The Backup Drive Blues

In the past week, I have had two of my friends come to me with backup drive blues. In one case, their backup hard drive had failed, in the other case, they needed to know which backup drive to buy, probably because their old backup drive had failed. In both cases, I believe they lost precious data.

Over the past few years, I have had more than 5 backup hard drives fail on me. Interestingly enough, I have only had one internal drive fail in all that time. Most of the time, the actual problem is not the drive but the el-cheapo USB to SATA chips and logic boards used in backup drive housings. Two of my failed drives worked fine once I plugged them into the SATA ports on my Mac Pro - one is still running fine 1 year later. The remainder had the click-click beep of crashed heads because the drives had been dropped or otherwise manhandled.

Here are a few things I do to ensure that I never again face the backup blues.

Use multiple backup drives

I purchase those 500GB WD Passport drives, the playing card pack sized, very slow, portable hard drives that are powered off the USB port. I buy them because they cost $99, have no power cords to lose; and I buy a lot of them. Each computer I have that has 500GB or less storage on it has one of these as a Time Machine backup drive. I also drag and drop my home folder onto a second one every month or so. So my data is now in 3 places, on the computer, in Time Machine and manually on a third.

For my machines that have larger storage, I use larger USB drives, also set up as Time Machine drives. One of these is internal as its controller failed but runs just fine inside my Mac Pro. And I copy swathes of my data onto a series of the smaller 500GB drives, admittedly not frequently enough. Once again, my data is in 3 places.

Use multiple computers

Since I have a Mac Pro and a MacBook Pro, I have the advantage of also duplicating my data on 2 machines. Once again, a quick drag and drop over the network keeps the two in sync. Of course, since the laptop has a smaller drive, not everything goes across.

If you do not have two current computers, grab your old clunker out of the closet, install some big hard drives and use that. If no old clunker, use your partner's computer. If no partner, see if your employer will permit you to use up space on your work laptop.

The cloud

At this stage I do not yet use the cloud for backup. I have a Dropbox account that I use for some stuff and an iDisk at MobileMe that I use for others. Some people use BackBlaze, Mozy, Carbonite, iDrive or other online backup products, but I cannot recommend them as I do not use them. And a lot of people like me who have web server accounts use the excess space for backup, thanks DreamHost.

The big issue with online backups is the time it takes to do the initial backup and the time to do incremental backups. Its not the cloud server's fault, these folks have heaps of bandwidth, its the ISP's fault for not providing sufficient, or at least burst, upload bandwidth to consumers.

Things you should never do

Never, ever, use a backup drive as primary storage. The number one cause of the blues in backup drive blues is because people put all their photographs on a single backup drive and only on that drive, and it fails. If you have to use an external drive because your internal drive is not big enough, do yourself a favor and buy a bigger internal drive; or make sure your data is on at least 2 external drives.

Don't leave your backup drive on and spinning all the time. This is not a problem for the drives themselves but these flaky controllers seem to burn out. Backup drives are designed to be used, then left off until used again.

Don't install the software that comes on these USB drives. Never do this! Ever! The software is buggy, annoying, usually incompatible with other manufacturers stuff, slows your computer down, and probably reports back to the mothership. Your operating system can handle these drives just fine without it.

Don't spend money on those disk recovery services. Chances are, they will plug the drive into a new case and it will just work. Or they will replace the heads and it will still not work. Its a lot cheaper to backup to multiple drives than it is to get the data back after the fact, if at all.

More than one basket for eggs

The first rule of backup is that the data exists in at least 2 places, on the primary drive and on the backup. That way, if either drive fails, and it will, you have the data on the other. I have it in 3 places in case 2 fail (it has happened to me).

The second rule of backup is to do so regularly and in multiple ways. Time Machine is brilliant, but a drag and drop every month onto an $99 USB drive is worth it for the peace of mind.

I don't care which backup drive you buy, just get more than one. They really are cheap, and your precious data is not worth losing.

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Aside: Western Digital, please get rid of that WD SmartWare virtual CD. Its rubbish, drives your customers nuts every time they plug in their drives (especially Time Machine users) and anyone who actually installs the software has problems.

Which Computer Should I Buy?

Short answer: Get a Mac! Any Mac.

Long Answer (and the more correct one)

Why the blazes are you asking me? Huh? I write software, I don't design hardware. I use Macs. I write software for Macs. So I'm going to tell you to buy a Mac, like I just did, because I get more customers if you buy a Mac and fewer computer related questions from Mac users.

Don't ask me to decide for you.

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Still here? Ok, I'll help a little bit.

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Mac? PC? Linux? Choose the one you are more comfortable with. Get the one you have purchased software for. And get the newest and latest version of it. If you don't have a lock-in on any software, get a Mac.

