Welcome to another, but bitterly cold, at least here ……

F R I D A Y

No ice needed for that drink dear, just sit it out on the veranda and the temps outside will chill it for you.

It’s cold outside. “How cold is it?” —– imagine the audience and I am Johnny Carson — “It’s so cold, I saw a mans teeth chattering and they were still in the glass by his bed”

It’s cold outside. “How cold is it?” —– imagine the audience and I am Johnny Carson again — “It’s so cold, I saw a dog stuck to a fire hydrant”

Okay enough of that. Let deal with data preservation more commonly known as BACKUP.

Let just take a short time out to remind you that if you are diligent enough to remember to backup on a regular basis, are you also remembering to store that backup in an offsite location, away from the computer you backed up?

Many of you may say, “Calvin, where should I store that backup?” The answer is simpler than we think.

Just find a place that you consider secure and safe to store your backup.

That could be the following suggestions

1) A trusted friend or neighbor’s home.

2) Safe Deposit Box at your bank.

3) Locked desk at work.

4) An Online backup service.

5) On a USB Flashdrive on your key chain if you don’t have that much data to back up.

I am sure you might have some places of your own in mind. The important thing is to DO IT!

Musical Selection for Treble Clef detection

Jack just inspires me sometime to really go for the flashback

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVbLNPwi_r0

Radio Days

Make sure that you tune in this weekend 1/21/2012 to the InternetAdvisor show on 760 WJR. We will be coming to you Live and in living color, well the color of your radio. Also we also always have out Podcasts available for download at http://www.internetadvisor.net . Tune in, for great  conversation about all things Internet and technical. It’s a great geek-a-rama with Gary, Foster, Ed and your’s truly.

C Ya!

My job is interesting, challenging, fun at times. Yet still I look forward to ………

 - F R I D AY -

Just the name of the day of the week sounds good. Like Fried Fish, French Fries, Fried Egg, Fried Chicken. Anything with "Fri" in it sounds good!

"I love it when a plan comes together."

Hannibal from the "A Team" said it best and I agree. This past week, I helped with a great upgrade of Macintoshes for an associate. They had 2 PowerMac G5 Towers that the artists had been using. I love that box. It's so slick and cool even years later. I need to add one to my systems at home. I digress. So I replaced the 2 towers that had whopping 19" screens, 500 gigabyte hard drives and 2 gig of memory with three 27" iMacs with 1 terabyte hard drives and 12 gigabytes of memory. The kids are elated!

Prior to the upgrade I had each tower equipped with a 1 terabyte hard drive partition into 2 500 gigabyte sections. They used SuperDuper to backup their towers. So when it came time to install the new iMacs, they just copied over their data from the external drives, installed new apps (keeping the O/S clean) and away they went. Smooth Moove!

Now since they moved up to Mac OS 10.6.8 we will format the external 1 terabyte drives and make them into Time Machine backups that they will continue to store off site for the iMacs.

Make it even better,

In addition to the individual backups, I also added a 6 terabyte NAS – Network Attached Storage – for all of their archived data. I went with the Seagate brand Black Armor The artists burn archive projects to DVD but sometimes the artist may have to go back and pull something from the archive. The search through the DVD's to find the right one and then load it on the Mac took time. By adding the NAS, they will continue to burn the DVD and store it offsite, but they will have a copy on the NAS that they can access anytime just like another volume or drive on their Mac desktop. Easy Peasy!

So both an enhanced backup and archive solution is in place. I feel they are well protected in case of disaster and that is important.

Musical Selection for this week

Sometimes matching the theme perfectly doesn't always work but since things went well this week on the whole … Let's just dance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEcXEk3zWXA

Radio ….. it what's for listening.

Saturday 8-6-2011 check out "The Internet Advisor"  we will be on the air from 4:00 to 6:00PM. Uncle Ed, The Fost, Geeky Gary, and I will be there for your weekly "Tech – Inject".  Tune in, Join In, and get your Tech On.

Not only is it a long weekend coming but it's FRIDAY!

Another week of work, it was a busy one, and a good one, but is now behind me. Time to turn my attentions to work of another nature. More work at home.

Forecast – Storm Warnings

This spring has been increasingly brutal this year.  Luckily, aside from all the rain, our region has been somewhat spared. But even with the extra rain comes hazards that you should be aware of. Flooding, fallen trees, and lighting. It makes even more sense to at least consider to do a backup sometime during this long holiday weekend. Don't try the tired old excuse, "I don't have time.". You have a long weekend, do it.

