After 5 faithful years of service, my cell phone started to show its age and its unwillingness to work reliably with my cell phone service, Verizon Wireless. Being that I’d made my cell phone last as long as it did, my wife and I decided to move to smart phones.

I upgraded to the HTC Touch Pro2 and I convinced my wife she should get the Motorola Droid. Within two weeks of our purchase, I’d traded my HTC in for a Motorola Droid of my own. I’m an avid Windows user and I’ve worked with a few Windows Mobile devices. But the features in the Droid were too compelling.

It’s been four months and I couldn’t be happier.

The Motorola Droid has successfully replaced all the gadgets I’d walked around with. It performs it’s primary function as a cell phone very well. The intuitive interface made it easy to work with right from the get go.

Of course, phone functionality isn’t it’s only feature. The multimedia experience it present made it very easy to move from my Sansa mp3 player to the Droid. I’ll be the first one to admit that it’s no Apple iPod. But, it does cover the basics and I’m able to play music as well as work with playlists. When it comes to media, it’s not music that I’m centered around. It’s podcasts. Using the Android Marketplace, I quickly found an application that suited my podcast needs, ACast. I’m able to easily manage and listen to my favorite podcast producers.

The Droid also easily took the place of my PDA. (Of course, that wasn’t too hard since I lost my Palm Zire about the same time that I picked up the Droid.) The contacts and calendar portions of this phone hook right into Google’s Gmail and Calendar applications. I can manage my contacts and calendar from my phone or from my computer using a web browser. If you’re inputting contacts into your brand new Droid, using the web interface will speed up the process.

Consolidating three devices down to one was great. But, the most liberating feature was that I wasn’t tied to my desktop anymore. With my PDA and my mp3 player, I was constantly connecting them to my computer to synchronize everything. Now, the synchronization happens over the air via my data plan. No matter where I am, my contacts, calendar, podcasts and music are all current. Syncing my podcasts was a daily ritual I followed religiously. Now, my podcasts just appear on my Droid as they get released.

I still consider Google Android to be an enthusiast platform. It’s been around for a year and a half and it’s already up to version 2.1 (soon to be 2.2). But Apple’s iPhone is coming up on its third anniversary.  The iPhone has obviously gone through many iterations producing an efficient, user-friendly interface. The Android is functional, but more utilitarian. It’s pretty, but not polished.

The potential that Google Android contains is its biggest advantage over the iPhone. Android is an open platform with a large group of developers flying the Google flag. Google is viewed as less restrictive and less tied to the DRM mindset. Each new Android phone I see seems to outshine it’s predecessor. Most importantly, the platform is not limited to a single manufacturer or carrier. Companies such as Motorola, HTC, LG and Samsung can be found on various carriers, such as AT&T, T-mobile, Sprint and Verizon. Competition not only drives innovation, it also promotes incentives and reduced retail prices.

Google Maps was another feature that quickly drew my attention. Google coupled this with a GPS and turn by turn navigation. Not only could I get a bird’s eye view of traffic conditions for the commute to and from work, but it’s also helped me concentrate on the road when I’ve needed to travel to a location I’ve never been to before.

Just as the iPhone has iTunes, Google Android has it’s own Application Marketplace. Once again, it’s not as polished as Apple’s software, but it does the basics. You can search for applications, read reviews and see how often an application has been downloaded. I’ve easily found an application for each of my needs and there’s always something new in the marketplace to fiddle with.

Motorola and Google are partners. Google can give suggestions to Motorola in designing the handset and Motorola can make suggestions to Google about functionality in Android. But, they don’t have direct control over one another. Rather than discussing what I’d like to see in the Droid, I’d rather break it into what I’d like to see from each team.

Motorola/Verizon

• Improve the camera. A smart phone with this much storage should replace the standard point and shoot. That means greatly improved reaction time and better quality pictures.
• Physical keyboard. I like the on screen keyboard, but I also like the real estate that a pop out keyboard gives me. The Droid keyboard was usable, until a put a protective case around the Droid’s exterior. The top row of keys became too awkward to use.
• Keep the updates coming. I’m a feature freak and the worst thing someone can do is sell me a device and stop releasing updates for it before the end of its life. I re-upped my contract for two years for this phone and I expect to get more than two years out of my phone. As new versions of Google Android get released, I’d like to see them come to my Droid.

Google

• The media player needs an update. It needs to turn into a polished media player which can complete with the iPod as a consumer device.
• Add more Gmail features to the Gmail application. Contact management should be friendlier and intuitive. (I’d also like to be able to use the same “send as” features on my phone as I do in Gmail… but that might be too much to ask for.)
• Variety for the navigation voice. People need more options when it comes to the voice that delivers the turn by turn navigation. I find it abrasive and a bit difficult to understand at time. I also can’t figure out how to get it to repeat it’s last instruction.

