James E. Gaskin
James E. Gaskin writes books (16 so far), articles, and jokes about technology and real life from his home office in the Dallas area. Gaskin has been helping small and medium sized businesses use technology intelligently since 1986.
American Cancer Society embraces Big Data
Teradata data warehouse delivers impressive performance gains, opens doors to additional data-driven improvements.
NAS appliances: Not just raw storage anymore
When we did a roundup of Network Attached Storage devices seven years ago, the products boasted an amazing (for the time) 1TB of disk space. This time around, we're testing six units that sport 8TB or larger storage capacities. While...
Desktop PCs: Dead as a doornail, or maybe just a fax machine
The corporate desktop has looked the same for decades: computer, keyboard, mouse, desk phone, maybe a printer. But do these tools dominate because they're the perfect combination of technology needed for work today, or is the...
Dell Storage Forum: Serious about storage, channel and intellectual property
Dell spent its first Storage Forum, earlier this month in Orlando, Fla., emphasizing three points: The company is committed to the storage market, it is committed to the reseller channel, and it is proud of its new intellectual...
Best NAS boxes for less than $1,000
Buffalo shattered the $1,000 barrier for a terabyte of shared storage back in 2005. With storage prices continuing to drop, that same $1,000 today can buy a four or even five terabyte network attached storage (NAS) device with RAID 5...
SonicWall TZ200: Good mix of connectivity and security
Prices for SonicWall products are hard to pin down because, while the firewall and router have no client license fees, adding support for security features such as enhanced client anti-virus and anti-spyware, VPN Client Windows, UTM...
How we tested dual-WAN routers
Our suburban test lab includes AT&T U-verse rated at 18Mbps, and Time Warner Cable data access rated at 15Mpbs with "Turbo" mode for faster downloads. Each router was configured with a single WAN connection first then reset for a new...
Netgear ProSafe: Ideal for small shops
Netgear, despite its consumer roots, has been making network equipment for small and midsized businesses for years. The FVS336G, though awkwardly named, is the result of that experience; it's easy to install, easy to configure, and...
D-Link DFL-210: Sophisticated security for branch offices
Gather your lucky charms and stroke your rabbit foot for good luck before starting to install the DFL-210.
TRENDnet BRV324: Inexpensive, good performance
A metal box with all the plugs in the back and status lights on the front, the TRENDnet Dual WAN Advanced VPN Router covers the same price range as Netgear. Four 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports, along with separate WAN1 and WAN2 ports fill...
Check Point Safe@Office 1000N: Enterprise grade security for branch offices
Check Point calls the 1000N a firewall more than a router, and they advertise gigabit throughput, plus 400 VPN tunnels that can run as fast as 200Mbps. You can also run two 1000N units linked together for high availability.