bruceb news

Devices built on Windows Home Server can be perfect for backups and file sharing in small business networks. Here’s more information about what it means to use Windows Home Server to back up workstations in small businesses.

It’s been hard to explain that to business owners. The name “Windows Home Server” does not precisely shout out, “Backup System For Small Businesses,” does it? I’ve felt uncomfortable in law offices unpacking the HP MediaSmart from boxes festooned with dancing photographs and filmstrips and happy children’s faces.

The reality is that Windows Home Server backs up multiple computers more effectively than anything else on the market, and adds some file sharing and remote access features that can be quite useful in many offices. […] continued

Trying to help a very small business decide on technology that will last for 5-10 years has always been an interesting challenge, and the choices are completely different now than they were just a few years ago. Small Business Server 2003 was an obvious choice for a long time but Small Business Server 2008 is only one of many possibilities now, and I’m frequently recommending alternatives, especially for businesses with 4-10 computers where SBS 2008 might be overkill.

Microsoft has quietly released an interesting product, Windows Foundation Server 2008, and I’m not sure yet where it fits in. It is a fully functional version of Windows Server 2008, which is a very solid platform indeed. […] continued

Wired Magazine has delivered more insightful articles in the last couple of years than any other magazine, offline or online. Take a few minutes to read a fascinating piece in this month’s issue, “The Good Enough Revolution: When Cheap and Simple Is Just Fine.”

Traditionally when we pictured high quality products, we’ve always understood that they were the products with the highest fidelity or the most power or the most features.

Right in front of our eyes, in more markets than you expect, there is a transformation underway: the products that are succeeding are the ones that trade power or fidelity for low price, flexibility, and convenience. […] continued

Two articles about AT&T that tell you everything you need to know about cell phone carriers and  their concern for those of us outside the big cities.

Coverage just keeps getting better in heavily populated urban areas! AT&T completed a major upgrade of the network in New York City and is working on a similar upgrade in San Francisco, according to this article. The network will have better voice quality and be able to carry more data for heavy users (mostly on iPhones).

Meanwhile, out in west Sonoma County, AT&T cell phone service went dead without notice around Freestone, Occidental and Sebastopol a couple of weeks ago. […] continued

Another glimpse behind the scenes, this time by a reporter who was allowed to visit a Netflix distribution center.

If you subscribe to the DVD-rental service, the Netflix warehouse, which you know must exist somewhere; which a P.O. Box on every Netflix envelope suggests does exist; which processes your Netflix queue with alarming efficiency; which you bet will be as magical as you imagined if you ever stumble on it, overrun with dancing Oompa Loompas in matching jumpsuits of Netflix red, is one of those mythical New Economy temples.

Like an Amazon warehouse. Or an Apple warehouse. One imagines miles of pop ephemera between its brick-and-mortar walls — one imagines that limitless building from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” but with 15,000 copies of ” Confessions of a Shopaholic.”

Netflix keeps the location of its 58 warehouses a closely-guarded secret – they are unmarked, drab, in anonymous office parks. […] continued

It seems appropriate to say something nice about online shopping, after last week’s rant about Buy.com.

I buy everything from Amazon.com. That’s why I have the Amazon search box at the top of the bruceb favorites page – because I use it constantly.

At some level you probably know that Amazon sells more than books, but you might want to try looking there for almost anything that crosses your mind. For the last couple of years, I’ve bought every computer device and peripheral from Amazon. I bought furniture a couple of months ago. I just bought a new TV. […] continued

This is a cautionary tale to make you careful online shoppers. It strikes close to home for me because it involves Buy.com, a favorite of mine at one time, but the scam is also used on Orbitz, Fandango and other sites.

When Buy.com opened its online doors in the late 90s, I thought it was a great resource for computer peripherals and software. Its prices were low and shipping was very fast. Several times I placed an order in the late afternoon and received it the next morning.

As the years passed, I couldn’t help but notice that the web site was getting more cluttered with advertising and more annoying to navigate. […] continued

Comcast Internet subscribers in the North Bay are getting a free speed increase, and some new choices for even faster Internet connections. Here’s today’s press release. The increase covers much of Northern California, including all of Sonoma and Marin counties.

Residential customers are supposed to have their speeds doubled for free, effective immediately. For most people, that would be 12Mbps downstream/2Mbps upstream speed. It’s difficult to measure the true speed of a Comcast connection – they use special technology to boost the first 30 seconds of a download, which fools many of the speed tests. Comcast connections are already so fast that many people won’t notice the difference but heavy downloaders will appreciate it. […] continued

I ran across an interesting article about the effect Apple is having on the wireless business. The conventional wisdom has been that AT&T and Verizon are abusing their market power when they enter into exclusive arrangements with handset manufacturers. A letter from four senators got the FCC looking into the exclusive handset deals, and the Department of Justice has started an “initial review” that potentially could lead to antitrust action.  Realistically, it’s only AT&T’s exclusive right to sell the iPhone that causes concern, although there are similarly restrictive deals for the Palm Pre (Sprint) and devices built on Google Android (currently T-Mobile). […] continued

At some point on Tuesday, the web host for bruceb.com will change from XO Communications to GoDaddy. In theory it’s going to go smoothly and you won’t notice. If bruceb.com disappears for a while, rest assured that I’m going nuts trying to fix it.

I can’t unravel the mysteries of domain registration and web hosting in a few paragraphs. It’s a vast landscape filled with mysteries. I have found it surprisingly difficult to get information on which companies provide good service for reasonable prices.

At one time XO Communications was a major player in web hosting as well as being an important Internet service provider. […] continued