Data’ | APPnox

Home

Tag Archive | "Data’"

Recover Lost Data For Free With Pandora Recovery [Windows]

Posted on 27 January 2012. Tags: Data', Free, Lost, Pandora, Recover, Recovery, Windows

Last night I inadvertently deleted 17GB of data with a mis-press of Shift+Del, causing a classic “oh sh*t!!” moment. I’d chosen to “permanently delete” the folder, skipping the Recycle Bin and instantly freeing up some space on my drive.

This is great when you’re playing file janitor for a day, cutting, copying and inevitably deleting files and folders you no longer need. Unfortunately getting the data back isn’t quite as easy as a trip to the Recycle Bin. You’ll need some recovery software, something like Pandora Recovery. Breathe. Relax. Let’s recover some data.

A Few Things To Remember

When a file is deleted, Windows usually sends the item to the Recycle Bin where it is marked for deletion but still very much on your drive. Once you’ve emptied the Recycle Bin the file is seemingly lost. Shift+Del is simply a handy shortcut to skip the Bin and zap a file.

However, just because the file or folder has been deleted does not mean your data has been destroyed. When a file is “deleted”, Windows simply marks that section of the hard drive as free, writable space. Provided you’ve not filled up the drive a few times, it’s very likely you’ll be able to recover those files.

This does of course mean that old hard drives, memory cards, flash drives and any other rewritable storage medium is subject to the same rules. If you format and sell an old SD card there’s every chance the buyer could attempt a recovery and enjoy your holiday snaps too. Regardless of how likely it is that someone would do this, it’s still very much possible.

Install Pandora Recovery

Assuming you’ve just lost a couple of vital documents, you’ll probably want to protect the medium they were stored on. Don’t write to the drive, don’t move or copy items and ensure you have at least enough free space on a separate drive for the files you want to recover.

Recovering files to the same drive that you are recovering from is possibly going to end in tears as your files have now been marked as free space, meaning it’s possible that you’ll overwrite the same files you’re trying to cover and lose your data. Don’t do it – recover to another drive and then put your files back where they belong.

If you’re recovering from your system drive then it’s probably a good idea to not install Pandora in this location, in case you overwrite the data. If you’re reading this without the need for an immediate recovery then ask yourself if you’re better off installing the software before you genuinely need it. Otherwise, choose another partition or better still prepare a portable USB install on another PC. It is also possible to buy a ready-to-rock USB version of Pandora for around $20.

You can grab Pandora here, choose Download.com as a mirror and click the Direct Download Now link below the CNET Installer link. CNET Installer will attempt to install crapware on your PC (you have to agree, but it’s quite a confusing dialogue) in addition to the Ask.com toolbar you should probably refuse in the main installer.

Once Pandora is installed or available as a portable app you’re ready to recover.

The Recovery Process

Recovering data with Pandora is fairly simple, and the first thing you’ll see is a wizard that attempts to guide you through the process. Follow the wizard and after choosing a drive you’ll be asked whether you want to browse for deleted files, search or conduct a deep surface scan.

Browse is great if you know where the data went missing from, and probably returns the quickest results. If you’re after a particular file then searching either for a matching name or simply by extension like *.avi or *.jpg will yield results. If your drive has been formatted, has corrupted file tables, is a removable/flash storage medium or everything else has failed then a deep surface scan is your best option.

You can easily skip between the functions in their respective tabs, and the recovery process is identical for all three methods. Once you have located a file or folder you would like to recover simply right click and choose Recover to… from the menu.

A dialogue box will pop-up requesting a location to store recovered data, remember: if you’re recovering from an external hard drive – copy to your main drive. If you’re recovering from system drive – recover to a USB or external drive. Do not write to your source drive.

Depending on how much data is being recovered you may have to wait a while. Recovering 17GB of video took me about 45 minutes, whereas a small file (documents or images) takes seconds. Once you’re done you’ll hopefully see something resembling the screen below.

Conclusion

Remember, if you can’t find your data with a search or browse then a deep surface scan is highly recommended. I deleted a few files to test the program and not only did it find the images I purposefully deleted but a lot of old music, video and image files from before my last format.

If you’ve tried Pandora Recovery and are still having problems then all is not lost. Maybe you’ll have some joy with another recommended recovery program. There is also a detailed FAQ regarding Pandora here.

If you have any thoughts on this or other data recovery tools then add your comments, below.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Posted in Useful APPsComments (1)

Cloud Export: Back Up Your Online Data To Your Hard Drive [Windows & Ubuntu]

Posted on 31 July 2011. Tags: back, Cloud, Data', Drive, Export, Hard, Online, UBUNTU, Windows

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cloudbackup-icon.png?54167" alt="online data back up"/>Back up information you’re currently trusting the cloud with to your own hard drive. With support for most href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/google/">Google products and a few others, including Twitter and IMAP mail, Cloud Export is a piece of software every cloud computing enthusiast should probably look into.

The cloud is great, but it’s out of your hands. Most of the time that’s fine, but there is always the chance that something goes wrong cloud-side. As such, if you really want to know that your information is safe, you should back it up yourself. That’s why the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/dataliberationfront-google-data-backup/">Data Liberation Front, a service provided by Google, offers guides for backing up Google products.

Guides are nice, but automated software is better. CloudExport is based on what Data Liberation offers; it’s just automated. It comes in the form of a Windows executable (which is easy to use) and a cross-platform python script (slightly less easy to use, but not impossible).

