Your Home, Mobile / Tablet Platform and Configurations
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Ah...the great Home Network & mobile / tablet platform discussion. Just curious what everyone uses.
I am strictly a Microsoft Shop now. And I actually like Windows 8.1 and the under the hood improvements. I used to be an Android Phone and Tablet guy too but took a chance on the Microsoft Ecosystem and am mostly pleased.
At home:
Self Built Core i3 Box with 8GB RAM
Windows 8.1
Huge Windows Media Center Fan and I Extend to my XBOX 360
4TB (Raid 1) WD NAS for Archiving and Media (personal cloud) (with 4GB off site backup drive I update once a week)
4TB Backup Drive and a matching 4TB Drive for offsite copy.
2TB (Raid 1) WD NAS for future use (got it for a review copy...haven't utilized it yet)Mobile:
Surface Pro 2 256 GB Edition
Nokia Icon Windows PhoneOther
Office 365
Skydrive
XBOX Music
Kindle Fire for my Daughter (has the best parental controls I've seen)I took the Microsoft dive after years on Android. While I miss the custom and geeky factor, I am totally happy with my Surface and Windows Phone. The pictures my ICON takes are amazing and that is my most important feature I want on a phone. Skydrive was very wonky early on in the 8.1 release...so much that I lost data to bad syncing and it would just flat out refuse to sync on my Surface Pro 2 and I had to rebuild it three times with NO help from Microsoft. After this last SkyDrive update (where they restored the desktop system tray icon, it has been MUCH better.
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I have a hybrid system at home:
Server: off the shelf hp with an amd quad core, 16 gigs of ram, 3 tb of hdd that runs plex
Roku with plex
multiple android phones
asus transformer tablet with android, plex app
samsung win7 laptop.what i want is a synology 4tb nas that runs plex server so i can shut down my hp "server" but that costs way to much money and don't have it right now since we just bought a house last year.
Forgot to mention wireless in the house is provided by an aruba 105 ap and hardlines are cat6 connected via a unmanaged gig switch. <-- just did that last weekend.
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The only personal computer equipment I own is an iPod. My wife has a Nexus tablet, and my son has a Nook tablet - neither of which I know how to operate, even though they are linked to my Google account and I end up paying for their apps.
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@Carnival-Boy you should learn how to use those to make you a better IT person. Become the guru!
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Not knowing suits me fine:
Wife: Honey, I've got a problem with my tablet.
Me: It's Android, ask your son to sort it out.
Son: Dad, I've got a problem with my tablet.
Me: It's Android, ask your mother to sort it out.Ignorance can sometimes be bliss - especially at home.
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true however, if you want to be in IT you unfortunately need to know how to use these devices. Execs do not accept i don't know very well.
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@david.wiese said:
Execs do not accept i don't know very well.
The cornerstone of all knowledge starts with "I do not know".
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@david.wiese said:
true however, if you want to be in IT you unfortunately need to know how to use these devices. Execs do not accept i don't know very well.
I'm been trying to use this as a reason for them to buy me an iPhone so I can support their devices better, but I still don't have one from them (and I want an android personally).
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@david.wiese said:
true however, if you want to be in IT you unfortunately need to know how to use these devices. Execs do not accept i don't know very well.
It's not possible to know everything! I've banned the use of Android devices in our company, and that's worked out ok so far. I do have an Android phone in my drawer which I use occasionally though - mainly for testing wifi signals, as Apple bans such apps.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
It's not possible to know everything!
What? I know all and see all.
Knowing new technology is like anything, take previous experiences and apply them to new situations. I tell our guys this all the time, they get all strange when dealing with a Windows 2012 box. The same old tools that have existed since 2000 are still there, and you can access them through any number of methods. But they get freaked out and afraid to touch anything. You can't be afraid of it. This isn't the Ark of the Covenant, your face won't melt if you gaze upon it.
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@PSX_Defector said:
This isn't the Ark of the Covenant, your face won't melt if you gaze upon it.Like this guy?
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Since I work in a home office, with a full operational server lab (new equipment should be arriving soon).
3 Windows 8.1 pro desktops
1 Windows 7 Desktop running as our media server
2 Ipad mini's
1 Dell Venue Pro w/8.1 Pro on it
Nexus tablet (hate the thing)
HP Windows 8.1 laptop
MacBook Pro A1278
IPhone 5c
IPhone 5s
Nokia Lumia 822
Nokia Lumia 925
Galaxy S4
Ipod'sAt least 2 other Windows 7 pro desktops for lab/guest usage.
I might be missing things but... there ya go.
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@PSX_Defector said:
You can't be afraid of it.
I think it's good to be a little afraid of your servers. It's fear that makes you double check you're doing the right thing before hitting enter. The day I stop fearing the servers will be probably be the day I really screw something up. I've had guys that I wished were a little less confident in what they were doing. I don't mind admitting that my hands sometimes shake when I'm doing a particularly critical job. 20 years and I've yet to screw up anything major yet.
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@Carnival-Boy while its good to have apprehension about things, it is bad when you shut out technology. Now in your case since you have banned it from your environment you don't necessarily have to worry about supporting it, however it still is a good thing to know. I don't like apple but have to know how the ipad/iphones work since they are used by my execs. My opinion is since mobile tech isn't going away, and you are in a support role, don't shun it, embrace it.
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@david.wiese said:
it is bad when you shut out technology.
I have a long list of things I want to learn and books I want to read, from French to the guitar to Leo Tolstoy to jQuery, and hopefully have around 40 years left to achieve them. Even then, I know I will run out of time before I'm even half way through. Life is short! -
@Carnival-Boy very true, life is short. I guess since i hope that i can live a full life and i am only 31 that my view is different than others. Enjoy what you can!
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@Minion-Queen said:
Since I work in a home office, with a full operational server lab (new equipment should be arriving soon).
3 Windows 8.1 pro desktops
1 Windows 7 Desktop running as our media server
2 Ipad mini's
1 Dell Venue Pro w/8.1 Pro on it
Nexus tablet (hate the thing)
HP Windows 8.1 laptop
MacBook Pro A1278
IPhone 5c
IPhone 5s
Nokia Lumia 822
Nokia Lumia 925
Galaxy S4
Ipod'sAt least 2 other Windows 7 pro desktops for lab/guest usage.
I might be missing things but... there ya go.
Very diverse...I do have an iPhone4 in my laptop bag I use to guild myself with troubleshooting others phones.
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That is why I have a windows phone and an android here. So we can help customers trouble shoot things.
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I'm just running on a Windows 8.1 gaming PC and iPad mini. Boring, but effective.
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My home office: Dual monitor setup with old HP rig (Q6660, 8GB, SSD) running W8.1. Crucial SSD died last Saturday after 6+ months of running. Running off a spare HP PC that was my data backup machine.
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list item 2 Dell 2850's for testing, last running W2008R2.
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list item Hp Touchsmart TX2x convertible touchscreen laptop AMD Fusion dual core 6GB and W8.1
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list item Android TF101 with keyboard dock and Samsung Galaxy S3.
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list item IMB convertible laptop x41? I used it to demo W8
Since last week I have been testing if one can be productive by living in the cloud only without any desktop apps. I will be reporting the shortcomings I have found.
Favorite desktop apps: Office 2013, Google Music Manger (my music is cloudy baby!), Notebook++, WinSCP. I have a love hate relationship with OneNote and Evernote.
Cloudy apps I love: RepairShopr, Wave, Office 365, ZenDesk, WHMCS, InfiniteWP.
Going to build or buy a new rig and want to get a touch screen monitor.
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