home server
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Build A Killer Windows Home Server From Scratch
1:05AM Kevin Purdy | Windows Home Server is a fairly easy way to start streaming net content and sharing files between home computers. Maximum PC details the building, installation, and management of a pretty serious Home Server setup, from the ground up. More »
Work
Tonido Keeps Cloud Computing Local
3:00AM Jason Fitzpatrick | Windows/Mac/Linux: If you’re interested in the idea of cloud computing and remote access to your files but are a bit paranoid about putting your data on some third party server, Tonido is a great compromise. More »
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Turn an Ubuntu/Debian System Into an IMAP Mail Server
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | Just because your email account doesn’t offer IMAP access doesn’t mean you have to put up with reading and deleting the same messages ad nauseum. Web how-to site Webmonkey offers a detailed rundown on setting up the free Dovecot server on your system to pull in any kind of mail and dish it out in that synced, folder-sorted, always-accessible IMAP way. This guide is specific to Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, but Dovecot is available for lots of open-source platforms. If running your own box seems like a bit of overkill, you can always set up Gmail with IMAP as a go-between. Set Up a Debian or Ubuntu Machine as a Maildrop [Webmonkey] More »
Luminotes is a Wiki Without the Markup Learning Curve
10:00AM Kevin Purdy | Setting up a personal wiki is a great way to set up a digital notebook for your thoughts and tasks, but it also requires getting familiar with the Wikipedia editing system—asterisks, brackets, and all. Luminotes has you simply start typing, using familiar rich text buttons to add bullets and other styling, and a simple linking and tagging system for your notes. There’s options to share and collaborate with others, as well as easy exporting and printing. Luminotes is available both as a package for hosted web space and as a somewhat-limited free account at Luminotes’ servers. More »
Control and Grab Your Torrents From Anywhere with TorrentFlux
2:00AM Kevin Purdy | You’re at a friends house, extolling the virtues of your latest TV obsession or music kick, and you can’t wait to get them into it as well. Usually, this conversation ends with a promise of burned CDs—but why not offer them what you’ve already grabbed from BitTorrent, or give them a user name and password to get what you’re about to start downloading? TorrentFlux, a free, open-source, server-based BitTorrent manager, can do all those things. If you’ve got a Windows or Linux computer you keep on most of the time, a home server, or even hosted space, you can take control of your downloads. Follow through the jump for a tutorial on getting started with TorrentFlux. More »
Set Up a Web-Based Desktop with EyeOS
4:00AM Kevin Purdy | When you’re at a computer that’s missing a vital file or application, like an office workstation that’s locked down, a friend’s system or coffee shop computer, you can still get to a desktop that contains your essentials—on the web. A “webtop” is a virtual desktop that you access using only a browser, and it can include much of the stuff you’d expect on a local computer desktop: like file storage and management, a calendar, RSS reader, email client, and photo viewer. While there are several web desktops available these days, the free and open source EyeOS application is the most accessible, useful, and promising one out there. Follow along to see what a web-based desktop looks like, and how it can help you get things done when you’re locked down or out of pocket. More »
Create Your Own Cross-Platform Backup Server
4:00AM Kevin Purdy | Backing up your data on a regular basis is important, and turning a spare computer into a backup server is often the best way to make sure it gets done. But most methods require either a good deal of command-line learning or serve only one operating system. Not with Restore, a free, open-source backup system that can install or run from a live CD, work with any OS, and operate through a simple browser-based interface. Today I’ll demonstrate backing up a Windows laptop to an older desktop, but you’ll see how Restore can be easily molded to fit just about any home backup needs. More »
Set Up a PDF Printer on a Windows Home Network
2:00AM Kevin Purdy | Free Windows utility PDFCreator is a great all-in-one PDF wrangler and paper-saving print option. If you’ve got more than one computer at home doing some regular printing, PDFCreator can also be deployed on a simple Windows home server box (like the kind you might built a home FTP server on) to help everyone in your household save paper. The Confessions of a Freeware Junkie blog has the lowdown on getting PDFCreator set up for creating and sharing PDFs, or securely locking away each users’ printouts, if that’s more your speed. Whether single-user or network-installed, PDFCreator is a free download for Windows systems only. Create a shared PDF Printer using PDFCreator [Confessions of a Freeware Junkie] More »
Give an Old Laptop New Life with Cheap (or Free) Projects
4:00AM Kevin Purdy | Like a famed race horse or a classic book, you don’t just throw away a laptop because it’s banged up a little. Even if it seems outdated and underpowered, most any laptop is still small, quiet, and relatively low on power consumption, making it a seriously valuable spare to keep handy—even without a working screen. With some free software, a little know-how and some creative thinking about your home network, nearly any old laptop can find its second wind, and today I’ll run through some of the best ways to get it there.Photo by daveynin. More »