Using Cloud Export

Get started by href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/cloudexport/files/">downloading Cloud Export. You’ll find a .exe file for Windows users and a Python script for everyone else. Windows users can install as usual. Keep reading to find Ubuntu instructions.

Fire up Cloud Export and you’ll see a simple user interface. Click “Add new account” to get started:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cexport-start.png?54167" alt="online data back up" width="579" height="226" />

As you can see, you’ll need to pick which things you want to back up. Click a general category and you’ll be presented with individual things you can backup:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cexport-details.png?54167" alt="on line data back up" width="580" height="295" />

Select your services and enter your account information. Note that, to back up Gmail, you’ll need to href="http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77695">enable IMAP in Gmail.

One you’ve go everything set up you can start the backup process. This might take a long time, especially if you’re downloading all of your email, so be patient:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cexport-downloading.png?54167" alt="on line data back up" width="580" height="194" />

Your files will be put wherever is configured in settings; by default a new “Export” folder is added to your user folder:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cexport-files.png?54167" alt="on line data back up" width="580" height="174" />

As you can see, I backed up my contacts, calendar and photos. I was particularly happy to get my high-res photos from Picasa:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cexport-photos.png?54167" alt="how to back up data" width="578" height="141" />

Overall this is a great way to back up the cloud. Try it out yourself and let us know how you like it!

Currently Supported Cloud Backups

Cloud Backup supports a lot of services already. They are, according to the readme:

Normal Google accounts:
- Contacts
- Gmail
- Reader
- Picasa
- Blogger
- Health
- Finance
- Calendar
- Talk
- Docs
href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-google-free-email-domain/">Google Apps accounts:
- Contacts
- Gmail
- Calendar
- Talk
- Docs
Twitter
Identi.ca
RSS
XMPP/Jabber
IMAP (download email)
OFX

See an application you’d like to be included? You can href="http://www.nabber.org/contact/?subject=Cloud%20Export:%20New%20Application">request applications be added to CloudExport.

Ubuntu Instructions

Getting this working in Ubuntu is possible. You’ll need to install one package: python-tk. Install this using apt-get or href=""apt:python-tk">simply click here.

Once you’ve done that you simply need to make the file cloudexportw.py executable, then run it from the command line:

python cloudexportw.py

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/cexport-ubuntu.png?54167" alt="online data back up" width="580" height="189" />

The process should be similar on other Linux systems; feel free to leave information about this in the comments below.

Conclusion

Backing up your information is important, but how many of us regularly back up information we store on the cloud? It doesn’t matter how much you love and trust the companies that are storing your data for you; something could eventually go wrong. If that happens, you’ll be glad you backed up your information.

Do you think it’s worthwhile, though? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, along with any other tips for backing up cloud services. />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to join href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof" target="_blank">MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 105,000 fans already!

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cloud-export-online-data-hard-drive-windows-ubuntu/">Cloud Export: Back Up Your Online Data To Your Hard Drive [Windows & Ubuntu] is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/backup/" title="backup" rel="tag">backup, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/cloud/" title="cloud" rel="tag">cloud, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/cloud-computing/" title="cloud computing" rel="tag">cloud computing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu/" title="ubuntu" rel="tag">ubuntu />

INFOGRAPHIC : Where Is The World’s Data Being Stored?

Posted on 22 July 2011. Tags: Being, Data', Infographic, Stored, World’s

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/datacenter.jpg?54167" alt="" />As the Internet gets bigger and bigger, so do the places needed to store all of that data. But where are these data centers exactly? Which ones are the largest and who owns them? How can we put 600 Exabytes into perspective so that we can truly understand its size?

This great infographic, provided by class="vt-p" href="http://www.mozy.com">Mozy, shows us the answers to these questions and more. Let us know what you think about the infographic in the comments, along with any questions you may have.

class="vt-p" href="http://mozy.com/infographics/where-is-the-worlds-data-stored/"> src="http://mozy.com/assets/816/where-is-the-worlds-data-stored_infographic.gif" alt="Where is the World's Data Being Stored?" />

Image Source : rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=8721499">Shutterstock />
/> Hey Facebookers, make sure to join href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof" target="_blank">MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 105,000 fans already!

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/infographic-worlds-data-stored/">INFOGRAPHIC : Where Is The World’s Data Being Stored? is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/cloud/" title="cloud" rel="tag">cloud, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/cloud-computing/" title="cloud computing" rel="tag">cloud computing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/data/" title="data" rel="tag">data, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/infographic/" title="Infographic" rel="tag">Infographic, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/mozy/" title="mozy" rel="tag">mozy />

Reduce Your Mobile Internet Data Usage & Save Money Using Onavo [iOS]

Posted on 10 May 2011. Tags: Data', Internet, Mobile, Money, Onavo, Reduce, Save, usage, using

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/00_monthly_usage.jpg" alt="mobile data" />Thanks to the enormous growth of smartphones and tablets, mobile Internet access is also growing by leaps and bounds. More and more people are accessing the web from their mobile devices using wireless connections.

There are two main methods to accessing the net wirelessly – using WiFi and using a data connection provided by phone carriers. The problem is, fast and reliable WiFi connections are not everywhere. Most of the time, especially in developing countries, people have to rely on slower and more expensive carriers’ data connections. Knowing that customers have no other options, some carriers try to reap even more profit by setting an impossibly high price for data connections.

What can customers do to save money? They can try to minimize their mobile data plan usage, or they can use href="http://www.onavo.com/">Onavo.

