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Chapter 20 ✦ Working with Applications Other applications for the Macintosh are networkable. Many different operating system ver- sions and different versions of applications exist, so you’ll need to research the applications available for the Mac OS you’re using. Linux software Linux is made for networking; therefore, many programs are available for Linux and network- ing, including databases, accounting, groupware, and more. ✦ Database applications enable you to manage large amounts of data so that multiple users can search the data. GNU SQL Server is available for Linux. SQL Server is a rela- tional database management system for larger businesses. If you have a small business, you can use INFORMIX-SE, a database program that is relational and multiuser, but doesn’t require a lot of administration. Other databases you might check into include MySQL, Oracle, and Shore. ✦ Accounting programs range from personal accounting, to small-business accounting, to corporation finances. CBB is a personal accounting program you can use to balance your checkbook. On the other end of the scale, SQL-Ledger Accounting is a multiuser accounting program you can use in your business. ✦ Groupware applications enable a team, or group of people, to share calendars, tasks, contacts, discussions, e-mail, and so on, over the network or Internet. A groupware application made by Axista called Xcolla works well for team collaboration across a network. Achievo and Amphora are two other groupware applications for Linux. Achievo is a Web-based project management application, whereas Amphora offers more basic office, intranet, and groupware functionality. For more information about Linux software, visit www.linuxsoftware.org. Summary In this chapter, you learned about various networking applications, including the following: ✦ Internet applications ✦ Intranet applications ✦ Groupware ✦ Accounting programs ✦ Vertical software ✦ Network games ✦ Mac and Linux applications In the next chapter, you learn about working with files and folders on a network. ✦ ✦ ✦ Working with Files and Folders Y ou’re familiar with working with files and folders on a standalone computer; handling network files and folders, however, is a bit different. You have more drives and storage areas to manage on the network. Also, backing up files is more than saving a few files to a CD; you can choose from a variety of backup options on the network. Finally, securing your confidential files and folders becomes more of a problem than just locking your office door. Storing Files If you’re accustomed to storing files on your own computer, and you have enough space to continue to do that, that’s fine. If, however, another computer on the network has more available disk space or a file storage device that you don’t have, you can save your files over the network. In the past, storing files was easy because they were smaller than they often are today. Word processing documents, spreadsheets, and most of the files saved took up less than a megabyte of space — 57K, 80K, and even 210K are small file sizes. You could store these files on a floppy disk, which holds 1.44MB. With changing technologies and Internet access, though, file sizes are increasing. Graphic images, such as digital photographs, are usually 3,000K each. Applications you download from the Internet might be 15MB, 50MB, even 1 or 2GB each. Add to that the file compression programs that enable you to condense many files into one large executable file, and your file sizes quickly outgrow that 1.44MB floppy disk. You need to consider file storage alternatives. With the use of a network, you have more choices than you have with a standalone computer. You should store your applications, for the most part, on each user’s C: drive. You should store your data files separately from your application files. Older applications stored files within the program’s folder; this method might cause a problem if you decide to delete that program from your hard disk. You could acci- dentally delete all of your data as well. Most newer application installations place the data files in the My Documents folder by default. This folder or any other folder you create is fine for storing your data files. Tip 21 21 C H A P T E R ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ In This Chapter Storing files Backing up files and folders Securing files and folders ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ Part V ✦ Working with Files, Folders, and Applications Choosing a storage area Whether you’re using a clientserver or a workgroup network, you want to make the best use of your resources. You should choose the computer with the most hard disk space as the main file storage area. Normally, on a clientserver network, that computer is the server; how- ever, if the server is overloaded with print, Internet, and other duties on the network, you might want to locate the storage area on another computer on the network. Figure 21-1 illustrates the storage space on a home computer. This hard disk holds a total of 19GB; note that the status bar indicates the drive has 11.7GB of disk space free. Someone with limited space could save files to this networked computer; however, if you have a larger hard disk on the network, consider using that computer for file storage. Figure 21-1: Check the hard disk space on all computers on the network to determine the one to use for file storage. Computers today come with larger hard disks than ever before. You cannot easily find a new computer with a hard disk smaller than 20GB, and 80 to 120GB is becoming the norm. You can use a large disk such as this as a storage area for everyone on the network. Consider buying large hard disks for each computer in your business network. You still may share a drive for storage of files, but users on a business network use more storage space than the normal home computer user. Using an 80GB hard disk in each computer in your business isn’t at all impractical. Small Business Tip Chapter 21 ✦ Working with Files and Folders The advantages of using only one network hard disk for file storage are as follows: ✦ The other computers on the network can use smaller, less expensive hard drives. ✦ Backing up files is simpler. ✦ Finding and sharing files is easier for everyone concerned. The disadvantages of using one network hard disk to store all files are as follows: ✦ The storage computer must always be on so that the files are available to everyone. ✦ If the storage computer’s hard disk crashes, stored files are lost unless you have a good backup. In a small business, the advantages of using a network drive for file storage far outweigh the disadvantages. First, the file storage computer will always be turned on in an office situation. Second, you should be backing up your files every day, so if the hard disk crashes, you still have a backup of