| Last
Month….
We had our second installment on how to back up folders and files
etc. On this occasion Derek showed us a very comprehensive package
called Acronis True Image. Derek has been using Acronis for some
time now and is very impressed with its features.
Derek
started the evening with a small PowerPoint presentation which
asked the question “Why Backup?” The main reasons
are to guard against file corruption, accidental file deletions,
hardware failure or even computer theft. He showed that there
are numerous ways of guarding against these disasters:-
Simple
File Copying is usually a manual operation where those important
files are backed up to another folder, disc or even online storage.
You do need to know where you have stored the original files in
the first place!
Full Backups will contain all your data at the time of the backup.
These will always form the basis of future incremental or differential
backups.
Incremental Backups contains only data that has changed or been
added since the last full or incremental backup. These backups
tend to be fairly small and take less time to create but must
all be used in conjunction with the last created full backup.
Differential Backups are independent files that contain all the
data changes since the last full backup. These are larger files
than the incremental backups but tend to restore faster than incremental
backups as they do not have to process lots of smaller incremental
files.
Disc Cloning is an exact copy of the contents of your hard disc.
It requires a second disc drive with at least the same capacity
and with large discs can be very time consuming. Very useful if
upgrading your master drive to a larger capacity model. Derek
went on to explain that there are numerous packages available
that do similar jobs including Norton’s Ghost, Windows backup
& Restore and Acronis True Image.
Acronis
True Image offers the user a complete PC protection package that
will backup and easily recover the system if hit by a particularly
nasty virus, failed hard drive or even an unstable software download.
On opening up the home page, the user is offered a comprehensive
menu of options.
The
first menu option Backup & Restore is probably the reason
you would buy this product. Here you are able to select what types
of backup you need to do. There are numerous options including
those mentioned above and more specific backups such as Emails
and Application settings. Data ca be backed up into a secure zone
storage area to keep the data safe until required for restoring.
Storage maybe on an internal or external device. The advantage
of this is that the storage of full backups and incremental or
differential backups are archived safely and cannot be accessed
by ordinary applications. The Manage & Restore facility has
a wizard that takes the user through the various options relating
to the required type of restore, be it a full system restore or
just specific files.
Task
Manager as its name implies allows the user to schedule backups
and other regular tasks that are offered by the package. Also
available are event logs to allow the user to track backup history.
The
Try & Decide feature allows you to create a secure, controlled
temporary workspace on your computer without requiring you to
install special virtualization software. You can perform various
system operations without worrying that you might damage your
operating system, programs or data. After making virtual changes
you may apply them to your original system. If you make changes
that you want to keep, you might want to commit those changes
to the system. Among the operations you may attempt with this
feature is to open mail attachments from unknown senders or visit
Web sites that might contain potentially troublesome content.
For example, if you visit a Web site or open an email attachment
that puts a virus on your temporary duplicate, you can simply
destroy the duplicate and no harm done – the virus will
not appear on your machine.
Bootable
Rescue Disc. You can run Acronis True Image from
an emergency boot disk on a bare system or a crashed computer
that cannot boot. You can even back up disks on a non-Windows
computer, copying all its data into the backup archive by imaging
the disk one sector at a time. To do so, you can create a bootable
media that has a copy of the standalone Acronis True Image version
installed on it. Acronis True Image Home also provides
the ability to create an ISO image of a bootable disc on the hard
disk.
The
Utilities section offers numerous additional options to help keep
your system safe and clean. The Drive Cleanser will erase all
data on a specified drive and offers various types of secure cleansing
to ensure secure data destruction. Ideal if you are getting rid
of an old computer. The File Shredder does a similar cleanse at
folder and file level. System Clean Up lets you can clean up components
(folders, files, registry sections, etc.), related to general
system tasks. These Windows components retain evidence of user
PC activity. This is where you can clear your temporary internet
folders; history files etc that if not controlled will eat up
your computers memory.
Currently
the latest version is Acronis True Image Home 2009 and retails
at $49.99. It can be downloaded from http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing.You
can also download a user manual in PDF format from the site, for
a more in depth view of the package.
Derek
has found it to have been an excellent purchase which is easy
to use and comes with a host of useful features at a reasonable
price. Anyone who has had the unenviable disaster of a crashed
system will know only too well the heartache of lost and unrecoverable
files etc.
Our
thanks to Derek for sharing with us, another powerful and useful
utility package.
Dave
Robb
Subscriptions
Following
last months meeting it was agreed that subs should be increased
to £15.00 for full membership and £5.00 which are
now due.
This is the concluding part of Diane’s Iphone presentation.
We would like to thank Diane for an excellent evening.
Text
input and SMS messages
For text input, the iPhone implements a virtual keyboard on the
touch screen. It has automatic spell checking and correction,
predictive word capabilities, and a dynamic dictionary that learns
new words. The keyboard can predict what word the user is typing
and complete it, and correct for the accidental pressing of keys
adjacent to the presumed desired key. The keys are somewhat larger
and spaced farther apart when in landscape mode. Holding a finger
over a section of text brings up a magnifying glass, allowing
users to place the cursor in the middle of existing text. The
iPhone does not support cut, copy, or pasting text. The virtual
keyboard can accommodate 21 languages.
The SMS text service is innovative yet weak at the same time.
The way it displays you conversations is excellent. Yet, you cannot
forward texts. I spoke to a lad working in the swimming baths
who had the new 3G phone. He said that he also had a second phone
which he received texts on because he wanted to forward jokes.
This seemed a little extreme as text jokes are rarely funny anyway
and how much extra per month would that be? He also said that
he was constantly on Facebook with the iPhone, which I had noted
as he finished sending a message before serving me at the counter.
I think that is a lesson with this phone, it is addictive.
You can also get to view YouTube videos on the iPhone, which streams
videos over Wi-Fi, 2G, or 3G. Simple weather and stock quotes
also tap in to the Internet.
Camera
The iPhone features a built in 2.0 megapixel camera located
on the back for still digital photos. It has no optical zoom,
flash or autofocus, and does not support video recording. It is
incredibly easy to use, and I have taken some great spur of the
moment photos which I would not do if I needed to carry a camera
around. Being able to add them to a email attachment is also great
and very simple. The email can then only be sent when in Wi-Fi
location.
The iPhone includes software that allows the user to upload, view,
and e-mail photos. The user zooms in and out of photos by sliding
two fingers further apart or closer together, much like Safari.
The Camera application also lets users view the camera roll, the
pictures that have been taken with the iPhone's camera. Those
pictures are also available in the Photos application, along with
any transferred from iPhoto or Aperture on a Mac, or Photoshop
in Windows.
You can download photographs by emailing them or by connecting
your iPhone to your computer. This automatically downloads photographs
and gives you the option of erasing them after download.
Things which irritate me
You cannot synchronise with more than one computer. If you want
to connect to your main computer to download information, this
is fine. If you want to connect to the lap top you have to reset
your phones iTunes. This is to stop you plugging into a friends
computer and sharing music files. It will only download music
from another computer once it has emptied all the music off your
phone, therefore you cannot combine libraries. This has less to
do with apple but more to do with copyright infringement. But
it is annoying.
Andy finds the screen too sensitive, but he is not light of touch.
In conclusion
Overall the iPhone is an amazing gadget. It is so simple and fun
to use. It is easily used by all the members of the family. We
have a great deal of fun with it. It is cool and I have not looked
back since buying one.
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