Category — Personal Computing

I’ve recently been given the opportunity to review one of Drobo’s latest creations: the Drobo FS. The FS, which stands for file sharing, is a 5-bay NAS that plugs into your local network via gigabit ethernet. In plain english, you plug the Drobo FS into your wireless router and all the computers in your home (or small office) instantly have access to a huge hard drive. From a technical standpoint, there is a lot more to it than that, but the beauty of this device is you don’t need to know what is going on behind the scenes in order to reap the benefits.

I will be conducting a more detailed review which will be posted over at my Boston Tech Gear column, but I wanted to share some initial thoughts after a week with the device. From unboxing to set-up, getting hands-on with the Drobo has been a wonderful experience. Maybe it was the little black pouch it came in, or the fact that within 15 minutes I was able to add 4TB of protected storage to my network – whatever it was, I liked it.

Setup on my Mac was as easy as it gets. Insert the installer disc, click install and restart. As soon as my machine had come back to life I was greeted by the Drobo Dashboard (more on this in the full review) and a public share with full read/write access for all the computers on my home network. That’s it.

Transfer speeds over my gigabit ethernet connection were good, but definitely not as fast as a locally attached firewire/USB hard drive. This is for a few reasons, which I will get into in the full review, but for the vast majority of users, speeds will be more than sufficient. Case and point, I asked a non-techie person in my house to copy some files to the public share and then asked them what they thought about the transfer speed – to which they replied something along the lines of “it takes as long as it normally does.”

Once you start digging into the advanced options, which there are plenty of, you can really start having some fun with the device. One can set up additional users and shares, control the time it takes before the hard drives spin down – even dim the LEDs. This Drobo also gives you the option to set up Time Machine backup shares. Have three Macs in your house all using Time Machine? Not a problem, each one can have its own backup.

So far, I have been very happy with the design, ease of setup, and simplicity of the device. There are some weaknesses, but you will have to read my full review to hear about those. Stay tuned.

I finally had the chance to install Seagate’s new Momentus XT hybrid hard drive, and let me tell you, this thing is cool. What is a hybrid hard drive you ask? Well, it is basically a 7200 RPM hard drive topped off with 4GB of solid state memory. Seagate says the memory is “intelligent,” meaning it knows to store the data you frequently access for enhanced read/write times. So how does this little guy perform in a MacBook Pro? Quite well.

Seagate designed the drive such that the computer thinks it is a normal drive. There are no special drivers needed to run it, which is a huge plus in my book. I installed this one in a 2010 i7 MacBook Pro. This laptop was purchased ‘off the shelf’ and therefore contained a 5400 RPM drive – why Apple doesn’t include the 7200 as the factory standard in a $2200 “pro” laptop is puzzling (wish I was still a shareholder). Coming from a 5400 RPM drive I knew the performance gains would be significant, but I never realized it would make this much of a difference.

Boot time has been cut down by about 1/2 and launching apps brings a smile to my face with each click. Some my biggest offenders: Tweetdeck, Lightroom, and Photoshop now open within 2 hops (that’s a Mac technical term, you know). It is really the icing on the cake with this machine. Now if I only had 8GB of RAM…

So should you run out to Amazon or Newegg and put this baby in your shopping cart? If your machine currently as a 5400 RPM drive installed – YES! If you already have a 7200 RPM drive, it will really depend on how thick your wallet is. For me, it was $130 well spent.

It may seem slightly crazy, but believe it or not, there is no built-in way to manage a collection of PDF documents on the iPad. You can view them as attachments in email, but there is no way to save or bookmark the files. Not to worry – the folks over at Good.iWare LTD have got us [slightly insane] iPad early adopters covered with their app, appropriately titled, GoodReader.

With GoodReader, document viewing woes are a thing of the past. This high quality app allows for the transferring, managing, bookmarking, and oh yea, reading of anything text. PDF’s/Docs/TXT – even Excel spreadsheets. Just install the app, connect the iPad to iTunes with the USB cable, and drag whatever files you want into the file transfer well. Within minutes you will be in iPad PDF reading heaven.

I’ve been using this app since day one and it has been nothing but a joy to use. File transfer was a bit rocky in the beginning, but now that Apple has allowed for the drag and drop file transfer, it is no longer an issue. This is .99 cents well spent. Highly recommended.

