My comments on this topic
We are increasingly using our computers to build digital media libraries, whether through taking digital pictures and movies with our digital cameras and digital handycams, copying media that exists in packaged form to the hard disks of our computers or downloading material from various Web sites.
This is definitely leading to us running out of hard-disk space on our computers. The typical home network will end up with an aggregate collection media files in the many gigabytes or even terabytes across all of the machines.
The network-attached storage systems that are on the market are being sold primarily on capacity, the disk arrangement being used and, in the case of multi-disk units, what RAID level they support.
When I check out any NAS box, even units that are for small-business use, I look for units that use UPnP AV MediaServer / DLNA functionality. This function allows them to be effective in searching media files and presenting them to digital media playback devices that conform to UPnP AV / DLNA specifications. An improvement that I would like to see for NAS-based UPnP media front-ends would be to support all “in-file” metadata systems like ID3, and EXIF (including Windwos Live Photo Gallery’s tags).
If you have a network with many Apple-controlled front-ends, the Apple-controlled front-ends will be primarily running iTunes and an iTunes / “daap”-compatible media front end can provide access to the media files from iTunes.
Software manufacturers could work on ways to differentiate media-handling abilities amongst the network-attached storage devices that they offer for home and small-business use.
A feature that could definitely be an improvement on this could be software that can aggregate media libraries from different storage locations and present it as a “premises-wide” media directory. This can also include automatic synchronisation of new media between computers and network-attached storage units so that media commonly used is always available at all times.
Other features could include Web-based directories so one can see what is on the NAS using a Web browser for example. This could be a useful implementation of Web 2.0 techniques like AJAX for example.
I am here at a forum newcomer. Until I read and deal with the forum.
Let’s learn!
Hi, recently I stright forward with situation to transfer files from my laptop to PC. I have googled out PC File Transfer on http://www.pc-file-transfer.com/. I have used direct connection because my two computers are connected to the same high-speed local network.
If you are transferring files between two computers on the same local network, you can share a folder that contains the files or create a folder as a “network shared folder”. This is done using operating-system-specific procedures and, if you want to work across different platforms, you would have to use SMB/CIFS-based file sharing.
In Windows, this is done by right-clicking the folder’s name and selecting the “Properties” option. Then you click on the “Sharing” tab and work through any options to share the folder on the network. For Windows Vista, you would have to click on “Advanced Sharing” and pass a UAC prompt to enable this kind of sharing for the folder you want to share. Linux may have a procedure for sharing files or directories using its own NFS protocol or by using the SAMBA stack. Similarly, Apple Macintosh computers running MacOS X 10.4 can share using their own Apple File Protocol or CIFS protocol.
To “pick up” the files, the operating systems have their own method of connecting to the shared folders you created above. In Windows, you use the Network Neighourhood / My Network Places (XP) or Network option. In Windows XP, you may then have to click on “Windows Network” in the sidebar to view your workgroup, then view all the computers that have active CIFS shares. MacOS X users may have to specify “Windows shares” to find any CIFS shares on the network. Linux users may have to use SAMBA to mount the SMB share point to their directory tree.
Is it possible to re-wire a network cable to receive from another one rather than send. I dont have a network switch you see, just a female – female double connector block.
Im going to try it on MacOS X first then at least I’ll know if apple file protocol or CIFS protocol works.
If you have a router with at least two Ethernet sockets on the LAN side (which most routers have), you do have a switch integrated in that device. Also, you can get a “crossover” double-connector block which makes the Ethernet cable become a crossover Ethernet cable.