To Reroute & To Compress

Onavo is a new service that will help phone users reduce their mobile Internet data usage by rerouting the data streams via Onavo’s servers and compressing the data there. The result is that users will send and receive smaller data sizes, websites will load faster, and the connection costs will be smaller. Onavo claims that the service can shrink data size up to 80%.

The concept of rerouting and compressing data streams itself is not new. The method was popular several years ago as an alternative way to “speed up” very slow Internet connections (does anybody still remember what it was like to use a 56.6Kbps modem over a landline?). One of those services was href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/faster-internet-anonymous-net-surfing-through-toonel/">Toonel.

At the moment, Onavo is only available for iOS devices ( href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/">iPhones and 3G versions of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipad/">iPads). You can download the free app in the href="http://onavo.com/i/download1">App Store. As for Android users, you don’t have to worry because several websites have confirmed that the Android version is on the way.

After installing the app, you can start setting up the service. Open the app and install a personal Onavo profile on your iOS device: fill in your email address and choose a password, then click “Next“.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/01_installed.jpg" border="0" alt="mobile data" width="580" height="416" />

Onavo will get the data from the web and ask for your confirmation before installing the profile.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/02-Installed-Profile.jpg" border="0" alt="mobile data plans" width="580" height="277" />

After the set up, you will get the explanation screen. It will tell you that the service is currently not supporting VoIP and video apps. Tap “Go To App” to continue.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/02b_done_setting.jpg" border="0" alt="mobile data plans" width="320" height="460" />

Let’s Start Saving

Using the service is very easy. All that you have to do is to tap on “Turn Savings On” button and do your normal Internet activities on your iOS device while leaving the app open. The rerouting and compressing process will be done automatically in the background.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/03_turn_on_savings.jpg" border="0" alt="mobile data plans" width="580" height="416" />

Anytime you need to stop using the service, you can tap the “Turn Savings Off” button.

Some of you might ask, why would anyone turn off a service that will speed up the webload while reducing connection costs? The answer is simple – the size compression process compromises on file quality, and the effect is most noticeable on images. So if you need to view web images in their best shape, you will want to turn off the compression.

After a few minutes of using the app, you can go back to the app to view the savings report. Onavo will tell you how many kilobytes (or megabytes) that you’ve saved. It will also tell you the saving’s percentage. Tap “Reports” to see the details. You can share your savings via Facebook, Twitter, or email to your colleagues using the “Share” tab on the right.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/04_savings_detail.jpg" border="0" alt="reduce mobile data" width="580" height="416" />

Since I tried the app only for a little while, I didn’t have the monthly savings data to show. But the app has a sample of monthly savings data, with a colorful chart showing where your savings went.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/05_sample_month_usage.jpg" border="0" alt="reduce mobile data" width="580" height="416" />

Settings & Removing

The “Settings” is the place to change your email and/or password, and to do several other adjustments. You can access Settings by tapping the gear icon on the top right corner of the screen.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/06_settings.jpg" border="0" alt="reduce mobile data" width="580" height="416" />

By going a little bit deeper into the Settings, you can find the instructions on how to remove Onavo’s profile: go to Settings – Profile and remove Onavo.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/07_remove_profile.jpg" border="0" alt="mobile data" width="580" height="416" />

But if you are a mobile Internet user with a carrier’s mobile data plan, you wouldn’t want to remove Onavo. How else can you get a cheaper and faster mobile Internet connection? If you know of another easy and free method to do so, please share it in the comments below. />
/> href="http://flashvideodownloader.org/fvd-suite/track/s/makeuseof">Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. /> href="http://flashvideodownloader.org/fvd-suite/track/s/makeuseof"> src="http://flashvideodownloader.org/fvd-suite/banners/aban3.gif">

Read comments: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reduce-mobile-internet-data-usage-save-money-onavo-ios/#disqus_thread">Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here …

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reduce-mobile-internet-data-usage-save-money-onavo-ios/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reduce-mobile-internet-data-usage-save-money-onavo-ios/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reduce-mobile-internet-data-usage-save-money-onavo-ios/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reduce-mobile-internet-data-usage-save-money-onavo-ios/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reduce-mobile-internet-data-usage-save-money-onavo-ios/&title=Reduce Your Mobile Internet Data Usage & Save Money Using Onavo [iOS]&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reduce-mobile-internet-data-usage-save-money-onavo-ios/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-apps/" title="iPhone Apps" rel="tag">iPhone Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-tips/" title="iphone tips" rel="tag">iphone tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/mobile-browsing/" title="mobile browsing" rel="tag">mobile browsing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/mobile-phones/" title="mobile phones" rel="tag">mobile phones, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/save-money/" title="save money" rel="tag">save money, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/smartphones/" title="smartphones" rel="tag">smartphones />

How Does iPhone & Android Location Data Collection Affect You? [MakeUseOf Poll]

Posted on 02 May 2011. Tags: Affect, Android, Collection, Data', iPhone, Location, MakeUseOf, Poll

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/polls.png"/>Last week we asked readers if they thought href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/bing-search-catch-google-makeuseof-poll/">Bing would catch up with Google. It seems most people don’t believe Bing has a chance – Google has won.

We collected a total of 442 votes for the poll, which made the result pretty clear: 70% think Bing will never catch up to Google; 12% think Bing will catch up to Google; and 18% think it’s possible that Bing might catch up to Google.

Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.

MakeUseOf readers clearly believe Google will lead against Bing forever.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Bing-Google-Poll.png" />

This week’s href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/polls/">poll question is: How Does iPhone and Android Location Data Collection Affect You?