Get a copy here [iTMS link]

Continuing with their run of April news announcements, Apple has just released an update to their popular MacBook Pro line of notebook computers. Not much has changed, but what has, is significant. The new pro machines have been updated with Intel’s Core i5 and i7 processors, offering substantial performance gains through the use of a new 32-nanometer manufacturing process, Turbo Boost, and Hyper-Threading. The marketing material may sound a bit gimmicky, but the performance increase is anything but. Even though the new clock speed has dropped from 2.8GHz to 2.66GHz (at the top), performance is estimated to increase by roughly 50%. Having used the 15-inch model with the 2.66GHz Core i7 processor for the last few days, I can confirm this statement with utmost confidence.

My previous workhorse laptop had been a 17-inch 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro. It was working for me, but I often felt it lacking in performance when driving a second display and doing heavy photo editing between Lightroom and Photoshop. I had plans to switch over to a desktop for my photo/video production, but to make a long story short, that did not work out. Now here I am with the fastest laptop Apple makes… So how does it compare to the machines it is replacing?

To sum it up, this is the first laptop I would consider to be a true desktop replacement. Everything is faster with these new i7 machines, from launching apps to converting video. Even while driving a secondary display, the machine feels more akin to a desktop tower than a laptop.

To give an idea of how I use my Mac portables, this is a list of programs that are typically open together:

• iTunes open playing music (with a huge, memory robbing library)
• AdiumX
• Mail App
• FireFox
• Preview
• Lightroom
• Photoshop (50% of the time)
• Word
• Dictionary
• Tweetdeck
• iCal
• Flickr uploader

My old machine could handle this, but not without frequent slowdowns. This new machine has left me feeling much more confident in its ability to handle the heavy lifting when necessary. It feels like a completely animal, one that doesn’t back down when playing flash video on one display and rendering 1:1 previews of 21 Megapixel RAW files on the other.

So what is not to like? Well, the stock 1440×900 monitor leaves much to be desired. Unfortunately, the Apple store I purchased mine from did not have the high-res antiglare ($150 upgrade) machines in stock. I think it is strange that this is a $150 upgrade, mainly because I don’t know many professional (at least photographers) that want a super reflective glass display on their notebook, or desktop for that matter. I am unsure what Apple’s love affair is with these new displays but I am a matte kind of guy. However, 90 percent of the time I will be using it with a calibrated display for photo work, so it doesn’t really matter.

Other than that main gripe, the battery life claim of 8-9 hours is just not realistic from what I have observed. As one of my colleagues said in an email, “maybe in a dark room staring at the wallpaper with no wi-fi on and display set to 10% brightness.” That about sums it up. I saw 4.5 hours under normal usage, wi-fi on, display 90% – while composing text, surfing web, responding to email, working on some files in Lightroom, and watching the occasional productivity killing YouTube video. I actually got better battery performance out of my 17-inch unibody. This is no deal breaker by any means. To be able to get 4-5 hours out of a high performance laptop while away from AC power is fine by me, it is just a little strange that Apple would claim 9 hours.

Overall, the new models represent a significant performance boost to the previous line of 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pros. While it may not be worth upgrading from a 2009 model, it really comes down to what you are doing with the machine. I personally saw valuable performance gains, but not everyone is editing photos/video on a daily basis.

The good:

• Top-notch performance from a portable, I have never used a faster laptop
• Great battery life, even though not the 8-9 hours claimed
• Best Trackpad out there, new inertial scrolling is great (works like the iPhone)
• I’m a huge fan of the chicklet style keyboards that Apple has made their new standard
• Practical, attractive, and environmentally friendly design
• New low profile Mag-Safe connector is cool

The not so good:

• Not a fan of the super reflective glass display, 1440 display on my unit seems slightly washed out
• SD card reader built in? Thought this was for pros, where is the CF
• No ExpressCard on the 15-inch model
• Wish there was a third USB port on 15-inch model
• Not much in the box, forced to buy remote/MDP-to-DVI cable – two things that used to be included gratis

A few months back I determined it was imperative that my aging Lane Furnishings leather “executive chair” take on an early retirement. Lacking the proper support for days spent in front of a computer I went in search of an affordable ergonomic chair. After sitting in about 20 chairs at Staples and Office Max (or maybe it was Office Depot) I felt discouraged. Most of them were overpriced, gimmicky, and unsupportive. I quickly realized I wasn’t going to find my pick in a retail office supply store.

My next step was Costco, they had a decent selection online and the prices were certainly better than paying retail. I considered the Herman Miller Equa Chair, but $299.99 seemed like a lot for such an unattractive little chair (I did test it at our local Costco, and it was very comfortable and supportive). My eyes then gravitated towards the Space AirGrid chair, at $169.99 shipped it was one of the better deals out there. However, being an online-only product, I was unable to take the AirGrid out for a test drive. After a few moments spent further researching the chair I said what the heck and added it to my shopping cart.