Overall, I’m quite happy with the decision to move to the Motorola Droid. The flexibility and ease of use has made life a little easier for my wife and me. For the first time in a decade, I can see the true emergence of the true smart phone and the role it will play in our lives. Our monthly cost may have risen, but not significantly. (Check to see if you’re employer has special deals with your cell phone carrier.) While it’s still higher than I feel it should be, I’m also gambling that cell phone services plans will eventually come to their senses… or to their knees… whichever comes first.

Video sites similar to YouTube and Hulu have been instrumental in showing the value of streaming video over the Internet. The public has proven they yearn to be free of the evening line-up and make TV fit their schedule rather than the other way around. Many broadcast companies and media outlets have added alternative methods for the distributing television shows, movies and other video content.

Current strides in multimedia delivery mechanisms are also showing the big conglomerates that consumers don’t always want to be tied to their computer when interacting with multimedia via the Internet.  Take for instance the Apple TV or Netflix‘s arrangement with Microsoft’s Xbox. People feel validated that they didn’t throw away $2,000.00 on a new flat panel, high definition TV. Let’s face it, the couch in front of the TV is more comfortable than the chair in front of the computer. Plus, it seats more.

My family has been enjoying (and by using I mean paying for) Netflix in conjunction with out Xbox for well over a year. (Netflix requires that you have an “unlimited plan” and Xbox requires you have a Gold membership. Very inexpensive for what you get.) Yes, we still enjoy receiving DVDs in the mail and actively manage our Netflix queue; but we’ve elected to receive only one movie at a time. I see little to no difference in the quality of a DVD in hand versus the same movie streamed to my home. DVDs allow us to see deleted scenes and outtakes. However, the streaming side of it means that we don’t have to tie up our Netflix queue with a few TV shows for our son. Wow does he love Kipper!

Netflix has really pushed ahead of its competitors. More and more Netflix enabled devices are being sold in the market. I’m not just talking about black boxes that connect to the Internet and your TV like the Roku. Some televisions are coming with Netflix baked right in!

I really hope companies like Netflix, Hulu, Boxee, Microsoft and Apple continue to forge forward and break new ground. We can’t get complacent because we’re not just there yet. These technologies are friendly to most, but not to all. One annoyance that pops up is the lack of subtitles.   Enthusiasts still want to be able to access the deleted scenes, outtakes and commentaries associated with the movies and TV series. Most importantly, there’s too much fracturing and bickering as to the delivery mechanism. There’s no one central place to get all of your movies and shows due to fragmentation. Not all of them are TV friendly.

Let me clarify that last point. I think it’s essential that media companies have their own methods for distributing their content. However, it’s just as important that they allow third party hardware and software vendors distribute that content as well. This allows the public to choose how they receive content rather than being forced to have multiple devices in their living room.

Mark my words. Our culture is moving away from physical media. Just as the current generation has thousands of songs and very few CDs, so it will be with the next generation with movies and TV shows.

Of all the tasks that a re-installation entails, the one that caused me the most friction was restoring my bookmarks. Our family uses multiple browsers, on multiple computers. While losing them wouldn’t be the end of the world, it’d mean the loss of a database of information that’s taken years to build.

This lead to my discovery of Xmarks (formally known as Foxmarks).  Of all the features that Xmarks has to offer, these stood out:

1. Xmarks is easy to use
2. Xmarks works with multiple browsers
3. Xmarks syncs bookmarks between computers (using SSL)
4. Xmarks allows me to access my bookmarks online

Xmarks is easy to install and use. You’ll need to create an account with Xmarks. Once that’s complete, you’re up and running. Periodically, the Xmarks application connects to it’s servers and checks to see that all the bookmarks you’ve collected are saved.

Since Xmarks stores your bookmarks online, it’s great for keeping bookmarks synchronized between computers. If I do some internet research using the laptop in the morning, but in the evening my wife is using the laptop, it’s not a problem. I jump onto my desktop machine and away I go. In addition to that, if you select the SSL synchronization method (and I always recommend doing that), I know that the communication between my computer and Xmark’s servers will be encrypted and secure.

When it’s time to reinstall my computer, or setup shop on a new one, recovering my bookmarks is a breeze. I install the Xmarks software and let it pull down my bookmarks to the computer.

I usually don’t take my laptop (or desktop for that matter) to work. Every once and a while, that puts me in a pinch if I need to remember some neat coding trick that I learned at home, but could apply to work. Luckily, if I log into my Xmarks portal, I can search for the bookmark I’m looking for.

While I’m a fan of Xmarks, it may not be right for everyone. Xmarks, just like every other company, needs to pay its bills and staff. The way they do this is by creating their own search/recommendation engine based on everyone’s bookmarks. If you think about it, it’s a brilliant idea.  And if you’re not interested in searching what Xmarks has to offer, or being offered recommended sites, this can be disabled in the settings area.

