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Back Up Your Hard Drive
By Mark Frauenfelder November 04, 2008
Everyday Use » Useful Sites & Services
You probably know by now that you should back up your important computer files regularly. (If you don't know that yet, one day you'll learn the hard way).
Hard drives are now quite cheap compared to 10 years ago. I use a 500 GB external drive to back up my hard drive once a day. That way, the worst thing that can happen is I lose one day's work.
Actually, that's not entirely correct. If my house burned down, I'd lose all the files on my computer and my backup hard drive, because they're both in the same place. Some people stash their back up drives at friend's houses or at the office. It's a hassles and potentially dangerous. One friend kept his back up hard drive in the trunk of his car, and when it was stolen, he was terrified that someone would find his banking passwords and clean out his accounts, so he had to change all his email and website passwords.
Now he and I use an online remote backup service, which lets you copy your computer files over the Internet to hard drives far away. If your house burns down, your files will be safe. If the remote backup location burns down you still have the originals on your computer. (If your house and the remote backup site burn down on the same day, you're out of luck, pal).
I've been using a free remote backup service called IDrive, which works with Mac and Windows. The application window has two panels: the left panel shows the files on your hard drive and the right panel shows the files that have been copied to iDrive's remote backup system. To select which folders and files you want to back up, click the checkboxes next to their names. When you're ready to back up your files, click the Backup now button. You can also schedule your backups to be automatically performed each day, which is highly recommended.
iDrive is free for up to 2 GB of file space. This is probably enough to back up your important word processing and spreadsheet files, along with some of your favorite photos and home videos. If you want to back up your entire hard drive, consider IDrive Pro, which provides 150 GB of storage for $4.95 a month.
If you're concerned about security (and you should be) read about IDrive's security features here: www.idrive.com/online-backup-security.htm. The IDrive application encrypts all the data it sends to IDrive so hackers can't touch it.
Everyday Use » Useful Sites & Services
You probably know by now that you should back up your important computer files regularly. (If you don't know that yet, one day you'll learn the hard way).
Hard drives are now quite cheap compared to 10 years ago. I use a 500 GB external drive to back up my hard drive once a day. That way, the worst thing that can happen is I lose one day's work.
Actually, that's not entirely correct. If my house burned down, I'd lose all the files on my computer and my backup hard drive, because they're both in the same place. Some people stash their back up drives at friend's houses or at the office. It's a hassles and potentially dangerous. One friend kept his back up hard drive in the trunk of his car, and when it was stolen, he was terrified that someone would find his banking passwords and clean out his accounts, so he had to change all his email and website passwords.
Now he and I use an online remote backup service, which lets you copy your computer files over the Internet to hard drives far away. If your house burns down, your files will be safe. If the remote backup location burns down you still have the originals on your computer. (If your house and the remote backup site burn down on the same day, you're out of luck, pal).
I've been using a free remote backup service called IDrive, which works with Mac and Windows. The application window has two panels: the left panel shows the files on your hard drive and the right panel shows the files that have been copied to iDrive's remote backup system. To select which folders and files you want to back up, click the checkboxes next to their names. When you're ready to back up your files, click the Backup now button. You can also schedule your backups to be automatically performed each day, which is highly recommended.
iDrive is free for up to 2 GB of file space. This is probably enough to back up your important word processing and spreadsheet files, along with some of your favorite photos and home videos. If you want to back up your entire hard drive, consider IDrive Pro, which provides 150 GB of storage for $4.95 a month.
If you're concerned about security (and you should be) read about IDrive's security features here: www.idrive.com/online-backup-security.htm. The IDrive application encrypts all the data it sends to IDrive so hackers can't touch it.
Family Friendly Twitter* Tips
Family-Friendly Twitter* Tips
By Parent Hacks July 29, 2008
Everyday Use » Useful Sites & Services
Twitter defies easy classification. This free Web-based service shares qualities with blogging, social networking, instant messaging, and chatting, but is not exactly any of these things. Twitter allows you to broadcast 140-character dispatches (or "tweets") to your friends and followers from your computer or cell phone; everything from what you're doing at any given moment ("at coffee shop consuming 1500 calorie snack") to links you want to pass along to replies to other Twitter users. Using Twitter isn't unlike sitting in a friendly cafe overhearing bits conversation around you and then piping up when you feel like it.
Twitter is monumentally popular among the alpha-geek crowd, but what does it have to offer family folks who rarely have time to sit at the computer? Turns out, plenty.