Fast-forward a week or so, I had the chair assembled in about 10 minutes and took my first seat. Not bad, not bad at all. Fast-forward a few hours – not good. The main issue with this chair, aside from the base being too large for me, was the fact that it did not go low enough. When you are sitting in an office chair your feet should be flat on the floor as to alleviate pressure under your thighs and encourage proper posture. I loved the design of the chair, but unfortunately it did not fit me.

By this time I was quite frustrated. I had been to multiple stores, sat in dozens of chairs, and still could not locate an affordable ergonomic “all day” chair. On a whim I decided to search for Herman Miller’s masterpiece, the Aeron Chair. I stumbled upon a site that offered last years models of the basic chair for a discount and decided to go for it. At school, our library was stocked with Aeron desk and side chairs – it didn’t take long before I became partial to that pellicle weave.

Now that I have the Aeron in my office (picked up a size B) I can work straight through the day with minimal breaks. My back is fully supported; no pressure accumulates in any one spot throughout my entire body. The Aeron Chair is quite possibly the best investment I have ever made. When you think about it, you spend the greater portions of your day in two places: sleeping in your bed, and sitting at your desk. Therefore, wouldn’t it make sense to invest in a quality mattress and a phenomenal office chair? I think so.

Many thanks to Herman Miller, and all the researchers that had their part in creating such a great place to sit.

In what may be the slickest design for a USB thumb drive yet, LaCie’s iamaKey brings 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB of storage to a drive no thicker than your house key. Measuring just over two inches in length, this little guy features USB 2.0 transfer speeds, PC and Mac compatibility, and the ability to blend right in with the other keys on your key ring.

The first thing you notice when you pick up the iamaKey is the build quality. The device feels rock solid. Its simple construction is also quite beautiful. No plastic, no blinking LED’s, just a thin metal casing adorned with a lightly imprinted company logo. The connector end is about half the size of a standard USB cable. These new thin connectors do away with the metal casing surrounding the USB contacts. It is best illustrated by this photo. As far as performance goes, I was able to transfer 1GB of files from a LaCie 1TB external hard drive in about three  minutes. This time was about one minute faster than it took to transfer the same files to the old SanDisk drive it was replacing. Another great thing about this drive is how small the connector end is. I was able to plug it into my MacBook Pro along side all the other USB cables. This is something I could not do with my previous USB drive because it was wider than a normal USB cable. With savings of time and space, what more can you ask for?

If you are looking for a stylish device to replace your old, boring USB flash drive (or a great stocking stuffer for the upcoming holiday season), look no further. Starting at around $22 for the 4GB version, this smart little device is one of the best USB drives I have had the pleasure of reviewing.

October 25th, 2009

Over the last decade or so, we consumers have had the word “convergence” thrown at us in every which way. “In the future”, they said, “there will be no more computers. You see, your computer will be your TV, and your TV, well, that will be your computer.” That’s what they’ve been saying, and it is not like they haven’t tried. Manufacturers have made various attempts to bring this dream into reality, but have found very little success. See, it’s not that consumers are turned off by the idea of having the ability to use their home TV as a computer, it’s just that it is not practical to do so. Sure, you can plop down a wireless keyboard and mouse onto your coffee table, but try to use that setup to do any real work and you will be longing for your computer desk. The point of my rambling isn’t to clue these “media center” folk into making a more practical hybrid TV/computer system, but rather identify where the real convergence will take place over the course of the next few years.  Cue in advanced wireless home networks, smart phones, super fast Internet connections, and of course, social media networks/Web 3.0. These are the components that will work together to shape the next generation of entertainment, lifestyle, and communication convergence.

Wireless home networks
It wasn’t long ago that the wireless network was viewed as a luxury item. Like any new computer technology, wireless networking was slow, expensive, and required a bit of computer savvy to get things up and running. Fast forward to present day, wireless routers can be had for less than $40, their transfer speed, for the most part, rivals that of a physical connection, and many are now offering media serving options through simple software installation or a USB connection. This is the first major step in true convergence – to get all of the devices in a household or office talking to one another. With a speedy wireless network, all it takes is a manufacturer to build a wireless radio into their product to get it integrated into a home’s network.