Recent news reports have shown that both iPhone and Android phones have been collecting the location data of their users. Ostensibly it could be useful for law enforcement and rescue operations, but many users feel that it’s an invasion of privacy. How do you feel about it?

align="center"> />

/> href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/4994301/">How Does iPhone and Android Location Data Collection Affect You? style="font-size:9px;"> href="http://polldaddy.com/features-surveys/">customer surveys />

This poll only barely touches the tip on the emotions you might have on the issue of location data being collected without your knowledge. If you have some good reasons why this data should or shouldn’t be collected, feel free to let us know in the comments!

/>Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras. />
/>

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-android-location-data-collection-affect-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-android-location-data-collection-affect-makeuseof-poll/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-android-location-data-collection-affect-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-android-location-data-collection-affect-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-android-location-data-collection-affect-makeuseof-poll/&title=How Does iPhone & Android Location Data Collection Affect You? [MakeUseOf Poll]&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-android-location-data-collection-affect-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/google-android/" title="google android" rel="tag">google android, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/privacy/" title="privacy" rel="tag">privacy, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/polls/" title="Reader Polls" rel="tag">Reader Polls />

View full post on MakeUseOf

Posted in Useful APPsComments (3)

How To Permanently Store Your Data In The Cloud

Posted on 29 April 2011. Tags: Cloud, Data', Permanently, store

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MoveToCloud01.png" alt="storing data in clouds" />With the establishment of the Internet as a giant storage place, metaphorically referred to as The Cloud, local backups, cross-device syncing, and local data storage is becoming more and more redundant. In fact, the average user already stores a bulk of personal data online. Soon, even the data hoarders may find sufficient space in the digital cloud to say goodbye to terabyte-sized hard drives and complicated backup and sync procedures.

Are you ready to step into The Cloud? In this article I will show you how you can become largely independent of local data storage and store your data in the cloud. I will provide an overview of how the Internet can help you sync information across different software, platforms and devices to have your data accessible anytime, anywhere by you or by anyone you choose.

Cloud Messaging: Email

Whether you maintain a webmail account like Yahoo, Hotmail, or GMail or send and receive email via a desktop client, your messages inevitably pass through The Cloud and are stored on Internet servers, at least temporarily. The advantage of a webmail account that permanently stores your mails online, is that you cannot lose important messages and data. Some people even scan important documents and mail them to their own webmail account in order to have permanent access to them. It’s a thought worth tossing around.

Consider title="Google Mail" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1">Google Mail for a permanent webmail account. Apart from over 7GB of free storage, it offers incredible features that will let you experience email in a whole new light.

width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3bb1TZ-lLzo?fs=1&hl=en_US" /> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3bb1TZ-lLzo?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always">

MakeUseOf has covered title="MakeUseOf:" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gmail/">GMail extensively. Here is a small selection:

title="The Ultimate Guide To Gmail [PDF]" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ultimate-guide-gmail-pdf/">The Ultimate Guide To Gmail [PDF]
title="How To Search Emails In Gmail Efficiently" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/search-emails-gmail/">How To Search Emails In Gmail Efficiently
title="How to Turn Your Gmail into Awesome Storage Tool" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-turn-your-gmail-into-awesome-storage-tool/">How to Turn Your Gmail into Awesome Storage Tool
title="How To Quickly Find Messages With Attachments In Gmail" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quickly-find-email-attachments-gmail/">How To Quickly Find Messages With Attachments In Gmail
title="3 Things Pro Gmail Users Have Set Up In Their Accounts" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-pro-gmail-users-set-accounts/">3 Things Pro Gmail Users Have Set Up In Their Accounts
title="4 Simple Steps To Achieving & Maintaining Inbox Zero In Gmail" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-simple-steps-achieving-maintaining-inbox-gmail/">4 Simple Steps To Achieving & Maintaining Inbox Zero In Gmail
title="3 Great Examples of Using Gmail Filters for Productivity" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-great-examples-gmail-filters-productivity/">3 Great Examples of Using Gmail Filters for Productivity

Online File Storage: title="Dropbox" href="http://www.dropbox.com/">Dropbox

At first sight, Dropbox is a harmless little folder that sits on your desktop and holds your files. What hides behind it however, is a nifty little sync tool that works in the background and never hassles you. Not only are files in your Dropbox automatically encrypted and synced to your online Dropbox account, you also have access to 30 days of undo history, you can share Dropbox subfolders with your friends, access your files online, or sync them to as many devices as you like. 2GB of this cloud storage madness is totally free.

width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OFb0NaeRmdg?fs=1&hl=en_US" /> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OFb0NaeRmdg?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always">

Care to learn more about title="MakeUseOf: Dropbox" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/dropbox">Dropbox? Check out these articles:

title="Dropbox Guide" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/download-using-the-magic-pocket-a-dropbox-guide">The First Unofficial Guide To Dropbox
title="3 Unique & Creative Uses For Dropbox Accounts" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-unique-creative-dropbox-accounts/">3 Unique & Creative Uses For Dropbox Accounts
title="How To Easily Synchronize Folders Outside Dropbox Using Symlinks" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-synchronize-folders-dropbox-symlinks/">How To Easily Synchronize Folders Outside Dropbox Using Symlinks

Brain Online: title="Evernote" href="http://www.evernote.com/about/home.php">Evernote

Evernote is something like your online pinboard or fridge for useful bits and pieces of information, some even call it their external brain. Whether it’s business cards, recipes, ideas, pictures, or invitations, on Evernote you can store any piece of information you want to remember. Evernote will index text, even from scanned documents or pictures and whenever you need the information, you can easily search and access your data collection wherever you are.

