When technology fails | Pinnacle Newsletter #17
#17 When technology fails
You can craft the perfect tech setup for your work, but hardware failure could take you back to square one. The important thing is to have a recovery plan.
Last year, I spent some time selecting the perfect input devices for my computer system. I spend a lot of time working at my desk, so peripherals are important. The keyboard and trackball were not conventional choices, but they were ideal for me, and all was fantastic until this week when a rogue USB hub destroyed my keyboard’s ADB interface and blew out a bunch of other USB devices. When I came to think about it, I realised that several other devices that had been plugged into it had failed over the last year too: an old iPod, a thumb drive, at least two hard drives. Ouch.
When I cracked it open, I found that the capacitors had split and leaked corrosive gunk all over the circuit board. The ADB interface box – which lets my modern computer talk to my vintage keyboard – was utterly fried.
Fortunately, my MacBook Pro was not affected, but it made me very thankful that I have a robust backup plan:
All important files saved on Dropbox for reliable cloud-based storage;
Continuous regular backups to an internal Time Machine volume, which provides version control and the ability to recover individual files even if they aren’t on Dropbox;
Both nightly and weekly full-drive clones to an external hard drive;
Weekly and monthly full-drive clones to a rotating set of drives that I keep off-site.
This backup regime ensures that, even if my office were to burn down, I wouldn’t lose any critical data, and I could be up and running again as soon as I could get my hands on a replacement Mac. For many years, I’ve used the Mac app SuperDuper for cloned backups (which are bootable, unlike a Time Machine backup).
Do you have a backup regime? Is it good enough? Throwing a few files on a thumb drive every now and again won’t cut it, and neither will relying solely on the cloud, or the external hard drive in your office drawer. If you rely on your computer for work, you need a belt-and-braces approach. The only thing you can be sure about IT hardware failure is that sooner or later it will happen to you.
Recently published
I have a feature in the latest issue of The Great Outdoors, all about a long-distance trail I walked this time last year. Pick up a copy here!
The context of place – some thoughts from the Lake District.
Field notes: the Ardgour-Mull Trail – photos, maps and notes from my route published in this month's TGO.
Review: Sunday Afternoons Sun Guide Cap – best hat I've ever used in sunny conditions.
Links of interest
Durable gear – "we live in a world of disposable things"
My Final Mountain – some good choices here.
The British countryside is being killed by herbicides and insecticides – can anything save it?
Small losses
From my Commonplace Book
Multitasking is an illusion. You think you are multitasking, but in reality you are wasting time switching from one task to another.
- Attribution unknown
Until next time,
Alex
www.alexroddie.com