The doors are now open to more creative uses of wireless communication, mainly having to do with home automation. Want your refrigerator to log and report it’s temperature? Not a problem. Want to turn your oven on from your cell phone? Again, all it takes is an oven capable of accessing your homes wireless network. Things like having the ability to control and monitor your homes electrical and heating systems from any desktop will soon seem commonplace. This level of home automation will increase exponentially as the younger generation comes into home ownership and the cost of the technology comes down. However, the smart home revolution that is upon us is a different story altogether. Could all of this have been done without the proliferation of wireless networking? Of course. But the likelihood of the average homeowner installing an Ethernet jack behind their refrigerator was not good, to say the least. Wireless, for lack of a better expression, cut the cord and made it possible for anyone to extend high-speed network communication to every nook and cranny of their home. Now that homes are on the “on the grid”, what better way to communicate with them than from your mobile phone?

Smart phones
While sales of traditional cell phones have plateaued, the number of smart phones being sold is increasing exponentially. Consumers are realizing the power and convenience of mobile email, web, and the host of other things that these miniature computers are capable of. The smart phone will be the universal remote to control a person’s television, computer, and eventually, their home. Home automation companies such as Crestron, Lifeware, and Z-Wave have already discovered that the iPhone makes a great home automation remote and they are developing systems around it. It will only be a matter of time before your handheld email machine will be unlocking your front door, turning on the A/C, and preheating the oven – all with the tap of a finger.

Broadband Internet
Commonly used as a term to refer to anything faster than dial-up, broadband Internet has finally reached the tipping point for U.S. consumers. With proliferation to more than two-thirds of U.S. homes, we are finally starting to catch up with the rest of the developed world. However, it is only the new, super fast Internet that allow for the proliferation of the multimedia/device convergence. Powered primarily by fiber optics, this new generation of broadband brings speeds ranging from 15 to 50 Mbps. At these speeds a household can run multiple computers, gaming consoles, and various other devices all at the same time with no noticeable degradation of Internet performance. These are the networks that will allow for the downloading of high definition video content in minutes rather than hours, and provide the necessary bandwidth for the advanced home networking and automation systems. This ultrafast broadband will also make possible the seamless integration of the final ingredient in our convergence stew, social media.

Social Media
Status updates, tweets, blogs, forums, wish lists, user reviews, likes, diggs… The list goes on. There’s no denying it folks, social media is here to stay. But how is all this connected to the impending real world convergence we so eloquently speak of? Well, now that our homes are one big, super fast wireless network, with all of our devices talking to one another, what better than to bring Facebook, Twitter, Google, Netflix, and Amazon to the party. Stay with me now. Let’s say you just came in after a long day of work. All you want to do is collapse on the couch and fire up that new 46 inch LCD TV. You press the guide button in search of a good show, but instead of scanning through channels you click “recommend.” This new social media powered recommendation feature has just analyzed data from your Facebook account, Netflix profile, and Amazon Wishlist to generate a real time recommendation of shows beginning in the next five minutes. Taking it one step further, you also are granted access to Netflix streaming media, YouTube, and Amazon Video on Demand. You find a show that was recommended to you because of 22 “Facebook likes” from friends, 89% compatibility to your Netflix Queue, and 14 movies in your Amazon Wishlist. After you press play, your Facebook and Twitter status both are updated, informing friends of what you’re watching – your Gmail status switches to busy, and your voicemail greeting changes from your professional greeting to your personal one. This all may sound a bit intrusive (and anyone familiar with the Facebook Beacon debacle would probably agree) but evidence gathered from the actions of Generation Z would suggest otherwise. This generation, born after 1990, wants to broadcast their likes, activities, and opinions to anyone who will listen.

What’s Next?
The decentralization brought upon us by wireless broadband networking, laptop computers, and smart phones is changing the way we incorporate technology into our daily lives. From the way we network our homes, to the social networks we participate in, the real convergence of communication, entertainment, and computing has begun. Imagine telling someone five years ago that you were video chatting with your mom on the living room TV, ordering takeout from a touch screen phone, and wirelessly downloading a high definition movie to your laptop, they would have thought you were crazy. Just imagine what the next five years will bring.

These days, with all the docks, card readers, hubs, chargers, etc. desk space comes at a premium. To help free up some of that valuable real estate Griffin Technology has made a device appropriately named “Simplifi.” Think of Simplifi as a an iPod dock on steroids. In addition to charging your iPod or iPhone, it will read your digital camera’s memory cards, and give you two additional USB ports.

