Chronosync
SMOG, iPhoto, and Backup
Bob Leahy who I met at the SMOG (Southern Calif. Macintosh Owners/Users Group) meeting wrote:
I'm sure you don't remember me, but I was the one who sat in front of you at the SMOG meeting. I was the one who made the comment about many of the SMOG members having a screw loose.
I noted from your blog that you are new with iPhoto, so I wanted to mention a special application you might find interesting. It is iPhoto Library Manager. You can download it -
along with every conceivable Mac utility - at www.versiontracker.com. Version Tracker is sort of a Google for Mac applications and utilities. If you want to find a Mac utility that can help you raise llamas, look there.
iPhoto Library Manager (ILM) allows you to have multiple iPhoto libraries. Many small libraries open more quickly than one large library. That's the advantage. The disadvantage is that you sometimes might not remember in which library you put your pictures. Having to open multiple libraries can be a hassle. In your line of work, you might have a library for each project.
I've used ILM to create two libraries, which is a small enough number so I know where I put things. One library has 10,000 pictures in it, and the other has 30,000 pictures.
I was impressed by your web site (I'm the web master for the SMOG group). I'm guessing by the fact that iPhoto was new to you that you also are new to the Mac. I wanted to say a word about backup. I owned a financial newsletter business for 18 years, so I thought a lot about safeguarding my records. The problem with working for a large organization like the L.A. Times is that backup is someone else's j
ob. You might not even think about it. But with a personal computer, make sure you think about it.
What if your home burns down tonight, or someone breaks into your home while you are at work, and steals your computer? Will it be a minor nuisance, or a major disaster? I use two external hard drives. One is in the bank safety deposit vault, and I use the other one for a week. Each has a complete copy of the Mac operating system.
I plug in my backup hard drive once a day (I use a laptop) and an application called ChronoSync automatically backs up all changes I have made. Chronosync also automatically backs up my laptop files onto my laptop drive three times a day. So if my laptop drive fails, I can boot from my external hard drive and in five minutes I can continue working.
Every Monday, I go to the bank and exchange the hard drive I've used all week with one that has sat in the bank vault all week. So if my home burns down, at worse I will lose a week's work. I can live with that.
Martin Scorsese is a semi-famous TV writer. He recently had his house burglarized. The burglar stole his computer - and the external backup hard drive that was attached. Martin had no other backup. 20 years of writing - gone.
If you're already backing up, then I apologize for wasting your time. But most people don't think about what bad things can happen to them until it's too late. I was an Infantry point man in Vietnam. I was the first person to walk down the jungle path to find the mines, booby traps, snipers, machine gunners and ambushes. The experience taught me the advantages of planning ahead.
Thanks, Bob. Very important stuff, especially about backing up. -- RL
I plan make it to the next meeting, the topic will be Pages08, Apple’s iWork ’08 suite’s word-processing application, this Saturday day morning. I’m sure I will learn something new. Everyone always seem to know another cool trick with each application. For more information, check out their website at: www.ocmug.org.
I'm sure you don't remember me, but I was the one who sat in front of you at the SMOG meeting. I was the one who made the comment about many of the SMOG members having a screw loose.
I noted from your blog that you are new with iPhoto, so I wanted to mention a special application you might find interesting. It is iPhoto Library Manager. You can download it -
along with every conceivable Mac utility - at www.versiontracker.com. Version Tracker is sort of a Google for Mac applications and utilities. If you want to find a Mac utility that can help you raise llamas, look there.iPhoto Library Manager (ILM) allows you to have multiple iPhoto libraries. Many small libraries open more quickly than one large library. That's the advantage. The disadvantage is that you sometimes might not remember in which library you put your pictures. Having to open multiple libraries can be a hassle. In your line of work, you might have a library for each project.
I've used ILM to create two libraries, which is a small enough number so I know where I put things. One library has 10,000 pictures in it, and the other has 30,000 pictures.
I was impressed by your web site (I'm the web master for the SMOG group). I'm guessing by the fact that iPhoto was new to you that you also are new to the Mac. I wanted to say a word about backup. I owned a financial newsletter business for 18 years, so I thought a lot about safeguarding my records. The problem with working for a large organization like the L.A. Times is that backup is someone else's j
ob. You might not even think about it. But with a personal computer, make sure you think about it. What if your home burns down tonight, or someone breaks into your home while you are at work, and steals your computer? Will it be a minor nuisance, or a major disaster? I use two external hard drives. One is in the bank safety deposit vault, and I use the other one for a week. Each has a complete copy of the Mac operating system.
I plug in my backup hard drive once a day (I use a laptop) and an application called ChronoSync automatically backs up all changes I have made. Chronosync also automatically backs up my laptop files onto my laptop drive three times a day. So if my laptop drive fails, I can boot from my external hard drive and in five minutes I can continue working.
Every Monday, I go to the bank and exchange the hard drive I've used all week with one that has sat in the bank vault all week. So if my home burns down, at worse I will lose a week's work. I can live with that.
Martin Scorsese is a semi-famous TV writer. He recently had his house burglarized. The burglar stole his computer - and the external backup hard drive that was attached. Martin had no other backup. 20 years of writing - gone.
If you're already backing up, then I apologize for wasting your time. But most people don't think about what bad things can happen to them until it's too late. I was an Infantry point man in Vietnam. I was the first person to walk down the jungle path to find the mines, booby traps, snipers, machine gunners and ambushes. The experience taught me the advantages of planning ahead.
Thanks, Bob. Very important stuff, especially about backing up. -- RL
I plan make it to the next meeting, the topic will be Pages08, Apple’s iWork ’08 suite’s word-processing application, this Saturday day morning. I’m sure I will learn something new. Everyone always seem to know another cool trick with each application. For more information, check out their website at: www.ocmug.org.
|