best online backup software?

The computer in your Hard Drive will crash, sooner or later. That disk spins at up to 15,000 RPM. It’s inevitable.

I hate all spinning disk technologies. They are unreliable.

Most missed if you lose data are the music files, photos and videos.

Best way to avoid that grief, is to backup to the “cloud”.

The two biggest players are Mozy and Carbonite.

Click PLAY to watch a video review on both on YouTube.

I tried the free trial of Carbonite for Mac. If I sign on, the cost is about $3.50/month. (That’s cheaper than buying external hard drives as I’ve been doing over the past few years.)

But Carbonite in 2009 admitted loss of backups of “over 7,500 customers”. So I’ll keep doing the local backup to a 1TB drive using Time Machine software, as well.

I do have important data I don’t want to lose. This way all of my files will be backed up at least twice in two different places, one being the cloud.

UPDATE: My free trial was successful. Carbonite worked. But since my ISP only allows about 4GB / day upload, not all the files could be backed up.

I will be signing up for one or the other service … but I’m a little irritated with Carbonite because their customer service department did not reply to an email I sent them. Perhaps I’ll email Mozy and see if they reply.

Google disrupts mobile phone tyranny

And I LOVE it.

Did you see the announcement of the new Google phone?

…” the Nexus One: huge AMOLED touchscreen, thin-and-light form factor, available unlocked or on T-Mobile, pervasive voice input, etc. And many have already reached for the easiest narrative in which to fit Google’s announcement: the Nexus One is Google’s attempt at an iPhone-killer. …

The Nexus One may or may not be an iPhone killer (it probably isn’t), but it doesn’t matter, because the Nexus One was arguably the least significant thing that Google announced today. The real news at Google’s event this morning—news that could shake up the mobile industry just as thoroughly as the original iPhone announcement—wasn’t a phone at all, but a URL: http://google.com/phone. An online storefront that, if successful, could knock one of the major pillars out the current, much-reviled US carrier model and result in faster, cheaper, more flexible service for mobile users. …

… once they’re on Google’s platform, they’ll be forced to compete purely on the kinds of things that consumers actually want them to compete on, namely, price and quality. And when networks compete on price and quality, prices will go down and quality will go up. …

read more – arstechnica – Google’s biggest announcement was not a phone, but a URL

Phone companies will actually have to adopt a sensible pricing model. Apple must “open” their products.

The phone’s not available in Canada yet.

via Tyler McGowan on twitter @tylermcgowan

some terrorists are bound to get through

You know driving is dangerous, but you still drive a car.

Getting killed by a terrorist is not in the top 10. Not in the top 1000 causes of death.

click airplane if you can HANDLE THE TRUTH

Why are we spending so much money and effort to stop the odd goofball trying to light his genitals on fire?

In 2002 the TSA had 13 employees. Today, 60,000 employees. Do you feel safer?

TSA and Homeland Security spending is obcenely wasteful.

From an excellent opinion piece by DAVID BROOKS:

… In a mature nation, President Obama could go on TV and say, “Listen, we’re doing the best we can, but some terrorists are bound to get through.” But this is apparently a country that must be spoken to in childish ways. The original line out of the White House was that the system worked. Don’t worry, little Johnny.

When that didn’t work the official line went to the other extreme. “I consider that totally unacceptable,” Obama said. I’m really mad, Johnny. But don’t worry, I’ll make it all better.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Security Administration has to be seen doing something, so it added another layer to its stage play, “Security Theater” — more baggage regulations, more in-flight restrictions.

At some point, it’s worth pointing out that it wasn’t the centralized system that stopped terrorism in this instance. As with the shoe bomber, as with the plane that went down in Shanksville, Pa., it was decentralized citizen action. The plot was foiled by nonexpert civilians who had the advantage of the concrete information right in front of them — and the spirit to take the initiative. …

NY Times

Body scanners wouldn’t have caught Northwest bomber. Airport pat-downs are an exercise in futility.

How long before we in North America finally adopt Israeli security?

… Immediately after the first bomb goes off in the entrance of the airport. Before you take your shoes off.

Sun newspaper beats Apple Tablet

The newspaper industry is falling over themselves in the fight to come up with an ever more impressive newspaper tablet. …

They all fear Steve Jobs. Can Apple redefine an industry as they did with the iPod. And then the iPhone?

Apple’s “tablet” computer is expected to be announced late January.

Analysts have said the tablet will include a subscription to a nationwide Wi-Fi wireless service and enable users to access the Internet, watch movies and television shows, as well as play games. They also say the tablet will let users read newspapers, magazines and textbooks in groundbreaking new ways.

The Journal reported that Apple believes it will “redefine” how people interact with various types of content.

The UK’s Sun newspaper is not worried. They reckon they’ve got Apple beat already.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

what Israel can teach us about airport security

I’ve read and listened to several interviews with Israeli security expert Rafi Sela:

“The Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel is arguably the airport with the highest level of threat in the world and, at the same time, one of the safest in the world. Remarkably, it accomplishes this while allowing retail operations to rank sixth in the world in terms of retail revenue per passenger,” …

source

He thinks the Security Theatre of North American airports is a joke:

“It is mind boggling for us Israelis to look at what happens in North America, because we went through this 50 years ago,” said Rafi Sela, …

“Israelis, unlike Canadians and Americans, don’t take s— from anybody. When the security agency in Israel (the ISA) started to tighten security and we had to wait in line for – not for hours – but 30 or 40 minutes, all hell broke loose here. We said, `We’re not going to do this. You’re going to find a way that will take care of security without touching the efficiency of the airport.'” …

What Israel can teach us about security

At Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, screening is done in 30 minutes. The key?

Look passengers in the eye

world’s tallest building opens today

When I was in the Dubai airport a couple of weeks ago, the place still looked to be booming.

Despite the much reported financial crisis in Dubai, some investors are already predicting a turnaround. My guess is that Dubai’s still a great long term investment.

The Burj Dubai – which means Dubai Tower – opens Monday with a fun-filled ceremony complete with fireworks and a hair-raising parachute jump.

The skyscraper, now the world’s tallest building, soars a half mile into the air, can be seen from 59 miles away and has 160 floors. …

Read more

new TV comedy – Modern Family

Warren mentioned this show. I’d not even heard of it.

Modern Family is an American mockumentary comedy TV series. …

The show premiered on ABC on September 23, 2009 to critical acclaim. …

… Metacritic score of 86 out of 100. Entertainment Weekly gave it an A-, calling it “…immediately recognizable as the best new sitcom of the fall…”

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

Looks great. Leave a comment if you have an opinion on it.