Forecast – Possible Flooding

After that backup is complete, make sure to store an extra copy somewhere "offsite" from your computer. If you are the type that uses one of the many online services to back up to, then you have an offsite backup. That way if you are a victim of a flood and your backup and computer are under water, you have a chance to restore your self to "wholeness" again after the disaster.

Quick and Dirty

If you have recent "complete" backups already. You can do the quick and dirty backup by just backing up the data you created since the last backup. Whip out that 16 gigabyte USB drive and just backup those new files if you know which ones they are. Or if you are not a "heavy" user, you can just copy your "home" directory to the USB drive and Eureka you are partially protected. The part I don't know is the "dirty" in "Quick and Dirty".

And don't forget. Backup all of your devices as well as your Mac……. or PC.

Musical Interlude

It real cool to look at all the things in the background. If you see something that takes you back, just note it in the comments section. If you are too young to remember or was not born yet, feel free to ask questions. "Who loves ya baby?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjg39XRkjVc

Radio Active

Saturday 5-28-2011 check out "The Internet Advisor"  we will be on the air from 4:00 to 6:00PM. Bringing to you great tech radio with the Foster, Edward and I. Gary the "Internet Advisor" is taking the day off. Tune in for good tech times.

Since it is the Lenten Season for some folks ……..

It's FRYDAY!

Okay it's bad pun day but I do like fried fish so yummy yummy! Product Placement Day…. Just for fun.

We have been going on the past weeks about good data protection. Data protection goes beyond BACKUP. It goes beyond RESTORE. It goes beyond proper storage OFFSITE of your backups. It stretches into the forth step of data protection

Step Four – ROTATE

ROTATE your backups ( This why you need multiple media and multiple copies ) Oh yeah it will cost a little extra but just factor that into your budget when you purchase a computer. It's part of the total package of ownership.

By using a rotation plan, you mitigate ( hey look I used a lawyer term! ) okay lets keep it simple – you reduce your "Window of Exposure" to data loss. Now you say "Calvin, what do you mean by this – "Window of Exposure"?". Well, this is what I mean. Check this scenario to understand.

Sunday Night -

While watching on Food Network, You run your SuperDuper backup to clone your Mac to "External Drive A" – Date 3-13-2011

Monday Morning -

At lunch time, you pickup a  and you go to the  and put "External Drive A" into your safe deposit book for secure keeping.

Next Sunday Night -

You run your SuperDuper backup to clone your Mac to "External Drive B" - Date 3-20-2011

Next Monday Morning -

 At lunch time, you go to the bank and put "External Drive B" into your safe deposit book for secure keeping. You take "External Drive A" out of box to take home with you after work.

Monday Afternoon -

You get a call from your neighbor that the GoldFish is fine but the rest of the house just burned to the ground. You iMac went up in flames as well. You call your insurance company and all is well because you are protected. Your insurance company rebuilds the house and pays for purchase of contents including a new Mac for you. You un-box the Mac, set it up. Since the fire occurred on 3-21-2011. You will RESTORE your Mac with the BACKUP on "External Drive B" since it is the youngest or most recent backup. It restores successfully. All is well and you return "External Drive B" back to the safe deposit box at the bank. Next BACKUP will be to "External Drive A" which you have onsite at your home.

AHHH …. but what if you had a problem with "External Drive B"?

Let's say you went to RESTORE with "External Drive B" and the drive had a mechanical or even logical problem and you couldn't restore from "External Drive B". Curses ensue loudly! Suddenly you stop and think! Oh yeah. I have "External Drive A" in the offsite location at the bank. You go to the bank and fetch "External Drive A". You will RESTORE your Mac with the BACKUP on "External Drive A" since it is the only other BACKUP you have. It restores successfully. All is well and you return "External Drive A" back to the safe deposit box at the bank. Next BACKUP will be to a new "External Drive B" which you have purchased to replace the defective "External Drive B" . At this point you can continue to repeat your rotation pattern.

Now you would have lost all the data you created or gathered ( Doc's e-mails pictures … ) in between the time you had the fire 3/21/2011 and the time of you last successful backup "External Drive A" on 3/13/2011. Your largest "Window of Exposure" is two weeks if on of your external hard drives were to fail to restore.

The more frequent backups , the smaller your "Window of Exposure" will be. Your cost, your choice. Of course I did not go into it here but now you see why I say "A BACKUP you can RESTORE is not a BACKUP at all". Test RESTORING your backups periodically.

Musical Selection for your ear direction.

Since I indicated that one should store their external drive at the bank, might as well store your valuables as well.