files. Next, your users easily can find shared files if they’re stored on one computer hard disk instead of scattered around the network. Think of the time and aggravation you’ll save. Small Business Tip Partitioning a Large Disk With such large hard disks common to new computers, you might consider partitioning the disk so that you can designate one area for network file storage. In partitioning, you divide your hard disk into sections. The operating system treats different partitions on the hard disk as if they were separate drives. As an example, suppose that you have an 80GB hard disk. You can divide it into two or three par- titions. If you divide it into two partitions, you might have a C: and a D: drive. Drive C: is the par- tition containing the operating system and one person’s individual data files. Drive D: might be an extra partition for network file storage. You can make the partitions any size; you might make drive C: 40GB and drive D: 40GB, for example. When you partition a drive, the partitions show up in programs such as the Windows Explorer as separate drives: C:, D:, E:, and so on. Your floppy drive remains drive A:, if applicable, and your CD-ROM drive becomes the last drive after the partitions, such as F: or G:. Partitioning a drive does take some work. In the past, you had to use a utility called FDISK to wipe everything off of the partition, reassign partition names and sizes — such as drive C: as 40GB and drive D: as 40GB — and then reformat each partition on the hard drive. After formatting, you had to load the operating system and all your programs on drive C: again. Today, several utility programs can help you partition a drive without reformatting it. These pro- grams enable you to divide free disk space into a separate partition without affecting the operat- ing system or your application files. Partition Magic is one such program. Acronis’ PartitionExpert is another good partitioning program. Part V ✦ Working with Files, Folders, and Applications File storage tips When you share or store files on one computer’s hard disk, you can get those files quickly and easily over the network. Following are some tips to make network file storage more beneficial to all: ✦ If you save all files on one hard disk on the network, map that drive to each computer for quicker and easier access. For information about mapping drives, see Chapter 13. Figure 21-2 shows mapped drives for quick and easy access to shared folders. Note that the mapped drives — C, D, and Accounting — are all located on Molly’s computer. Figure 21-2: Map a drive to the shared storage space for fast access. ✦ On the network drive, create a folder in which each user can save his or her files. You also might create folders for shared files that everyone uses and folders for backup files, in particular. ✦ When a folder contains information that is no longer current or necessary for the group, instead of deleting it or just leaving it in on the network drive, save that folder to a CD, Zip disk, tape drive, or other storage device, and then delete it from the network drive. This technique saves space and keeps the drive from becoming cluttered. Of course, you can use a variety of storage devices for saving files — tapes, CD-RW or CD-R discs see the next Note for an explanation of the difference between these disc types, Zip disks, Jaz disks, and others. The reason your first choice for file storage might be a hard disk, however, is so that you can work with the file more efficiently. Working from a file stored on a hard disk is faster than working off of a Zip disk or other storage device. Of course, you always can copy the file from the storage device to your hard disk and then copy the revised file back to the storage disk when you’re finished. Note Chapter 21 ✦ Working with Files and Folders Backing Up Files You hear a lot of talk about backing up your files, but you may think backing up is a process meant only for businesses. It’s not. You should back up important files from your computer periodically, at least once a week, if not more often; the frequency depends on how much your data changes each day. You should not back up your operating system, application files, or any other files you have on disk or CD-ROM. If you need to reload these, you can do so easily from the originals. Besides, backing up these files takes more time and storage space. You should back up, however, any important data files and Registry files. Data files that you should back up include important letters, reports, spreadsheets, databases, drawings, accounting information, contact lists, pictures, music files, and so on. The Registry is the place in which Windows stores its system information, including all device information, user data, program settings, and more. Backing up to the network or locally You can back up important files to your local computer — to another folder, for example, or to a second hard disk, a CD-R, a Zip disk, or other storage device. Alternatively, you can back up to the network, or to another computer’s hard disk, Zip disk, tape drive, or other storage device. You can use a CD-R or a CD-RW as a storage device. A CD-R is a disk to which you write only once. You can leave the CD open so that you can write information at various times; how- ever, once the CD is full, you cannot erase data and write to the CD again. A CD-RW is a disk you can use as another drive on your computer. You can copy files to it and delete files from it. CD-RWs are more expensive than CD-Rs. Choose the one that is right for your data. If files continually change, a CD-RW might be best. If you just want to keep your music files or pho- tographs on a disk, a CD-R is perfect. If you back up to your own computer’s hard disk, you have no protection in case of a hard disk failure. If a virus attacks your system or your hard disk stops operating, all of your data — original and backup — will be gone. You easily can back up to a CD drive, tape drive, Zip drive, or other device attached to your computer and know your data is safe if the hard disk should crash. These devices have their limits, however. A tape drive doesn’t enable easy access to just one file or folder. Zip and Jaz drives are limited by the amount of information they can hold. CD disks are easy to use and easy to store; however, the quality of some CDs is always in question. If you use a CD for a back up, make two backup CDs of the same data, just in case one CD goes bad. Backing up to a computer on the network — whether it’s another workstation or a server — affords many advantages to the user. Network backup is usually fast, depending on the speed of the connection. Space is most likely not an issue if you use one computer with a large hard disk. Restoring backed-up files to the original computer is also fast and easy, as long as there is a network connection. Tip Note Part V ✦ Working with Files, Folders, and Applications