Now, if you’ve got highly sensitive URLs, make sure that you log into Xmark’s website and opt-out of contributing to the bookmark database. This means that your bookmarks will still be synced online, but they won’t be used when sites are recommended to other people.  It’s very important to remember, even though you’ve opted out, your bookmarks are still out there in the internet. Anyone with access to Xmark’s database of bookmarks (that includes Xmarks staff and persons that could potentially gain illegal access) can peruse around everyone’s links. Just do what you’re most comfortable with, and doesn’t violate any of the network/privacy rules where you work.

Personally, I don’t like the “all in” or “all out” method for contributing to Xmark’s bookmark database. There are plenty of URLs that I have no problem sharing. I’d just like to have a bit more control, at a granular level, over which websites I place in the bookmark database.

Since Xmarks stores your account username and password, don’t install it on a public computer.  You may also want to have separate profiles or accounts to keep your personal bookmarks separate from the bookmarks you use for work.

Overall, Xmarks is a great addition to my web browsing experience. It’s simple to use, relatively secure and very useful in a multi-computer environment. For me, it’s a must have!

This article is not meant to highlight the need for tighter programming practices, the constant bombardment of patches pushed into users’ faces or a need to move to a more secure alternative. These are all valid points that deserve consideration in the future. Rather, I would dive into the reasons behind “patching” and the imperative need for users to keep their systems up-to-date.

In any programming project, the bigger the undertaking, the larger the amount of resources that needs to be managed. In the case of Windows, this titan weighs in at 40 million lines of code. Over the course of the past twenty some years, the concept and design has been the work of thousands of people including Software Engineers, Quality Assurance Testers and so forth. If we focus on Software Engineers alone, we’ll see that they come from all walks of life. Having a wide variety of employees leads to age gaps, differences in programming styles and varying knowledge levels in the art of programming. By grouping them into various divisions, teams and work groups, Microsoft manages to get many different pieces of software out to the consumers. But even with a workforce this massive, the building blocks are still the individual people; people with flaws, bad days, knowledge gaps and demanding tasks deadline. Ultimately, this can lead to flaws in programs we use every day.

These flaws, also known as bugs, are greatly varied. Some bugs are very small that they are barely noticeable. Other flaws might prevent a program from operating properly or even at all. Critical bugs are those which if exploited, would give unauthorized users complete and possibly undetectable access to a computer and all the information it contains. An exploit is another name for a way a bug can be used to gain access to a system or make it do things it normally would not. (Wikipedia has a much better explanation.)

There are many ways in which bugs are discovered. Before a company officially releases a software product, it generally go through rigorous internal testing. After the official release, bug may be discovered by research companies or in the worst case, hackers. Each discovered imperfection is categorized, prioritized and cataloged. The severity of the flaw greatly affects when it will be fixed, tested and released to the masses. For instance, a bug where the background picture is off color has a lower severity than an issue with Windows permits a computer to be compromised.

There are two possible scenarios that exist when bugs are found in Microsoft Windows or one of Microsoft’s tightly nit programs such as Internet Explorer. The best case situation is that the flaw is fixed and distributed to the public before it can be exploited. The less friendly scenario occurs when hackers with nefarious intentions discover the flaw and start attacking computers before a patch can be released. Amazingly enough, the best case situation isn’t the most perfect. This is because Microsoft has empowered the user to decide how and when patches are applied to the Operating System. This makes sense in some cases, but not the general case. When patches are released, Microsoft strongly encourages everyone to download and apply them.

But why the urgency? Why should a patch be applied right away? Could it really hurt to hold off a day or so? The answer is a resounding YES! When a patch for Windows it is available to the general public and doesn’t exclude any particular group, such as hackers. Hackers immediately begin to tear into the patch to find out what is being patched and how. By doing this, they can easily understand (reverse engineer) the flaw and exploit it to gain unrestricted access to all computers in the world which have not applied the patch. For example, there were patches released the beginning of April for Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. Exploits appeared on the Internet within three days of the patch’s release.

The same issue which plagues Microsoft Windows also affects other mainstream programs. Another example would be Microsoft Office. Various exploits have been found in all the Microsoft Office applications which can allow hackers to compromise machines by opening Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents created with the intention of exploiting certain bugs. An e-mail specifically designed to take advantage of a flaw in Outlook can easily give hackers and open door to your computer.

The key is to stay ahead of the hackers. One way to make sure your computer stays up to date is by turning on Microsoft Automatic Updates. This can be done from the Control Panel and opening System Properties. Once there, click the Automatic Updates tab and select the Automatic (recommended) setting. Most people choose the “Every day at 3:00am” option.

