Category: Software

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Network Attached Storage for Automated Backups

Prevent Lost Data

Many DC area residents have been contacting me lately with hard drive failures and lost data. Data can sometimes be recovered using software such as SpinRite. But it’s easy and relatively inexpensive to be proactive and backup your data. The best backups are automated, using free software such as SyncBack for Windows or the built-in Time Machine for Macs.

Backup Locally

Backups can be sent to a local USB flash drive or local USB hard drive. The Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB costs about $107. These use laptop hard drives which have the advantage of being able to run only on USB power. Larger 3.5 inch external drives can hold more data but require an additional power supply.

Network Backups

If you have more than one computer, a better solution can be to backup to a network attached storage (NAS) drive. This connects by ethernet to your router allowing you to connect to it through your home network.

Here are a few solutions:

Apple Time Capsule

If you are a Mac user and you want the simplest solution, you’ll have to pay a lot more for the Apple Time Capsule. Apple just upgraded their large capacity Time Capsule to 2GB for $499. The Time Capsule is both a NAS and a wireless router, so it simplifies your setup. However it is only a solution for automated Mac backups that use Apple’s included Time Machine software.

Apple Time Capsule

Buffalo Linkstation

Buffalo Technology Linkstation Pro LS-XH1.0TL 1 TB is a great NAS that costs about $215 currently. It is fast and works as a Time Machine drive for Macs just like Apple’s Time Capsule above, though you’ll have to login to the Buffalo to set up that capability. You pay a bit more for the Buffalo’s speed than the below Iomega. If you are only using the NAS for automated backups, speed is not particularly important. Speed is helpful if you are also using the NAS as a network shared drive. The other advantage of the Buffalo and the Apple Time Capsule is that they are near silent. You have to put your ear right up to them to hear the small fan.
Buffalo Linkstation

Iomega Home Media Server

Iomega Home Media Server 34337 1TB is a good media server, which is cheaper ($148) but a bit slower than the Buffalo. It is not loud at all, but the fan is noticeable. It includes software for automatically backing up 5 PCs. You can also backup to it with a Mac by using free software such as SuperDuper.

Iomega Home Media Server

NAS Reviews

SmallNetBuilder.com is a great site for NAS reviews. They also have charts such as this one which show you the speed versus price. I circled the Buffalo and Iomaga drives mentioned above illustrating the Buffalo’s excellent performance.

SmallNetBuilder Single Drive NAS Chart

Multi-drive NAS

For larger businesses or those who want an extra backup of their backup drive, consider a NAS that consists of multiple drives. This could be a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) box such as a Netgear ReadyNAS. Or it could be a Drobo and Droboshare. These solutions are more expensive and often slower than single drive solutions. But they ensure that your data will safe if one of their hard drives crashes.

Backup Your Data

In the world of computer support, nothing is worse than seeing someone lose family pictures or days of important accounting data. Given the low cost of storage, there is no excuse for avoiding backups. Automated solutions are a simple way to keep your digital data safe.

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Augmented Reality Coming To Cell Phones

The concept of augmented reality is one of those cool techie ideas that has been around for a while. We see it in science fiction (Terminator cam), military headsets, and virtual reality helmets and glasses for some software demos. A new augmented reality aimed at regular consumers is displayed in this video of an application for the Google Android phone.

This is made possible because some new phones such as the iPhone 3GS not only have a built-in GPS and accelerometer, but also have a compass. This allows the phone to know where it is and what direction it is pointing.

This app is rolling out first in the Netherlands, but more of these types of apps will be arriving soon.

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Upgrade Hard Drive with Free Tools from EASEUS

We recently helped someone in Adams Morgan upgrade their laptop to a larger hard drive. It was for an old Dell laptop running Windows XP (32-bit) that had an ATA (IDE) drive instead of one of the newer SATA drives.EASEUS

Here are the steps to upgrade a hard drive. The EASEUS software is free for personal use.

1. Buy a new drive. Currently the largest ATA drvies are 320GB and SATA drives are 500GB. 750GB SATA drives are anticipated in 2009 and 1TB drives are expected in 2010. We typically buy hard drives from Newegg.com.

2. Buy a USB laptop hard drive adapter or USB drive enclosure for the new drive. Again, try Newegg.com.

3. We recommend first running the Windows Disk Defragmenter so that your new drive will start out with the files well organized. It is located at Start – All Programs – Accessories – System Tools – Disk Defragmenter. In order to run Disk Defragmenter, you need at least 15% free space. This might mean that you need to run Disk Cleanup or back up and temporarily remove some of your larger files such as photos.

