So Why Do You Not Back Up Your Files?

So who out there after reading my recent article about backing up http://goo.gl/c2Gl0 still doesn’t back up their data files? I emphasize it in discussions with clients, friends and colleagues yet many people still do not back up their data files or if they do it is not often enough. Their excuses range from: I have no important files; I'll get to it; I can get my files; I don't want to spend the money. The big reason to back up your data is this: In the event of a hard drive failure for whatever reason, you have a backup copy of your data. Important documents, sentimental pictures of children, grandchildren and other loved ones will not be lost in the event your hard drive fails. If you are one of those who still do not back up your files, this is a must read.

Let's address each of these excuses one by one:

-- I have a good friend of mine who never backed up his files. His excuse was that he had no important files. Recently he had an issue where he thought his hard drive had crashed. Suddenly he had important files (including pictures from a recent trip) on his hard drive that he needed to have. Fortunately the issue was not with his hard drive but rather another issue. His data was saved.

-- "I'll get to it" is another excuse I have heard a few times. This is a variation of, “I don’t have the time.” Hopefully when you get to it will be before your hard drive fails. If you have a hard drive failure it is too late. If you are a heavy computer user, you should back up your data once a day. I know someone who had their tax return on their hard drive.  He was going eventually do a backup. Unfortunately, the hard drive crashed and he lost his tax return and the worksheets he used to prepare it.

-- "I don't want to spend money on it" – To paraphrase John Wooden, “If you don’t want to spend the money to back up your data, how about spending a whole lot more to get back the data should you have a hard drive failure?” That is if the data can be recovered. I checked with a national chain. If they can do the job in house the cost would be between $100 - $160 with it being ready in 2-4 days. If it needs to be sent to a data retrieval service the cost can run as high as a few thousand dollars. It will not be ready in 2-4 days but 2-3 weeks. How long can you wait for your data? Your costs to backup your data may even be FREE. Backing up will greatly lessen the anxiety of a hard drive failure.

-- "I can get my files" - A hard drive failure can occur without any previous warning. How will you get your data? See above paragraph for how long it would take and the cost.

The bottom line is you must have a backup in the event your hard drive fails. In the event of a failure you will be glad you had that backup. What would be the cost to you of losing a resume, pictures of children and grandchildren, tax returns saved on your computer with worksheets, schedules, etc? Backing up will save you money, time and aggravation. If you know someone who does not back up their computer, please for their sake make sure they read this.

What is the best way to do a backup? It depends on a few factors such as how much data is on your computer.

If you have additional questions about backing up your files, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com 

My Facebook page provides information on the current goings on in the technology field. There are tips to better use your technology. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.

Computer training and many types of computer repairs can be done remotely. If you or someone you know needs either training to better use your computer or repairs I am now doing it on a remote basis in addition to in person locally.

http://computerconciergeny.com/3/post/2012/10/joinme-how-to-use-to-allow-someone-to-remotely-view-and-control-your-computer.html takes you to a narrative to use Join.me. It is a very user friendly site and it is easy to temporarily allow control of your computer. I also did an online video as well which is on the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyRSqpYNVQY

Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park,  Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park,  New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside, NY vicinity.  Our web services are provided worldwide.

Google Calendar To Better Manage Your Time

In today’s world, time management is something that we all need to do and do well.  This is just one of the reasons why Google Calendar is the preferred online calendar of many. It syncs with my smartphone as well and I also can add, delete or change appointments there as well.

Google Calendar allows you to set up multiple calendars using one ID. You make the choice of which calendars you wish to see at a given time. You are able to have a calendar for business, personal, travel, etc. with different sharing settings for each. You can share your calendar with anyone having a Google account. Other calendars allow those you share with to view only or also edit. With Google Calendar I can decide what they will view.  Do they just see whether I am busy or free, or do they see the event as well? I can decide. I further can allow others to decide who a calendar is shared with.  For example I have an appointment calendar.  My wife is able to see the details of this calendar but cannot make changes.  My son can only see if I am free or busy. He does not see the details. I also have a Travel Calendar for events my wife and I have planned for when we travel. Both of us can edit that calendar and make changes as needed. My wife can also decide to share that calendar with others. I also can make any of my calendars public if I so choose. If a calendar is made public, it will appear in a Google search where appropriate. My wife can view my appointment calendar and I can view hers.  Recently friends of ours purchased tickets for a show not realizing that one of them had made plans for that evening. When my wife and I are making plans, we check both our own and each other’s calendar to see whether or not the other has plans for the date and time in question.

