What's the purpose of archiving your electronic data?

Preservation. Simply put, archiving, in this sense, is preservation. Of memories (vacation photos, wedding videos, the Family Reunion Of Which You Do Not Speak Of, etc.) and data (like photographs, business documents, scripts, novels, music etc.) that are static and won't change. Revisions and retouching aside, archiving stabilizes and stores a set of information that you can use for reference, proof and perhaps most vital of all, connection.

• Need the very first "final version" of the company handbook before the current set of revisions got too bulky? Here you go.
• A lawsuit is threatening to come down on your company due to what the opposition claims is shoddy work? You pull out the pics to prove it just ain't so.
• A dispute rises over the contract? You got it in writing, and with the digital signatures all in place.
• You have a lifetime's worth of photographs. You want it to last beyond your lifetime, so your great-grands can get to know you even after you're gone.
• Want to show your kids that yes, Mama was a natural blonde before puberty hit and her hair got darker? Sure.
• Your in-laws want to see the ultrasound? You want your as-yet-unbaked bun-in-the-oven to get to see it? You got it.
• You have something you need to say, something you want the world to know. Share it across time.
  

Insurance (as back-up) is secondary (but a close second) in this case. If you've done your back ups according to plan, you're covering those bases. Archiving is simply making sure that any data you have that's important to you is stored, safely, uncorrupted, and available in a way/medium that will survive time and technological changes.

In Protect Your Data, we set-up the basic guidelines in making a back-up plan. In this section, we'll cover a few more things you can do to keeping the your online data safe and synced.

The issues:

• It's definitely simpler to do back up when you only have one computer, but what if you have more? And what if you're not the only user?
• Plus, you probably have other data, on-line, that you want backed up as well.

So, this article will lay out the issues with multiple computers, multiple users and backing up your on-line data.

1. A single user with one PC is the simplest scenario. Maybe two external hard-drives (one back-up is not enough!), a CD/DVD burner, and some high quality blank optical media should be good enough to start with. Pull on-line storage like Mozy, Dropbox and Carbonite into the mix, you can secure your data easily. Flash drives can be life-savers as well.
   
2. Single user, many PCs/devices would require syncing software (Dropbox offers this with its online storage as well), a detailed schedule for back ups, and more thought as to what you need to back up, and where. RAID array, a home server, online storage? The speed of your internet connection will also affect upload and download times.
   
3. Many users, one PC means also backing up various profiles and personal data. You have to hammer out agreements as to what will be backed up and when would the best time to do it for the people involved.
4. Many users, many PCs would involve syncing, and centralizing shared media, as well as customizing information access and flow. For personal units, it would be best if each user takes responsibility for his or her own data and unit.

When it comes to backing up data, there are only 2 groups of people involved. The first group are people who have lost data, like those who have had hard-drives die on them, or were exposed to the Virus that Ate The Internet. The second covers those who haven't had the pleasure of that particular experience. Yet.

But it's only a matter of time, statistically speaking. And you can never predict when, or how it will happen. Brand new drives die a few days out of the box, while older ones faithfully chug on on for years. You bed down for the night, as your laptops purrs on, worry-free. The next morning a howl of disbelief shatters the early morning silence of the dormitory. "I didn't DO anything!"
"Are you sure, dude?"
"YES!"
"Uh, download anything new last night?"
"Nuh--oh?" Then, "Oh, crap."

The drive can't be detected. The laptop falls due to your cat's panicked antics, and you can't get it to boot. Your sippy cup wasn't fastened as tightly as you thought it was. Viruses, trojans, hackers and theft. Lightning strike, fire, water from a leaky pipe...you just don't know.

Thus, back-up. There's something you need to understand about back-up, though:

Back-up is not a guarantee, unless and until you test it (data verification) and even then, stuff happens. Back up is insurance, and as with any kind of insurance, back up comes in handy after a loss of some sort. See the difference now? And as with any kind of insurance, you need a plan that suits your needs.

To cap the series, here's a wrap up of the most salient bits and pieces to The Savvy Thinker's Guide: Laptops, Netbooks and Desktops.

Everything depends on the user. The computer is just a tool, the user decides what to do with it. Get what makes your life easier, but don't let the decision-making process take it over. If you can't narrow your must-have specs, try making a list of nice-to-haves, real-sweet-but-I-can-wait, and could-be betters. Work your way up from there.

Surface thinking about computers is about your fantasies.  You fall in lust with the implicit power of the image, you pay a premium for that power, but will you use it to the best of its capacity? To get a computer that will serve you best you need to know what you need, and where you'll use it, as well as how much you're prepared to pay for it. (And how long you plan to hang onto it.)

New models and incremental performance improvements come down the manufacturing pipeline at a near predictable rate, if you listen to the manufactures and tech sites. A unit that reliably serves your purposes for the length of its expected lifespan is the key, anything beyond that is a bonus-- and good  maintenance skills.

