BruceBufford.com

Time.

That’s the one thing that is truly limited in this world.

Hardware is cheap when compared to the time you spent working on your yearly tax documents.
Hardware is cheap when compared to the opportunity photographing a one-in-a-lifetime family trip.
Hardware is cheap when compared to the countless sleepless nights it took to write your term papers/graduate thesis.

Why backup your data? I don’t need to tell you that. If you value your irreplaceable data (documents, photos, videos, notes, etc), then you back it up.

Hard drives are mechanical devices with moving parts. They WILL fail — not a question of IF, but a question of WHEN. And often times, you do not get advance notice of an impending failure. And you certainly don’t get advance notice of a fire or robbery.

Here’s my backup strategy. It’s somewhat complex, mildly expensive (yet redundant), but it works VERY well for me. Feel free to borrow it or adapt it for your own backup strategy. You do have one…right? RIGHT?

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About My Data

My data is grouped into "sections" of importance, mostly by frequency of access and modification.

Archived items — Files & folders that aren’t modified frequently, often never deleted or edited.

Examples: Digital photos, older documents, music, movies, program install files, fonts.

Current items — Files that I’m working on NOW.

Examples: OneNote Notebooks, current work & personal projects.

Important items — Files & folders that regardless of access/change frequency, they’re VERY critical.

Examples: Tax documents, personal finances, resume, OneNote Notebooks.

As you can see, there can be some overlap. This isn’t meant to be a 100% concise organization of my data, but a general division for backup purposes.

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Software & Hardware Ingredient List

(this is the stuff I use — I’ll explain how I use it below)

• Acronis True Image Home 2010
• 1TB SATA Hard Drive + USB External Dock (Primary backup drive)
• 1TB SATA Hard Drive + USB External Dock (Secondary backup drive)
• Mozy Free Online Backup (2gb storage)

Hardware

I’ll start with my local backup hardware. I have two external USB hard drives. Let’s call them Primary and Secondary. The Primary drive is always here with me, and I’ll get into the details on how I use that below. The Secondary drive is a mirrored copy of the Primary drive — a redundant backup. It is taken off-site (friend, family, work, safe deposit box, etc) whenever not in use — it gets backed up monthly, more or less. This backup is in case of theft or fire — it might not be 100% up to date, but I’d rather have 95% of my data than NONE of it.

Let me say this another way — let’s assume you were burglarized…lost ALL of your computer hardware. Would you be willing to spend $100 at that point to get your data back? HELL YES YOU WOULD. Good, glad you agree with me. So go buy that extra hard drive to store off-site. Cheapest and most practical insurance you’ll ever get.

Software

I love Acronis True Image Home 2010. It allows me to make system images (snapshots of my operating system so I can roll back in case I have a bad program install, etc), and Acronis allows me to schedule file backups. It’s a very flexible program that does quite a bit more than I’ve mentioned here. It’s one of the few pieces of software that is truth worth the purchase price.

Inside my computer, I divide my data and operating system on two separate hard drives (C:\ for Windows, D:\ for my data). I do NOT use "My Documents" — everything is manually saved to the D:\ drive. That way, a restoration of one drive does not affect the other, nor is a backup of one dependant upon the other. It adds to the cost slightly, but makes backups quick and simple. It also increases system performance, but that’s another discussion entirely.

System Image Backups

The most critical part: always have a current, "clean" copy to restore in case of hard drive loss or virus infection.

I generally do these after large changes to the Operating System. For example: first install of the OS, windows updates, application installs, etc. Outside of major changes to the OS, I tend to backup a system image once every 3 months or so. I don’t add/remove applications frequently, so it doesn’t suit my needs to backup my OS more frequently than that.

System images get backed up to the Primary Drive — which eventually gets mirrored to the Secondary Drive.

Data Backups

The most critical part: always have a current, "clean" copy to restore in case of hard drive loss or virus infection. (sound familiar?)

I do a FULL data backup once a week, regardless of any changes. This covers EVERYTHING…archived, current, and important files. Photos, music, documents, notebooks….you name it, they get backed up once a week, every week. More frequently if I’ve made changes to multiple files/folders.

Data backups get placed on the Primary Drive — which eventually gets mirrored to the Secondary Drive.

Mozy Free Online Backup (2gb storage)

I use Mozy as an emergency tertiary backup for only for my MOST IMPORTANT and CURRENT files. Hypothetically, let’s say both of my physical backups die…. or my data was damaged before I was able to make a weekly backup. Mozy covers my butt by doing backups twice a day. Since the online storage is limited and bandwidth limits the speed of the backup, I only upload my MOST important & current files. These are items that I "touch" & modify on an hourly basis (OneNote), or items that I’ve spent literally days working on (resume, personal finances, current projects). A nice benefit is that I can restore this to any computer, via their software.

Geek & Life Stuff

• Lifehacker : Awesome geek stuff, awesome life skills stuff. Interesting tidbits and goodies.
• Consumerist : Down to earth consumer reporting.
• Gizmodo : Tech news.
• Engadget : Tech gadgets.
• Uncrate : Stuff you can buy that appeals mainly to men and geeks. From inexpensive toys to VERY expensive cars.

Photography & Photoshop

• Strobist : Lighting.
• Abduzeedo : Design, artistry, photoshop.
• PSDTUTS : Purely photoshop tips and tricks, top notch.
• Environmental Graffiti : An eco-hippie green site, but has MANY good photo-stories on interesting natural topics.

Do-It-Yourself

• Make Magazine : Build things, mainly aimed at geeks and electronics.