Laptop? Desktop? If you travel, get a laptop, else whichever you like. If you are a greenie, get a laptop, it uses less juice. If you want to plug in a lot of stuff and expand it, get a desktop.

Netbook? No bloody way. See Netbooks are Rubbish.

Buy Now? Wait a few months? Now! If you need a computer, get it now. There's always a newer model on the horizon, it's not that much better than the current model, and you cannot use a computer you don't have.

Upgrade? Replace? You just asked me which to buy, just go buy it.

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Still here? Sigh!

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You want a PC, so which vendor? Dell? Lenovo? Sony? HP? Asus? Acme? Frankly, if you're asking me which computer to buy, they are all the same to you. In reality, they all have the same bits and bobs inside, and most vendors fill the computer up with crapware. Go to a store and see which feels better to use. Then stop wasting time and buy a Mac.

Ok, I have chosen a vendor (Apple, Dell, IBM, Sony) and a kind (desktop or laptop), which model should I buy? Get the most expensive one you can afford with the MOST RAM and LARGEST hard drive. It will work better longer.

Why not get an el cheapo now and replace it again next year? Because you won't. And you'll have a horrible experience with it. And you'll be unproductive. And unhappy. And whiney. And your time is worth more than the difference between rubbish and a useable computer.

Really get the most expensive I can afford? Yes, you'll get better quality, better productivity, better support and a longer computer life.

But its a recession and we need to save money. Its a recession, so you need to be more productive than the next person to keep your get a job, so spend the money. When the recession is over, instead of replacing a rubbish computer while still unemployed, take a holiday to Hawaii.

Get the extended warranty? No, unless it's vendor provided like AppleCare. All the other stuff like store warranties are a total ripoff.

But what if it breaks down? Well, if its in warranty, its free. If its out of warranty, it will cost the same to fix whether you purchased the store warranty or not.

Get Geek Squad/Nerd Herd to set it up? Hell no, don't spend a cent on them, they are an even bigger ripoff than store extended warranties (which are useless, see above).

Buy the Essential Services from Dell? No. Same stuff as Geek Squad.

How do I set it up? If its a Mac, its all set up. If its linux, you are already a geek and I don't need to help you. If its a PC, nuke the hard drive to get rid of all the crapware and run the OS install from a Microsoft CD. No Microsoft CD? Don't buy that computer then. Ask before you buy if there is a valid windows install CD, not a vendor one that just reinstalls all the crapware. If they lie, return the computer same day with the packaging shredded and get your money back. Or buy one without crapware on it - if you can find it.

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Still here? You're pretty persistent.

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Store or Online? I buy online from the vendor, takes more time, but I get what I want. For you, first got to a few stores and play with the computers to help decide what suits. You don't buy clothes without trying them on, do you?

Faster CPU or more RAM? More RAM

Bigger Disk or More RAM? More RAM

Faster CPU or Bigger Disk? Really, more RAM

Big Screen or Faster CPU? Seriously, more RAM

Which Video Card? Unless you are buying a gaming rig or a CAD station, does not matter.

Intel or AMD CPU? No difference.

Desktop replacement or true laptop? True laptop. Desktop replacements are big, heavy laptop like looking computers that have the same chips, same portability and same power suck as a desktop without the expandability. Get a desktop or a laptop, don't encourage vendors to make 'desktop replacement' computers.

Light laptop with small screen? Heavy laptop with big screen? Go in the middle, a 13"-15" screen usually provides a reasonable screen size with light enough laptop, else, go light. Choose the lightest 13"-15" with the longest battery life. You'll never carry a heavy laptop, so don't buy one.

Get the extended battery? Or get a longer life laptop The only vendor to get this right is Apple. They have one battery, its light, it stays inside the laptop and it lasts forever. As for others, get the biggest battery they offer that does not add extra weight or sticks out the back or front of the laptop, which usually is the standard one. Choose a laptop vendor whose standard battery gives you the longest life. The next time you are waiting at an airport, you;ll thank me.

How many USB ports will I need? On a desktop, three (keyboard, mouse, other). On a laptop, one. If you need to plug something else in, unplug what's there first.

Compact flash or SD card reader? Unimportant. Unnecessary. Use the USB port.

B, G or N WiFi? N.

Built in 3G on a laptop? Nope, you'll get locked in. If you need 3G, use the USB port or get a MiFi. Or jailbreak your phone and tether.

Trackpad or Joystick? Whatever you like, but it seems touch, and therefore trackpads have won, so learn how to use one.

Wired or wireless keyboard and mouse? Same same, but different as they say in Thailand.

Camera? Yes, in the 21st century we make video calls. For desktops, use a headset, laptops don't always need one.

Tv Tuner? Remote? Speakers? No, its a computer, not a home theatre.

