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More on User controls

    My devices are interconnected. RealVNC/TightVNC server are on botrh laptops and my iPhone 16e. The root ('C') drives on both laptops are shared over my home WiFi network. There are apps on my phone to run my LG 55" Smart-TV. Home Assistant is installed in a Docker container on the Raspberry Pi and the iOS app, on my iPhone. Of course, HUE Essentials iOS app is also installed as is the WiZ iOS app.  MobaXterm is on my laptops. This allows SSH access to the Raspberry Pi for maintenance. All this allows me to move data between laptops. I can control one laptop from the other through a virtual screen. Since the IdeaPad has the movie drives attached via USB, I can access, edit the files on those drives from the Thinkpad. The file sharing option on Windows seems problematic. Each drive was visible on the File Expplorer network lis of the other, and accessible that way. Since I did a re-install of Win 11 Pro on the Thinkpad, the drives/laptops no longer appear in each other...
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User controls

  This is a description of my current user controls setup. I have RealVNC and Tight VNC Server installed on both laptops and iPhone. Remote Mouse is also installed. I sit on my couch and access the media server laptop from either of the other two devices. Hard drives containing movies are plugged in.  I also have Netflix installed, Amazon Prime Video and Roku Channel.  I watch on the server laptop since the 55” Smart-TV uses too much energy after dark. Since a web browser is available, I can watch YouTube, Pluto, and others.
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TV dongle and apps

  I discovered that the Hauppauge WinTV950Q will disrupt the router after a while. The wifi works, but with caveats. The network connected software programs stop connecting until I reboot the router. Remote Mouse and RealVNC stop connecting to the IdeaFlex 4 laptop. Ordinarily, I can run a Remote Mouse on the laptop from my iPhone or ThinkPad laptop. The same is true for RealVNC. This allows me to operate the laptop and therefore, the laptop software programs, from my couch. After the TV dongle has run for awhile, the apps develop connection problems. Otherwise, the wifi seems to work for everything else, including the browser. I notified Hauppauge. They responded they had never heard of that problem before and that I had a very old product. No known solution other than rebooting the router occasionally. There may be another cause for the dopouts. The cause is unresolved.
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Current state of video library

     I have both laptops at the station. I use the Ideapad Flex 4 as a media server and run both, Plex and Jellyfin, on that machine. I also have the Hauppauge TV dongle connected to the Ideapad for watching local television stations.    The Thinkpad is for general use but I often watch movies on that machine because the screen is better. Most other activities are on that Thinkpad.    Everything else is pretty much the same. Only the Archimedes and Parmenides drives are online. I continue to maintain and update both, a Plex and Jellyfin, installation. I have the Remote Mouse app installed on laptops and iPhone 16e. RealVNC is also installed on laptops and iPhone as well. These allow me to control the TV dongle and VNC. I can play videos from the drives or change channels on the TV dongle while sitting on the couch.
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USB 3.0 and USB-C updates

  The system needed to be updated to more modern standards, so I ordered a Sabrent USB-3 hub, a USB 3 Orico 3.5" enclosure for the 12tb Parmenides drive, and three Orico USB 3/-C 2.5" enclosures. I have an idea to serve the database ("20th Century Cinema Archive") to a selected university. Issues to be addressed are: 1. security: prevent downloading. 1b. log usage. 1c. unique encrypted, single use keys. 2. one-at-a-time usage. 3. limit access to cinema class students asigned by a professor. 4. limit access time to the length of a viewed movie. 5. check the DMCA for fair use compliance. 6. software deployed. Plex (Watch Pass), Jellyfin, others. 7. limit hours of access.
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Windows File sharing is a replacement for VNC

  I've updated my home network. All the drives, niine in all, are shared over the home network. This will allow me to sit on my couch and edit videos without having to move the video file around from drive to drive. I can also run the media center laptop and play movies on theat computer's screen, from the couch. In order to set up sharing on the Microsoft Windows based network, several steps have to be followed. Go into the Network and Sharing Center in the Control Panel. On the left side go into Media streaming options. Choose 'Local Network' if your drives appear in the drop-down list, 'All Networks' if they're there there. Choose 'Allow All'. Go back Go into 'Advanced Sharing Settings'. I set everything to on except 'Password Protected Sharing'. The encryption method is trivial if you're offliine most of the time. If your network is on 24/7, the 128-bit encryption is recommended. Right-click on each drive and setup 'Sharin...
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External software aids added

  I have added two pieces of software: the Apple and PC apps of "Remote Mouse" and the iPhone "Roku Remote" app. I have the Roku remote but the phone app can make things easier. The remote mouse is exactly that. I can open and close any app accessible from the desktop, as long as I have good visual acuity and can read the screen from the couch six-seven feet away..
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