I have been fighting this article for a while…  In fact, I have been fighting the idea that Windows Home Server was a viable server solution for a media collection.  How can a piece of software that’s so cheap be good for terabytes of data?

Well, on Friday I gave in.  I am now the proud, new owner of a 3.5 terabyte media server.

Before I get into positive reviews and all that nonsense, I want to extend some thoughts as to why I didn’t choose Windows Home Server first:

• Data Corruption - Before adopting any sort of software, I review it pretty thoroughly.  The Home Server was no exception.  Various blogs and sites were complaining about data corruption problems.  And with 500+ movies, I really didn’t want to have to burn them all to the hard drive again!  It took 3 months in the first place.
• Weird Storage - I have been been in the tech business for years - so I am well accustomed to RAID arrays and storage practices.  The Windows Home Server automatically adds hard drive storage to a ‘pool.’  Then you save files in the shared folders which spans all the drives.  It may sound like RAID, but it isn’t.  It’s some new technology.  But, unless you add ‘backup storage drives’ your files aren’t redundant.
• Can’t Plug And Play - My server case features 11 hot-swappable hard drive bays.  Not that I need them, but I hate opening the case each time I need to add or change out a drive.  And with a storage system of 8 or so terabytes, hot-swappable hard drives was important to me.  BUT, with the Home Server, I can’t just take them out of that machine and plugin them into my desktop!

The positives:

• Fast Indexing - To get a general idea of my setup, I have an Xbox 360 sitting next to a Home Theater PC in the family room.  The server is in the office, connected by cat6 ethernet cable.  There is no storage besides the OS on the HTPC, so all files are fetched from the Home Server…  Well, previous to the WMS configuration, I was using Small Business Server - which is a great application but isn’t built for mega-media streaming.  It doesn’t index well when you open it up in Windows Media Center.

  Windows Home Server will let the HTPC show all 500 movies with a tiny bit of lag in a little over 15 seconds.  3.5 Terabytes of data in 15 seconds…  And no lag in playing a movie or a song…  Amazing.

• Automatic Backups - I could really care less about network health when it comes to the PC’s being updated with the latest virus protections, but having data backed up is infinitely valuable.  I tend to reinstall the OS on my primary machines about once every three months, so virus troubles is rarely an issue.  But automatic backups is a life saver!
• User Access - I like having the ability for my girlfriend and I to sync up music on the server.  Since we both listen to the same sorts of tunes, it makes downloading the same song twice less of an issue!

In closing, I would like to say I am still testing out the Home Server Solution. So far it does what I need it to do, and it does it very well.  But we’ll see as I keep pushing it to the limit!

Living in a primarily ‘web world,’ I tend to be a bit jaded about computer upgrades.  The nice thing about living off of websites and technology businesses is that I can write a lot of computer upgrades and tech equipment off on my taxes…  But there are seven things that I couldn’t live without from a productivity standpoint… whether I could write them off or not!

1. Multiple monitors - I have been using dual monitors for a long time, 4 or 5 years now.  And to be honest, I hate it when I am forced to work on only one display.  So many things can be avoided when you have screen real estate - opening and closing windows, constantly checking your email, reducing you chat windows….
2. KVM Switch - Like most of you, I work from a laptop.  But oftentimes, that laptop is hooked up to a KVM switch (Keyboard, Video, Mouse).  It allows me to switch between my gaming rig and the laptop while still keeping the same mouse, keyboard and display.
3. Laser Printers - I don’t print much, but nothing makes me more angry than running out of ink.  Laser printers are incredibly affordable anymore - both color and black/white.  And they save on ink in the long run!
4. Gigabit Switch - I send a lot of stuff over the network here.  Having a gigabit switch for accessing the server (not to mention Xbox Live) is a great addition to a network because it saves precious time during file transfer and backups.
5. Hands-Free Voip Kit - My weapon of choice is the Logitech EasyCall Desktop.  Included in it is the voip speakerphone that syncs up with Skype.  If you’re office is relatively quiet, it is amazing how productive you can be with one of these things.  Not having a phone wedged in between the side of you head and your shoulder can free up a lot of time!
6. PDA - I have a Blackberry and I love it.  But I take a lot of notes and have lots of stuff in my calendar (and I listen to a lot of music).  For me, my PDA is a real lifesaver in terms of keeping on track.  The Blackberry is a great phone and email device, but I would still rather take notes with a pen!
7. Network Attached Storage - Ever lose a file?  That’s a real productivity killer, isn’t it.  Avoid that by picking up a network attached storage device and backing up your files religiously…  It’ll save you time in the long run!

In my world, more productivity means more money.  I can check out of work a little early or take the occasional Friday off without feeling bad.  The seven upgrades above have saved me days of time when added all up - and I highly encourage you to pick a few of them up!

What about you?  Do you have any upgrades that you swear by in terms of productivity?