I like the feature of when I enter an event I put the address of the event in the "Where" field. Clicking on that field will bring up the location in Google Maps. Since Google Calendar syncs to my smartphone, this could be a stress saver if I get lost as I can get directions on my smartphone wherever I am. 

It is a great calendar for scheduling a get together as well as inviting people to an event whether or not they use Google Calendar. You invite them directly from Google Calendar without emailing them through Gmail. The options to respond are the standard "Yes", "No", or "Maybe".  In addition, for the "Yes" response there is a field to indicate if you are bringing a guest as well as the name of the guest.

Need to quickly add an event?  Use the quick add feature. Type in the event, date and time and Google calendar automatically adds it.  Type in an email address and an invitation is sent to that email address. Do the same from your phone by texting 48368 and Google calendar automatically adds the event to your calendar. You also can add “interesting” calendars such as a schedule any or all of your favorite sports teams, national and/or religious holidays.

Another feature of Google Calendar that I like is appointment slots.  Appointment slots allows you to set aside period of time on your calendar at preselected intervals for others to schedule appointments.     For example a college professor can set aside Tuesday between the hours of 1-4 PM at ½ hour intervals for those also having Google Calendar to reserve time on your calendar.

One last thing here.  I do not erase events after they take place.  It is maintained on Google’s servers and takes up negligible space on your smartphone.  A lawyer friend of mine has a client of his who is being audited and erased events as they were completed.  Had they not been erased, the client would not have to go through hoops to recreate his Travel and Entertainment events. It would be right on his calendar and he would have a lot more time and money.

You need to have a Google account to access and use the calendar.  If you are not already using it give it a try. You may want to check out some of their features such as Year view, Jump to date and World clock. Its ease and convenience are why it the preferred calendar of many. You too may change calendars.

If you have additional questions about how Google Calendar can used to better manage your time, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com   It is truly a good time management tool.

My Facebook page provides information on the current goings on in the technology field. There are tips to better use your technology. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.

Computer Concierge NY LLC provides expert computer and technology services in the Queens, NY area. This includes Albertson, Bayside, Bayside Hills, Bay Terrace, Bellerose, College Point, Douglaston, Floral Park,  Flushing, Forest Hills, Great Neck, Jamaica Estates, Kew Gardens, Kings Point, Lake Success, Manhasset, Mineola, Munsey Park,  New Hyde Park, North Hills, North Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens, Plandome, Rego Park, Roslyn, The Bay Club, Thomaston, University Gardens, Williston Park, Whitestone and Other Areas in the Bayside, NY vicinity.  Our web services are provided worldwide.

Make that Disk Sooner Rather than Later

It used to be when you bought a PC, a system repair disk was also included.  This was useful in the event you needed to rebuild your system.

During this holiday season, many will be getting a new PC as a gift. What you will not receive is a system repair disk. This can be used to boot your computer in the event you are unable to from your hard drive, need to recover windows from a system error.  You will need to make a system repair disk.  This should be done as soon as possible after purchasing your new computer.  It could end up being invaluable in the event of a system failure.

To create a system repair disk, click the "Start' button.  In the address bar type "Backup" .  Under "Programs"  select "Backup and Restore".  In the left pane is an option "Create a System Repair Disk".  Select this.  Insert a CD to create a system repair disk.  When you are done creating your system repair disk make sure to put it in a safe place but not so safe a place you forget where.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Capturing What You See on Your Screen

Ever want to grab part or all of what you see on your screen? Want to email some or all of what you see on your screen? The Snipping Tool is for you.  This tool is included in the Windows7 and Vista operating systems. To access it go to the "Start" tab and in the search bar type in "snipping tool". You will then see the icon to click for the Snipping tool at the top left of the start menu .

Note that you are limited to what you are able to see on the screen view.  You can select all of what you see or some of it. You have the choice of a rectangular snip, free form snip, window snip or full screen snip. You select this by selecting the down arrow in the drop down menu next to "New".  With the rectangular snip, you are able to snip in a rectangular form  what you see on your screen.  The free form snip is just that.  You can snip whatever shape of your screen view to capture whether it be a triangle, circle, etc.  With the window snip you select a window that you have opened that you wish to capture.   The full screen snip is just that.  What you see on your screen is what is captured.

