"There are two types of data: those that have already been archived by backup and those that have not yet been lost." - Unknown
Everyone knows one. We all have someone in our life that is completely floating out in the milky way regarding the actual safety and stability of digital media and the reliability of technology. How many people do you know that save all their files to their hard drive without regular back-ups? Have you ever witnessed the dreaded click of death that a hard drive announces just before it dies? That feeling of dread that overtakes you. Helplessness in every sense of the word. The feelings of rage toward your computer, or even yourself for being so stupid. People tend to put things off until they really need to do it and unfortunately for most computer users and amateur digital photographers the time comes too late. They have to learn the hard way before they learn to properly back up their computers.
Let me ask you a few standard questions? Do you keep your computer plugged in during storms without a surge protector? Maybe you or someone you know archive their precious memories and files on CD? Good for you. What brand do you buy? How do you store them after they are burnt? Where do they store them? In your bedroom? Maybe your basement? How long will they last? Do you believe that those same CDs will be around for your grandchildren to load and read? Do you believe that they will be around in 10 years even? Will your grandchildren have equipment that will actually read them? If they do, what condition will the storage media be in? What if they can read the media but the image file formats are unreadable and outdated? What happens if a virus strikes your computer this evening and deletes all your files?
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