You can see, there is a lot to decide when you are setting up media in your home today. Sure, most people just get a television and a cable box. That’s for the noobs, the low-tech crowd. I would love to be a part of the high-tech crowd, but that means more bank* then I have. Since I don’t have that kind of scratch**, I’ll have to be content with mid-tech solutions.

Before starting the job and implementing any technology, I must first decide what I want my home network to do. I would like my network to:

- serve music and movies files from a central location, not from individual files on individual machines (I guess this is a media server);
- allow my family to save and access their files from a central location simply;
- allow all my devices to see the internet and the network, either wirelessly or via Ethernet;
- back-up user data on and off-site, simply and without user intervention;
- allow remote access and maintenance (via internet from Studio B) when necessary.

I know that none of these tasks is impossible, but making certain that the system is low cost is paramount. I don’t want to purchase any more hardware, since I already own:

- Toshiba Laptop (Vista)
- Mini PC (Home built with XP)
- Gateway Laptop (Windows ME)
- Mac Mini (Leopard)
- Macbook (Leopard)
- 1TB External Hard Drive (USB)

The problems I forsee:
- multiple platforms (Mac and PC)
- multiple operating systems (ME, XP, Vista, Leopard)
- multiple novice users (wife and kids not really big on complicated network protocols and structures)
- no installed Ethernet (and I’m kicking myself for THAT!)

This is not a post of solutions. It’s not even a post of ideas. More than anything it’s a brain dump, so I can figure out next steps. Of course, if you have low-cost solutions, links to expert advice, or just feel like joining in the fun, go ahead and comment.

** “Scratch” is one I learned from my old band director. It’s safer for me to use than “bank” but pretty much labels me an old dude.

I’ve been hating on Vista. A lot. I had little luck with Vista, which caused my computer to crash, lag, and generally aggravate me.

Since I’ve gotten my Macbook, I’ve set up the old Vista laptop at home for the kids to use as a second computer. Since they are both in upper schools, they need to type their work and do internet research. I never had cause to set up additional accounts on my Vista laptop, since it was mine, Mine MINE! Now that it is gleefully NOT mine, I decided to poke around a bit.

It turns out that Vista’s Parental Controls are pretty cool. They are similar to Apple’s, in that you can restrict access to certain programs**. You can also program in certain sites that your children can and cannot visit. For me, the big coup comes in the Usage Logs available to system administrators in Vista.

We often like to check on whether or not our kids are practicing responsible behavior on the internet. We also like to check on their productivity in front of the keyboard. For example, are they on Facebook or are they doing their research? Are they checking out the latest video on YouTube, or are they answering the email they received from their teacher? We can do that on the Mac, provided they do NOT erase the History.

I know. Your kid doesn’t think like that. We thought that too. We were wrong.

In Vista, the Usage Report is available only to administrators. It even reminds you to check it on a user-selected timetable. I like that.

You may think your kids are doing the right thing. Understand that the internet is a big, scary place. They don’t always know they are doing the wrong thing. Kids don’t wander away from their parents at the Mall on purpose. They get distracted by the big shiny thing, and suddenly they are gone. The same happens on the internet. One link leads to another, and suddenly they are in a porn storm. They will not tell you. Okay, a few will. Many will not.  Usage logs allow you to go back and check for understanding AND good practice.

If your child’s teacher took your kid’s word for whether or not they knew a concept, you’d go nuts. “I asked him if he understood. He said yes, so we moved on.” You expect a test. Isn’t this concept important enough to warrant a test?

** Apple’s system for allowing/denying access to sites is easier to manage on the fly, as it requires only a parent password while your child is logged in. Vista requires the parent to log in to manage access to web sites.