Once you have captured your screenshot, you can make your own notes and/or highlight selected areas on what you just captured in the captured file.  You also have the ability to email your finished product.  You also have the ability to save your capture.

The Snipping Tool is a handy tool and can make your computer life a bit easier.  Give it a try sometime.

The Library on the Web

Libraries are not only good for books, DVDs and reading magazines.  These days they also have a web presence.  While you can get local information by going to your local library's web site, the web sites mentioned offer a vast amount of information and you do not need to leave your home.

Our own Library of Congress (America's library) has a website that is also a good source of learning. On their site is a vast amount of information.  You can easily spend a day going through it and still have a lot to see all that is on it. You also can download and play podcasts and webcasts as well as viewing and downloading photographs from various collections. Informative transcripts and collections can be viewed. There are dedicated sections for kids, librarians publishers and teachers. Certain old newspapers are also available for viewing. There is a lot here related to American History. You also can order at a charge certain videos of historical significance.  Simply put there is more than I can ever say in a post of what is here.  By going to Thomas.gov which is a part of the Library of Congress you can find legislative information.  Status of bills, current activity of the House and Senate, searching the Congressional Record are just some of the things available here.

LibrarySpot.com is largely a reference site. It also is a good gateway through links to other informative sites.  It is worth checking out.  Again, so much information is at your fingertips.  Links to dictionaries, almanacs, calculators, etc, are on this site.

My local library  Queens Library has a web site that for starters allows me to reserve books, movies and see the availability of these items at the various branches.  My library card allows me to research various databases online including encyclopedias. For example one can get information on companies that they are researching for a job interview or other reason by going to the Business and Company Resource Center available through NOVEL NY which my library is part of. Community information is also available on the Queens Library website.


So if it is 3AM and you cannot get back to sleep and want to do some research head out to the library.  The online library.

Use the Internet to Save Your Trip

What would happen on a trip if you were to lose your passport, credit cards, driver's license, etc?  I find it to be a good idea to scan all except the credit cards and then save it as a word file using Microsoft Word (MS Word).  As for the credit cards, I make a list of that using MS Excel. I have the name of the card in one column and the card number in another column. You can also do a list in MS Word.  Using MS Excel is a personal preference.

In saving these files I make sure to password protect them. Since the method to password protect a file differs by program used and version of that program you need to go to the help section to determine how to password protect the file. I then email the file to myself. What I am doing here is adding an extra layer of security to information that if it fell into the wrong hands would make me more susceptible to identity theft. One would need to know both my email password as well as the password I am using to protect the respective files that contain this sensitive data. I would suggest making the passwords for your email and files different.

One does not have to limit to just credit cards, passport and drivers license. Scanning current drug prescriptions you are using and saving them to a word type file is another good idea where you have a copy of the prescription. This way if you were to lose the prescription drugs you had packed, you should have an easier time refilling it. You can also put the numbers of your travelers checks in a file as well. I also keep my phonebook in my Google contacts list so should I need a number I can get it wherever I have an internet connection which would include my smartphone.

Doing all of these is not a magic bullet should you have a loss. It will however make it easier to travel and in the case of a passport get a replacement more easily in the event of losing any important documents. I would also suggest that you avoid using an unsecured public wireless network to obtain any of this. If you have a smartphone, you can likely access this information using it. That said another way to store your files is if you are using a syncing program like Dropbox or Sugarsync. You can log onto the one you are using to access the information in question. I will suggest here that you do not save this information on the hard drive of any computers you may be travelling with. Better that it is in the cloud where the data and you are not in the same place. Also should your computer get lost or stolen, you can still access it from another computer. If anyone is interested in opening a Dropbox account let me know before setting up your account. I will send you an invite to join Dropbox and both of us will get an extra 250mb of free storage. A win/win for both of us. Note: as I mentioned in my blog last week, you cannot upload or save a password protected file in Google Docs.

Hopefully you will never need to access these files in an emergency.  However, having them in an emergency can make your life easier when it occurs.