Gotta love "one hit wonders!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ztk9t_m1FpY

Skating at Garden City Ice Arena this weekend – It's the Garden City Classic. Stop out for some great Ice Skating. Sunday Showcase is great family entertainment and guess what? It's FREE!

C Ya!

You bet it is!

For those who took advantage and attended the past MacGroup meeting….. Good for you! It was jammed packed with great tips and information on BACKUP. For those who were not able to attend the meeting, you can catch the replay on iTunes by following the MacGroup TV link here or on the home page of www.macgroup.org. Do it today!

If you have been following my blog, I said there are 5 steps to having a good data protection strategy. I say data protection. That consist of not just BACKUP, but, RESTORE as well. Remember, a BACKUP you can't RESTORE is not a BACKUP at all.

That brings us to step 3

Make MULTIPLE copies of that backup ( at least 2 ) and store at least one of them off site ( away from the computer you backed up ) at a trusted location.

If you go out and buy an external hard drive. Connect it to your Mac or PC. Format it. Configure it for your choice of backup software (Time Machine, Super Duper, Carbon Copy …….) and run it faithfully… but, leave it sitting right beside your computer. You have not fully protected yourself. I know. You are asking yourself. "Calvin, why aren't I protected?"

Here's why you are not. Supposed the location you are at with your computer burns to the ground tomorrow. Suppose a burglar decides your computer equipment should be his. Suppose some unexpected natural disaster occurs. Suppose you just wipe the drive by mistake. These are all hazards that you are still exposed to at this point.

But there is a way out

That is why I say, when you buy a computer, make sure to budget for an appropriate data protection solution. You need to buy 2 — yep 2 —- external hard drives in this case. By having two, you can rotate one drive "offsite" or away from your computer. That way if something befalls the drive by your computer, you'll have a second chance to recover you data from the second drive. Understand, that you will have a window of expose to data loss that will be as big as the time space since the last backup to that drive stored "offsite" but, better to lose a month of your valuable data than the whole shooting match. So do the second backup drive and store it in a secure, trusted location "offsite". 

Musical Selection

Every time you have a "Horn Section" in a band there will always be a guy with dark glasses. Even on the " Muppets Show" …. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArFBnajSOjg

All we hear is Radio Gaga

On The Radio

Saturday 3-5-2011 check out "The Internet Advisor"  we will be on the air from 5:00 to 7:00PM. Bringing to you great tech radio with the 3 — Foster, Gary and Ed. Tune in for good tech times.

Seven Days Later it's Friday …………

Last week I wrote about 5 steps to create a disciplined method for doing BACKUPS. Lets take a look at those 5 steps one at a time. This week we will look at step 1.

"1) Decide what data needs to be backed up on a regular basis"

The best way to figure this out is to get into this mind set. Imagine that the computer you use on a regular basis just disappeared. I mean it's gone! Now imagine you have your replacement Mac or PC and it has your programs loaded on it. What data do you really need to be able to proceed? Now that would be the "Critical Data" that you need to backup. All other data that you have is good to have but not critical data. You still will want to back all of your data but if you take a look at Terry's blog on Monday of this week, you too may find that you are keeping way more data than you need. Good time to clean up and archive data you really don't need every day.

Here is a second tip to also consider. You need to store your CD's and or DVD's of your software in a safe place or at least make backup copies (which is better) and store the originals in a safe place as well. You'll also want to find the license codes and or the receipt for the software you bought. In case of loss, you can get in contact with the software vendors and get replacement copies if needed and perhaps not have to pay full price for them. Store a copy of this information in a safe place as well. I have not used it but some users use a program called "1PASSWORD" to store their software licenses electronically.

Musical Selection

Boy I was pressed to find the right musical selection this week so I went with this.

It's important to keep your data safe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv3Kl0lqAwA

Radio Days

Saturday 1-29-2011 check out "The Internet Advisor"  we will be on the air from 3:00 to 6:00PM. It's an extended addition this week. Bringing to you great tech radio with the 3 — Foster, Gary and Ed. Tune in for good tech times.

C YA!

Yeppers, Today is Friday!

I don't enjoy delivering bad news …..

However when i have to fix someone's computer problem that deals with their hard drive I always have to ask that magical question:

" You do have a backup of your hard drive right?"

Most of the time I get that cow eyed look, that deer in the headlights that tells me right off the bat that they do not have a backup. Not a happy time when I say the words:

"I will try to recover your data but it's not looking to promising"

And this could have been prevented by ….

