Back That Ass(et) Up!

So I was working on tomorrow's post for POV Comic and I needed to pull some elements from a few of my past comics (to use in the background). When I tried to open one of my Adobe Illustrator files I got an error message. I hadn't opened this particular file in CS5.1, so I thought it might be a compatibility issue. I quickly fired up Illustrator CS3 and tried to open the file again - different error - same result.

It was at this moment that I almost got very sad. Note that I said ALMOST.

I keep 3 types of data backups. That's right... three.

1. I use a mirrored hard drive configuration to protect against hardware failure.
2. I use Windows 7 Ultimate and take advantage of the "System Protection" options which keeps "Previous Versions" of all my files.
3. I use Carbonite - Just in case of Fire/Flood/Theft etc.

I've never had to fall back on Carbonite, but it makes me feel a lot better knowing that it's there. I have done some test recoveries from Carbonite and they've all worked well.

Today, I was able to use the "Previous Versions" option in Windows 7 to recover a working copy of my Illustrator file and that made me quite happy.

If you're not using a data backup solution, I highly recommend that you start! There are plenty of easy ways to keep you files backed up... Don't wait until it's too late!

Microsoft Live Mesh

Ok, how did I not know about this sooner?!

I've been toying with Microsoft Live Mesh... and I'm very surprised that it has so much functionality and so far works VERY well.

I hardly have to think when selecting folders to synchronize. Best of all, Live Mesh syncs between Mac and PC! That's right! I'm able to synchronize my pictures, music, and documents between computer systems OVER THE WEB! This synchronization happens in real time and regardless of location. If I'm at home, or work, or abroad, my photos are kept synchronized between my MacBook Pro and my home desktop... now THAT is impressive!

If you have the need to synchronize documents, pictures, and music between two computers Microsoft Live Mesh may be right for you! I understand it also works with some mobile devices, but I didn't see an Android application on the Market when I did a quick search, so I've not tested that.

I'm not getting paid by Microsoft... I just like to share with my friends and family when I find a good solid product (especially a great FREE service). I'll be testing it out for a few weeks and I'll give you an update when I learn more.

7

I'm actually a little sad that windows 7 is coming out so soon... I don't feel like Vista has had its full run and I really have loved the Vista OS.

The worst thing is that I heard someone refer to Vista as the modern Windows ME... Ugh... I swear this person NEVER used ME... and probably never used Vista for that matter...

I do look forward to Windows 7 because I think Microsoft is making a lot of great improvements to the OS, but I feel like this is more of the windows 95 to 98 jump than 98 to XP or XP to Vista...

If you recall, the main difference between 95 and 98 (aside from a bunch of technical crap that the average Joe never noticed) was Internet Explorer 4.0 basically replacing Windows Explorer... Sure, that was a bad idea, but it did open a lot of new possibilities (mostly for hackers).

Well, that's my rant for the day...

Programming...

So, I found out through a conversation with a coworker that Microsoft offers a free version of Visual Studio... Yeah, free...

http://www.microsoft.com/express/download

Go get it... if you want..