Maps Online - Part I

Some may remember the days of going to the neighborhood gas station and getting a free map to plan your trip or if it was a trip farther away, writing and getting directions from the oil companies such as Sinclair, Esso, etc.  Well those days are long gone.  They have been replaced by online maps, GPSes and even smartphones.

For online mapping there are 4 primary websites: Bing Maps, Google Maps, MapQuest and Yahoo Maps.  Bing Maps, MapQuest and Yahoo Maps will be covered in this blog.  Google Maps will be covered in a future blog.

Bing Maps is the new map on the block comparatively speaking.  The map allows you to get directions for driving, walking or public transportation.  It also is easy to send the directions to your email or cell phone.  You can get directions based upon current real time traffic conditions though this is generally limited to the major thoroughfares. Directions do note at the end of the route if you have reached a certain location that you have gone too far which is a nice touch.  The "What's Nearby" feature is also useful.  I found it easy to zoom in and out using the road view and arial view.  Where it has already been photographed, the Streetside view has clear pictures an certainly clearer than the heralded Google Maps. However when moving along the street in Streetside view there is not an indication of about where you are.  I do like the 3D views with which you can rotate/pan and zoom functions. That said, it is relatively slow to open and also to go from view to view as well as going to the location you choose.  There is certainly room for improvement here.  Also if you wish to reverse your route after you have gotten directions, you need to go back to the search page. This is not a good thing.

MapQuest has a lot of the features that the others have with 1 notable exception. You cannot use your scroll wheel to zoom in and out on the map. You can only get directions by car.  No walking, public transit, etc. directions can be obtained using MapQuest.  It has a street view known as 360 view but the areas available are relatively few and slower than expected.  I did not find 360 view to be user friendly. Like the others, there is a way to search for businesses in the area.  MapQuest has a drop down menu of choices or you type your own in the search bar under "Find a Business".  A real good feature of MapQuest when searching for directions is you can get turn by turn directions if you wish.  This and Google Maps are the only ones of the 4 maps where you can do this.  Bing Maps allow you to go to the text indicating the turns and click to go to the location on the map but MapQuest's turn by turn directions is preferred.

Yahoo Maps offers live traffic and a points of interest finder.  It also computes a route rather quickly.  Yahoo Maps is better used to computing a route by car. There is not a way to determine a route by other means.  Yahoo Maps is also the only map that I am reviewing that does not have any drop down menu for locating businesses. Google Maps does have a very limited one which is stretching it a bit and will be covered in a future blog as noted earlier. You also can use it to find a business along the map that is showing on the screen.  This is done by typing the category in the search bar under "Find a Business on a Map".  It is more of a no frills map to mainly be used for directions by auto and finding a business.  There is no street view like in Bing Maps or Google Maps.  Further you cannot get a map for turn by turn directions or click on the text directions to go to that part on the map.

One final note here.  All 4 maps allow you to click to change a route by dragging any part of the route.

Also for those subscribing by email to my blogs, please check your spam settings if you are not receiving them.  Some have noted that the email of this blog has gone to their spam folder.  It should be marked as "not Spam".

Windows Live Hotmail

To paraphrase, this is the web based email service formerly known as Hotmail and Windows Hotmail. With approximately 360 million subscribers, it is one of the larger email services and is owned by Microsoft.  While I was not able to locate the maximum amount of storage using Windows Live Hotmail (Hotmail) they advertise as "ever increasing storage." Last year the liveside.net website showed a maximum storage amount of 500gb which these days might be considered unlimited. You can attach up to 25mg to an email message which is currently the standard for most email providers.

One of the advantages of Hotmail is the ability to change the interface and look of the webmail page very easily.  You can set up your reading pane to preview messages before opening it. A lot of people like this ability as you can see the message and delete it without opening it.  The preview pane can be on the right side or bottom. Another feature is the "Sweep" function.  This can be a great function for cleaning up a cluttered mailbox and is a very useful tool. With this function you can select a message or message group to clean up.  You can delete all or move to a folder.  There are more options and the choice is yours. Further if doing a sweep by email address, you can easily set up a filter for all future emails from that address.

Like Gmail, you can also view messages by conversation which keeps all messages on the same subject together in an email stream. 

