enough.  You might consider ordering a 2 GB upgrade ($20 from Newegg.com) and the unit will rock and roll nicely.  See instructions and pictures from HomeServerShow.com. Here is

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Worried about the Conficker Virus? 2 Second Test Will Tell!

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So April 1st came and went with out much hassle for the much talked about Conficker virus.  That doesn’t mean it’s dead, as some 4% of the worlds PC are infected with it (mostly in the far east).  Here is a short summary from the Vancouver Sun. There are three versions of the worm and only one, which has infected the fewest systems, has the April 1 update code. The first version of the worm, Conficker.A, started to spread around the Internet in November. An updated version, dubbed Conficker.B, was released by the worm’s writers in January. Conficker.C has been

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The Home Server Show 39 – OS System Drive Failure Options

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The Home Server Show 39 – OS Drive Failure Options.  In today’s episode, Dave briefly talks about the article he wrote on replacing a hard drive in your Windows Home Server but the questions that came up were what do I do if I have a failure of my system drive.  He goes over your options and provide some excellent links! Book Give-Away Andrew Edney’s Book – Windows Home Server Users Guide Andrew Edney’s Site – http://usingwindowshomeserver.com/ Listen to the show to see if you won! Congratulations to Ian Dixon and The Media Center Show for reaching show number 200!

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How To Shop Tech Smart in a Declining Economy – Never Buy Cables at a Big Box Store!

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It always kills me when I shop at Best Buy, Office Max or any other big box store and see the ridiculous prices they change for basic cables.  Don’t be fooled again! A great example are video cables.  Let’s say you’ve just bought that sweet new 26 inch monitor (like me) and you want to take advantage of that awesome DVI (Digital Visual Interface) port on your video card that to this point has only collected dust.  So you buy the monitor (which you should have bought online!), only to find that it shipped with only a VGA (Video Graphics

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The Home Server Show 38 – PP2 Extravaganza!

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Show #38 of the Home Server Show is now out!  The show includes discussion on PP2 for Windows Home Server that you will not hear or read about anywhere else!  Andrew Edney was nice enough to interview and he and I discuss the newly released PP2. Links and News Items mentioned on the show Andrew Edney’s Book and Site – http://usingwindowshomeserver.com/ Nick the author of AutoExit2008 Add-In for WHS has a PDF discussing the new options for developers with PP2. AutoExit2008 Add-In Home Brendan grant article on new PP2 API’s Alternatives for Media Center Users Recorded TV Manager – http://www.fjdrasch.com/

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The Home Server Show 37 – Interview with Terry Walsh of WeGotServed

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Show 37 features an Interview with Terry Walsh.  Terry is the owner and editor of wegotserved.co.uk. In the interview we talk about new WHS hardware and the new releases of WHS software. Links and News Items mentioned on the show Perfect Disk 10 for Windows Home Server The 2008 Engadget Awards.  Vote for the MediaSmartServer here. Upgrading your WHS to a Gigabit Network Add-In: Outlook for WHS Add-In: Media Center Health Monitor

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