Simplifi is made from a brushed aluminum chassis that will look right at home next to your MacBook Pro (don’t worry it goes well with all computers, even PC’s!) On the top you will find a universal dock bay that accepts a number of plates (the plates are plastic pieces that snap in to the larger opening, each one made for a specific iPod or iPhone). Griffin supplies you with plates for all the most popular iPods and all iPhones. The front features two media slots, one for SD/xD/Memory stick, the other for Compact Flash. On the back you will find the power input (device is powered by a wall adapter as to not drain your computers USB bus power), mini USB to connect it to your computer with included cable, and finally two USB ports that can be used for a mouse, printer, or any other device you may want easy access to.

The device measures in at about four inches wide by three inches deep and features a rubber base which prevents it from moving around. Build quality is excellent, transfer speeds are fast, and the device is compatible with both PC’s and Macs. At $69.99, this gadget isn’t for everyone. However, if you are looking for a way to free up some desk space and get the added convenience of a multi-function dock, this is the product for you.

Last week when I sat down at my desk two black monitors stared back at me. I thought to myself, great, another logic board bites the dust. But after a more careful inspection I was able to determine that the ’07 MacBook Pro was functioning from behind it’s black veil. I was able to start it up and shut it down as normal, the volume feedback alert sounds were also still working. Strange. Then I remembered about the Nvidia 8600 graphics card that was recalled back in October of 2008 – Bingo!

I scheduled an appointment at the Burlington Massachusetts Apple Store that evening. The next morning, with fingers crossed, I made the trip up north. I arrived exactly at 10:45am and within a few minutes I was seated at the Genius Bar. A quick hardware test revealed that it was indeed a graphics failure – Even better, it would be covered by the 2-year extended “graphics card related issues” warranty. A wave of relief swept over me, and my wallet came out from hiding. I asked the “Genius” what I needed to do in order to initiate the repair. He responded with one sheet of paper requiring only my signature. Does it get any easier than that? Finally, thinking the repair would most likely take a few days I asked him when I could expect it back. The Genius informed me that it should be all set by the following morning. Needless to say, I left the Apple Store with a smile on my face.

1:50pm, same day. Phone rings, it is the Apple Store. A pit forms in my stomach, thinking they found something else wrong with the laptop and I would need to pay out of pocket to get it repaired. Nope, they were calling to tell me it was all set. Yes, 3 hours later they had made the repair. While this has not been my first experience with Apple’s warranty service, it was the first time I used the Genius Bar. I am very impressed. Apple seems to have come up with a very streamlined process for handling in- and out-of-warranty repairs for their full line of product. A+

June 1st, 2009
Update: Apple has extended the NVIDIA repair policy an additional year. See below excerpt from MacRumors.com:

…At that same time, NVIDIA assured Apple that Mac computers with these graphics processors were not affected. However, after an Apple-led investigation, Apple has determined that some MacBook Pro computers with the NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor may be affected. If the NVIDIA graphics processor in your MacBook Pro has failed, or fails within three years of the original date of purchase, a repair will be done free of charge, even if your MacBook Pro is out of warranty.
The reason for the extension is not detailed. Affected MacBook Pros may developed the following symptoms:

- Distorted or scrambled video on the computer screen
- No video on the computer screen (or external display) even though the computer is on

Possibly affected models include:

- MacBook Pro (17-Inch, 2.4GHz)
- MacBook Pro (15-Inch, 2.4/2.2GHz)
- MacBook Pro (Early 2008)

April 8th, 2009

10 Years Ago

The year is 1999. Apple releases the iMac DV, a convection-cooled, all-in-one personal computer capable of editing digital video. iMac DV ships with a 400MHz processor, 64MB of RAM, and a 10-gigabyte Ultra ATA internal hard drive. The average cost of hard drive space is roughly $17.95 per gigabyte.

Fast forward to present day. Just for comparison, the current 24inch iMac ships with a 1 terabyte hard drive. Average cost per gigabyte has plummeted to roughly $0.11. A 500 gigabyte hard drive is now one of the more common hard drive sizes, with 1000 gigabytes (1TB) nipping at its heals.

Now, I could get into the technical advancements that made all this possible, but I think it is more interesting to examine what all this storage space will make possible. Think about never needing to delete a file to free up hard drive space, or keeping a real time back up of every single one of your files, for not much more than a days pay. All this is now possible, and it is just going to get less expensive.

Infinite Storage

The thing about 10 years ago was the fact that there really wasn’t much to store on that 10 gigabyte hard drive. Sure, MP3 audio files were certainly gaining in popularity, and the Internet based video revolution was igniting, but no enough consumers were armed with a fast enough Internet connection to really take advantage of any of it. Today, the need for volume storage reaches out to nearly every individual with a computer on his or her desk. Digital still cameras, digital video cameras, music downloads, video downloads, cumbersome operating systems and programs are all driving this need.