Laptops have come a long way from those boxy, briefcase-sized prototypes you may have grown up with. And while there are still some work-horse models out there built for rugged use and hard-shocks, there are also the sleek, matte --ahem, airy-looking models... airy, geddit?-- that are so thin you could slide them into a large manila folder and they could pass for a year-end accounting report.

So why a laptop?

• You can carry it wherever you need to go. Period.
• You're used to a laptop.
• You're a mobile worker, and you need to have a computer that can go with you as a partner, not a side-kick.
  

At this point, laptops are just portable desk-tops with smaller monitors and a comparatively higher price tag. Student, mainstream, business and gaming, there's a laptop for every need and and every budget ( there are outlets for refurbished ones too, just so you know.)

Netbooks are like the tea-cup chihuahuas of the computing world. Mini-laptops, they're designed to be light-weight (in the most literal sense) tools to help you connect to the Internet and accomplish lightweight (figuratively speaking) tasks like browsing, email, word processing and watching streaming video (Standard netbooks don't come with optical disc drives for CDs/DVD's, those things bring the weight up.) That's it.

To emphasize and summarize: Don't expect these little darlings to do what they're not specced for. Netbooks are secondary computers, with limited capabilities that come locked in with the feather-weight status and the extreme portability. That's why they're called net-books. You connect to the internet, watch a few vids, and do light-duty computing. Period. They're aides, not partners. At least for the moment.

Ahem. To continue: On the outside, there appears to be a lot of variation in netbook models: glossy covers vs. matte, sea-shell configuration, chiclet keyboards vs. traditional, etc. As a group, however, because of the common size and weight constraints they come with basic specs and similar hardware.

So, it's time to get another computer, and you asked around for the latest pointers. Your cubicle-neighbor at work touts the coolness of her netbook when she's working on her novel during lunch breaks -- you can type with one hand and hold your sandwich in the other, how neat is that? -- while your best friend gleefully rubs your face in the awesome powers of his gaming laptop.

Meanwhile, your uncle clucks irritably at all the shiny toys that manufacturers come up with to boost sales, all the while praising the merits of his reliable desk top, the one he's had for years. You know, the one so steady he's only had to upgrade the monitor (and add some RAM, plus fiddle a bit with a more powerful CPU and motherboard, an extra hard disk...) to make watching movies and reading on-line easier. With so many options out there, there's bound to be one for you.

Now, whether you're a first time buyer or a seasoned online- electronic bargain hunter, it's a cinch that you can access all the information you need on-line to make an informed choice about the best computers out there, but this article series isn't about that access.

Well, not entirely, anyway.

This article is about thinking through the process of picking a computer to fit your need. This way, you not only get  to pick the best computer out there, but also the best computer for you. And if anyone else you know is having problems picking a new computer for themselves, you're there to give your improved take on the whole thing. Hold up on the impulse buy, hang onto your credit card, and let's just think things through.

Of these three sayings, the one about the towel captures the gist of this article perfectly. It's when the plan hits the real world that you need to keep a clear head --and your towel close. Whatever life throws at you, when you know where your towel is, you're good to go.

Goals are not plans.
Goals are the end point, plans are what you refer to to guide you there. If the terrain sudden changes on the way to your goal, you need adjust and very probably go off-book. Forcing reality to adjust to your plans is a waste of energy. Accept the situation for what it is, without judgment, and get going. What can you realistically do to deal with the situation and turn it to your advantage? Where's the silver lining?

Plans cannot translate to real life without action.
All the paper and diagrams in the world don't mean squat if you do nothing to bring them to life. Your monthly goals, your yearly tracker? You still have to fill those up, they won't write themselves.

Hitting the right niche is only the start. There's a connection between understanding the context and importance of the niche, and using this understanding to up your likelihood of succeeding, and more importantly, staying in business. Here are a few observations we've amassed on how to recognize and use niches to increase the odds of success in your business's favor.

Niches are the only way to survive in online business. You can't  be all things to all people, that's an unrealistic and downright dumb goal to aspire to. You'd burn out trying. Actually, you'd be setting yourself up to crash and burn.

For example, think of Amazon. Amazon sells practically everything that can be sold (legally) online but Amazon is not its merchandise. From its start as an on-line bookstore, Amazon went on to become the world's biggest on-line retailer, dominating its niche. Think of more popular names. eBay. YouTube. Google. What niches do these brands occupy?

A concept in strength training, we generally understand understand "pushing to failure" to mean pushing out as many reps as possible while using good form, until you reach the point where you can't keep that form. When you fail to keep good form, that's when you know you've pushed enough.  Painful and tiring, pushing to failure is only the first part of the equation, the other half being rest.  Muscle growth and strength gains happen after you push to failure and then rest and recover.

With awareness and intent, it's the same with anything we put ourselves into.

• Keep to good form (best practices, best effort, quality work) while working things out. 
• Gain strength and grow in the aftermath of stressful events, leave yourself time to rest and recover (and learn) from these events.

The important thing to remember is to choose to learn everything we can from the hard work-outs, the hard lessons, when we rest. Don't just walk away with the memory of pain.