EASEUS Disk Copy4. Download the free EASEUS Disk Copy. This will provide you with a .iso file that you can burn to CD as a disk image.

5. While the computer is off, connect the new drive to the computer via USB adapter or USB enclosure. Start the computer with the EASEUS Disk Copy CD created above. You might have to go into the BIOS to prioritize the CD drive to be bootable. This will boot into EASEUS Disk Copy and allow you to copy the entire old drive (also known as cloning) to the new drive connected via USB. In our tests, EASEUS Disk Copy was able to move 55GB of data in about 35 minutes. We found EASEUS Disk Copy to be one of the fastest bit-for-bit copying systems. For comparison, we tested Norton Ghost which copied 55GB in over 3 hours.

6. Remove the old drive and replace with the new drive. Boot up the computer.

7. Download and run the free EASEUS Partion Master 3.5 Home Edition. This is needed because EASEUS Disk Copy only copies (makes a clone of) the drive as it is sized. Use the Partition Manager to expand the partition to use the entire drive.

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NASA Astronauts Can’t Watch DVDs

NASA Astronauts

From today’s Associated Press:

HOUSTON — Atlantis astronauts fixed the Hubble Space Telescope so it could beam cosmic pictures to Earth, but playing DVDs on their laptops is proving too difficult.

With an unwanted off day Friday because thunderstorms prevented their scheduled landing, the astronauts intended to pass the time by watching movies they brought on the mission. But when they tried to play them, they found out their laptops didn’t have the proper software.

Engineers on the ground tried to troubleshoot the problem — just as they did when a hand rail almost prevented spacewalkers from fixing one instrument in Hubble. After more than an hour with no solution, the astronauts gave up.

Astronaut John Grunsfeld radioed to Earth that they’d have to wait to watch something at a terrestrial movie theater.

So fixing a giant telescope in space worked fine, but getting their laptops to play a DVD didn’t work. I certainly sympathize as Windows typically needs additional codecs loaded to play DVDs. They should have had a copy of the free VLC media player.

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No Home Phone? Try Skype

Many people are beginning to abandon their home phone lines because they simply don’t use them much any more.  $35 for a basic phone line plus long distance bills on top of that is expensive compared to the alternatives.  Almost everyone has a cell phone and will simply use that instead.  However, cell phone plans have limited minutes.  What happens when you need extra minutes?  That’s where Skype comes in as a great complement to the home with no home phone.

skype_logoIn case you have never heard of Skype, it is essentially a phone service that works over the internet.  A Skype user can call another Skype user for free but a Skype user can also call real phone numbers at an extremely low price.  Skype is also great for international calls.  It is even more valuable now because you no longer need to use Skype via your computer.  There are now mobile Skype programs made for many devices including the iPhone, PSP, and several mobile phones.  The iPod Touch can run all iPhone apps as well so those who hate AT&T can still use the Skype iPhone app.  All you need beyond that is internet access which almost everyone already has at home.

SkypeOut

One way to pay for Skype-to-phone calls is to purchase SkypeOut Credit.  Once you have credit on your Skype account, you can pay per minute.  There are various prices for each country according to this rate chart.  Calls to the US cost just $0.021 per minute.

Skype Subscription

If you plan on making at least 150 minutes of calls per month, a Skype Subscription will be by far the cheapest.  For just $2.95/month, you can get unlimited Skype-to-phone US calls.  If you have an iPhone and don’t want to use your AT&T minutes, just launch the free Skype app and make the call for free when you are at home where your iPhone is on your wifi.  If you pay for 12 months at a time, it is even cheaper.

Skype Online Phone Number

Without the Skype online phone number, when you call someone, the Caller ID typically shows a number with all zeros. With a skype phone number, you can get a number in any area code you like.  It will also give other people a way to call you without them needing to use Skype.  A voicemail service is also included with the phone number.  If you have a Skype subscription, you get a 50% discount on a Skype online phone number.

Skype Quality

While Skype is incredibly cheap compared to a home phone line, the call quality is not quite as good typically and may vary greatly depending on the quality of your internet access.  Dropped calls can occur as well as audio breakups.  Overall, in my experience, I would say it is on par with AT&T cell phone quality though.  For the price, it is a great value.