Data Storage for the Home

My search for a good persnal data storage solution prompted me to write this article. I already have neumerous external and internal storage solutions.. right from the now humble USB 2.0 devices, older IDE's to the newer SATA II-10K rpm-10Mb cache-3GB with PCI-X RAID cards!

As a power user, I'm looking for the below features in my storage solution..

Must have:
-Reasonable data transfer rates, to support streaming music/video; around 20MBps
-Solution should not use proprietary standards, software, drivers or access methods
-Price around 200$ US
-Portability

Good to have:
-Wireless (WiFi) access or atleast Ethernet/LAN access

-USB 2.0, FireWire, eSATA (the more the better)
-High data transfer rates

-Good backup software
-500Gb plus capacity (1TB ;)
-Shared storage (multi use capable)
-Capacity expandability (vis SATA or USB ports)
-RAID

Options:
-DAS (Direct attached storage) via USB 2.0, Firewire 400/800, eSATA
-NAS (Network attached storage) 100Mbps or 1Gbps Ethernet, 802.11 a/b/g WiFi
-Home grown NAS using DAS components
-Open Source Software effort (Linux variants, Ubuntu, FreeNAS)

Solution:

Finally, I found a great deal and settled for the Buffalo LinkStation Pro. The LS-500GL features satisfy most of my criterias, and more.. It has 2 USB expansion ports which can be used for printing (print server option), backups to USB, or storage expandablity (to the existing 500Gb SATA II 7400rpm) by USB add on drives. Its got a Giga bit ethernet port, which goes on into my Thomson Wifi router. It's even DLNA certified to support playback on supported medial players (my Dell Laptop is supported). The best part is, that its got an embeded or stripped down Linux (Debian) on it running on a 400Mhz Marvel ARM CPU.

Having Linux on this means the possiblities are endless. I'm now able to hack 'open' the Buffalo 500, and use it as a full fledged NAS box. This can be easily done by the detailed and well written documents found at http://buffalo.nas-central.org/. But, to do this, one needs to have some form of knowledge of the Linux workings and understanding of its command line or shell.

I have now hacked my Buffalo 500 to run a torrent client for me, besides the other usefull Linux services. I now hardly use the vendor provided access framework.

The only major down side to this product is the lower than average transfer speeds. The max I could get even with a cross over ethernet cable was 8MBps. Strangely I get much higher speeds when there are two more more data copy/access streams.

To conclude, I recomend this product for novice to advanced, home or SOHO use with a rating of 9/10.

Buying a new Digital Camera | Home or Pro use

Thinking of buying a new Digital Camera? Confused what to look for? Here are a few tips:

Firstly the terms:

Mp = Mega Pixel. Never get anything below 3Mp. Photos using 3Mp can be used to get real, hard, photo-paper copies up to 5"x7" good quality prints. So higher MP is really needed if you want to print. Printing costs for 4"x6" is Rs.6; for 5"x7" approx Rs.10; for 8"x12" Rs.50.
Optical Zoom = Its the level of magnification one can get in the camera, using the optical lens system. Also called as wide angle - telescopic.
Digital Zoom = Don't even worry about this. Its just a marketing gimic; just don't consider this.
Modes = Auto modes are available on all models, gives best results under most conditions. Manual modes are useful to exploit camera features, and get best shots after calculating shutter speeds, aperture, focal length, exposure compensation.

1]Usage: Decide what the camera will be used primarily for.
-Home/People photography
3Mp+, 3x Optical Zoom, Auto modes

-Outdoor people photography
3Mp+, 3x Optical Zoom, Auto modes

-Landscape photography ( National Geographic)
6Mp+, 3x Optical Zoom, More zoom the better

-Birds/Animals (Animal Planet/ Discovery)
10Mp+, 10x Optical Zoom, max zoom is needed

-Professionals photography (fashion/glamor/travel/journalism) (F-Tv/news/magazine)
6Mp+, 3x Optical Zoom, DSLR only which can do RAW images, lenses must be optical elements, detachable/changeable lens kits better.

