New Windows Multi-Function Home Server

Setting Up The New PC

I've finished upgrading our home PC/server  ...

• ASUS H97 Plus MOBO
• Intel® i7 3.6GHz CPU
• 24GB RAM
• Dual  ASUS® VS248 monitors
• 1 via HDMI
• 1 via VGA
• Windows® 7 Pro N x64 (for compatibility reasons)
• VirtualBox v5.0.4
• VM1 - Win8.1 x64
• VM2 - Win10 x64
• VM3 - WinXP x32 
• Gigabit Ethernet
• 8 USB
• 1 Firewire  (for legacy VideoCam)
• USB Logitech Mouse/Keyboard
• USB Logitech Web Cam
• USB Microphone
• Wired Logitech 3.1 sound
• Wired Headset
• 5 Disk sets comprising approx 11.7 TeraBytes of storage

The key disk features are:

• an 200GB Win7 System partition;
• an 6TB RAID5 array 
• 1x 2TB data disk
• 2x 1TB data disks
• 1x 1TB data disk
• 1x 500GB data disk
• a couple of 2TB disks for backup

It acts as;

• our family File Server; 
• the home DVR video security manager - Blue Iris®;
• managing in excess of 6 HD motion detection cameras
• home theatre media server - Serviio®;
• serving up to 3 devices concurrently
• My workstation - VirtualBox® with  two VM's running:
• Win 8.1 Pro and 8GB RAM
• Win 10 and 6GB RAM
• backup manager of itself and three other family systems
• 1x Windows 7
• 1x Windows 10
• 1x MAC Air
• I employ two types of backup
• File replication - 2ndCopy®;
• File backup -  EaseUS® Todo Backup Workstation

 Security consists of a mix of:

• NAT firewall router
• BitDefender Internet Security
• further NAT translation into VirtualBox
• Norton Internet Security
• CryptoPrevent
• File encryption

Moving from my old WinXP x32 to the new x64 environments I was successfully able to:

• moved my ATO ECI software to the new Win8.1
• reinstalled and reactivated my Quick Books 2007 software underWin8.1
• moved/upgraded my Blue Iris (now v3) software to the new Win7
• moved/upgraded my EaseUS Todo Backup Workstation software under Win7
• reinstalled the 2nd Copy file sync manager under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• moved RouterStats® Lite underWin7
• set up TeamViewer® under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• set up Synergy®   under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• set up VLC®  under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• set up Skype®  under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• reinstalled Paint Shop Pro 8 under Win8.1
• moved PasswordKeeper under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• set up Shotty screen capture under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• reinstalled DesktopOK layout manager under Win7 and Win8.1
• reinstalled WinZip under all three OS's (7/8.1/10) 
• moved Watts Clever USB energy monitor to Win7
• moved my Kiwi Syslog server to Win7
• reinstalled MUM - Internode's Monthly Usage Meter under 7 and 8.1 and partially successfully under Win10 (won't return LAN card throughput since recent Win10 update)
• moved the Aurora Communicator software for our solar generator to run under Win7
• installed IP Camera Viewer under all three OS's (7/8.1/10)
• reinstalled FileZilla FTP server under Win7

One failure was the redeployment of the Temper USB temperature probe software which had to be substituted with ThermoHID

An additional success was a successful reinstall of the long-time failed USB-UIRT remote control sender/receiver product under Win7

Once again, despite best intentions, I have not blogged for a long while ... so much has happened.

We finally bought a fully featured WIndows 8.1 tablet - with all our key requirements:
Full Windows Professional (can run all desktop apps natively)
9~11" form factor
Wireless WAN (aka 3/4G) built in
Full-hosting USB built in
Video out (min VGA pref HDMI)
At least 64GB (pref 128)
SD card if poss
Multiple docking options
  ... all the things I've harped-on in these previous posts

• Fully featured Windows Tablet Alternatives
• What to replace 3G ASUS netbooks with 

It's the Lenovo Thinkpad 10 and we loooove it

We had the Samil solar inverter replaced with an Aurora ... what a difference!

• It "just works" ... without error!. 
• From my records it seems to be producing slightly higher output overall. 
• I was able to get the RS485 communications and the Aurora Communicator software working with minimal pain and not a lot of extra cost.

All these are topics of blog posts in their own right ... when I get time.

Still not making alternate-income money off internet marketing ... another overdue blog update 


On the security front I've;

• replaced older wireless security cameras with newer WansCam Fixed and PTZ cameras 
• switched to another really excellent PC based CCTV management package - Blue Iris

... more Blog-fodder

If any readers want to hear more about any of the above, please do comment as that will give me added incentive to prioritise blogging on the subject

But what prompted this post - 
... was a car accident my daughter was involved in recently ... as a passenger.
It heightened our awareness of the lack of training around What To Do In An Accident and how often we do not have-to-hand the details we need to exchange in those times of stress.

After a very helpful discussion with RACQ we have now put together the following "kit" for each of our cars.
These kits comprise of three key items.

1. A concise sheet of key things to do/not-do in an accident
   (shared below)
2. An insurance policy Certificate of Currency with details of 
• the provider
• policy number
• claims hotline number
3. RACQ Roadside Assist membership details and hotline

The following list is just one I threw together for our vehicles, so don't take it as law, but it might help you form your own if you want to do something similar.
I'm not completely sure about the use of 000 in these situations so I'd appreciate any improvements anyone might like to offer by way of comments.