Video Out? HDMI? VGA? Does not matter, any place you need to hook up an external monitor for presentations will provide all, or buy an adaptor when you need it, which in my case has been never.

DVD or BlueRay? DVD is more than enough. Unless you have a top of the line 30" screen and watch lots of HD movies.

Buy the extra bundled software? In general, no. Most extra software bundles are cheap, consumer versions or limited versions of better products. Only get the software you need, and only get it bundled if it offers a genuine saving without giving you a rubbish version.

Not even the AntiVirus? For PC users, don't get the bundled AV, its usually a mess. And uninstall any preinstalled trial ones immediately. Microsoft Security Essentials is free and good. So is AVG Free.

What software should I get with it? That's another blog post.

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Still Here?

Get a Mac.

iPhone 4 and the antenna meme

I'm writing this post because if one more person asks me about the iPhone 4 antenna issue, or tells me that they will not buy an iPhone 4 because of the antenna issue, I'm going to go postal on them, I'm going to rip them a new one, go ballistic, get nasty, and go all aggro. (Hopefully I've covered sufficient cultural slang terms for I'm going to yell at them, vigorously, loudly and for a long time).

Fact: 0.55% of iPhone users have had the antenna issue. As of July 16, 3 million were sold, which makes only 16,500 phones had bad antennas that were reported to Apple.

Fact: 1.7% were returned as per July 16, 51,000 returns, which means that 34,500 were returned for other reasons.

Fact: All phones exhibit some attenuation when you wrap your sweaty palm (with sincere apologies to @chockenberry) around them, especially around the bit where the antenna is.

One of those returns was mine. I had the Yellow Screen issue. Apple swapped it out with no questions asked.

So, where is the brouhaha about the yellow screen issue? No-one has asked me about the yellow screen on my iPhone, no-one has told me they won't buy an iPhone 4 because the screen looks like it has pee on it. Steve Jobs did not have to have a special news conference to explain that Foxconn workers were not peeing on new iPhone 4's. And yet more people faced the yellow screen issue than faced the antenna issue. And the press remained very quiet.

Go figure!

My new phone has no pee on its screen and I cannot reproduce the alleged antenna issue on it, or the one I handed back.

The real problem with the iPhone 4? AT&T's horrible network of course.

Netbooks are rubbish

I received a freebie Dell Mini 10 a few weeks ago, and thought I would use it as a web testing machine (since I do all my development on a Macintosh) as well as leave it in the lounge for people to use instead of grubbing up my iPad. Boy was I wrong!

The Dell Mini 10 has a 1.6Ghz atom processor, 1GB of RAM and a nice big 160Gb hard drive. It weighs a feather and seems to be sturdily built, perfect for tossing around the lounge. The screen is bright and colorful, and the small keyboard is about the same size as the landscape keyboard on the iPad, so easy to get used to. It even has an HDMI out. On paper then, its a very good machine.

The iPad has a 1.0Ghz CPU, 256MB RAM and a 64GB flash drive. If I compare the paper specs with the iPad, the mini 10 has a much faster CPU (with hyperthreading no less), 4 times more memory, heaps of storage, but slower storage access.

So I'd expect it to take a little longer to load data from disk, but beat the iPad in rendering performance, typing speed, app switching and other activities.

This netbook is rubbish, it runs slow. Too slow, tortoise waking up slow, sitting in english class slow, chick flick slow, waiting in a TSA line slow, slide night slow.

In short, if this netbook ran any slower, it would be running backwards!

Boot time into Windows XP, close to 4 minutes before its useable. Time between clicking on the IE icon and the window appearing, with nothing else running, averaging 40 seconds. Opening a second IE window, 15 seconds. Time between clicking the mouse and seeing an hourglass, 5-8 seconds.

My 1Ghz powerbook with 1GB RAM that is 7 years old runs faster.

This isn't just slow, its ridiculously slow.

But it shouldn't be!

Sidebar, councillor, its slow, but it sells.

Why is this rubbish selling like hotcackes? Sure its cheap, but for $100 more you can get an iPad. Maybe its user expectations? Users expect PCs to be slow. Users expect PCs to be frustrating. Users expect PCs to be running windows. Users expect PCs to be full of crapware. Users expect PCs to, well, be like this netbook.

Does this make our users stupid? Or insane? I don't think so. Smart IT guys like me make normal users feel stupid, and they believe it. The industry projects an image that its the user who is at fault when the computer is rubbish, not the other way around, and users believe it. Software vendors project an image of such superiority that their crappy bloated software is not the problem, and users believe it.

Users should expect computers that work, work fast, faster than they can think, work reliably and forgive the lack of skills of their users. Kinda like the iPad.

But users do not expect these things, and marketing departments know it. They are selling truck loads of these rubbish computers to users who expect them to be as bad as they are. Surely we can all see what's wrong with this picture.

