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| Issue 6 - Spring Newsletter 2008 |
Question: What’s been happening in the computer world since my last Newsletter?
Answer: Not a lot.
Developments have been unusually quiet for the last few months on the computer front, especially for home and small business users. There haven’t been any revolutionary pieces of software (or hardware) released which one could term “earth shattering”.
Ubuntu
There has been one glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel (and it’s not the on-coming train bearing down on you) and that is a more stable version of the superb Ubuntu (Linux) operating system (OS), version 7.10 .has been released. This is an excellent operating system, used as an alternative to Windows or Mac OS, though similar in appearance and use. The major difference is what’s going on behind the scenes and this is where it’s appeal lies for me.
I’ve been running various versions of Ubuntu on a very old and decrepit Celeron based PC for a couple years mainly to add an extra string to my bow and also to see what other OS’s can do - yes there are others.
One of the benefits is that it will run on pretty much any old PC which previously ran Windows. It uses minimal amounts of processing power and RAM and can be installed on a tiny hard drive (in relative terms). A great way to save having to throw out a perfectly good (though underpowered PC) which won’t run newer versions of Windows.
A couple of “problems” with Ubuntu is that it’s not quite as intuitive to use as Windows / Mac OS’s and it does take a bit of learning (though normally if you can use Windows or Mac OS you can use Ubuntu). Driver support for printers / scanners isn’t great but usually a way round this can be found.
Benefits include:
it’s stability,
Internet access speed is fast. This is due to the way in which it handles and processes data (far more efficient than Windows or Mac’s can).
Word processing, Internet and email is a breeze.
It’s a single download onto a working PC. A CD is then burnt with all the files on it and then installed onto your old donor PC.
It comes with pretty much all the software you’ll ever need: Email, Internet Access, Word Processing, Database, Spreadsheet., Audio applications, Graphics manipulation, A few games, Plus other goodies.
A huge, huge plus point with Ubuntu is that the OS is FREE.
As well as being totally free, all the software which comes with the installation (open source) is free too.
So, if you’re in the market for a new PC and can’t justify the expense and your usage isn’t too extreme, (email, word processing and Internet) why not give me a call and we can have a chat about it.
Backing Up Your Data
Tools and strategies for protecting against data loss
How inconvenient would it be if your email, word-processing documents, and contact information were wiped out completely? How many hours would it take to rebuild the lost information from scratch?
Regular backups are vital insurance against a data-loss catastrophe (such as hard disk failure, hardware failure or fire / theft. Unfortunately, this is a lesson that most people learn only from bitter experience. Developing a solid backup plan can require quite some time to find out what works best for you and an investment in a DVD writer or preferably an external hard drive, but the cost is far less than the often-impossible task of recreating data for which no backup exists.
Best Backup Practices
Here are some rules of thumb to guide you in developing a solid backup strategy.
Develop a written backup plan that tells you:
What's being backed up.
Where it's being backed up to.
How often backups will occur.
Your documents, emails, photographs and accounts are your most critical data assets. They should be backed up before and after any significant use e.g. if you are writing a book on your PC or producing a major piece of work / project. For most people, this means backing up these files weekly or sometimes even daily.
There is little point in backing up program files as you should have the installation / restore CD’s kept in a safe place which came with your PC when new, or if the program(s) have been downloaded, then you should have the installation files stored in “My Documents”.
Store your backups well away from your computer, preferably in a different room to insure against a site-specific disaster such as a fire, break-in, or flood. Although it may sound like an overkill, you will be glad to have a system like this in place should the worst happens.
Once you have made a backup, ALWAYS test it before you need it. Just because your PC tells you that the data you’ve just written to DVD has been successful, doesn’t necessarily mean that it can be read by your computer!
Choosing Backup Hardware
Firstly determine how much data you need to back up. How big is your “My Documents” folder? How big is the email file? Add up the totals and add a minimum of 50% to allow for further growth. It’s amazing what a difference a few photographs and large emails will make.
If you only want to backup a few selected files, a USB memory stick may suffice. These can be got in various sizes ranging from 1 gigabyte (gb) to 8 gigabyte capacities and cost about £40.00 for an 8 gb one. They are very easy to use, in fact they are used in the same way as floppy disks. You copy your data to it and then when it’s full, you re-format it and start over again.
