How do you back up?
Are you not too concerned about backing up your data? Do you save important documents to USB storage and nowhere else? Do you neglect backing up completely?
If this is the case you need to sort your shit out. I see the frustration and sadness involved in the loss of data. People almost in tears over lost photos or University assignments.
It really is so simple these days to make sure you have all your important data backed up. There are many options from simply backing up to DVDs once in a while; purchasing a couple of USB storage devices and rotating back ups to them; or even go the route of on-line back up.
My back up is done in a multi-tiered fashion. First level of protection is having all my important data mirrored between 2 drives on my main PC (this may be a bit difficult for many people). Second piece of protection is performing a complete backup to a USB storage drive. The final level is online backup. This comes to why I’m writing this.
This is basically an advertisement for SpiderOak on-line back up. I have come to love this as a means of peace of mind. Knowing that my important data is stored in a secure remote location is incredibly settling.
It doesn’t matter what computer you use, you can use SpiderOak. They have a client for Apple’s OSX, Linux and Microsoft Windows. You can also synchronise your data between devices. Better yet, it also has clients for iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod) and Android.
It is very reasonably priced at USD$100 per 100GB. Better yet you can receive up to 50GB free storage by signing up friends and family. On that note; please click HERE to sign up! You start with 2GB for free, so you can test it out for as long as you like before going for complete backup storage space.
Please recommend this to your friends. I would love to not have people coming to my work devastated over losing data!
Everyone should try Ubuntu.
I finally did it; I have finally upgraded to the latest release of Ubuntu. This means I am now using Ubuntu’s Unity user interface. For anyone that doesn’t understand, this means that I have basically changed how I interact with the computer (in a very minor way). There is now a “dock” on the side and the menu bar for applications is more Apple OS X like. Still don’t understand? Doesn’t matter… you can see for yourself.
I believe everyone should try out Ubuntu. You don’t even need to change your computer at all. If you click on this link you will find all the information you need to have Ubuntu ready to run from a CD/DVD or a USB drive. With this you will be able to start your computer and load up Ubuntu. You can then have a play around and see why I use this over Windows.
Some great things to know about Ubuntu is that the base install includes great software and it is all FREE. There is a complete Office Suite like Microsoft Office; it’s even compatible with Microsoft Office files. There is also a photo manager, games, a photo editor, and everything that you will find in a fresh Windows install.
There is also a software centre that is similar to Apple’s App Store. The difference is that Ubuntu’s “App Store” has been around for longer than Apple’s. In this App Store there is thousands of Applications available for you at the click of a button. Search for what you are after, click install, if you like it keep it, if you don’t uninstall it in the same fashion.
I implore anyone and everyone to at least try it out. See what you think. All it will take is a bit of your time and you might be surprised how amazing Open Source (free) software can be.
I love libre software.
I plan to not just explain why I love open source software (libre software) but why I’m not fond of proprietary software. First I think it is best to help people gain a minimal understanding of what open source software is. In terms of open source, the meaning of “open” in this particular description is freely available/visible. Source code is the code written by a software developer, it is written in one of the many programming languages. Source code is then run through a compiler which turns the language into something the computer can understand called binary.
What this means is that anyone and everyone can see how the software works and they can modify it to meet their needs completely. There are many software licenses written to be compatible with this kind of software. There are ones that mean the code can never be “closed” and made proprietary. There are others that do allow the software to be closed if someone chooses to do so.
The fact that everyone is able to view the source code of open source software means that anyone with the skills can fix problems or make it better if they choose to do so. This creates communities of like minded people helping each other to produce amazing software. One of my favourite communities is based around the Linux based Operating System, Ubuntu.
I often discover how to resolve a problem while searching the Ubuntu Forums, sometimes I even help other people resolve their problems. Helping to correct issues people are having is my way of giving back to the community, as I have very little understanding of any programming language. This is how many people help out in the community, there are so many different ways to help an open source project.
When you see the amazing support and time given by all of these people involved in open source software it can make you rather hateful of proprietary software. This is why I dislike companies like Microsoft and Apple. I find it bizarre that people choose to be adamant fans of these companies. Apple took open source software, FreeBSD, and then closed the source and made it their own. This is the software you use when you own an Apple notebook, desktop or server.
I can’t say they haven’t given back to the open source community, because they have in a large way. I think if they could they would close the source of other open source software they have purchased if the license did not forbid it. One of my favourite projects that they have purchased and increased the quality of is called CUPS. This is a system for making printers available to Unix-like operating systems.
Besides these redeeming features I believe that the negatives out-weigh the positives. Apple is a known anti-competition company. There has been companies that have built machines using hardware that runs Apples OS X operating systems. They are purchasing the software from Apple legally and installing it on their own hardware. Apple has a huge problem with this and they have sued these companies into oblivion. I also hate Steve Jobs as he is a selfish bastard, I do love him for his backing of Pixar though.
I believe most people are rather objectionable towards Microsoft, so I see no reason to go into all the bad they do. I will mention that their ex-CEO is an amazing man. There are a lot of reasons to love Bill Gates, if you can ignore his past with Microsoft.
Other well known open source software include Mozilla Firefox, the Android operating system for smart phones and tablets, and WordPress.