When it comes to Automatic Updates, “Set it and forget it” doesn’t apply here. Users should visit Microsoft Update on a regular basis to verify that there are no outstanding critical updates for Windows and Office. (If you don’t see a category for Office patches, there should be an option on the right to allow Microsoft Update to patch all Microsoft Products, including Microsoft Office.) Also, the Windows Firewall should be on by default.

Lastly, Automatic Updates, Firewalls and Anti-Virus software should be considered second line defenses. The first line of defense is the person sitting in front of the computer. Beware where you surf. Don’t say “YES” to a pop-up just because it’s too confusing to understand. Don’t open unexpected attachments in e-mails. Try to use common sense and if you have questions, ask or Google for answers.

If a majority of the computer in the world were kept up to date the amount of computer issues would reduce. There would be less botnet activity. Spam would decrease along with identity theft and other untold horrors.

Hulu.com is the combine efforts of various television networks and movie studios to compete with the YouTube and YouTube look-a-likes. One of the major struggles between major networks and video content sites is the control of copyrighted content. People want to be able to post clips and mash ups of their favorite shows whereas networks want to make money from their copyrighted material. If the networks can’t control the content, how can they monetize on the material?

Hulu.com makes its money from advertisements, similar to TV commercials. Each time you view a video, it’s preceded by a commercial, and if the video is long enough, may have commercial breaks. What makes these commercials tolerable, is the fact that there is a count down timer showing the amount of time left in the commercial. Oh, and while you can fast forward and rewind the videos, you cannot do so during commercials. New text/picture based sponsors are appearing on the site but I don’t find these intrusive either.

At the time of its public launch, Hulu.com had been populated with a wide variety of clips, complete TV episodes and a few movies. Even now it continues to amass more episodes and movies as it acquires additional distribution rights. Additionally, Hulu.com has a plan for adding new episodes to the series it hosts. Each new episode is added after it plays in Hawaii.

Access to new TV shows is an instant plus, there is another clear win here as well. Hulu.com is also populating its service with older shows. I’ve really enjoyed watching some episodes from shows I watched when I was a kid, such as Airwolf and The A-Team. If I had wanted to watch these elsewhere, I would need to buy each season or rent it. I would much rather watch the commercials rather than dishing out any money to see these shows.

Hulu.com has implemented this media content site very well. The ease of use and quality of content is very compelling. However, having controlled content does have its risks. The site is only populated with content approved by the cooperating networks and movie studios. Users are unable to add their own mash-ups and mixes to the site. Additionally, Hulu.com needs to weed through the red tape in order to add new/vintage content. This takes time.

The features available in Hulu.com seem to run along the same lines as any other media distribution site. It allows you to rate episodes and movies. Streamed videos can be seen as is, in a separate box or even full-screen. Likewise, preferred content can be distributed to social groups via e-mail or some other popular social networking sites such as Facebook, StumbleUpon and Digg. Users may also create play lists of videos they wish to watch. All these features look great, but there are no new innovations.

One of the features I wish to see developed relates to RSS. (If you’re unsure what I mean by RSS, have a look at this article I wrote.) In this instance, I found as I looked at the “Recently Added” and “Most Popular” categories for TV Episodes (not clips) and Movies, there was a friendly RSS symbol in my browser. I thought to myself: “How neat! Perhaps I can subscribe to feeds to specific TV Shows. Or, see when new Movies are posted.” Alas, I was disheartened. While the pages of these areas offer specific information I was looking for, the RSS Feeds are not as granular. Meaning, if I subscribed to the Recently Added Movies feed, I received a feed that listed all new content as it was added. Movies would be mixed in with newly added TV Shows and Clips.

Overall, Hulu.com is impressive with a vast amount of potential. This is the way TV was meant to be. The content should fit around the peoples schedule rather than the other way around. Now, just get it to stream to my XBOX360 and I will be ecstatic!

Here are some other shows available on Hulu.com that I recommend: Firefly, Eureka, The Pretender and the Original Battlestar Galactica.

UPDATE: Thank you to Ilya, a software engineer at Hulu, for an insightful comment.

In this modern age, we’ve learned how to adapt technology to provide us with comfort and ease of movement. Personal cars allow us to go from point A to point B at our own leisure. The introduction of personalized CDs, iPods and MP3 players allow us to listen to what we want, when we want.

The bottom line is that the world where we were small and insignificant is gone. We no longer revolve around our world, it revolves around us. While the moral and social implications of such a shift would make a great debate, I would prefer to touch a different subject. Podcasts. This is a great example of the shift I’m referring to. There are many people that enjoy listening to radio hosts as they talk about various subjects ranging from the local news to the darker side of Hollywood. One unfortunate draw back is that the radio show comes on at a certain time of the day. In order to listen to it, you’ll need to arrange your schedule around it. Podcasts follow the same concept, but provide the listener the ability to listen in on their own terms.

