Tell me if this sounds familiar: you turn on your computer, but instead of hearing the nice, happy startup music you're hoping for, you see the dreaded blue screen of death. Your computer's shot, and so is all the data on your hard drive. Papers, notes, music, everything - gone.
If you don't know that feeling, go knock on wood or something - you're lucky. But you won't be forever. Computers break, overheat, get dropped, get stepped on with high heels (there's no recovering from that one) and suffer from all other sorts of maladies. If you take a few steps beforehand, though, you'll learn that computer problems don't have to translate into data problems.\nThe first thing you should do is download either SugarSync (www.sugarsync.com) or Dropbox (www.dropbox.com). Both of these applications have fantastic free options, and both do essentially the same thing: they backup and sync your data. You download a small application to your computer, and then Dropbox or SugarSync watches a particular folder, uploading any new or updated files you add to them to the Web.
There are several advantages to these two applications. For one, you don't have to remember to backup, because all your files are synced anytime you're online. All your files are available online, on any other computer you use and install the application, and even on your cell phone. All your files are accessible wherever you are, and with whatever technology you happen to be using. Plus, they're stored and backed up far, far away from U.Va, and aren't going to get lost if your computer goes kaput. Both applications even store multiple versions of the same file, so if you accidentally save that picture you're editing right after drawing a nice black line through it, you can go back and retrieve the right version.
Other than just saving you from grade-killing drama, SugarSync and Dropbox both offer a number of cool features. You can share a file - with a friend or with the whole world - and allow other people to collaborate with you. If people you're sharing with use the application as well, they can edit a file you share with them, and the updated version will automatically show up on your computer. No more sending attachments back and forth; just deal with one file and let the Web keep it updated for you. It's also an awesome way to share photos with your friends and family - backing them up and sharing them with the world, all in one step, without handing the pictures to Facebook.
If your battery dies in the middle of paper writing, Dropbox and SugarSync let you just hop onto any computer with an Internet connection (say in a computer lab) and pick up right where you left off. Your data is as portable and as available as the Internet - which is pretty darn portable.
There is really no shortage of cases in which having your data accessible everywhere can be useful. If you've ever had a thumb drive not work when you're trying to load your PowerPoint presentation for class, or have forgotten to attach it in an e-mail before you go, having a last-resort plan that you don't even have to think about is highly reassuring.
If all you're looking for is roof-caves-in protection for your files, and you don't want all this syncing and sharing mumbo-jumbo because the Internet is scary, give Mozy (www.mozy.com) a look. Mozy's got a great, free backup tool that will simply ensure that your important data never gets lost.
Never having to worry about your data, though, is worth its weight in gold. I've gone through three computers in my college career (Soda + David + clumsiness = problems), but I've never once lost any sensitive data - all because I spent 10 minutes one day setting up a folder to sync to Dropbox. Ten seconds after I save a file, it's already safely stored somewhere far away from where I can mess it up.
Sorry, folks: "The dog ate my homework" just might not work anymore.
David's column runs biweekly Wednesdays. He can be reached at d.pierce@cavalierdaily.com.
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