width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zHom6bgqg9Y?fs=1&hl=en_US" /> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zHom6bgqg9Y?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always">

Let us get you started on title="MakeUseOf: Evernote" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/evernote/">Evernote:

title="7 Ways To Make Use Of Evernote" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-ways-to-make-use-of-evernote/">7 Ways To Make Use Of Evernote
title="6 Ways To Add Your Information To Evernote" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-to-add-your-information-to-evernote/">6 Ways To Add Your Information To Evernote
title="Evernote – The Killer App For The Android Mobile Phone" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/evernote-the-killer-app-for-the-android-mobile-phone/">Evernote – The Killer App For The Android Mobile Phone

Passwords Anywhere: title="LastPass" href="https://lastpass.com/">LastPass

What is the greatest annoyance when you quickly want to check your email on a friend’s computer or in an Internet café? After years of letting your browser store your password, you actually forget it! The same fate awaits those who reinstall their computer or set up a new device.

LastPass is a long term solution because it encrypts and stores your passwords online. It also offers extensions for all major browsers and mobile devices, allowing you to sync passwords across multiple browsers and operating systems and all your gadgets. In addition, LastPass provides a secure password generator, which creates nearly uncrackable passwords.

width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/obzh77-nD-I?fs=1&hl=en_US" /> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/obzh77-nD-I?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always">

title="Securely Synchronize Your Browser Passwords With LastPass" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/securely-syncronize-all-of-your-browser-passwords-with-lastpass/">Securely Synchronize Your Browser Passwords With LastPass

Bookmarks Sync: title="Xmarks" href="http://www.xmarks.com/">Xmarks

When we talk about The Cloud, we’re automatically talking about browsers and bookmarks. Browsers are our digital window into The Net and being the most important tool for accessing the Internet, many people are almost emotionally attached to their browser. While many browsers now offer syncing of personal data, what they all lack is cross-browser-syncing of bookmarks. What good are your bookmarks if you cannot access them anywhere?

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MoveToCloud03.png" border="0" alt="bookmarks sync" />

title="XMarks Syncs Bookmarks & Passwords Between All Major Browsers" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/xmarks-syncs-bookmarks-passwords-major-browsers/">Xmarks Syncs Bookmarks & Passwords Between All Major Browsers

Note that Xmarks will no longer sync passwords. The company has acquired LastPass and is thus deprecating the password sync feature in Xmarks.

Cloud Entertainment: title="Amazon Cloud Drive" href="https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/learnmore">Amazon Cloud Drive & Player

Right now, Amazon Cloud Drive is nothing but yet another online storage space. However, with the introduction of its Cloud Player, it provides a glimpse into the future of digital entertainment. Soon, we will store our media files locally, they will all be located in the cloud and accessible through apps on our digital devices. You can text the future now by title="How To Use Your Free 5GB Amazon Cloud Drive Space For Music" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-5gb-amazon-cloud-drive-space-music/">using the 5GB free space on Amazon Cloud Drive for your music (US only).

width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WkQ55Iij-1M?fs=1&hl=en_US" /> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WkQ55Iij-1M?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always">

Do you now see how laptops in the future will be based on a browser rather than an operating system? If you’re all ears about The Cloud now, you might like these articles:

title="How Does Cloud Computing Work?" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cloud-computing-work-technology-explained/">How Does Cloud Computing Work?
title="Build Yourself A Virtual Cloud To Fall Back On" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/build-yourself-a-virtual-cloud-to-fall-back-on/">Build Yourself A Virtual Cloud To Fall Back On
title="Do You Live In The Cloud? [MakeUseOf Poll]" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/live-cloud-makeuseof-poll/">Do You Live In The Cloud? [MakeUseOf Poll]

Needless to say, an article like this can only scratch the surface and show the biggest and best cloud tools to store data in the cloud. There are many, many more and I’m sure you know one or the other. So are you floating freely in The Cloud already or is something holding you back? Please share your opinions in the comments!

Image credits: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&searchterm=the+cloud&search_group=&orient=&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&commercial_ok=&color=&show_color_wheel=1#id=69769336&src=1f480891807a721577384797db5a1322-1-59">Lightspring />
/>Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras. />
/>

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/permanently-store-data-cloud/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/permanently-store-data-cloud/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/permanently-store-data-cloud/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/permanently-store-data-cloud/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/permanently-store-data-cloud/&title=How To Permanently Store Your Data In The Cloud&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/permanently-store-data-cloud/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/amazon/" title="Amazon" rel="tag">Amazon, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/backup/" title="backup" rel="tag">backup, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/bookmarks/" title="bookmarks" rel="tag">bookmarks, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/cloud/" title="cloud" rel="tag">cloud, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/data/" title="data" rel="tag">data, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/dropbox/" title="dropbox" rel="tag">dropbox, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/evernote/" title="evernote" rel="tag">evernote, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gmail/" title="Gmail" rel="tag">Gmail, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/online-storage/" title="online storage" rel="tag">online storage, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/password/" title="password" rel="tag">password, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/synchronize/" title="synchronize" rel="tag">synchronize />

View full post on MakeUseOf

Posted in Useful APPsComments (7)

[READ THIS] Your iPhone Is Tracking You – How To View That Data & Turn It OFF

Posted on 22 April 2011. Tags: Data', iPhone, Read, This, Tracking, turn, View

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/iphonetrackpreview.jpg" alt="" />It has come to light in the past few days that all 3G based href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/">iPhone and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipad/">iPad devices are recording a complete history of your location data ever since you bought the device (or upgraded to iOS v4). On a Mac, it’s incredibly easy to view this data and fascinating to watch your own movements over the course of a year or two. You can still get at the iPhone tracking data on a PC, but it’s a little harder. If you’re worried about the availability of this data, I’ll show you how to turn off the tracking too.