If you want to backup the “My Documents” folder then writing to CD (or spanning several CD’s) should do the trick. Bear in mind that the capacity of a CD is typically 700 mb.
Backing up to DVD should allow you to copy “My Documents”, pictures and emails onto a single disk. These have a capacity of 4.7 gb (6 times the amount of storage as a CD).
Once you have backed up to CD or DVD, remember to label it with the disks contents and more importantly the date.
An internal hard disk drive of a similar size to your C: drive can often be fitted to your PC as a slave drive and will cost from £70.00. This isn’t such a secure measure as ALL your data is stored on the PC, so if your PC bursts into flames or gets stolen, then you’ve lost everything. Data can be added many times over and a full backup trail can be made.
External hard drives generally plug into a USB port and have a capacity of approx. 300 gb upwards. These can cost anything from £80.00 to several hundred pounds depending on capacity and make and type. As with the internal drive, data can be added many times over and a full backup trail can be made.
CD – cheap to buy, small capacity – can be stored away from PC
DVD – cheap to buy, larger capacity – can be stored away from PC
USB Memory Stick – cheap to buy – limited capacity - can be stored away from PC
Internal hard disk – quite expensive to buy – pretty much unlimited capacity – cannot be stored away from PC.
External hard disk – more expensive to buy than an internal drive – pretty much unlimited capacity – can be stored away from PC.
Choosing Backup Software
If you are going to be backing up huge amounts of data on a weekly (or more) basis, or your data is critical i.e. your accounts, databases and correspondence especially if you run your own business onto either an internal or external hard disk, then backup software can simplify and speed up the process..
The software I use only costs about £45.00 and will backup everything I tell it. And once set up initially a backup can be made with just a few mouse clicks. It will even make scheduled backups during the night (when the PC is not being used). I normally make one full backup per week using this method and then often do a selected manual backup on an ad hoc basis.
Locating Files for Backup
Once you have the hardware and software in place, you need to know the location of the data you wish to back up. While most Windows users store data in their “My Documents” folder, there is also a tendency to keep files and folders on the Desktop, which you'll need to back up as well. Special database- or financial-software packages may store files in their program directories, so be sure to make copies of these, too. Finally, be sure to understand how your email is set up and where your messages (sent and received), calendar (if your email application has one), and contact information are stored.
If you have an extensive “Favorites” list in Internet Explorer, be sure to back that up as well.
Summing Up
I cannot emphasise how vitally important it is to backup your data. Until you have had your PC “die” on you and have no backup then you will realise that the programs aren’t the important issue, but that important document you need to refer to, which has now been lost.
Establishing a routine for backing up your work is essential. Please contact me on (01284) 830830 for advice and support.
Windows Service Packs
Microsoft are shortly going to be releasing two new Service Packs for their operating systems.
The first is Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista and the second is Service Pack 3 for Windows XP.
Both of these Service packs will (hopefully) address problems with the operating systems by way of increased driver and security support and general performance issues.
For Windows XP users this will be the last Service Pack to be released for XP as support from Microsoft will terminate on 14th April 2009. Microsoft have a general rule that once a replacement product is released (in this case Vista in February 2007), then there is a two year cut off point for support for the version superceded.
Quote from the Windows Vista Blog Spot
“As you are aware, service packs are part of our traditional software lifecycle; they’re something we do for most major products as a commitment to continuous improvement. But, the servicing situation has changed with the advent of Windows Vista, as we no longer rely solely on service packs as the main vehicle used to deploy system fixes and improvements. The Windows Update online service is one new way to deliver many OS improvements. For example, yesterday in advance of SP1 we released via Windows Update two separate improvements to Windows Vista’s reliability and performance. We did this prior to SP1 in lieu of requiring customers to wait for these fixes to be rolled into a single service pack. Beyond this, we improve the Windows Vista experience by continuing to work closely with software partners to ensure application compatibility. We likewise align efforts with partners on the hardware side of the business to broaden the range of devices that work with Windows Vista and to constantly improve device driver quality.
What is SP1? What is it not?
In addition to updates we’ve previously released, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues we’ve identified via customer feedback, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also makes additional improvements to the IT administration experience. We didn’t design SP1 as a vehicle for releasing new features; however, some existing components do gain enhanced functionality in SP1.”
Once these Service packs are released, I will be able to install and configure them for you on your PC
What’s In A Number?