Podcasts, or podcasting, is an emerging technology. By emerging, I don’t mean new; rather, it is becoming more popular and mainstream. People have placed audio files on the Internet for years. The ability to organize and broadcast the availability of new audio files also existed. However, I would argue that it didn’t take off until Apple took the music market by storm with its iTunes software and iPod media device. iTunes provides users the ability to sync songs with their iPod. Not only that, they can purchase songs as well as subscribe to podcast feeds. The word “podcast” was first introduced by taking Apple’s iPod trademark and mingling it with the word “broadcast.” (This has actually sparked some debate as to who owns the prefix pod-, but that is yet another subject I don’t wish to touch.)

Apple’s iTunes, mixed with it’s iPod, created an easy way to subscribe to various “internet radio shows” which could be copied to the iPod for later listening. As I said before, this isn’t a new concept or technology. Other software developers have also created software (in some cases, they’re available for free), which would allow a person to do the same thing with any portable media device (MP3 Player).

There are ups and downs to any software. If you own an iPod, iTunes is the best bet. However, if you’re like me, and have invested in a less expensive device (Sandisk m240), there are a plethora of other options. Of all the many, many, many options out there, I’m a fan of Juice along with Media Monkey. I feel they provide me with the best technical experience. But my ideal experience may not line up with yours. Experiment with various options before settling on one. (Juice downloads podcasts into a directory that Media Monkey watches. Media Monkey will then add and remove files to my MP3 player as I add and remove them from my hard drive.)

If you don’t know what you’re doing, don’t want to worry about it, just want “it” to work and have the cash, get an iPod. If you’re on a limited budget and are willing to get your hands dirty, don’t get an iPod.

After you settle into your new multimedia experience environment, start looking for podcasts which fit your persona. I’ve found that many of the radio and news shows in my area provide an audio recording of the show in podcast form. To the right, you’ll find a few of my favorites which deal with a more technical genre.

Any vehicle we have in our family must be able to handle a portable media player. (Driving with headphones is illegal in most states.) There are a plethora of car stereos which provide you with an auxiliary input (looks like a headphone jack) which will allow you to pipe your iPod or MP3 player into your car’s sound system. If your car doesn’t have one, upgrading a car stereo can be very simple… especially when they can be installed for free by the store where you purchase it from. (Very important… find out what the parts will cost. Some cars with an integrated audio bus can cost an extra $400 dollars.) If your car has a cassette deck, a $20 adapter will provide you with the same functionality.

I find the commute to work is fun and mind-engaging with podcasts. The radio hosts work on my timetable. I can play, pause, rewind and fast forward at any time. The best part, I’m not a slave to the mindless dribble that comes from my car radio while I drive.

Before we dig into my point of view, I’d like to discuss how Internet and media inter-mesh on the Xbox 360. Via the Marketplace, I can browse through different TV shows and movies. I select and purchase the videos I want, which are then downloaded to the Xbox 360. The size of the download can vary depending on the running time and quality of the video. An episode of Smallville will be much smaller than the HD version of Superman Returns. The larger the download, the longer it will take to transfer the video to your console. Because the video needs to be stored on your Xbox 360, you’ll need to have a large enough Memory Stick or Hard Drive.

Right now, the Marketplace only has a few hundred TV episodes and movies. I predict that Microsoft is going to make an even bigger push in the very near future. A good example is the impending release of the Xbox 360 Elite. This model will come with a black cover and an HDMI output. On top of that, it will come bundled with a whopping 120 gigabyte hard drive. This is a huge improvement over the 20 gigabytes available currently… and the most telling sign of the direction Microsoft is moving. Game profile information is very small. In most cases, a memory stick is sufficient. But when you start downloading content, that’s where 20 gigs may feel a little cramped.

The one drawback to Microsoft’s game plan is how they monetize the system. In order to purchase games and TV shows and movies, you need to by Microsoft’s monopoly money. You get about 80 points per dollar which can be purchased in 500 point increments. The basic design of the system is so that Microsoft always wins. It’s very difficult to end up with a zero balance on your account. I really enjoy the fact that I can download TV episodes and movies. However, I think that the price for TV shows and older movies is a bit high. While Microsoft will benefit from it’s current revenue model, it would do better to incorporate two other data models as well.

