How the South Burlington Team Backs Up

ByMike Moffit

Like most computer specialists, we throw around backup suggestions frequently. Many employees give anecdotal advice in addition to the standard general suggestions. What we haven’t done is show how diverse even our own backup solutions are. Below are some of our methods and habits in preserving our personal data.

David: 2TB Time Capsule for Time Machine backups. Crash Plan cloud storage backup. Dropbox, Google Drive and iCloud/iTunes Match for current documents and music.

Mikhael: Internal Time Machine backup drive in place of optical drive. Dropbox for all documents. Image of HDD on external drive.

Steve: Time Machine backup to external. Google Drive for cloud storage of documents. Google Music for cloud storage of music.

Nate: Time Machine and SuperDuper! backup to the same external, which is partitioned. No cloud use.

Taylor: Time Machine to external RAID5, and also Time Machine to a portable drive that lives in his backpack. iCloud for documents.

Sherrie: Uses Dropbox and Google Drive.

Michael: Manually moves data to external drive.

Lonnie: G-Tech External Time Machine Backup and also uses iCloud and Google Drive for basic document backup.

Ronnie: External LaCie Time Machine Backup and iCloud for her iPhone.

Jonny: Manually moves data about once per month to a 1TB G-Tech External. Also uses iCloud for his iPad backups.

Tyler: iCloud for iPad backups and uses thumb drives for basic document backup on his computer.

Patrick: Time Machine backup to external LaCie drive. iCloud for iOS backups.

Jason: Dual internal cloned drives backup to external Time Machine backup. iCloud and Dropbox for insignificant files.

Of course, none of us really have to worry about backing up our communications, because we’re all paying for the government-funded PRISM cloud backup at the NSA. You may find some difficulty restoring from this one though!

Similar Posts

  • Today's Weather

    I see bare fields as I look out the window and down the Mad River valley. It is about 50° F outside and…

  • Dogs at Work

    There are MANY great things about having dogs in the office. However there are a few things I could do without—diarrhea, throwing up…

  • Why Didn't Apple…?

    While as a whole I was left satisfied (and ecstatic!) by Apple’s big announcements last week, I couldn’t help but feel as if…

  • iPad Travel Experience

    This past week. I took a substantial leap of faith. That’s right, I left my MacBook Pro at home and traveled with my…

  • Cold Weather vs. Your iPhone: Some Tips to Keep It Safe

    There are two things that I am constantly interacting with every day: Vermont’s bitter cold and my iPhone. Apple officially states you can safely use your iPhone between the temperatures of 32 and 95 degrees (F), but if you are like me and live in the real world, you’re probably popping these guys out during times where the radio is trying to tell you to stay inside (yeah right; I’m from Vermont, after all).

    It’s no surprise that the past four years have put a smartphone into the pockets of most Vermonters, but as we drift through these gruesome winter months, a mystery still remains: What are we mountain folk actually subjecting these devices to?

    The first thing to consider — and most important to me — is the battery. The chemicals in the Lithium-Ion batteries totally hate extreme temperatures and will drain much faster than they should. In some cases, your battery will display a decent amount of a charge but in reality, will be on its final leg, and you will discover your phone dying out of nowhere.

    If this does happen, DO NOT TURN IT ON.

    Wait until you get inside and your phone warms up to room temp. Although the effect of cold weather draining your battery is temporary (phew!), you can permanently shorten your battery’s lifespan by trying to power it on immediately after it shuts down. Grandma’s Facebook comments on your pics aren’t going anywhere, so just wait until your phone warms up to check out what she said!

    The next thing the cold will try to kill is your screen! Cold temperatures tend to make your LCD screen way more sensitive then it usually is. Watch how you are applying pressure to your screen, especially if you have any pre-existing cracks and knicks! I had a customer come into the store last week and tell me about how she was talking on her iPhone outside and all of a sudden, heard this pop in her ear. When she looked, the pressure from her fingers mixed with the cold had cracked her screen in half! Definitely keep chats on your phone outside to a minimum!

    One final thing to look out for is condensation. Liquid is the number one enemy to your electronics. Much like your windows, condensation will form underneath your display as your phone travels from the cold to your warm houses. This will cause liquid to damage and corrode your internal parts! This will literally break your phone beyond repair, causing you to have to purchase a new one!

    There are some simple ways to avoid these catastrophes:

    # Keep your phone in a pocket close to your body — DO NOT leave your phone in a bag or in the car
    # Turn it off — your phone can endure a wider temperature range from -4 to 113 degrees (F) if it’s off
    # Purchase a case — not only do these guys provide physical protection, in some cases they provide insulation
    # Charge your iPhone before bringing it outside — this will give your battery the strength it needs to survive
    # Finally, do not get it wet in the snow — perhaps the most obvious one, but please watch where you are busting that phone out!

    So, as a reminder, keep it safe everyone — and be mindful about when you answer that text. Is it really worth replacing your iPhone because you had to check on that smiley emoticon text from mom?