There are concerns mainly with the contacts list which is used with many an email message.  Using the contact list is not the most user friendly.  When importing to Hotmail, I found that I needed to go to each email address and edit the address so it appears like it did prior to importing.  You also cannot delete all of your contacts at 1 time.  At most, you can delete 25 contacts at a time.  While your Gmail contacts cannot be deleted all at once, you can delete up to 100 contacts at a time.  I did not find the import feature too friendly when importing your contacts file.  I needed to search for the way to do this.  Same goes for importing Yahoo contacts.  You may be better exporting your Yahoo contacts as a .csv file then importing that file into your Hotmail contacts.

In addition to what has been noted, having a Hotmail account gives you access to other features of Windows Live. It may work for you. 

Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail is the second largest webmail provider with approximately over 275 million users as per a May 2010 interview with Yahoo! Mail's Carlo Catajan. It offers unlimited mail storage with attachments limited to 25mb per email message. Because of the large amount of subscribers there is also Ymail and Rocketmail which offers the same benefits of a Yahoo mail account. I find the interface to be very user friendly.


You have the option of a preview pane.  Unlike Windows Live Hotmail where the preview pane can be on the right side or bottom of the page, in Yahoo Mail it can only be at the bottom of the page. This give you the ability to in effect delete the message without opening it after seeing it.  One of the better features is like Gmail, the email message you are composing is saved as you are writing it.  However, like Gmail if you leave Yahoo without saving the message as a draft, you likely will lose it.  In other words, save your message every so often as insurance of a crash or other reason for you to be knocked off. 


Not everything is A-OK about this webmail service.  I cannot understand that when you want to delete a spam message you are prompted if you are sure. The other mail services realize if you are deleting a spam message there is no need to prompt to confirm you are sure about deleting them.  The drag and drop feature is deceptive.  It really does not allow you to move between folders by dragging it into another folder.  This however is corrected in the beta version where you can drag a message from one folder to another.  


Yahoo Mail works well with Yahoo Contacts.  The issue with Yahoo Contacts is that when importing contacts from another application it is not seamless.  For a business, the name may end up being the email address.  You would need to manually change. 

If you currently have a Yahoo email account go to http://features.mail.yahoo.com/ for the beta version. One disadvantage of the beta version is to go to "Options" you need to go to click "Help" and then "Options".  The non beta version has a selection for "Options" that is easy to find and you do not need to go to another selection prior.  I would anticipate that the bugs in the beta program will be corrected prior to it going live.  If you wish to not use the beta version after trying it, you need to go to "Help" then select "Return to Original Mail".

In all it is a solid email program.  It has a relatively easy to use interface which is more user friendly than most.

AOL

When many people first got a personal email account it was an America Online (AOL) one.  Their browser was user friendly and the easy to navigate AOL features that were user friendly.  We remember the old AOL CDs that were mailed out and in stores all over. There was the monthly subscription fee which enabled access to a dial up connection and all the other AOL features.

Today having an AOL email address is free. That is one of the changes that AOL has made over the years.  Another change is they are no longer known as America Online but rather the initials AOL.

Like Gmail discussed in a previous blog, attachments are limited to 25mb.  AOL however does have unlimited storage.  There also is a filter for incoming emails that allows you to handle them in the manner you choose depending on the criteria that is set.  You still have the option of playing a sound when new mail arrives.  Some of us may remember "You've Got Mail" when there was a new message in your inbox. Well when you sign into your AOL account using the AOL browser, you still get that message when you have new email.

One of the better features of AOL mail is when replying to someone else's email you have the ability to highlight any text from the stream that you want to remain in your email that you are preparing, then click the "Reply" button. It will then automatically list the highlighted text, with a header on it in your email.  You also have the ability to block email from specific addresses you specify. This filter can also be set to allow email from specific addresses as well.

I am not too comfortable with the interface of the Contacts List.  For starters there is nowhere to input a website address.  The contacts do not open quickly as well.  The contacts can be found easily in AOL mail on the left hand side. When using the AOL browser it is not as easy.  If you are not familiar using the AOL browser you may forget that it is in the "Mail" menu under "Address Book".

There is also no automatic save feature like there is when using Gmail. You need to click on "Save Draft" otherwise you could lose the email you are preparing should your computer freeze or another issue arises.  

There are those who may like AOL with their own browser.  It is not for everyone but those who have been using it for many years may feel comfortable with its familiarity.