Starter Blog evolution

“Technology for the everyday person.” This will be the mantra for the Starter Blog going forward. The reality is that there is a growing gap between people that understand how to utilize their technology to its maximum potential and people who struggle to use said technology.

I feel that I am uniquely positioned to help those who struggle with technology to at least bridge that gap. I will address issues that I feel impact technology and the widening gap that is separating the everyday person from the technology elite.

Devices like smart phones that so many of us possess but only a small percentage utilize over 50% of the features available that could potentially increase productivity and reduce frustration in many ways on a daily basis.

Please feel free to ask questions and leave comments on the Blog in regards to any subject matter or any issues you feel need to be addressed. 

FTP Server 2.0

I have decided to finally try to narrow down my Blog focus but that will be the subject of another post, for now I will continue to concentrate on the server and setting it up as an FTP server.

When I originally decided to switch to vsftpd it was on the basis that I would eventually learn how to administer this ftp server and in the process give everyone some insight into how to do this themselves. The reality is that most of the setup is via command line/terminal and if you don't know what that is then you are my target audience. 

For those of you who don't know what command line/terminal is click on the related word and you will find out. Today, everyone uses a GUI to interact with their corresponding OS. The command line continues to be the primary way that engineers, programmers, and hackers interact with their OS's at a level which allows them to access and create content.  

I want to limit and even eliminate the need for anyone utilizing my Blog having to use the command line/terminal to duplicate anything I do here. Of such, my search continues and I stumbled upon crushftp which does have a version for the three OS's used by over 99% of users today. Unlike filezilla that was only available for Windows as a server and vsftpd which is for unix based operating systems.

Unfortunately, when using linux, there will always be a time when you have to utilize the terminal interface to complete a task and crushftp is no different. Similar to vsftpd, I was able to successfully setup local assess and verify that it works but the remote access continues to be elusive. 

Another goal for my Blog is to complete these tasks/setups on a budget. Spending as little as possible is a real goal in every thing that I have accomplished so far. More out of necessity than just attempting to just because I want to. Crushftp is free to try for 30 days, there is a paid license fee that starts at $40 for home use. 

The goal is to setup remote access using crushftp before the 30 day trial is over and report back on it and that's only if I don't find another method that's simpler, quicker and cheaper. More updates to come, any thoughts and suggestions are welcome in the comments section.

Putting the Server to use update

My previous findings about utilizing FileZilla as a server for my FTP was a misguided and uneducated selection. Purely based on the fact that as the server, FileZilla only works on Windows computers and my Server is running Ubuntu/Linux. 

It took me about an hour to figure that out and then another hour to find another free way to setup an FTP server on a Linux computer. I found and installed vsftpd. I was able to get it setup and initialized for local access on my network. It gets really complicated setting it up for remote access which I have started and will try to finish by the end of this week.

It included signing up for a free DNS at no-ip.com and setting up port forwarding in my router settings. There are a lot of tutorials out there that give great step by step instructions but you really have to piece together the missing answers to questions that only you will have based on the fact that your ISP, Computer, Operating system version and luck in getting a free DNS will be different from everyone else. 

I will say that I am actually very happy with the amount of work I was able to accomplish in under 12 hours. I am an engineer but I did not study webdesign nor networking to this extent so from that perspective, I am learning as I go along. Will keep you all posted. 

Let's put the server to use!!!!!!!!

It's been quiet on my Blog I must admit, I've been busy with life and trying to think up some new ideas. One thing that has definitely not been getting any love is the server. Since putting it into commission a few months ago, I really haven't been using it for anything. 

I will start setting up an FTP server on the server for now, my library grows everyday, I have a need to move my files off of the cloud and have my own space (Thanks Danny for the donated storage). To start, I'll use FileZilla to setup the FTP. I'll chronicle the setup tomorrow. Stay tuned.