Articles

Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Microsoft drops another one on my lap. I had already covered what I thought was Windows Storage Server 2012 R2 and its functions and flavors when I learned about Essentials. Essentials is still built for a NAS device, but it adds some fantastic functionality to the platform. Some of these include Active Directory Services, Computer Backups, and IIS.

In 2013, we published an article on building your own NAS for an affordable storage solution.  Well, there was such a positive reaction and such demand for an updated NAS build, I decided that it is high-time I revisit this article with a parts list relevant to 2015.

QNAP recently released an update to their QTS Operating System, QTS 4.1.3, that implements a couple of enhancements and a slew of bug fixes. Although the list of Enhancements is short, it does include things like: VPN Client/Server, NAS over HDMI, Block-Based LUN Backup, and Storage Pool support for X51 and X53 models.

Windows Storage Server is an exciting development in the storage platform. It can run on nearly any spec'd hardware and allows for simple management of storage appliances across a wide variety of manufacturers. Unlike customized NAS OS from other platforms, you get similar features and functions across an array of manufacturers. It is offered in two flavors, provides simple management, and runs like a champ. Additionally, having familiarity with Windows Server operating systems allows administrators to dive right in.

Recently while upgrading a customer's old hard drive to a snazzy new OCZ Vertex 150, we encountered an unexpected result. Everything was moving along splendidly during the customer's "test it all and make sure it works" phase; applications were loading fast and he was happier than ever. Then, it happened... One of his most important applications decided it wasn't going to cooperate. QuickBooks hit us with an error, specifically "Could not initialize license properties. [Error 3371, Status Code -11118] ".

I am not a fan of running a large amount of plugins on my WordPress sites. Even though there has been a lot of debate as to whether or not it actually effects the performance of your site, I would rather limit the number by as many as possible. For those of you that have looked for a quick and easy way to redirect your feeds to FeedBurner, you may have downloaded and installed a few different plugins. Well, you don't need a plugin, just edit your functions.php file and redirect away.

Sorry about this, but I am about to express my disgust with Facebook.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Facebook.  I use it all the time for work and for fun.  I have yet to find a tool better for reconnecting with old friends.  However, it has gone too far.  This isn’t a rant about privacy and the social engineering …

If you are one of the many QNAP faithful, you may have realized that there have been many quiet changes that accompanied QTS 4.1. Among the many enhancements came an enhancement to QNAP's MyQNAPCloud service. From the start, the service didn't look like it would be something that I would really take advantage of. The interface was simple and didn't really offer me much in the way of functionality. Also, having multiple NAS meant multiple logins and just an additional layer of pain. Well, things are different now... and I like it.

Have you ever wondered what lay under the fox in Firefox? I have stumbled across articles here an there that helped me fix certain issues with Firefox by changing some settings in about:config. If you are like me and were wondering what other about: pages there might be... here is a list. Firefox version 30.0.

Ok, we all know that a lot of things have changed in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 from the “Good Ol’e days”.  While poking around pointlessly this morning, I started to wonder where the Startup folder had gone… and is it still used at all.