How To View The Data

Mac:

The duo who widely publicised (originally href="http://www.forensicfocus.com/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=7012">discovered here) this shocking data embedded within iPhone backups have also released a very user friendly app called href="http://petewarden.github.com/iPhoneTracker/">iPhoneTracker (Mac only) which visualises all of the data points. Download, and upon launching the app, you’ll instantly see all your data points plotted on a map. If you don’t move around a lot like me, you may have to zoom in to see the full extent!

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/iphonetracker.png" alt="iphone tracking" />

You can also view a video playback of your movements over time with the play button, or skip around through various dates with the slider. Here’s a fascinating video of my movements since September.

width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eS3TVp-2XE0?hl=en&fs=1"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"> src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eS3TVp-2XE0?hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="580" height="430">

PC:

There is no simple app I’m afraid, and you’ll need to have a jailbroken device to get at the file containing the data.

First enable SSH access to your iPhone by installing the OpenSSH app from Cydia. Be sure to update Cydia first if you haven’t touched it in a while.
Log into your device using an SFTP compatible app href="http://winscp.net/eng/index.php">such as WinSCP. You’ll need to know the IP address of your device, which you can find under advanced wifi settings. Enter that IP address as the host to connect to, then use the username “root” and password “Alpine“. After a while you should connect and be able to browse your iPhone’s filesystem.
Navigate to Library -> Caches -> locationd, and download the file consolidated.db
Next, go to href="http://www.courbis.com/Location-iPhone-your-phone-is.html">this website, where you can upload the file and have your datapoints plotted onto a Google Map. The link is to an English version of the page but the upload and plotting options are in French I’m afraid. The defaults work fine though.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/trackersite.jpg" alt="iphone tracking file" />

Possible Uses For This Data & A Reality Check

I’m sure some of you are fuming right now, screaming all manner of civil liberties abuses and what have you. While your feelings are quite valid, here’s a few reasons why you should calm down:

Mobile phone providers have been tracking you for years. Of course, it takes a court order to get at it, but your data is still out there somewhere.
The data doesn’t leave your computer – at least not in any way that is known of currently.
There is no conspiracy against your freedoms.

The question still remains though of how Apple is using the data, if at all. One guess is that because the data appears to track location through tower triangulation rather than GPS, that it may be used to show areas where reception needs to be improved.

Here’s a discussion/ interview from the guys who discovered it.

width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GynEFV4hsA0?fs=1&hl=en_US" /> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GynEFV4hsA0?fs=1&hl=en_US" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always">

How To Turn It Off

On a standard untouched iPhone or iPad there is currently no way to turn this location tracking off. Simply disabling location tagging or location services in settings does NOT work, because the tracking is performed at a much deeper level. You can however prevent simple local access to the data (and stop the iPhoneTracker app from working) by simply encrypting iPhone backups from iTunes.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/encyrpt-backup.png" alt="iphone tracking file" />

The good news is that if you’re running a jailbroken device, the free app untrackerd available from cydia will run in the background and prevent tracking. According to the makers:

“A package installs a daemon (process that can run in the background) to clean consolidated.db file) No new icons are added to your homescreen. There are no options to configure.”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/untrackerd.png" alt="iphone tracking" />

Scary stuff, or nothing to be afraid of? Let us know what you think in the comments. Do you have any wacky ideas of how Apple could be using this information, or do you think the whole thing is being blown out of all proportion? />
/>Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras. />
/>

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-tracking-view-data-turn/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-tracking-view-data-turn/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-tracking-view-data-turn/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-tracking-view-data-turn/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-tracking-view-data-turn/&title=[READ THIS] Your iPhone Is Tracking You – How To View That Data & Turn It OFF&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/iphone-tracking-view-data-turn/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

No tags for this post.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Posted in Useful APPsComments (0)

[READ THIS] Your iPhone Is Tracking You – How To View That Data & Turn It OFF

Posted on 22 April 2011. Tags: Data', iPhone, Read, This, Tracking, turn, View

How To View The Data

Mac:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/iphonetracker.png" alt="iphone tracking" />

PC:

There is no simple app I’m afraid, and you’ll need to have a jailbroken device to get at the file containing the data.

First enable SSH access to your iPhone by installing the OpenSSH app from Cydia. Be sure to update Cydia first if you haven’t touched it in a while.
Log into your device using an SFTP compatible app href="http://winscp.net/eng/index.php">such as WinSCP. You’ll need to know the IP address of your device, which you can find under advanced wifi settings. Enter that IP address as the host to connect to, then use the username “root” and password “Alpine“. After a while you should connect and be able to browse your iPhone’s filesystem.
Navigate to Library -> Caches -> locationd, and download the file consolidated.db
Next, go to href="http://www.courbis.com/Location-iPhone-your-phone-is.html">this website, where you can upload the file and have your datapoints plotted onto a Google Map. The link is to an English version of the page but the upload and plotting options are in French I’m afraid. The defaults work fine though.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/trackersite.jpg" alt="iphone tracking file" />

Possible Uses For This Data & A Reality Check

I’m sure some of you are fuming right now, screaming all manner of civil liberties abuses and what have you. While your feelings are quite valid, here’s a few reasons why you should calm down:

Mobile phone providers have been tracking you for years. Of course, it takes a court order to get at it, but your data is still out there somewhere.
The data doesn’t leave your computer – at least not in any way that is known of currently.
There is no conspiracy against your freedoms.

