Website Review – Backupify
Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 December 2009 07:24 Written by Alan Thursday, 31 December 2009 08:00
Backupify is a new web site/service available HERE. It’s free if you sign up before January 31, 2010. This is a slightly different backup than what you’re used to.
Backupify backs up your online files. Right now they handle: Flickr, Twitter, Delicious, Zoho, Google Docs, Photobucket, WordPress, Basecamp, Gmail, Facebook, Friendfeed, Blogger and Hotmail. With YouTube, Xmarks, RSSFeed and Tumblt lsited as coming soon.
You do have to give your user names and passwords for each service to Backupify in order for the backup to work, so there’s a certain amount of trust involved here. I don’t use all of the services Backupify covers, but I do know that some require a plugin (such as WordPress) while others do not (such as Twitter).
This covers an important gap in our backup strategy though. We all think of making 2-3 copies of our home files – the original, one to an external drive and one to a cloud for example. But we never think that our online files exist in only one place. While we trust these services to have their own backups and to not go out of business, we have learned hard lessons lately from things such as Sidekick and GeoCities.
Software Review – SyncMyCal
Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 December 2009 05:47 Written by Alan Wednesday, 30 December 2009 08:00
If you prefer to use Google for you calendar, but need that information also placed in Outlook, then you have several options out there. Google gives away a free sync tool HERE, but it has one major limitation – it will only sync your primary calendar. Many of us have multiple calendars in Google, such as Home, Work, etc. For this, there are several programs available for a reasonable price.
SyncMyCal is free. They do, however, have paid version that offers more features. But, I have found the free version sufficient for my needs. The two limitations of the free version are that it only syncs the next 7 days and it does not do contacts.
It works by placing a few simple controls on your Outlook toolbar.
Adding which Google calendars you want to sync into Outlook is very easy. Simply click Settings and then Sync Operations and begin adding calendars and setting how you want it synced. The free version does not include auto-sync so when you open Outlook you will need to click the Synchronize button.
Advanced Settings are also available under the Settings button and are quite clear and easy to set up.
The SyncMyCal button contains information on the version you are using, access to log files and to customer support, among other things. And, of course, and easy link to buy the Pro version.
Perhaps soon Google will make multiple calendars available in their own sync program, but they have calling it a “feature that is coming soon” for more than a year now, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up. For now, SyncMyCal is a worthy alternative.
Windows 7 – Set Default Programs
Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 January 2010 08:58 Written by Alan Tuesday, 29 December 2009 08:00
Windows 7 makes it easy to set you favorite default programs for lots of different tasks. Let’s jump right in.
1. Click Start and choose Default Programs.
2. Click Set Default Programs and you will be presented with a two-pane window. On the left are your default programs and on the right are a description of the program followed by two options – Set this program as default and Choose defaults for this program. The first is self-explanatory, the second allows you to associate file-types with the particular program. If you click this second choice you are presented with a file-types list. For example you may want to use use Windows Media Player to play your MP3 files so check that box, but you may want to use VLC Player to watch your WMV videos so un-check that box and proceed to the next step.
3. Back on Start => Default Programs click Associate a file type or protocol with a program. Scroll down to WMV and click to highlight it then, on the upper right, choose Change program and then choose your choice of programs.
That’s all there is to changing your default programs in Windows 7.