Whenever we discuss quantities of data, we tend to do it in the abstract. We speak of a kilobyte, or a megabyte or a gigabyte without really knowing what it represents.
1 Bit = Binary Digit
8 Bits = 1 Byte
1000 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte 1000 Kilobytes = 1 Megabyte
1000 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte
1000 Gigabytes = 1 Terabyte
1000 Terabytes = 1 Petabyte
1000 Petabytes = 1 Exabyte -
1000 Exabytes = 1 Zettabyte
1000 Zettabytes = 1 Yottabyte
1000 Yottabytes = 1 Brontobyte
1000 Brontobytes = 1 Geopbyte
This is based on the IBM Dictionary of computing method to describe disk storage - the simplest.
What does this mean for you?
Bit: A Bit is the smallest unit of data that a computer uses. It can be used to represent two states of information, such as Yes or No.
Byte (B): A Byte is equal to 8 Bits. A Byte can represent 256 states of information, for example, numbers or a combination of numbers and letters. 1 Byte could be equal to one character. 10 Bytes could be equal to a word. 100 Bytes would equal an average sentence.
Kilobyte (KB): A Kilobyte is approximately 1,000 Bytes, actually 1,024 Bytes depending on which definition is used. 1 Kilobyte would be equal to this paragraph you are reading, whereas 100 Kilobytes would equal an entire page.
Megabyte (MB): A Megabyte is approximately 1,000 Kilobytes. In the early days of computing, a Megabyte was considered to be a large amount of data. These days with an 100 Gigabyte hard drive on a computer being common, a Megabyte doesn't seem like much anymore. One of those old 3-1/2 inch floppy disks can hold 1.44 Megabytes or the equivalent of a small book. 100 Megabytes might hold a couple volumes of encyclopaedias, 600 Megabytes is about the amount of data that will fit on a CD-ROM disk.
Gigabyte (GB): A Gigabyte is approximately 1,000 Megabytes. A Gigabyte is a very common term used these days when referring to disk space or drive storage. 1 Gigabyte of data is almost twice the amount of data that a CD-ROM can hold. But it's about one thousand times the capacity of a 3-1/2 floppy disk. 1 Gigabyte could hold the contents of about 30 feet of books on a shelf. 100 Gigabytes could hold the entire library floor of scientific journals.
Terabyte (TB): A Terabyte is approximately one trillion bytes, or 1,000 Gigabytes. Now we are getting up there to a size that is so large that it is not a common term yet. To put it in some perspective, a Terabyte could hold about 3.6 million 300 Kilobyte images or maybe about 300 hours of good quality video. A Terabyte could hold 1,000 copies of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Ten Terabytes could hold the printed collection of the British Library. For the time being that's an awful lot of data! Who knows what will be next?
Is That A Fact?
Seagate introduced the first hard disk drive for PC’s in 1979. It held 5 MB of data.
The first computer company to register for a domain name was digital equipment corporation:- dec.com, which later became part of Hewlett Packard.
When the cd was invented, it was decided that a cd should be long enough to hold Beethoven's Ninth Symphony at any tempo which was precisely 72 minutes.
Hewlett Packard was started at a garage in Palo Alto in 1939.
Largest Computer Ever: In the 1950’s and at 250 tons and 60,000 vacuum tubes, the SAGE system was the largest, heaviest and most expensive computer system ever built and required a space of over 20,000 square feet in which to site it.
Computer Joke (a terrible one)
Tech Support Guy: What does the screen say now?Customer: It says, “Hit Enter when ready”.Tech Support Guy: “Well?Customer: How do I know when it’s ready?
Quite a few things to think about this time round. I hope some are useful. Don’t forget to keep your computer and software up to date by applying any necessary updates, regularly scan your computer for viruses / nasties and of course backup your data regularly. Well you will do now after reading the Backup article, won’t you.
The next issue will be sent out in June and I hope you enjoyed this read. If not, let me know and I’ll do something about it.
Don’t forget that back issues of the Newsletters are available to download and print off in PDF format from the Hillside Computer Services web site.
For more information and details on any of the issues mentioned in this missive or any computing problems / queries, please contact me, and don’t forget to send me your email address if you’d like to be kept in touch with what’s happening in the computer world. Your details will not be passed on to any third party.
Happy and safe computing.
Mike Hamilton Hillside Computer Services (01284) 830830 Hillside Computer Services |
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