Here’s a discussion/ interview from the guys who discovered it.

How To Turn It Off

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/encyrpt-backup.png" alt="iphone tracking file" />

The good news is that if you’re running a jailbroken device, the free app untrackerd available from cydia will run in the background and prevent tracking. According to the makers:

“A package installs a daemon (process that can run in the background) to clean consolidated.db file) No new icons are added to your homescreen. There are no options to configure.”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/untrackerd.png" alt="iphone tracking" />

No tags for this post.

View full post on MakeUseOf

Posted in Useful APPsComments (0)

How Many Backups of Your Important Data Do You Have? [MakeUseOf Poll]

Posted on 04 April 2011. Tags: Backups, Data', Important, MakeUseOf, Many, Poll

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/poll2.png"/>Last week we asked you href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/operating-systems-makeuseof-poll/">how many operating systems you use regularly. Most MakeUseOf readers answered that they use two operating systems in the average week.

Within the 783 votes, we got this breakdown: 32% used two operating systems; 27% used three operating systems; 13% used four operating systems; 12% used one operating system; 7% use 6-9 operating systems; 7% use five operating systems; and 2% use more than 10 operating systems.

Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.

So, most people reading MakeUseOf use two to three operating systems per week.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/How-Many-Operating-Systems-Do-You-Use.png" />

This week’s href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/polls/">poll question is: How Many Backups of Your Important Data Do You Have?

Think about those files of yours you care most about and tell us how many places you’ve backed them up. Is it across multiple computers in your house? At work? Several USB sticks? Emailed to yourself? On a DVD at a friend’s house? In the cloud?

align="center"> />

/> href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/4834940/">How Many Backups of Your Important Data Do You Have? style="font-size:9px;"> href="http://polldaddy.com/features-surveys/">online survey

So, tell us about your backup solution. What mix of cloud/offsite/local backup do you consider safe for your important files? How does that compare to what you actually do? Let us know in the comments! />
/> Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/backups-important-data-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/backups-important-data-makeuseof-poll/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/backups-important-data-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/backups-important-data-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/backups-important-data-makeuseof-poll/&title=How Many Backups of Your Important Data Do You Have? [MakeUseOf Poll]&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/backups-important-data-makeuseof-poll/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/backup/" title="backup" rel="tag">backup, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/polls/" title="Reader Polls" rel="tag">Reader Polls />

View full post on MakeUseOf

Posted in Useful APPsComments (1)

5 Cool Data Apps & Mashups Provided By The US Government

Posted on 18 November 2010. Tags: Apps, Cool, Data', Government, Mashups, Provided

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/datagov.jpg" alt="us government apps" width="263" height="61" />Whenever you think of interesting data analysis tools or mashups, the U.S. Government probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. There are a lot of cool programmers out there doing a lot of amazing things to morph data, trends and information into awesome applications. Adam touched on this a bit with class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/20-real-estate-search-and-information-tools/">20 apps that provide you with real estate information, Saikat touched on class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/catch-news-world-map-7-map-based-news-aggregators/">7 useful map-based apps that aggregate news, and David hit on class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-mashups-to-make-craigslist-even-more-useful/">a few cool apps that mash up Craigslist data with other information, as a few good examples.

Believe it or not, the U.S. Government is now taking on the role of building interesting tools and data mashups. The datasets available within these apps are pretty impressive, and allow researchers to dig up statistics and correlate information in ways that were never before possible without a lot of very hard work. I’m going to introduce the five best Data.gov tools and show you some of the cool things they can do.

id="more-58443">

Introducing The Data.Gov Apps Showcase

If you liked the Data.gov app we previously mentioned called class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/datamasher-us-government-data-sets/">DataMasher, you’ll love what the class="vt-p" href="http://www.data.gov/developers/showcase">Apps Showcase at Data.Gov now has to offer. The site now offers hundreds of datasets and mashups that you can use to visually and mathematically correlate information. The Apps Showcase is the page where you can find the best of those apps.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-58444" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/usdata1.jpg" alt="us government apps" width="544" height="535" />

If you want to see everything the site has to offer, click on the “Tools” tab at the top and you’ll find yourself in a search engine featuring over 600 tools. The majority of these apps are simply RSS feeds for the latest alerts or trends, such as weather advisories, health estimates, and much more.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/usdata2.jpg" alt="us data" width="571" height="440" />

The 5 Best Data Mashups

All five of the best tools that I want to highlight are featured on the Apps Showcase, so if you like any of them, you can find them there. The first app is the class="vt-p" href="http://www.data.gov/developers/showcase#TB_inline?height=240&width=400&inlineId=tb_external">National Obesity Comparison Tool, which you can use to examine information about obesity levels by state. Just type in the state and you’ll see comparisons between that state and national averages.

If you travel a lot and you’re sick of getting held up at the airport, then this next app is just for you. It’s called class="vt-p" href="http://www.data.gov/developers/showcase#TB_inline?height=240&width=400&inlineId=tb_external">FlyOnTime.us, and it lets you check recent statistics for airports or airlines that you’re planning to travel through. These statistics can really help you streamline your trip.

Airline data shows you how that airline has performed historically, as well as which airports where delays most commonly occur. For example, if you’re planning to fly Delta out of Boston, the odds are pretty good that the flight will be on time.

