LepoLand - A Blog by Alan Lepofsky

Since I wrote What Do I Need For Backups And Streaming Media? I've learned a lot about the various options.  Unfortunately, there does not appear to be a device that serves as both Network Attached Storage and a Media player.  So that means figuring out what combo of devices I need to get.  Aside from cost, there are lots of things to consider such as Mac support, wi-fi support, which internet services are supported (ex:Netflix, Pandora, Flickr, Youtube, etc), which file formats are supported (ex: MKV videos), will the services work outside of the US, can it be purchased in a local store or online only, and more.

Below is a table of options I've found so far.

Vendor	NAS / Backup	Media Player
Apple	Time Capsule	Apple TV
Boxee	-----	Software only or Boxee Box by D-Link
Buffalo	LinkStation	LinkTheater
Drobo	Drobo	-----
Google	-----	Google TV (fall 2010 in USA)
Lacie	Network Space	LaCinema
Microsoft	Windows Home Server (software only)	Xbox
MythTV	-----	MythTV (software only)
Netgear	ReadyNAS	NeoTV or Digital Entertainer
Plex	-----	Media Center for OS X (software only, Mac only)
Popcorn Hour	-----	Popcorn Hour
Roku	-----	Roku
Sage	-----	SageTV HD Theatre
Seagate	GoFlex	FreeAgent Theatre or GoFlex TV
Sony	-----	PS3
Synology	DiskStation	-----
Western Digital	My Book	Elements Play or WD TV
XBMC	-----	XBMC (software only)
Xtreamer	-----	XtreamerPRO

I already have a PS/3, so I think my first step is to get a NAS and get my content backed-up and organized.  Then I'll use the PS3's DLNA features to access photos, videos and music from the NAS.  If I feel like I need the additional features and UI of a dedicated media player, then I guess I'll have to head back to the store.

Thoughts?

The Social Layer: How the Rise of Web-Oriented Architecture is Changing Enterprise IT

The report explores how social technologies in the enterprise is now evolving into a new "social layer," that allows people to access information from a variety of enterprise applications and colleagues across organizational silos. It discusses how microblogging, wikis and other social technologies are used by employees to serve customers better and drive new business opportunities.

Yes, this is a Socialtext sponsored paper, but it is a great read that I think all developers and IT architects should read.

Currently I have a very 1990-ish set up.  I have a wireless router, but I normally use my laptop at my desk connected via ethernet.  I manually connect a Lacie external drive and use Time Machine to do my backups.  Of course, I don't remember to do this as often as I should.   When I want to watch videos or pictures on my TV I connect my laptop via a cable to the side of the TV.
 

I'm not looking for something incredibly full featured, but I do think it is time I get a little more modern.

For backups and increased storage it seems like a NAS is the way to go.  I assume these connect to my router and then appear as storage for my laptop and other computers.  I'd then keep my photos, videos and other files on the NAS instead of on my laptop, right?  

To access the NAS's content from my TV I'd need something like Apple TV, right?  Can I do that while my laptop is turned off?  What media center software do you use?  

Next, I need to think about music, perhaps using something like Sonos.  

Finally, people have suggested I add a cloud backup to the mix.


I'm not looking to spend a fortune as this is not really a major hobby of mine.  I'd just like to make it easier to show people photos, watch some videos I download, etc.

Thoughts?  Advice?  Hints?  

(image credit)

I'll save the big "reflecting on my life" blog post for next year's milestone, but here are some quick thoughts.

I'm happy.

I have very little to complain about as I'm healthy, have a good job, wonderful family and friends and a nice place to hang my hat at the end of each day.

Sure there are some things in my life that I wish were different, but I'd rather roll along smiling with the way things are than dwell on what is not.

Thank you to everyone who touches my life.  Whether it be in person or online, daily or occasionally, locally or from across the globe, I really do appreciate you all.

Best wishes...

Every time I hear some "2.0 evangelist" sing the praises of Gmail my stomach churns a little, my heartbeat quickens and my face tenses as I ponder what could have been if more attention had been paid to the Notes UI years ago.  I both enjoy and hate giving the "Lotus Notes did that a decade ago" speech.  I enjoy it because I like showing people that these awesome new features are neither new nor innovative.  I hate it because it reinforces how IBM was never successful in getting people to like using Lotus Notes.  Gmail is perceived as lightweight, simple and clean while the Lotus Notes desktop client is large and clunky and complicated.  Sadly, few people know that Notes mail can be accessed via a very nice web UI.

What Gmail does so well is focus on the everyday use cases that 99% of people need.  Simple email.  Simple calendar forms and views.  Simple search.   Gmail also has the advantage of requiring no installation, meaning people always having the latest and greatest version.  Find me a single Notes user (other than a Developer or Admin) who understands how to upgrade their client and mail file template.  Gmail Labs makes it simple to turn on cool new (experimental) features, find me a Notes user who understands installing eclipse sidebar plugins.

So in the wake of all the excitement over Gmail adding a categorized inbox (something IBM's mail template has had for a decade, I think OpenNTF Mail experience may have it as well), I was thinking about the cool things that Notes mail does that most other email clients do not.  Here is a quick list off the top of my head.

- SwiftFile
- QuickRule
- Intelligent mail addressing (I love how Notes bubble up the names you use more often rather than just pattern matching)
- Full offline support, including directory catalog
- Livetext and sidebar widgets
- Convert email message to calendar entry
- Create distribution list (group) from email recipients
- rich text is simple to add, ex: tables

The problem is, while these are all great, they are fringe features that I guarantee few people use.   Notes does a lot of powerful things, but does not do some of the simple things well*.  For example, look at how complicated the calendar form is or how odd search behaves compared to other services people use.  (* I've not used Notes for a while, so correct me if I'm wrong)

I use Gmail/Gcalendar/Gchat at work and while I do miss the features listed above, I do not miss the complexity of Notes.

Thoughts?

A few days ago FireFox 4 Beta 4 introduced "Panorama" which allows you to group tabs together and switch back and forth between different sets.  You can manually do this today with FF3 by having multiple windows open, but this new ability to create the groups and see a visual representation has already greatly improved my web experience.  I've created groups for "things I'm doing right now", "email, calendar and social media stuff", "articles to read later", "future to-dos", etc.



The UI experience of Panorama is fantastic.  Groups can be resized and moved and the icons adjust (and even stack) accordingly.  A nice little touch is that the canvas displays grid lines when objects are aligned.

I've experienced a few bugs (it is beta) but I think they may have to due to some extensions I have installed such as Tab-Mix-Plus.

If you have not seen Panorama yet, check it out.

The new Facebook Places video is getting a lot of attention online.   I'm not sure what it says about me, but the first thing I noticed is that all the narrators are dudes!