The first revenue model has been in place for decades. Commercials. To be honest, I have no problem with commercials on TV. I accept it as a part of life. This could be incorporated into the downloadable TV shows. Of course, Microsoft would need to make it possible to disable the fast forward button during commercials. That’s a given. (Imagine how much money Microsoft could make if there was a bar on the bottom of the commercial saying you could skip the commercial set for only 20 credits. They’d rake it in!) In fact, offer both commercial and commercial free versions. Let the user decide if they want to dish out money for an uninterrupted episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

The second revenue model has only recently become a mainstream money maker. Subscriptions. A key example would be my Netflix subscription. I pay a monthly fee and Netflix mails me the movies I’ve preselected and put into my movie queue. I get a new DVD each time they receive one that I’ve mailed back. Microsoft could easily incorporate this. They could in essence download movies (much quicker then sending them by mail) from a movie queue. After you delete a previewed move from your hard drive, they let you download another. However, I would point out that many DVD enthusiasts purchase the DVD because they have access to the extras. Either include the extras or make the subscription price and terms more appealing.

There are two key factors to taking over the market. Overall, it’s determined by the company/person to get to the market first and then second, be so easy and affordable to use, that it attracts the largest portion of the market to become the standard. (TiVo anyone?) If Microsoft can use these features to attract more followers to the Xbox crowd, they’ll make money hand over fist.

What do you do at this point? What’s your plan of action? When was the last time you made a copy of all your important details? If you can’t answer any of these questions, you have a choice. You could stop reading right now under the presumption that this crisis will never happen to you. Your other option is to write these questions down and start searching for the answers. In this article, I’ll touch the basic concepts you’ll need in order to have a disaster recovery plan.

One Man’s Junk is Another Man’s Data

What are we referring to when we talk about important data? Important data is anything on your computer you can’t lose. I’m not talking about the video clip of someone riding a fire hose or the exploding whale. When I think of important data, pictures come to mind. My wife and I have about 3 gigabyte of pictures that we would not be able to replace. My wife has a collection of bookmarks. I keep track of all my passwords and important information on the computer. Anything in the My Documents folder is gold. (… because I only keep the important information in the My Documents folder) On top of that, if I were to lose all my Outlook information (even with Gmail you should keep a backup), I’d lose track of all my correspondents. The loss of any of these items would be devastating. These are important data.

More Than One Way to Skin a Cat

There’s more than one way to lose your data. I hope that my introduction wasn’t too scary (but scary enough to keep your reading.) However, this is just one way. Another thread comes from viruses which can infect your computer and destroy your data. Yes, Anti-virus software does protect your computer, but it isn’t infallible. All operating systems are able to be compromised. Kids have been know to “accidentally” delete important family data. (In truth, I plead guilty to this last one. Sorry Mom.) Another less common way to lose data is through a natural disaster, such as a fire or flood.

It all comes down to keeping your data safe. Thinking ahead can save you time, aggravation and a heap of money.

What is a Backup

What is a backup? Stand up and walk backwards. Just kidding.

In essence, a backup consists of making a copy of important data in a way that it can, if needed, be restored at a later time. Let’s think of it this way. Let’s say my grandfather took a picture of his vintage Ford Model T. Over time, the car falls into disrepair. Many, many, many years later I open the garage and find it with a coat of dust and a little worse for wear. Being the car enthusiast I am, I decide to repair the car to its pristine state. Luckily, my grandfather still has the photographs taken when the car was in its prime. If my grandfather had enough foresight to take pictures of every aspect of the car, I would be able to restore it to its original condition.

Well, that’s what we’re doing with a backup. We’re taking pictures of your hard drive so later on down the road, we can bring that data back.

What to Use to Backup Your Data

I’m going to be using the word “media” a lot throughout the rest of this article. Please let me define this word for you. Media refers to the object you’re storing the data on, not the device that does all the work. So, a CD is a piece of media but not the CD-Writer. When backing up your data, you’re storing it on a piece of media. In general, media can be referred to as optical or magnetic.

Optical media includes CDs and DVDs. CDs can store 700 megabytes of data whereas DVDs can store 4,700 megabytes of data. The most common and inexpensive CD/DVDs can only be written to once. There are CDs and DVDs which can be written to multiple times. These are generally more expensive. I prefer using the single write media. Optical media will retain its data for a period of 5 to 7 years. Magnets and magnetic fields will not damage optical media.Magnetic media includes external hard drives and tape cartridges. (Technically hard drives aren’t media. However, we’re referring to an external hard drive specifically used for backing up data. We’ll let it slide this one time.) Tapes and external hard drives can store up to 800 gigabytes each. External hard drives are the new craze. It’s just a box with a hard drive in it which you connect to your computer via USB or Firewire. While the amount of space is tremendous, there are more moving parts in a hard drive than in a DVD (none) or a tape cartridge. In the long run, the tape cartridges are less expensive.