Yep a simple trip to the local computer store or purchase on the Internet can avoid a problem like this,

A simple USB or Firewire external hard drive. A copy of your favorite backup software and the protection level suddenly becomes a reality. Some diligence and life is so much sweeter.

When it's good I like to talk about it….. and it's good.

I don't work for Microcenter but they are my source for backup drives. Two weeks ago, I bought a Seagate external drive for a recovery and backup operation. Its size was 1 TB for $79.00. Well Wednesday, I needed to buy 2 more drives and I wanted the same ones. But surprise! The same drives are now $69.00. So I mentioned it to the cashier in the front of the store. They smiled and asked for my receipt. Two minutes later, I had a $10.00 credit back on my credit card no muss or fuss. Made me happy. The drives are a great buy and have a FIVE YEAR warranty!

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0334327

Musical Selection

When I can save someone's data I consider them to be LUCKY. I really dig the special effects in part of this video. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vvBAONkYwI

RadioActive

We are back on the air live this week with the Join me,  I will be guest hosting on the Internet Advisor Show this Saturday 12-10-2010 between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM on 760 AM — WJR. Join Foster Braun , Gary Baker , and I for 2 hours of tech enjoyment. Be sure to Tune In.

It's Friday Baby!

Well last week was ( say this in your head with a echo effect) "BLACK FRIDAY"! 

With all the hype and hysteria ( I mean really shopping in a department store at 3:00 AM come on!) did you take advantage of any technology deals that will help you protect your data.

So tell me, did you get a deal on  an external hard drive? Find a USB drive for next to nothing? Perhaps a copy of "Mobile Me" for a less than aggressive price? What about a pack of DVD's to back up your data? Did you purchase some backup software or did you just buy a new Mac and startup with "Time Machine"?

So don't hold back. Tell me what you did. Unless you bought me that 2 TB external dual interface (USB & Firewire) hard drive that you plan on gifting me this season with. And yes I do accept those types of gifts. By the way….. It's not too late to go and pick up that backup device … still.

Musical Selection – Flashback Track

I was having a conversation with a guy and we were talking about music. He said he liked Kool and the Gang. I said I did too. He said "The Bass player, he's Kool" I said I think he's pretty good too. He said "No, the bass player, he's Kool" I said "yep he plays a mean bass" The guy walked away. I wonder what it was I said?

Well I am celebrating because I was able to fix a computer without losing any data for the poor soul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M

Radio Days are here again

Live from Detroit! It's Saturday Night! —- We are back on the air live this week with the Join me,  I will be guest hosting on the Internet Advisor Show this Saturday 12-4-2010 between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM on 760 AM — WJR. Join Foster Braun – Moderator Extraordinary, Gary Baker – The Internet Advisor, Ed Rudel – Tech Savvy Guru, and I for 2 hours of tech enjoyment. Be sure to Tune In.

C Ya!

Title makes you think of a rock band? — Naw

Romantic Evening? — Naw

An easy approach to protecting your valuable data —- Now ya talkin!

I hope after all this time of me coming to this blog every week and preaching the virtues of making sure that you do regular BACKUPS has somehow sunk in. 

It really doesn't matter how often because it's based on individual needs.

It really doesn't matter what media or device that you use as long as you use it, and test it to make sure that your BACKUP is RESTOREABLE. A BACKUP you can not RESTORE is not a BACKUP

It doesn't matter where you keep it as long as it is away from the original source computer that provided the BACKUP. As long as it is stored in a safe and secure location.

I does matter that you rotate your BACKUPS periodically.

These are just the simple principles to practice. These will help to keep your data secure and useable in case of a disaster.

This week — Keeping It Simple Sweetheart.

Musical Selection

Not really musical but entertaining. A great talent that is no longer with us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPq44A-iQlA

Radio —–

OH Nooooooooo. Mr. Bill!. Looks like we are still in the thick of the college football season with MSU — Go Green! So the Internet Advisor Show will be pre-empted again. Keep checking the website for Podcasts and announcements when we will be back on the air.

But But I need my fix of this guy, I want to hear him live. What do I do? See below.

Opening night is just one week away!

Welcome to Shameless Plug 101 – Again.

The Rosedale Community Players — A community theater group — is doing a production of the RomoComedy (I made the term up) "Almost Maine". My co worker Pam Mayer talked me into doing an audition a few weeks ago and the director Don said, well …..

Opening night is October 15 2010. If you want to have a great night of laughs and see some good theater come on out. Get more details and ticket info at the RCP website.

 http://www.rosedalecommunityplayers.com