Day after day, you read my ramblings about what goes on in front of the computer screen. But what you may not know is that there are a lot of things going on behind the computer screen as well. By that, I mean that I also experience many of the ups and downs that typical PC users experience, as well as UPS Battery Backup problems. And before someone starts trying to sell me a Mac, let me say that I fear I would end up in the same situation as Carrie and Ayden (Sex and the City) if I were to get a Mac and something happened to it. You remember when her Mac crashes and he hits Ctrl+Alt+Del and then it really melts down? And the Mac repair guys says they are incompatible because of their computer choices? Ayden would be me. Because although I meanwhile know a lot about PC’s and can generally figure out what to do when something goes wrong…I would almost certainly kill a Mac with my PC knowledge without even trying. That prospect is not inviting to me in the least!
If you’re a fan on Facebook, you probably saw that recently I had a big scare when I thought that all the posts in my blog had been erased. Thankfully it was just a glitch with the database but what it made me realize is that even though I get weekly backups of my blog emailed to me, sometimes that’s just not enough. If you have a blog yourself and run WordPress, you should think about installing something like the free WordPress Database Backup plugin. It’s a simple plugin that will allow you to run a backup of your database with just a few clicks…or if you prefer, backups can be emailed (or saved on your server) daily, weekly, etc. Your core files of layout and such will still need to be backed up manually, but at least you won’t lose all your posts and comments.
Because I write on new posts all the time, I realized after my scare last week that a daily backup is really more prudent. But it’s all a question of how often you’re adding stuff to your blog. And if you’re really concerned about hackers, I also recommend the WordPress Defender ebook with instructional how-to videos (this is an affiliate link) which is loaded with lots of quick, easy ways to better protect your WordPress blog from attackers.
As if the blog scare wasn’t enough, my laptop also started crashing yesterday for no apparent reason. And I have to say that when Vista crashes, it’s even more fun than some of the others because your screen just sorta fades out for instead of going to the blue screen. Then you may get a blue screen when it tries to reboot and fails. Otherwise you just wonder if your battery died or if something has otherwise gone horribly wrong.
I have been telling myself for weeks now that I needed to back up the files on my laptop, but so many other things just kept getting in the way. So when the laptop started flaking out on me yesterday, I knew it was time to take action. Despite the laptop only being a few months old, I’m not exactly easy on my equipment and treat my laptops more like huge desktop PC’s, running tons of programs at once while I edit photos, look up this and that, and otherwise just keep my RAM full at all times. So now I’ve added some reminders to my google calendar (which is my life saver in the chaotic zone I call life) to save all the files on my laptop once a month, as well as backup website files for things like WordPress that I don’t edit and save on my computer. If you’re not very good at checking things off your to do list, you can also try software like Cobian Backup (free open source backup option) which will automatically back up your computer to another location (at home, on a server, online, etc). But the nice thing about it, is that you can schedule downloads of all the files on your web server too.
Now in case you’re thinking it’s just been a technologically bad weekend, we actually had a lot of other success with our desktop PC’s and our ISDN phone. We’re well on our way to repairing one computer that had been giving us trouble for about 18 months now (just waiting on a few parts)…and will be replacing our very unstable old Dell computer that is running as a server. And we finally got our oh so nice phone system hooked up after it sitting around the house for almost 2 years because. I don’t know why it sat around that long; it really wasn’t all that complicated for Stefan to put together. I, on the other hand, couldn’t have hooked it up correctly if lives depended on it. Probably because I don’t know enough about the 20 cables that go into phones and ISDN boxes here. Even though Stefan had been dreading the installation since the moment the phones arrive, he went in there and took over like a pro, and probably only needed about 15 minutes altogether to get the right cables connected to the right places. Having a cordless phone that holds a charge for longer than an hour and doesn’t have dog bites all over it is SO nice.