The good folks at Maximum PC released new details on the next generation Universal Serial Bus, aptly dubbed USB 3.0. The new bus will have faster data transfer - 10 times faster - sporting a 4.8gbps maximum speed. USB 3.0 will also be more environmentally friendly by cutting back on power usage while featuring faster charge times. Beyond that, USB 3.0 will be backwards compatible, will have a much thicker cable, and uploads and downloads will be on separate lanes.  The first devices to utilize the cutting edge are expected out in 2010, and for this writer, it can’t come soon enough.

[via Maximum PC]

Way back when Kevin Rose announced that he had started a new online service named Digg (a name based on the software for which it was built called “PLIGG”), I started occasionally visiting the site and for sometime I didn’t know what to make of it. The concept of people being able to rate a story and either accelerate (or Digg) it to the ‘Front Page’ or decelerate (bury) it intrigued me.

I would like to submit the following list of the top five post themes in two categories (things to love and things to hate) that will help you get to the top of Digg. These aren’t based on any type of zeitgeist, but are just the most common articles I see on Digg on a daily basis.

Top themes to make it to the front page of Digg:
Click here to read more

On February 4, 2008, the leading GPU developer, Nvidia, acquired AGEIA Technologies, Inc., the makers of the world’s first dedicated physics processor. Now, on August 12, 2008, owners of a Geforce 8, Geforce 9, or GTX 200-series card will reap the benefits. New firmware will enable users to activate PhysX acceleration without the need for an expensive dedicated physics processor. So load up your favorite supported game and get to it.

[Via UberReview]

Dual monitors have been a pretty steady thing in my office for about the past 5 years.  They went from twin 15″ CRT’s to 15″ Flat Panels.  Now, I am graduated to twin 22″ flat panels that are able to hold all the various things I do every day.

Monitor space is like gold - the more you have, the more you can do with it.  If you are constantly opening Skype and Outlook just to check new messages while working on some crazy .NET application for a client, it tends to get a bit time consuming.  So, an obvious workaround is to throw $200 at another monitor and go from there.

But…  It’s expensive to live.  And oftentimes you are faced with the choice, “Do I buy another monitor or put gas in my car for two weeks?”  The most sane of us would choose gas..

So, here is another alternative - Virtual Desktops.  Virtual desktops mimic what Linux users have long seen in the open source operating system.  They give users the ability of running multiple desktops simultaneously.  All you have to do is switch between them!

My favorite virtual desktop application is Dexpot.  It’s free, pretty intuitive, and works very well for what it does.  It’s really nice for a laptop when you’re working on the road or in a coffee shop because it allows you to keep those pesky email and chat clients open without having to minimize them every time you want to work on something else.  All you do is change your view to a different desktop!

Definitely download Dexpot and check it out!  If you can think of any other similar tools, please let me know!

For those of you not in the know, SSD’s, or Solid State Disks, are a new high storage medium that is quickly replacing hard drives in laptops like the Macbook Air because of its small form factor and low power consumption. But the cost to upgrade worth it for the average PC user? We take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of SSD’s after the jump.
Click here to read more

I am an overclocking junkie. Building cheap rigs that perform better than $2,000 PC’s is something I have long had an infatuation for. In fact, my desktop runs an Intel E6600 (2.4 gHz stock) at 3.6 gHz on air cooling. It really is a great little machine.

But for newbie overclockers, the most important thing you can do is get a great toolset for monitoring your system temps, voltages, clock speeds, and everything else.

There are several free applications that I run consistently - whether the PC is overclocked or not. Those are:
Click here to read more

First I would like to apologize for being a little late in officially announcing the winners here. Sometimes 24 hours in a day just doesn’t cut it. With two fast growing blogs, MarketingHackz and NetHackz and clients swarming in through axiium, sometimes it just gets hard to get things done as planned. But, we are here now .

As you all know we launched a contest a while ago which was to find this blog. Some of you guys did really good and spotted us before anyone else. So here is the list of winners and prizes. Please visit axiium.com and send us an email to claim your prize.

Winners

1st : Carlo From Startup Launchr ( Free blog consulting either in PDF format or live 2 hours consulting on Skype )
2nd : Scott ( Free Logo for business or blog through Tech Solution )
3rd : Anton ( One hour design and social media consultation with John C. Phillips )
4th : Rob Mason From Sponge Project ( free content promotion including title optimization and post editing )
5th : Bryan from BryanpHelps ( 50 Dollar Amazon Gift Card )
6th, 7th and 8th : Tlyden, Cameron and Tom ( Killer Domain ebook each )

Thank you for your time and thanks for visiting PcHackz. Winners please visit axiium and contact us. And do not forget to subscribe to PcHackz and the rest of the Hackz Blogs.

I have one major addiction in life… I love to build computers.

It doesn’t matter what kind of computer it is - a new quad core with SLI graphics cards, an old box that I am turning into a media server - I love rummaging around in my parts bin and buying new components that come together to do something.

When I built my first pc 7 or 8 years ago, it was quite a process. Newegg’s review/customer feedback engine wasn’t quite as robust as it is now, so you had to really rely on specs. That resulted in a lot of returns and wasted time trying to get a computer running.

Now though, there is a website that helps you along that path. It’s PCincubator.
Click here to read more