Data Back-up

Paranoia is a constant problem when it come to my photo archive. Awhile ago I was introduced to a program that would help with keeping my files synced on multiple hard drives. The program Carbon Copy Cloner looked to be just the thing that I needed. Plus it doesn't cost anything. It would just check to see if there were any changes made and then copy them over to the back-up drive. After the first back-up, which could take some time, only modified files would be copied over. This makes for quick back-ups between multiple drives.

The only thing that could have made this program better would be if it was cross platform compatible. Right now Carbon Copy Cloner is only for Macintosh computers. Since I only have PCs, it really didn't do me any good. I have been on the hunt for something that would be similar to it on the PC. Knowing that I need to back-up my files I keep searching for a program that would work. I spent a couple of months looking at back-up programs like Norton Ghost and a few others ,but they never did what I wanted. After almost giving up, I decided to start from ground zero. Unfortunately I was using the wrong terminology. I asked myself just what did the program actually do. Check to see if there were new files and then transfer them to another location. Once I started looking for syncing programs everything started looking up. I found Allway Sync.

It works almost identical to what I was looking for. Plus it too was also free. Now I have my photos on four separate hard drives and peace of mind. There is nothing better.

The New Pen and Paper

(Update the video has been pulled because of the unauthorized use of the Nike symbol.)

Courier User Interface from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

This maybe a conceptual idea from Microsoft, but I really like it. I hear everyone is waiting for Apple’s announcement of a new tablet computer, which from rumors will be I big iPhone, but I think I will like this a little bit more. If it come to market the way it is shown here then it would be an amazing thing for me to use at school to organize my notes. The old pen and paper notebook might just become a thing of the past. One of the key features that I like about this design is that it looks like something that I am already familiar with. The good old pen and paper. A problem that I might have with Apple’s Tablet is that none of the rumors talk about it having a pen. I think it would be easier for me to jot down notes in a class with a styles then it would for me hitting a virtual keyboard. The interface of this device also seems to be a little more appealing to me. I like the idea of two screens. It is the way I look though most binders and note books right now. Plus when I open an application or program it should not cover up the whole screen like it might on a single display screen. I am really looking forward to this technology. Right now I am thinking this would be a good way to draw up comps and sketch ideas for some of my photo shoots. Hopefully this come to market the way it is looking in the concept video and not some watered down version of this.

Original story about the Microsoft “Courier” can be found on Gizmoto.