Favorite ways to transfer files: a continuation...
I feel like continuing the conversation we were having in another thread about proper ways to transfer files.
First, a little lesson.
Network, intranet (ie. intra-network), or local area network (LAN)" is what he meant.
A LAN (or "network") is a small group of computers, which are most commonly connected behind the same router, firewall, or are on the same domain.
The internet (ie. inter-network) is, suffice it to say, a collection of local (and wide) area networks which communicate with each other through the use of a vast array of hardware networking equipment. (That's an oversimplification, but it serves my purposes.)
If you have multiple computers on the same LAN, you can (with the proper network permissions) tell one computer to "share" certain folders or files so that the other computer(s) on the network can access them.
THAT is what Rather Dashing prefers to do.
I personally prefer using a usb flash drive or a memory card (both my desktop and my laptop have SD card slots.)
E-mailing stuff can have too small of a file size limit.
For the record, sending it in an email would be my first choice in many cases. Flashdrive and memory cards come next (not first because you have to find them). Then I'd use MSN on both computers since they're in the same apartment (I can use my account and my husband's). Then probably uploading it somewhere.
And if that fails, I'd use my mp3 player as an external hard drive.
Rather Dashing wrote: »My first choice would be a shared network folder. I find it AMAZING how many people still have each computer as a separate "thing" that isn't connected to the rest of the network. It amazes me when someone says they have to actually move something from one computer to the other using a thumb drive or something to print, for example.
I don't actually know how to do that, but since we use the same Internet I guess that means we're on the same network?
I always say "network" things as the stuff they have in offices or Internet places where there are 10 computers in the same room.
First, a little lesson.
Network, intranet (ie. intra-network), or local area network (LAN)" is what he meant.
A LAN (or "network") is a small group of computers, which are most commonly connected behind the same router, firewall, or are on the same domain.
The internet (ie. inter-network) is, suffice it to say, a collection of local (and wide) area networks which communicate with each other through the use of a vast array of hardware networking equipment. (That's an oversimplification, but it serves my purposes.)
If you have multiple computers on the same LAN, you can (with the proper network permissions) tell one computer to "share" certain folders or files so that the other computer(s) on the network can access them.
THAT is what Rather Dashing prefers to do.
I personally prefer using a usb flash drive or a memory card (both my desktop and my laptop have SD card slots.)
E-mailing stuff can have too small of a file size limit.
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Why though? You have to physically carry the files from one computer to the other. It seems like such a waste, when you could just drag the file into a shared folder instead of the USB drive and have it be THERE.
I also think cloud storage is going to become a really big thing in the future, with files not saved on your actual computer but in a cloud run by Microsoft, Seagate, Dropbox, mozy, sugarsync, mobileme, etc. But for getting files from one computer to the next one over, dragging it into a folder that exists and is synced on both computers works perfectly. And I still don't know why people don't network their printers. Taking a file from one computer that is connected to the network, and then putting it on ANOTHER computer that is connected to the network AND the printer? Just print over the network. It's obscenely easy to set up 90% of the time.
I guess I wouldn't mind setting it up. It's annoying transferring files sometimes. Is there a way we can share everything?
Are there one-way sharing stuff?
Convenience. I suppose it would be easier to share it on the network once I'd have it set up to connect automatically, but I copy files between machines so infrequently that I haven't bothered to yet. Also, the machines complain if I try to connect using a user account that has no password, and the only user account with a local password on it on my machines is Administrator... and I keep forgetting what my admin password is.
With a usb stick, I: Plug it in. Right click. Send to -> USB stick. Take the stick out, plug it in to the other machine and move the files off.
Besides that, normally I'd have to physically move myself from one machine's location to the other, so it doesn't bother me to physically carry the data also.
By "we" do you mean you and your husband?
If you have multiple computers at your house that can connect to the net ("the net"=the internet) at the same time, that means you have a hub or a switch or a router connecting your computers to an external modem (dsl modem, cable modem, etc.) that then connects you to the net. An exception to this would be if your modem is the router you use to connect your machines and serves both purposes.
You can share data across the net so, for example Dashing, can see it. However you'd have to configure your router to use port forwarding so that he can browse to your router's ip with a certain port number, and have your router forward the connection to the right place.
Yes, sorry.
Yes, we only have one thingie. (See how technical I can get? wow!)
I have another question. Does the other computer need to be on? Because if I can only share files when both computers are on, there isn't really a point, they're pretty much never on at the same time.
I miss googlepages
That suggests that I wouldn't have to configure/install anything on the destination pc, which I would normally have to do. Even if it were music files, I'd still have to tell winamp to refresh its library.
Yes. electricity is required for a computer to work.
no power = no network connection
Well, a LAN thingie would be completely useless to me then. It requires having two computers that are being in use at the same time, which is pretty much never the case for me, or when it is it means we're each using one, which means Ian is home and I can't do my transfer-related things because he's already using the other computer.
Anyway, how would you set a network up anyways? Is it one of these "you'd think it's simple but it will take you hours" things?
Well, they don't have to be on when you're dragging the file into the folder. You can, for example, put a file into a shared network folder, boot up the other computer, and the folder will be waiting there for you(because it's always available to the network as long as the laptop is on). From there, you can open/copy the file. So they just have to both be on at the time of transfer. So unless you absolutely need to turn off your laptop before walking over to the desktop, you should be fine.
Which operating systems do your computers use?
True. Plus if it's a case of "back-and-forth" it would be more practical this way.
The desktop is on XP and the laptop is on the latest ubuntu, whichever that is.
It has been awhile since I've used a Linux distro myself, so I can only link you to this. If you're right about it being Karmic Koala, this should work? ^_^;;
There are linux users in the forums, I'm sure they'd be able to explain better(or at all).
Depends on your computers operating systems. If both your machines have Windows 7, I've read that it's supposed to be incredibly easy, even for someone who is technologically disinclined (not meaning you personally, just people.)
I have Win7 on my desktop and XP on my laptop, so I have to:
1) Have a passworded account on either/both machines with administrator privileges.
2) Give both machines the same workgroup name (I'm not on a domain, which is a bit more compicated.)
3) Navigate to a folder, right click it, click properties and configure the options in the "Share" tab (one of which is to give the folder a shared name for the network to use.)
4) Go to the other computer, open Windows Explorer (or the Run... box from the Start Menu) and browse to the name of computer with the shared stuff (eg. "desktop_pc")
5) When Windows asks you for a username and password for the remote pc (unless you specified them already in your User Settings in control panel,) input the remote computer's name and a user account w/ admin rights on that machine (eg. desktop_pc/admin) into the username box and the password in the password box.
6) Click on the folder you shared.
7) Access the files.
If you have a copy of Windows that lets you set up more complicated local or network permissions, (eg. Windows XP Pro) you can set up the shared folder to only allow certain users to have specific access (meaning you can set it so that you can have full access, your husband can only read the data but not modify it, and anyone else can't see it at all.)
EDIT:
I don't use Linux, so I'm no help with it.
You have now died of dysentery.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SettingUpSamba#Samba%20Server%20Configuration%20-%20Graphical
You could also set up an ssh server on the Ubuntu computer and connect to it from your windows laptop with Cygwin or putty or pscp and the cmd prompt in Windows, but that's a lot more complicated.
EDIT: Just tried sharing a folder on my Ubuntu 9.10 with my wife on her Vista with Samba, and it was extremely easy. It's just a matter of right-clicking the folder I want to share, having the package manager automatically download a couple of packages and then setting a few options for sharing and you're good to go.
I wish as many people helped me with the graphic card thing
don't you mean 5.25"?
(Or he means 3.5-inch, which is probably more likely.)