Things to Do After an Accident

First things first:

• Never admit liability – don’t apologise or say I’m sorry that I did/didn’t do something
  “don’t admit that you are at fault. Even though you may believe your actions caused the accident, leave that decision to the insurer ”
• Don’t argue with other drivers.
  The situation is already emotional and tense as it is; things don’t need to get worse
• If you can safely move your car to the side of the road, do so.
  If it is not safe to move your car for whatever reason, make sure you turn your hazard lights on.
• Check if anyone is injured – if so call 000 for Ambulance and Police
• If there is damage to other vehicles which might be more than a $2,500 – call the Police – apparently 131 444 will get local police in most states, otherwise 000
• Call your parents or close friend if you need moral support 

In order of importance, exchange with other parties ...

• Car Registration number(s) - particularly of those who hit you or you hit or were pushed into
• Driver(s) name(s)
• Drivers License number(s)
• Insurer(s) - of those who hit you or you hit or were pushed into 
• Drivers Phone number or Address 

 Other Information to collect if possible

• Details of the police officer first on the scene
• Names/Contact details of anyone prepared to be witnesses
•  If you have the opportunity, take photos of the accident scene before too much gets moved

Other web resources on this topic

Though not a concise list, I eventually found the RACQ do go into detail on this on their web site under the somewhat obscure title of "Unusual Motoring Situations"

Suncorp also offer their "Tips following a car accident"

#Moose has written an excellent Whirlpool wiki post on What to do when you have an accident. 

It has a great list of phone numbers and covers multiple scenarios

What do I replace my 3G Netbooks with - which tablet do I buy?

XP™ is on the way out (some would even say dead).
I and many like me still have a fleet of XP™ machines we are still trying to work out how to replace most expediently.

Not the least of my issue is that I have three ASUS eeePC™ netbooks all on XP™ and with onboard 3G.
I have one old iPad 2™ that I'd like to move to Windows™ (for compatibility) and three XP™ desktops, two of which could happily be replaced by decent tablets .... if there was such a beast

After hours and hours of searching and even contacting ASUS™, HP™ and Dell™, I've all but given up in despair of getting a 9~11" Windows™ 8/8.1 replacement device with USB with SD card with WiFi with Bluetooth with video out and most of all with cellular!

There's Microsoft™ out there telling us how RT™ is wonderful (link) and a needed O/S that many people love and how it fills a need for many users ... despite its abysmal sales.
MS and other sites (link) tell us there is no need for Cellular connectivity because world wide sales figures indicate people don't want cellular and WiFi is good enough anyhow.
One brand offers USB but no cellular, another only cellular (one of the few who do) but then non-hosting (OTG) micro-USB
Most don't offer full 1080 HD even though their specs say "HD" ... its usually 720p or some other variant.
Most don't come any bigger than 64GB which after you install Windows™ there very little storage left!

I think the sales figures to-date indicate the sad lack of available good cellular options in half-decent sized mobile devices with half-decent operating systems - NOT that people don't want or try to use cellular!
 
As with may of the reviews I've read on many many forums, for me too, its a deal-breaker on buying replacements for five ASUS eeePC™ netbooks which all have 3G onboard ... there are virtually NO decent (aka 9~12") tablets with a decent O/S that allows wide-ranging integration.
Windows RT™ and its application options is a laughable "cripple" by comparison to even the iOS™ offerings.
You are almost FORCED to consider Android™ or iOS™ as viable alternatives to get the full mix of ... size, range of apps and connectivity such as cellular, wifi, bluetooth, NFC, HDMI and USB ... all key elements which many users probably DO want but can't get in any one tablet.

I often wonder if these companies ever think to ASK their customers which things are important rather than relying on post-sales stats to ASSESS what they THINK people have wanted.

Why not make a range that offers the various options and so-what if LTE adds $100~$150 to the price ... at least if its available, we the consumers can vote for-or-against by our choice of purchase.
At the moment we have little choice.

I could envisage a brand with an 8", 10" and 12" tablet range within which you could choose:
Full Windows™ or RT™; LTE(WWAN) as an option; USB as an option over micro USB; 16, 32, 64 and perhaps even 128GB options; SD reader could even be optional depending on the model.
Sure there are cost and battery runtime penalties, but at-least we could CHOOSE what we wanted/needed.  Reading a wide range of forums it seems to me its about 40/60 (maybe even 505/50) FOR wanting cellular in a decent tablet.
So I researched and researched and it finally came down to one viable option ... the Dell Latitude 10™


So next ... who sells them in Australia ... well  it seems not even Dell™ themselves do!
Their web page unhelpfully suggests ...

In which reality is a bigger, heavier, NON-cellular tablet a "comparable system"?

I can only find ONE seller with in Australia who still carries this Dell Latitude 10™ model Valuebasket™
I've never dealt with them so the next thing will be to research and see how reliable they are.

As I said earlier in my tirade, I've all but given up in despair of getting a tablet with Windows™ 8/8.1; approx 10.1"; min 64GB; min 2GB RAM with USB2 or 3; with SD card; with WiFi; with Bluetooth v4; with video out and most of all with cellular (wwan)!

I'm starting to think Microsoft™ secretly doesn't want to sell it's O/S on tablets ...!?