I would like to take a moment to talk about Online Data Storage. Companies around the globe offer to backup your data through by way of the Internet. The plus side is that this is easy to use and your backups are harder to lose. However, on the flip side, you need to check the reliability of the company you’re trusting your data with. In addition, backing up your computer via the Internet is more time consuming. Depending on your needs, most people should consider using single write CDs or DVDs. They’re very inexpensive and if you’re backing up correctly, you shouldn’t need to keep a CD or DVD for a long period of time. If you’re using anything more than 5 DVDs per backup, start pricing tape drive solution.

How to Backup Data

There are hundreds or programs that will help you backup your data. In most cases, when you buy and external hard drive, DVD writer or tape drive, it will come with backup software bundled with the hardware. Make sure the program meets your needs before you use it.

When I look at backup software, I make sure it has a way to backup my data securely. If someone were to get a hold of the DVD with my backup, I don’t want them to be viewing sensitive information, such as bank statements. Make sure that the program will require a password if that piece of media is accessed.

Next I verify that it will save my preferences for backing up data. It would be tedious for me to select each directory I need saved each and every time I wanted to backup my data. If my preferences can be saved as a profile, then anytime I want to backup my data, I select the appropriate profile. This is especially good if you have a home based business. You can keep the backup of business data separate from personal data.

Last of all, I look a program that’s easy to use and intuitive. I want to be able to backup and restore data without needing to dig through manuals. A good software program should be easy to navigate. You should be able to accomplish the basic backup task in 5 clicks or less.

Full Backup versus Partial Backup

When planning your backup strategy, you’ll need to decide if you wish to perform a partial or full backup of your hard drive. When you perform a full backup, the entire hard drive is being backed up. You’re not only backing up your data, but all your programs and your operating system. To me, the operating system and programs are the dead weight. They take up a lot of room on the backup compared to the data I really want saved. This is why I prefer a partial backup. I select the My Documents directory and a few other choice areas. Anything else can be reinstalled. This drops the amount of data I backup from 250 gigabytes to 15 gigabytes. That’s 2 or 3 DVDs instead of 55 DVDs (300 CDs).

Frequency of Backups

Back up your data often. But how often is often? If your a average home user, I recommend backing up your drive every month. If you’re a medium sized business, weekly backups will be sufficient. If you’re even bigger than that, government regulated, or just plain paranoid, daily backups are the way to go.

There’s no right answer. Just think about how often you use your computer. If you were to loose one week of data, is that bad? What about two weeks? Find the point where you say “I can’t lose that much work” and go from there.

Rotation of Media

Another key point is that you should be rotating your backups. I recommend that you keep the last three backups on hand. For example, let’s say I’ve been backing up my drive for the past three months. I’m now doing my fourth backup. Of these four backups, I’m going to destroy the oldest backup. This will leave me with three backups again.

A tape drive is different since the media is reusable. In that case, I would have three tapes. When it comes time to backup my data, I use the oldest tape.

By rotating the media, I have a greater buffer. If I accidentally delete a file, but don’t realize it until 2 months later, I can go back those two months to retrieve the file. It’s not lost forever because it was destroyed or written over.

Complete Annihilation of Old Backups

I cannot stress this enough. When its time to throw away a piece of media used to backup your data, destroy it completely. If you’re throwing away a CD/DVD, it should be safely reduced to shards. I can’t stress safety enough here since those shards are sharp. When shattering media, the shards can become flying razors.

Tapes and Hard Drives should be decommissioned by a software or hardware solution. If the media is still usable (you can still read from and write to it), use software that erases the data completely. This is done by writing over the drive various times until the overwritten data is not recoverable. If the media is broken (the drive is defective or the tape is broken), some companies offer a service where the media will be placed in a special appliance that runs super magnets over it multiple times which completely erases the data.

The key thing here is that we don’t want any information to be recovered by someone who is picking through your garbage. Even if the data was password protected or encrypted, there’s no guarantee that someone can’t get into it. Identity theft is a lucrative market and passwords are becoming less of a deterrent.

Off Site

Backing up your data isn’t enough. You need to keep your backups safe. It may seem like a good idea to keep your backups on a shelf in a computer room. However, if your house is flooded or burns to the ground, your efforts are in vain. All that hard work is down the tube.

The solution? Keep your backups someplace secure but not in the same place as where your computer is kept. At work, I have my own locker. No one can access it except for me. So, when I perform a backup, I take that backup to work. I put it in my locker and forget about it. If I need to recover data, I know where it is. (The building where I work can better withstand an earthquake or fire than my home.)

Note: If you’re thinking of keeping your media in the house fireproof safe, think again. Most media aren’t trustworthy if you get above 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Paper burns at 452 Fahrenheit. Verify your fireproof safe will keep the interior cool enough for your media in case of extreme heat.

Conclusion

Now, if you haven’t been backing up your data and your hard drive does byte the dust, there are companies that can recover a fair amount of your data. However, the recovery process does not guarantee all your data will be recovered. The process is also very expensive. (Hundreds to even thousands of dollars.) By performing the preventative measure of backing up your data, you will save yourself time and money if the unthinkable happens.

