Unlimited Continuous Backups for Free

BOTH my main desktop PC and my laptop hard drives failed this past month -- IN THE SAME WEEK.

It was not a good month. I just got my laptop back and have been slowly reinstalling all my applications and data.

While what happened to me was rare, it may happen to you! Even if just one of your machines fail, you'll want to make sure that all you data are safe and sound, archives somewhere.

I've pointed people to Mozy before, but now there's another service which seems to do a decent job as well: Carbonite. A direct competitor, there are subtle differences in the 2 services.


But the bottomline is that you should try the Free Trial out RIGHT NOW. Don't delay and back-up yoru data off-site remotely where it's safe and secure.

Believe me, from personal experience now, I can tell you that you do NOT want to go through a hard drive crash at all. And if all your data is wiped out, gone forever, you'll kick yourself hard especially since you're reading about this free trial of the Carbonite back-up service.

I'm pleading with you. BACK-UP your data NOW. If you don't use an automated back-up service like Mozy or Carbonite, you'll have to remind yourself to do it monthly or regularly somehow. But if you get one of these services, you can set it and forget it.

The trial is completely free so that you can easily set it up and adjust the settings (which files/folders you want to back-up) for the first 2 weeks. After that, it comes out to just over $4/month. That's REALLY CHEAP for a complete full-service back-up service.

Let me know if you try it out and what your thoughts are about Carbonite by leaving a comment below.

Deal Alert: 500GB Hard Drive (1/2 Terrabyte!) for $89

This definitely qualifies for the deal of the day. A 500GB external USB hard drive complete with one-touch back-up feature for your PC. Bring it with you if you want, it's a nice size, kind of portable. And it's $99.95 right now. And if you use your credit card with Google Checkout, you'll get an extra $10 off free, making it only $89!!!

Cavalry 500GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive with OneTouch Back-up Software

Get your storage here! About a Quarter-A-Gig!

Technology truely is amazing(ly cheap) these days days. 2007 is the year of storage -- with the masses finally gettin on board with watching, downloading, creating, uploading videos, photos, etc, what everyone can use is a bit more storage. Instead of going through the hassle of opening up your case, and installing another drive in an open drive bay, an easier (and somewhat portable) solution is to get an external drive to store all that newfound media. Where else are you going to dump the hundreds and thousands of photos you've been snapping in your digital camera, camera phone and even camcorders that take decent still pictures?

Nowadays, the price of storage has plummeted to about a $0.25/Gig of hard drive space -- that's amazing! For example, you can get a 320GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive for less than 100 bucks! (ok, so it's 28 cents/Gig, but that's close enough to that shiny quarter in your pocket!)



Or if you spend just a little more, you can get 1/2 Terrabyte Drive(that's 500 GIGS!) for only $150! Usually, these external USB Hard Drives provide transfer rates of up to 60MB/sec on USB 2.0 (that's pretty fast) and are fully backwards compatible with USB 1.1 (which means it will work with **YOUR** pc!). Some of these hard drives even come in a fanless design, so it's QUIET. And they can be placed either vertically or horizontally, saving space and fitting nicely into the background.

With all the new media options with Windows Vista, you'll most definitely need more storate in the future (even if you still have Windows XP, you'll be upgrading at SOME point in the future!)

Memory in a FLASH

Do you remember the days of the floppy disk? Well, it's the same thing -- the day of the CD-R are going to the way side too -- make way for USB flash drives. These drives are small, portable and can fit in your pocket or even on your keychain -- and many now can store huge amounts of memory -- I mean GIG's of data...

Well, here's are options that are FREE (after a simple rebate) if you haven't picked one up yet, or even if you need one as a spare...


Buy.com has the Kingston DataTraveler USB Flash drive is ideal for home office, small business, schools and promotions. You can store, carry and transfer files quickly in an affordable, convenient device. As easy as click and drag, the DataTraveler can hold just about any file you can think of - reports pictures, spreadsheets or other important documents. It works with virtually any device with a USB port - even cross-platform from Macintosh to PC and vice versa. Backed by a five-year warranty, the DataTraveler is a reliable, inexpensive solution for carrying files around.

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eCost has a 1GB USB flash drive for FREE after rebate rigtht now (rebate form).



1GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive - Black

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Get a 2GB USB Drive for Free - $0.00 after rebate, which expires 2/27 from Buy.com

Connect 3D 2GB 2.0 USB Drive

BACK-UP BUFFET $5 all you can eat

So Mozy, one of the attention-getting back-up services online has finally come out of beta this week. Most users will be able to get by with the totally free 2 Gig back-up account. The service is pretty slick and user-friendly. It basically does what is advertised.

If you have more than 2 Gigs worth of data that you want to archive online (like your iTunes library!), then just cough up $4.95/month or $54 for a year pre-paid (tiny discount for getting it over with and paying once during the year). And then relax...ahhhhh.

To celebrate coming out of beta mode, they are removing account size limitations for their paid service! What does that mean? It means you should back-up ALL your data immediately with Mozy. It's what I'm doing right after this blog post!



I like online back-up services a lot. And Mozy has gotten some stellar reviews against the competitors.

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Here is how simple it was to sign-up for the free account:

1. You register for a free account: You basically have to download Mozy software and backup your data. The download will take you less than 30 seconds, so it's worth going through registration to try out Mozy.

2. Download and install software.

Mozy downloads in just seconds, and the installation is simple and fast.

3. Select the folder & files that you want backed up.

Next, simply click on the types of data you want Mozy to archive, and it does the rest. You can also dig into the details of your hard drive and get specific about which files and directories you want Mozy to take care of.


Viola! You're done! Now you can sleep better at night knowing that you can always get your data back if something happens tonight, tomorrow, or any day!

Have you tried Mozy? Post a comment/constructive criticism to let us know what you think.