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May 15, 2006
Digital Lifestyle Necessitates Backup Devices
More and more these days, our lifestyle is digital. Email, photos and music are all stored electronically on our computers, as well as contracts, agreements and other important documents. The computer is the backbone of many businesses, and without it, we are “shut down.”
As we begin to store more information on the computer, it becomes extremely vital to back up this information. Just imagine three years of photos lost to a computer virus. Or five years of business documents lost to a bad hard drive. I'd be devastated, wouldn't you? Whether you are a business or a home user, if you store information that you do not want to loose on the computer you need to back it up.
Fortunately, this has become both cheaper and easier to do. Just a few years ago, your options were limited, expensive and often did not hold much data. Today we have tape drives, DVDs, the Internet and external hard drives. These newer systems hold more information and often have programs that automatically back up your files.
Let's look at some common backup solutions one at a time. My favorite is the external hard drive. This simple solution is portable, affordable and they work on both Apples and PCs. Just plug it in, and your computer will recognize it in a few seconds. Drag files that you want saved onto the drive and a duplicate copy will be saved. Better yet, set up an automated backup to run at a certain time each day. That way, there is no intervention required by the user, so even if you forget to run the backup, your computer remembers for you. The better programs won't even have to back up your whole computer every day, they will detect what files have changes and just copy those. This saves time. A simple search for “external hard drives” will get you started. Of course, hard drives come in many sizes, but a basic 80 GB hard drive (fine for most consumers) will run about $100.
DVDs are another alternative. Of course, you need DVD blanks as well as a computer with a DVD burner. DVDs hold about 4.5 gigabytes of information and so should be used if you have smaller backup requirements: about 40 albums of music or 700 photos. If you are going with a DVD backup solution, remember that your DVD burner will usually only work with one kind of DVD. Some burners are “+” and some are “-“. Find you what kind you have and purchase the corresponding DVD blank.
Backing up your files online is another option. Of course, you need an Internet connection—preferably a high speed one. More and more online backup companies are springing up on the web. Online services are usually secure, offsite (great in case of a fire or other emergency), continuous (they backup the data as it changes on your computer) and automatic. Companies most often utilize online backup, but people on the go may also find them useful. Plans start at around $10/month, and get more expensive depending on the features and space required. A search for “online backup” will get you started.
Of course, you can still use a tape backup, but these are aimed at companies, not consumers. Talk to your tech guy to see if a tape backup is right for you. Often times a tape backup will also be coupled with an external backup so you can get back up and running more quickly.