Roboform is a small utility designed to securely store information used for web page forms. It fills in usernames, passwords and other information in their respective fields of a website. Basically, it does the same thing Internet Explorer can do, but more securely. Best of all, it goes above and beyond the functionality of a simple password safe and form filling tool.

Roboform attaches itself to the browser of your choice and shows up as toolbar. To save login information, fill the username/password fields on the website and then click the save button on the Roboform toolbar. The next time you visit the same website, it will gently remind you that it has the login information stored. Click the login button and it fills in the information for you.

Roboform also allows you to organize your passwords. I for one have categories for School, Work, and so on. I even break down those categories into subcategories. Opening Roboform brings up a Windows like browser with a very simple drag and drop interface. Anyone that enjoys organization to the extreme, is going to love this feature.

The security on this program is outstanding. In order to use the program, first you need to enter your master password. You are prompted for a password anytime you wish to access Roboform. So you are not required to fill in that password each and every time, when you enter your Roboform password a session is started. (This is the default setting). While you are logged into the session, you will not be prompted to use your master password. You can set how long the session lasts before being logged off automatically from Roboform. Session behavior can also be adjusted for instances where the computers screen saver is activated or the computer goes into standby. Most importantly, your password files are encrypted. This means that the password files are scrambled so much, it’s extremely difficult (almost impossible) to recover without the master password. (That’s a lot more than Microsoft gives you.)

As I mentioned, this program goes above and beyond. There are two features that I find very useful. Roboform can store various identities as well as save notes just as securely as it does with login information.

We all have more than one identity. For instance, I can be identified as a person that lives at home. I can also identified as a person with a job. Yet another identity goes to (or went to) school as well as one that surfs the Internet. I’m sure I have more than these, but let’s keep it simple. While almost all those identities have commonalities (such as my name, my age), they also have differences. My home identity uses my home address while my work identity uses the address of my employer. The e-mail address I use for school is different from the one I use in various places/forums on the internet. Filling out forms can be tedious, but not with Roboform! I just select my identity and it fills in the form for me.

Now let’s talk about notes, or SafeNotes as Roboform likes to call them. I have post-it note pads at work and home. They’re fast and easy to fill out and I can place them at any convenient place. However, some information is more sensitive than others. After all, you wouldn’t want a post-it with your safe combination to fall into the wrong hands. (Do you know how hard it is to keep birthday plans a secret from your wife? (Note from wife: Pft! What birthday plans?)) SafeNotes also provides a way for me to keep security information about my Wireless Router and Home Security System safe. It works just like any other notepad and it is just as easy to use.

Another feature with Roboform is the ability to have profiles. You can have a profile for yourself and other individual profiles for other people using the same computer.

Roboform is easy to maintain. When you’re backing up your computer, just back up the folder with all your encrypted data. Each passcard, identity, and safenote is it’s own individual file. This further makes it easier to sync two computers (presuming you’ve bought a license for each computer) so they contain duplicate passcard information. I use this with my laptop and home computer and it makes my life much simpler. Now when I create, update or delete a passcard, that change will be reflected on both computers after syncing them.

The best part about Roboform is that you can sync it with your hand held organizer (PDA such as a Palm Pilot, Axim, iPaq, etc.). If you’re using the Windows or Palm OS on your handheld, you can have all your important information with you all the time. It’s kept encrypted on the device as well. The one small, itty bitty drawback is that you can’t create or modify the information while it’s on your PDA. However, if you lose your PDA (and many people do each year), your information is secure. You don’t have to panic that someone now has all of your sensitive information.

Roboform is available in the flavors of Pro and Trial. The trial version will work forever on your computer, but your restricted two identites and ten passcards/safenotes. The trial edition also doesn’t let you play with multiple profiles. (You can get the full trial vs pro list by clicking here.) However, a license for Roboform is only $30. Each additional license (for say another computer or laptop in the house), can be purchase at a discounted price. There is also another $10 charge in order to get Roboform to talk to your PDA.

In conclusion, Roboform is a robust and practical application. My life has been simplified by the fact that all my important information is at my fingertips without sacrificing security. The ease of mind gained by this program has made the small investment of money worth while. If you’re looking for ease of use and security, Roboform is the application for you.

Microsoft has created updates for all their affected products. If you have Microsoft Updates enabled on your computer, you shouldn’t be affected. Your computer has already been updated and is happy. If in doubt, you can run the updates manually by visiting the following sites:

Microsoft Windows: http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us

Microsoft Office: http://office.microsoft.com/search/redir.aspx?assetid=ES790020331033

If you’d like to know more about Microsoft’s efforts, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone.mspx

That is all.