Use Twitter as a repository for baby and kid milestones.
Parent Hacks reader Kim uses Twitter to record those fleeting kid moments that tend to get lost in the daily bustle. Because you can send a Twitter update via a text message from your phone, it's effortless to tweet while out and about. You can keep your Twitter updates private (only letting those you approve see them) so it can work as a digital baby book of sorts.
Use Twitter to keep up with extended family.
Twitter is so easy to use, anyone (really, anyone) can be up and running in minutes. Parent Hacks reader Sara uses Twitter while on business trips to get a flow of kid-updates from her husband at home.
Twitter also lets her keep up with far-flung family in a much lower-key way than emails or phone calls. She calls it "ambient intimacy," and, now that I've used Twitter a while myself, I'd agree with that characterization.
Use Twitter to keep feelings of isolation at bay.
Earlier, I compared the experience of using Twitter to sitting in a cafe listening to the swirl of conversation around you. How often do parents of young children get to do that? Sometimes, watching your friends' tweets float by late at night, after the kids are in bed, is a comforting reminder that you're part of the flow of adult life even though you may be stuck inside your house for days at a time. You may even meet new friends -- Twitter is a great way to connect with other local parents who happen to be online.
Follow your kids on Twitter.
Finally, if you've got older kids, it's worth getting your feet wet with social Web services such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, as they're likely already using them. On Twitter, subscribing to someone's updates ("following" them) is as easy as using Twitter yourself. Follow your kids -- you may learn something! At the very least, it's another way to keep the lines of communication open. Between you, them, and the rest of the world.
Related Articles in Useful Sites & Services
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Travel Organizer Get a Snapshot of Your Financial Information
Back Up Your Hard Drive Knowing Google Images Basics
By Parent Hacks July 29, 2008
Everyday Use » Useful Sites & Services
Twitter defies easy classification. This free Web-based service shares qualities with blogging, social networking, instant messaging, and chatting, but is not exactly any of these things. Twitter allows you to broadcast 140-character dispatches (or "tweets") to your friends and followers from your computer or cell phone; everything from what you're doing at any given moment ("at coffee shop consuming 1500 calorie snack") to links you want to pass along to replies to other Twitter users. Using Twitter isn't unlike sitting in a friendly cafe overhearing bits conversation around you and then piping up when you feel like it.
Twitter is monumentally popular among the alpha-geek crowd, but what does it have to offer family folks who rarely have time to sit at the computer? Turns out, plenty.
Use Twitter as a repository for baby and kid milestones.
Parent Hacks reader Kim uses Twitter to record those fleeting kid moments that tend to get lost in the daily bustle. Because you can send a Twitter update via a text message from your phone, it's effortless to tweet while out and about. You can keep your Twitter updates private (only letting those you approve see them) so it can work as a digital baby book of sorts.
Use Twitter to keep up with extended family.
Twitter is so easy to use, anyone (really, anyone) can be up and running in minutes. Parent Hacks reader Sara uses Twitter while on business trips to get a flow of kid-updates from her husband at home.
Twitter also lets her keep up with far-flung family in a much lower-key way than emails or phone calls. She calls it "ambient intimacy," and, now that I've used Twitter a while myself, I'd agree with that characterization.
Use Twitter to keep feelings of isolation at bay.
Earlier, I compared the experience of using Twitter to sitting in a cafe listening to the swirl of conversation around you. How often do parents of young children get to do that? Sometimes, watching your friends' tweets float by late at night, after the kids are in bed, is a comforting reminder that you're part of the flow of adult life even though you may be stuck inside your house for days at a time. You may even meet new friends -- Twitter is a great way to connect with other local parents who happen to be online.
Follow your kids on Twitter.
Finally, if you've got older kids, it's worth getting your feet wet with social Web services such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, as they're likely already using them. On Twitter, subscribing to someone's updates ("following" them) is as easy as using Twitter yourself. Follow your kids -- you may learn something! At the very least, it's another way to keep the lines of communication open. Between you, them, and the rest of the world.
Related Articles in Useful Sites & Services
Find Websites You Might Like with inSuggest* Getting the Best Seat on an Airplane
Travel Organizer Get a Snapshot of Your Financial Information
Back Up Your Hard Drive Knowing Google Images Basics
border="0" alt= "Online Marketing Starter Kits" />Saturday, November 29, 2008
Virtual Assistant Lifestyle - How to Work From Home As a VA
Virtual Assistant Lifestyle - How To Work From Home As a VA - Watch the best video clips here
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