What makes all this hard drive storage space a lot more exciting is the advent of google-like search functionality now being built directly into computers operating systems. Apple has had their search function (spotlight) since 2005, while windows just jumped on the bandwagon with Vista (instant search). These system wide integrated search functions work by indexing files in real time and storing a database of both file and content keywords. Here’s an example of how useful these search features are: over a year ago your sister sends you a recipe for a coconut upside down cake, you have no idea when she sent the email and you have no idea what the subject header was – no problem. Just search coconut upside down and within seconds you will have a listing of every document containing those terms. Now imagine being able to find any photo, any word document, any song, anything using this search. Fast forward to 10 years from now, the year is 2019. I would envision we have one solid state hard drive capable of storing hundreds of terabytes of information. Think about how amazing it will be when all it takes to access a photo of your child on her 2nd birthday is a few keywords. Or your thesis you wrote senior year of undergrad – type “thesis” and within seconds you have access to it. Mind you, this little demonstration doesn’t take into consideration any changes in format that may occur in this fictitious 10 year fast-forward, but that is a different conversation altogether. Another important component of all this speedy and accurate searching for files and content is called metadata.

Metadata

Meta what? Metadata is by definition a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. Take a photograph for example, a content driven search engine would return nothing on a photograph unless you personally named the file a descriptive caption. Chances are the file name looks something like this: IMG_6172.jpg – not going to be of any help when searching on terms like 1999 BBQ Cape Cod. However, with the inclusion of metadata one is able to “tag” this photo file with any information that describes the image. Most of the popular photo software can load this data en mass right after loading the photos from the digital camera. Now you can take a roll of photos with the year “1999” Month “June” Place “Cape Cod” and event “Jane’s 4th birthday”. Much of this metadata is also automatically populated with details on the camera used to take the photo, exposure settings, ISO, shutter speed, etc. Also, in the coming years cameras with a function known as geotagging will automatically tag the geographic location the photo was taken. When your digital photo software loads the image, this location will be stored in metadata and 5 years from now when searching for that photo you took in Boston, you will find it with ease.

Safe Keeping

Data stored on the personal computer is now just that, personal. 10 years ago when someone’s hard drive failed leaving all the data lost forever, it most likely was not the end of the world. Today, we store thousands of priceless files on these fickle spinning magnetic plates. As you can imagine, the need for a reliable system to back up these photos, songs, diary entries, etc. has become extraordinarily important. Currently the number of PC users backing up all their files on a daily or weekly basis is unknown, but a 2006 survey conducted by Symantec found that 43% of users had never backed up their computer. Given the exponential cost decreases in external hard drives that has occurred over the past 3 years one could only assume this number has gone down. It is my though that even if these users are backing up, they aren’t doing it regularly or completely. The safest way to backup files locally is to purchase an external hard drive equal to the size of your main hard drive and a backup program daily or weekly. The best backup program will not only backup your files, but your programs and settings as well. In the case of a hard drive failure, the user can simply boot off their external hard drive and restore all that was lost. The advent of system integrated backup such as Apple’s “Time Machine” will certainly provide an easy way for the common PC user to back up their files, but they still need to purchase an external hard drive and enable this feature.

Local backups will also only get you so far, in the case of a natural disaster, fire or flood your data as well as its backup will likely be destroyed. The only way around this is to act like larger corporations and engage in offsite data storage. A number of services exist that provide this offsite storage, but if a large amount of data is in need of safekeeping, it may not be worth the high price tag (iBackup.com gets $599.99 monthly to backup the 1TB hard drive that came with your iMac). A more cost efficient but less secure method is to keep your own removable hard drive to be moved off site. Bus powered compact drives are currently available in 500 gigabyte sizes for less than $100.00. Simply bring this drive with you to work on Monday and back home on Friday to perform a fresh backup. It may be worth while encrypting this drive with a password in case it is lost or stolen.

Conclusion

Just as the personal computer, the advent of endless data storage will revolutionize the way we use computers. We now have instant access to photos, videos, documents, financial records, email conversations as well as the ability to forever archive them.

Of course there will always be the privacy implications when it comes to storing all this data, but this is shared with many of the activities being carried out in the web 2.0 environment. The coming years of personal computing are going to be very exciting, and dirt cheap high capacity storage is just one of reason why.

- Louis Abate