Back to it.

I am a reasonably expert IT guy, and the hardware specs tell me this little Dell Mini 10 can be so much more. So I applied my time and expertise to make it so.

I went ahead and

• Removed all the crapware that came preinstalled. But the machine remained slow, seems the crapware took up disk space, not memory or CPU.
• I optimized the Windows XP installation, turning off services and features that slowed it down. It got a little better, but still way to slow.
• I even removed the anti-virus software that was bogging the hard disk down, not a smart move, but I was trying to get some performance. This seemed to improve things the most, like moving from crawling to hopping, not walking yet.
• I reinstalled Windows XP on it, from scratch, but it was still too slow.

So I tried Ubuntu linux instead, the netbook edition. The current release, 10.04, does not work because the video card in the Dell Mini 10 (Intel GMA500) is no longer supported. But Dell has a special dell version of Ubuntu 9.04 netbook edition that does support the video card. So I installed that.

And...

Well...

It became very useable. As useable as I expected given the hardware specs. Boots to use in 1 min 15 seconds. First launch of firefox, to rendered page, 11.7 seconds. Way better! It's made it to the lounge as a web box, but I have to show people how to use it each time, and that's annoying.

Netbooks are rubbish because the default install of Windows XP is just way to bloated and slow. Netbooks are rubbish because the components (like the video card in the Mini 10) are too old and slow. But with the right operating system software, old software, they can be made useable. Too bad users don't know it, and vendors don't push it.

My advice: spend the extra $100 and get the cheapest iPad. Its fast, just works, is forgiving, light, and is the device and experience users should be expecting, nee demanding, even at this price point.

Apple sues HTC

There is a lot of buzz in the verse that Apple is now evil because it is suing HTC over patents. They are saying things like Apple is showing signs of being terrified of Google, or Apple is acting like other companies and stifling innovation, or Apple is the devil (Ok, I made the last one up).

I think Apple was forced into it. When it comes to patents and copyrights, in the US at least, holders are required to show the efforts they make to protect them. And the only way to do that is to sue. If someone else uses one of your patents or copyrights in the future, and you did nothing in the past to protect them, then they can claim that you did not do anything to protect it, and therefore they could use it.

Its a Judge Dredd moment - its the law.

It's stupid. But its how the law is interpreted. I believe the reason they sued HTC is because its not Google, a partner that they do not wish to anger. HTC will settle, for a small yet face saving amount, and everybody wins. Apple proves that it has protected its patents in case someone really steals them, and life goes on.

And everyone seems to be suing everyone else in that space at the moment anyway. Staying out of the fray is not an option anymore.

The Hiltmon has left the website.

Microsoft Windows 7 Phone Series

I love my iPhone. But I also worry about its future. History has shown that when a company innovates an awesome product and takes over the imagination of a market sector, the awesome product goes stale without a creditable threat. I think this new Windows phone just might do the trick. See the article in Gizmodo.

Current Threats to iPhone

Google's Android platform is the current yet less that credible threat to the iPhone. Android sure looks good, is easy to develop for, has all the features you would expect from a modern smartphone, but has some fatal flaws too. Different handsets have have different versions of the system, different features implemented, different screens, different keyboards and different performance curves, making it a very difficult target to pin down. At least on the iPhone, you know the features and limitations available. The best Android phone, the Nexus One from Google, has potential to make this a credible threat as its the best Android phone out there, but the support mess and penalty structure needs to get fixed.

Symbian has announced Symbian S^3, their next generation handset operating system, taking the ideas from both Android in going open source and Palm in using web technologies. Since most of Europe will be on this platform by 2011, it sure is a potential threat. As long as Nokia and the other Symbian handset makers stabilize the feature set on handsets to make it work.

Palm is the baby of the three. Its software looks terriffic and its handsets look great and work terribly. If they fix their hardware, they can still be called a potential threat.

Windows Phone 7 Series

I like the big flat buttons. I like the Zune build in. I love the integrated contacts, facebook and other live updates. And Xbox on a phone is just plain smart. Calling the mail application outlook is priceless. And locking down the hardware to a limited set of features means the handset makers will compete on price and bezel and nothing else. Leaving us developers with a nice clean platform to make money on apps, just like the iPhone.

What's the Catch?

Windows Phone 7 Series will not be out until the holidays - I assume that means the end of 2010. That gives Apple, Google, Symbian and Palm a year to leap even further ahead while making sure their offerings equal or beat the Microsoft product. And Microsoft itself has to still deliver a stable and feature complete product, something they have not executed well at over the pst 10 years.

I really hope they succeed. The iPhone is 3 years old now, and still looks and works the same as it did on day one. Maybe it needs some credible threats to spur Apple on to make it even greater.

The hiltmon has left the website...