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December 2006

Three Best Backup Tips

1. Backup using your CD or DVD drive
2. Backup using a tape drive
3. Backup using an online backup company

1. Almost all computers today come with a CD-ROM drive or a DVD-drive. Most CD-drives can write data to the drive, but not all DVDs can. If you can write data to the drive, then the CD-drive will normally hold up to 780MB or about 541 floppy disks. The DVD-drive holds up to 4GB for read and write disks (you can erase the disk and start over) or 8GB on read only disks (you can only write data once till the disk is full). Most computers also come with a CD/DVD program which helps you write to the disk. You have to buy a separate program if you want to schedule a backup.

Pros: Comes with computer, cost of media is insignificant, cost of scheduling program is insignificant
Cons: You have to remember to do it, even if you have a scheduling program in which case you have to remember to change the disk every so often. Limited backup space.

2. Tape drives are still widely used both by big business and small business. Several companies have abandoned tape drives because they so often are unreliable or break down. That said, they can still hold a large amount of data and might be the cheapest alternative for large amounts of data if you don’t want an off site solution.

Pros: Relatively inexpensive up front costs, backup and scheduling programs are included
Cons: Often breaks down, cost of tapes expensive, you have to remember to switch tapes

3. Online backup companies come in all kinds of flavors. Depending on what you pay, you can get unlimited backup. For the time being, Carbonite offers unlimited GB backup for the same low price as a small backup. These companies have several different features. Ibackup offers an option where you can have people collaborate on documents stored online.

Pros: Free or inexpensive. Works in the background so you only have to be online for it to work. Can take large amounts of data.
Cons: You have to rely on the company that offers the service that its servers are up to the task and that it has backup servers and in general is reliable

Some internet backup companies:

Free: www.xdrive.com. 5 GB free. Would work for most users. Can schedule a backup and share files with others. An Aol service, but anyone can sign up. Messy sign up. Need an AOL screen name first.

Also free, Mozy, www.mozy.com, 2 GB free. Can schedule a backup, backs up every so often on its own. You quickly get over 2 GB and if you like the service, it is easy to go to the paid version so you can easily get hooked.

Paid: Carbonite, www.carbonite.com. $5/mo for unlimited GBs. Cheaper with annual plan.
Works in the background when the computer is connected to the internet. Only activates when no keystrokes or mouse clicks are detected.

IBackup, www.ibackup.com, price various depending on size and type of backup.
Can be scheduled. Can be used for workgroup collaboration. Easy to use.

Good Backup Rules

Whatever method you choose to backup your data, you should:
1. Have one disk or tape per day or per backup period
2. Always have more than one cd/dvd/disk of the same data
3. Always store one copy of recent data off site
4. Always backup REALLY important data to a cd/dvd even if you have internet backup

New Computer Anyone?

As mentioned in the last newsletter, Windows Vista was supposed to come out in November to computer companies and early next year to consumers. But, this has now been changed so that only volume customers who will get it in November and, according to Microsoft, to consumers and to preinstalled computers January 30, 2007.

That means that any computer you buy today should be Vista ready. All computer companies will today say that they sell Vista ready computers.

One interesting thing, if you are upgrading an old computer, you need a DVD drive to upgrade.

Mmost companies will probably stay with their current operating system until it is time to buy a new computer mostly because they have already invested so much in that version. Also, the new array of Windows Vistas that are coming out is very confusing. It will exist in 6 flavors:

Windows Vista Home Basic: For consumers that want to simply use the PC to browse the Internet, correspond with friends and family over email or perform basic document creation and editing tasks.

Windows Vista Home Premium: Will help consumers utilize mobile or desktop PC functionality more effectively while enabling the enjoyment of new, exciting digital entertainment experiences – all with the benefit of added security and reliability. Windows Vista Home Premium includes everything in Windows Vista Home Basic, plus the Windows Vista Aero™ and Media Center and Tablet PC capabilities. The Aero is what make Vista different from XP to the average user.

Windows Vista Ultimate: Windows Vista Ultimate is the edition of Windows Vista that has it all. It is the first operating system that brings together all of the consumer-oriented features available in Windows Vista Home Premium with all of the business-oriented features available in Windows Vista Business.

Two versions will cater to business users:

Windows Vista Business: For small to medium size businesses, Windows Vista Business will help keep PCs running smoothly and securely so they are less reliant on dedicated IT support.

Windows Vista Enterprise: To better address the needs of large, global organizations and those with highly complex IT infrastructures, Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to significantly lower IT costs and risk. In addition to all of the features available in Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to provide higher levels of data protection using hardware-based encryption technology.

And one version will target particularly price-sensitive parts of the world called Windows Vista Starter which is basically not worth considering and won’t be sold in the US only in so called emerging markets.

Microsoft has confirmed that all versions of Vista will be shipped on a single DVD, in a feature called Windows Anytime Upgrade.

Most industry experts recommend that businesses use Vista Business and home users use Vista Home Premium.

For comparisons of the different versions click here

Material from Cnet and PC Magazine was used in this newsletter.