So now before you do anything else today, go back up your files. Computer crashes always seem to happen at the least opportune times.
look, I admin linux and have been working with unix since ’92. but I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who’s smart enough to troubleshoot their own problems, set up a blog, locate a backup plugin, implement it, revise their backups plans later on, and then blog about it. If you’re that smart, you can live in the PC world just fine without all the headaches that unix can bring to someone’s life.
Anyhow, nice post on the plugin. I already use it, but it’s very smart of you to use it. I don’t author original posts daily like you do and instead just embed video and write a real post weekly. So my weekly backup is doing fine for me…at this point.
.-= KC Lowlife´s last blog ..Cory Branan – White T Girls =-.
I’ve looked into linux in the past (and again today) but I’m just not sure I’m ready to learn everything all over again when it comes to my PC. Plus I do a lot of programming and design work and am kinda of addicted to Adobe products (even though they’re sinfully expensive.) But I think that for those who are doing more simple work on their computer or who are not completely devoted to more advanced software suites could definitely enjoy using a linux based system. Not to mention that there is some fantastic open source software available. I had a PC running dually for a while and linux always ran really smoothly.
As for the travesty that Facebook is quickly becoming, I highly restrict what I share and if I post it on there I know it’s not private. The fact that they are sharing information with advertisers is disgusting and hopefully since there is such an uproar about their actions, they will make some changes. Otherwise I think a lot of people will start abandoning ship, much like what happened with MySpace.
Ive been using Ubuntu operating system (ubuntu.com) for about four years now. Ubuntu is based on debian linux and uses the EXT4 file system, not what Windows uses which is NTFS. Because of the different file systems, Ubuntu (and EXT4) do not need to be defragmented, does not need virus protection or a need to worry about virus which is one of the main reasons why systems eventually freeze or crash.
For more reasons why Ive switched to Ubuntu, check out this site…
http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/
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Im also no longer on Facebook. For those of you still on Facebook, check this out…
Facebook’s Eroding Privacy Policy: A Timeline
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/04/facebook-timeline
“Since its incorporation just over five years ago, Facebook has undergone a remarkable transformation. When it started, it was a private space for communication with a group of your choice. Soon, it transformed into a platform where much of your information is public by default. Today, it has become a platform where you have no choice but to make certain information public…”
Facebook Tries to Make Violations of Terms of Use Into Criminal Violations
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/05/03
“Under Facebook’s theory, millions of Californians who disregard or don’t read terms of service on the websites they visit could face criminal liability.”
“Even the simple use of the automatic login feature of most browsers would constitute a violation under Facebook’s theory, since those services are “automatic means” for logging in.”
“…users who shave a few years off their age in their profile, claim to be single when they are married, or change jobs or addresses without updating Facebook right away would also have violated the criminal law.”
.-= 1916home´s last blog ..My Grilling Tips =-.
It is true… most of the people Ive converted to Ubuntu linux use a computer for simple tasks such as email, web browsing, and simple games like mahjongg, blackjack, etc. I used to be an Adobe crack addict until I got into Ubuntu. It takes time to make the switch from using Adobe products to using free software that is similar. Im not fully off of my Photoshop addiction, so I use Photoshop within Ubuntu using a free program called Wine. If you have a decent, newer system with plenty of RAM you can run XP or Win7 within Ubuntu using VirtualBox… which is what I do when a program I need just doesnt work using Wine. I rarely go into my Virtual XP anymore as I always find work arounds in GIMP or Inkscape. Tons of great video tutorials all over the web.
For backing up data have you considered websites like Dropbox which can also sync your data with other computers? A home system and a work system? Or your home desktop and your laptop? Even Ubuntu now has UbuntuOne with 2GB of free syncing (I think 50GB for less than $10 a month). Free syncing of files, contact lists, calaendars, etc, etc.
For KClowlife… With an end user OS like Ubuntu there really isnt too many headaches these days. Ive got a netbook that came with XP on it and I installed Ubuntu as a dual boot. I never have a prob finding a wifi connection and logging into it with Ubuntu… Windows is another story. There is always some issue trying to log into a wifi connection, be it at an airport, hospital, library or on a campus.