Technology

• TechCrunch : Tech news that may or may not hit mainstream, a little offbeat at times but always interesting.
• Steve Rowe’s Blog (microsoft guy) : A manager living in a tech world, from Microsoft.
• Bruce Schneier on Security : Top notch security consultant with a clear-headed perspective on the goals of security.

Entertainment & Comics

• XKCD : Seriously random geek comic, from mathematical formulas to raptors.
• PHD Comics : Comic recounting the tales of a Grad student.
• What The Duck : Photography comic following a self-employed photographer.
• The Escapist: Zero Punctuation : Really fast talking game reviewer.
• Cinemassacre.com : Home of the Angry Video Game Nerd reviewer. Vulgar, crass, rude, and gritty. Funny as hell.

Custom Google Alerts (you can receive updates on any search term as they happen):

• my name (to see if I’m being mentioned in the news, other blogs, social networking sites, etc)
• everyone in my family (same as for my name)
• my hometown (to see if anything is happening around home)
• certain exotic places I’ve traveled to (just to keep tabs on where I’ve been)

Since the recent economic downtown, identity theft has been on the rise. Most easily with the common ATM you’d find…well, just about anywhere. Thieves are employing the latest hi-tech gadgetry to steal your card info — look below for the link to a Consumerist article showing how to identify this rising threat.

[Consumerist Article on ATM Card Skimmers]

Buying something online? Looking to save a few bucks? Many sites accept coupon codes. You can always google for them — but if you want a resonably accurate coupon database, look no further than RetailMeNot.com. Note: Some online retailers request RetailMeNot to not post their site, so your level of success may vary.

[RetailMeNot.com]

Find something you like to hold and within your price range.

That’s it. You’re done, congrats on your new camera.

If this is your absolute FIRST time into the digital camera world, you are probably a casual photographer. As a first timer, more than likely you have no idea what advanced features are available — and chances are, you probably won’t use them! Camera salesmen are like car salesmen — they’ll create a need for something, then try to upsell you.

Don’t worry about megapixels or resolution or anything like that. It won’t matter. Why? Nearly every single digital camera in stores today can take images that are the equivalent to an 8×10 or bigger. That is more than enough for the advanced hobbyist, let alone the casual consumer.

Seriously, buying a camera that has the kitchen sink of features… it interferes with TAKING GOOD PICTURES. You’ll be too worried about something silly than about composing a good shot.

Touch it! Hold it! You won’t use the camera if you don’t like how it FEELS.
When you hold it, ask yourself — Do I like how this feels? Is it too big? Too small? Buttons OK to press? Demo it in the store — take a few shots. Where can you try out cameras? Walmart, Target, BestBuy are all good places to start. Their prices aren’t always the best — once you know what model you want, go online to www.dell.com, www.newegg.com, and www.bhphoto.com to compare.

Advice that is given to amateurs and professionals alike…
Once you buy a camera, read the manual cover to cover. Then read the manual again. Take notes. Then take pictures. Lots of pictures. LOTS. Find out what you like, and what you don’t like. Ask questions. Do research. Once you understand the basics, you’ll better know what you want and don’t want in your next camera!

So, what do you need?

• Camera – if you’re REALLY worried about quality, don’t. Entry-level consumer point & shoot digital cameras are all made about the same. Canon is usually the most popular brand — but find something that feels good. And don’t let anyone else put your choice down if you LIKE it. They’re just arrogant with an ego the size of a Goodyear blimp!
• Camera Case (to protect it while traveling, in storage, etc) — this is a personal choice. Find one that YOU LIKE.
• Memory card — 2gb is fine. Newegg.com sells Kingston brand for rather cheap. Most cameras come with 32mb cards — these can’t even take 5 pictures since they’re so small! Make sure you get the right kind of memory card — there are several types available! There is virtually no difference between them — one kind is generally not better than another! They’re just made to work with different cameras, that’s all.
• Software – avoid most software that comes with the camera. Usually, it’s junk. Almost every single camera available can be connected to a Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Mac OSX machine without the use of additional software to copy your photos to your computer. However, you will need software to EDIT your images. Go to http://picasa.google.com and download Picasa — Google’s image editor and photo viewer. It’s really top notch, easy to use, and did I mention…it’s FREE!!!

Are you really into the internet? Have a lot of sources of information? Like to read blogs? Are you frustrated at how long it takes you to browse each one?

Then use an RSS Reader! What’s that you ask? An RSS Reader allows you to view headlines and articles from many sources of information at once in a single location.

How does it work (without getting too technical)? Websites like CNN, New York Times, and Wired Magazine publish their articles online according to a specific standard which allows content to be read from their site. This content (called RSS Feeds) can then be put into a separate application, called a Reader (sometimes it’s called an Aggregator, since it “aggregates” content to one place). Nearly every blog uses RSS Feeds to share their content, and major news providers do the same.

Huh? Say it in English. Look, this technology is a HUGE timesaver. Think of it like this — you want to browse TEN newspapers a day. That takes a LOT of time turning pages, scanning for articles, and finding what you want. RSS Feeds are the equivalent of having someone make a list of every headline and a short summary of each article, all printed on an 8.5×11″ sheet of paper. If you want to read more, you are given the exact location of the article — or in the digital world, a link to the actual website.

So, what reader applications can I use? There are many available — some are downloadable and some are 100% internet-based. Google Reader, an internet-based RSS Reader, is considered one of the best. It’s easy to use, integrates well with your browser, and has a very well-defined interface. It also can be used in an experimental “offline” mode too.

[Google Reader]