What is TiVo and How Can it Connect to Your Home Network?

TiVo is a digital device that connects to the TV and lets users digitally record television programs onto a hard disk. It is a device that very much plays a similar role to the traditional VCR only it is digital and it has many more useful features. TiVo is modern and takes full advantage of today’s digital technology.

When you use the TiVo device and service, the beginning of actually using the service is searching through scheduled TV programs that are displayed on the main screen. TiVo gives you a full and complete listing of all scheduled television programming. From there, you are able to select the program/s that you are interested in recording. TiVo is controlled by remote control only and the actual TiVo unit/device has no buttons on it. TiVo comes with huge amounts of storage and it allows you to set TiVo to record a whole series from beginning to end in just one setting.

How to Connect TiVo to your Home Network
Historically, TiVo was actually developed by accident when developers were working on creating a new type of home network. As development progressed, the project became what we now know as TiVo rather than a home network. TiVo does however still contains some of its original great home networking features, and so TiVo users are able to very easily connect their TiVo devices to their home networks.

TiVo DVRs comes with USB ports which are used to connect with Ethernet and WiFi adapters. This also allows TiVo to be connected to home networks for file transfers and other shared resources between the two. Even more features are available when you use the Internet and specifically the TiVo Central Online web site. Users can go to this web site when they are not at home and schedule the TiVo unit to record programs while they are not home. So, if they are not at home or unexpected plans come up, they won’t miss their favorite programs.

TiVo’s compatibility with home networks means that file sharing and transfer of audio/visual can be done quite easily. If you have several TiVo units in your home, programs that you have recorded can be transferred easily between units. Furthermore, if you want to move a file from TiVo to your home computer or photos from your computer to be viewed via TiVo it can all be done via your usual home network.

TiVo was first made available in the United States. Next it became available in Canada and it has now reached Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is not long before this service is available throughout the world.

Is Ubuntu 9.04 a Contender Against Windows?

What is Ubuntu
Ubuntu is an operating system that was developed in South Africa and that very much like Unix. It is available in over 55 languages and it was developed by Canonical Ltd and is set to be administered by the Ubuntu Foundation, which was created specifically for this purpose.

The word of Ubuntu is a South African word that describes an ideal or an ideology promoted there, which is ‘humanity towards others’. Ubuntu is a stable operating system and has been developed as an open source software platform that is distributed for free. One of the main goals of the software, and something that they have done successfully is make it very easy to use for the average computer user. It is very user-friendly and easy to install.

Ubuntu History
Ubuntu was first released in 2004 with the explicit goal of releasing an update every 6 months. The operating system has been developed with usability being one of the highest priorities. One of the biggest concerns though for computer users that have been raised on Microsoft Windows is, how many applications does Ubuntu come with and are software developers writing programs for this platform? Ubuntu comes with Firefox, OpenOffice, Pidgin, GIMP and a few others and it is also possible to use quite a few programs that have been written for Microsoft Windows, including Microsoft Office. This can be done either through a virtual machine (VM) or through Wine.

Can Ubuntu Compete with Windows?
Ubuntu has made huge strides when you consider that just a few years back it was a brand new operating system. Furthermore, it is attempting to compete with Microsoft which is a massive competitor. Ubuntu has made great progress and in just a few years. According to the New York Times in January of 2009, Ubuntu had more than 10 million users and this figure is reported to be growing consistently.

Although Ubuntu is not currently making much of a dent in the Microsoft market, it can no way be an indicator of where things can go. Ubuntu definitely has potential and it has made remarkable strides. At the end of the day, all sorts of factors can potentially affect whether a product finds true success or not. Keep an eye on the technology news headlines as well as to the way that investors and vendors respond to this operating system. The biggest challenges in my view will be keeping the product strong against viruses and security attacks, which are one Microsoft’s biggest weaknesses. Ubuntu can only begin to content with Windows when software developers create programs to run on their OS as often as they make them for Windows and Mac.

Home NAS devices

Network-Attached Storage (NAS) provides a way to store files remotely and to back up files on your computer, protecting you from loss of data due to a damaged hard drive among other things. A NAS is a computer that is attached to a network with the sole purpose of providing storage to other devise that might be attached to the network.

A NAS is usually dedicated and set aside only for use as a storage device even though it can often potentially be used as a normal computer and perform other tasks. NAS devices are usually controlled through the network using remote access or they can usually have a keyboard attached to them. When fully utilized, they ensure that you will not lose data even if your computer breaks down beyond repair.

The concept of NAS was originally developed for the business/work environment, however increasingly people are making more use of the technology in their homes as part of their home networks. There are all types of reasons that a person might want to use a NAS device as a part of their home network set up. Home movies, films, music and family photographs that are in electronic/digital format can all take up a huge amount of space on personal hard drives. When your files are placed on a NAS, you have the option of accessing any of these files from any computer on your home network. This can provide you with a huge amount of convenience and entertainment at your fingertips.

NETGEAR currently offers the ReadyNAS N+ series of storage devices. Each of these offers continuous monitoring of your computers and they are capable of backing up your files on a regular schedule. NETGEAR describes this technology as providing home users with enterprise level technology in their own homes. Your NAS can connect to several computers on your home network simultaneously, and devices like digital cameras can be plugged directly into a NAS for the quick download and storage of photos.

A NAS works perfectly for the increasingly popular netbook computers that are more popular than ever. Netbooks contain very little storage space because they are designed to connect with the Internet and other WANs rather than store data. Connecting a netbook to a NAS enables you to make full use of any resources stored on the NAS using your netbook as the interface (keyboard and monitor) to the stored files.

Crazy USB devices

The invention of USB technology has enabled the development and the widespread usage of peripheral devices on today’s computers. These devices can include tools that are very useful yet simple such as a plug-n-play mouse. They can be the speakers that provide the sound for your computer or they can charge, synchronize and connect your PDA devices.

The popularity of USB protocol means that computers are manufactured with more and more USB ports. USB hubs have also become more prevalent. These allow more USB devices to be added to a computer that has fewer USB ports. The prevalence of USB technology opens the door for the average computer user to sit down to work with several USB devices plugged in with all functioning at the same time. This convenience has led to the development of a lot of advanced business tools that use USB technology. It has also led to the development of many novelty USB gadgets, some of which serve a purpose and others that solely entertain us. Below is just a short list of the some of fun, crazy and interesting USB devices that I have come across recently:

Barbie USB Flash Drive
The Barbie USB Flash Drive is a miniature version of Barbie that has a pop off head. To use it, simply pull her head off and stick her neck into the USB port to make use of her storage memory. Similarly Solid Alliance offers the iDuck which is a flash drive in the shape of a duck.

USB Hand warmers
USB Hand warmers are a novelty pair of gloves that are made with heating pads attached. Simply plug the gloves into your USB port and enjoy the heat. The gloves are fingerless so they still allow you to type on your computer keyboard.

USB Mood Lamp and Speaker
This nifty device allows you to play music from your computer through your USB port. In addition to being speakers, the device is a mood lamp. Once plugged in, it begins to change color according to mood.

Mini Aquarium
The mini aquarium is a fun gadget that when filled with water and attached to your USB port will light up and come alive. The fish will swim and just like a real aquarium will help reduce your stress levels and provide you with hours of entertainment.

USB Electric Toothbrush
For those of you that never actually leave your computer, you can now freshen up and brush your teeth at your computer, using the USB electronic toothbrush set.

As you can see, if you are stumped for what gifts to buy your computer crazy kids or husband for Christmas, novelty USB items such as those mentioned above should make choosing a gift for them that bit easier.