-Macro (close up of Objects/Products/flowers)
5Mp+, Zoom mostly not needed

-Low light photography (Discovery, spy stuff)
5Mp+, DSLR preferred, higher ISO needed like 800, 1600, 3200.

2]Mp or Zoom: Higher mega pixel or higher Optical Zoom
More Mp is needed if you intend to crop a lot of the frame. In that case 10Mp is the best. Cropping is hardly needed, perhaps for Pro photography.
On the other hand, having more optical zoom is better. You could take closer shots without actually moving close up to the subject.

3]Battery:
Digital cameras suck batteries a lot. Getting a camera with a rechargeable battery is the only viable option. Two choices ..
- Proprietor battery pack (best option ever, bit costly)
- Rechargeable pencil cells (AAA or AA, cheap, but recharging needed very frequently)

4]Movie modes:
For a family camera, having a good movie mode is very desirable. That way a handy-cam is not needed. Look for 640x480 with minimum 24FPS modes (VCD quality). Higher the better. Any lower than this, the video will be jerky and grainy. AVI or MPEG video formats are preferable, and easy to edit and burn on DVD. MOV/quicktime may not so edit friendly. Also, DSLR's wont have movie modes.

5]Others:
LCD, don't get anything less than 2". Now a days 2.5" is standard and most desirable.
Memory, buy as much as you can afford. Minimum needed now a days is 512Mb, 1Gb recommended. But then you can always add more memory cards later if needed.
Size, now a days the slim models look great, and still perform very well, but are costlier. Do have a look at a camera in you hands and get a feel.
Shake reduction, or Vibration reduction. Not a must have, but good for first time users, and ya it also helps when you zoom a lot.
Brand, I recommend Nikon and Canon. Sony and Kodak, are good too.

Want to check the internet for good deals and specs, click here and search in the customized Google search there. For buyers in India, I suggest you check prices and models on the JJmehta site too.

I own a Nikon D40 DSLR, a Canon A530, a Kodak CX6330 point and shoot (3Mp 3X, with video mode), an Acer 300 (300K pixel, 1st generation).

Let me know if you need any more info. I also recommend the Google Picasa photo management software. Also do visit my 365 Days Photo Project.

World Trade Center | Movie

Is it not too late to make this movie, way too late after the actual event. The movie overall is very emotional, and leaves you stressed out at the end, with uncomfortable thoughts about your own life and its losses. And guess what... its rated PG-13 for intense and emotional content, some disturbing images and language!! Forget the images and the language, the emotional content is a bit too much to handle.

The movie is a lot about couple of PAPD (Port Authority Police Department) cops who get stuck under the WTC debris after the towers collapse, and their rescue. Many flashbacks to the happy pasts with their families, the struggles in their own lives. The WTC debris looks too unreal, a lot like a set, the rescuers dirty as if working in a coal mine collapse.

But the movie has some great moments, like one where someone over the radio announces.. "History has been re-written today".

And some funny lines like ..
Emergency response team: Got a name Marine?
Marine Rescuer: Staff Sergeant Karnes
Emergency response team: Got something a little shorter?
Marine Rescuer: Staff Sergeant

Overall a good movie, but definitely not a must-watch. I would rather say, United 93 was a much better movie related 9/11, and is a must-watch.

Rang De Basanti | Movie

Hey, just watched Rang De Basanti, or as they call it RDB, few hours back. I was waiting for the hangover to end. But my dear friend Amit Dhuri had written to me about the hangover after. He also says "If you have nothing to die for,your life is a waste" ... 'so true'.

First impression… it’s huge, it’s preaching.... no screaming, of a new way of life. A new life for us… Indians, a new ray of hope. A way which will realize the dreams of many, those who fought and shed their precious lives for Indian Freedom.

But let us all keep the hangover with us. Let that fire not fizzle out, let’s all do our part in realizing this dream… of making India Perfect.

Inquilab Zindabad!!!

Get Firefox!

Change the way you see the web. Try something new. Break free from the rules. Try FireFox web browser. I don't know many who have gone back to IE after using FireFox.