If you select Airport Security information and type in the airport where you’re planning to travel from or to, you’ll get another set of historic flight data for that airport. This data includes real-time information (within the last 30 minutes) of the full last seven days worth of “wait time” at security lines for that airport. Plan ahead and you’ll find short lines through security. Isn’t it nice to have the ability to predict the future?

If you’re unemployed and looking to move to a better part of the country where there’s more chance of work, then you’ll want to check out the class="vt-p" href="http://www.data.gov/developers/showcase#TB_inline?height=240&width=400&inlineId=tb_external">Employment Market Explorer app. This is a very useful Google Maps mashup with unemployment trends displayed underneath. To check and compare local differences from one town to the next, just click on the map marker and the data below automatically updates.

Of course, I can’t list the five best apps without mentioning class="vt-p" href="http://www.datamasher.org/">DataMasher. DataMasher is easily the best of all of these apps, because it gives you the flexibility to select from a long list of datasets covering a really wide range of national information. It lets you perform mathematically calculations on those datasets, and then displays them in a graphical format.

For example, here I’m creating a mashup of states with the highest combined elderly population and driving accidents. The datasets that you have to choose from are between 100 to 200 items covering a wide range of topics.

The resulting maps are color coded, and if you click on the “table” tab, you can actually see the real data broken down by each variable by state.

Finally, the last app that I’d like to share is the class="vt-p" href="http://health.jameyer.com/">Health Data Visualizer. This is a lot like DataMasher, except that it’s focused on Health data, and the entry form isn’t quite as visually appealing. You have to type in a text command, formatted correctly and listing the variables that you’d like to see.

The resulting graph can be either sortable tables, scatter plots or blot maps depending which you choose. The available variables are listed at the bottom of the page, and number at least three dozen topics. The information you can gather and visualize using these tools is pretty impressive, and could be an invaluable research tool for any academic or student researcher.

Have you ever used any of these Data.gov tools? Do you know of any other countries that have similar tools as well? Share your own resources and insight in the comments section below. />
/>Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof">MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already! />
/>

href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof"> src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fbfeedfooter.png" />

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-data-apps-mashups-government/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-data-apps-mashups-government/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-data-apps-mashups-government/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-data-apps-mashups-government/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-data-apps-mashups-government/&title=5 Cool Data Apps & Mashups Provided By The US Government&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-cool-data-apps-mashups-government/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

Download Your Entire Facebook History With The New Data Downloader

Posted on 12 November 2010. Tags: Data', download, downloader, Entire, Facebook, History

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/FacebookLogo2.jpg" alt="download facebook history" width="200" height="200" />Since everybody class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-reasons-hate-facebook-geeks-weighin/">went a bit crazy about Facebook‘s iron grip on your personal data (myself included) the team have been hard at work improving their current system.

Now it is possible to download every single bit of information you have put on Facebook, including pictures, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/openbook-search-facebook-status-updates/">status updates, events and messages. This is undoubtedly the control many users have been looking for, and provides a nice “grab and go” option for those fed up with the service.

The feature should have rolled out to most accounts by now, but if it’s still not working for you then you’ll just have to be patient and wait your turn.

id="more-57943">

Why Do I Want All That Data?

Maybe you’re just fed up with Facebook. You’ve been using the service for years and have watched it transform from a useful tool for organising parties into a popularity contest for the under 15′s. You want to jump ship.

Well now you can do that, except before you jump you can pack up all your data and download your Facebook history. Once you’ve found a suitable alternative, like the class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/diaspora-preview-open-source-facebook">developing Diaspora, you can simply upload the data you once shared on Facebook. It’s also useful if you’ve ever wanted to give your Facebook account a facelift and remove all the pictures you class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/modify-private-facebook-account-fans/">don’t want your boss/gran to see (without losing them forever, although class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-backup-tools/">you should have backed them up really).

I just enjoyed looking at old status updates to be honest.

Download Instructions

You’ll find instructions to download the data in your Account Settings page. Once you’ve logged into your Facebook account click Account and then choose Account Settings from the drop-down menu.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Selection_046.png" alt="download facebook history" width="580" height="252" />

On the first page of settings (cleverly titled Settings) you should notice a new option beneath Account Security that says Download your information. Click on learn more to lodge your request.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Selection_047.png" alt="" width="580" height="286" />

On the next screen click Download and you will be notified that for your data to be collected, you’ll need to be patient and wait for Facebook’s servers to complete the request. If you’re a bit of a Facebook addict this will probably take longer, but the download should be ready within the hour.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Selection_048.png" alt="backup facebook" width="496" height="267" />

Once you’ve done that it’s a case of sitting back and waiting for the email.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Selection_049.png" alt="save facebook history" width="491" height="73" />

Ding! Data’s Done

Once your .ZIP file is piping hot and golden brown on the surface it’s ready. Facebook should have emailed you a link to download the data, I received mine within 15 minutes of making the request it and the file was a surprising 62MB (I expected it to be bigger).

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Selection_050.png" alt="save facebook history" width="580" />

With your .ZIP downloaded you’ll then want to class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7zip-a-free-program-to-unzip-and-compress-uncommon-compression-formats/">extract it. You’ll notice that it’s separated into a few folders: html, pictures and videos as well as a index.html and readme file.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/facebook-tbrookes.zip-_051.png" alt="save facebook history" width="577" height="307" />

The index.html file provides a handy way to browse the data in offline mode, from the comfort of your browser. You’re also free to go nuts and dive right into each folder, especially handy if you’re after a specific picture.

Your wall has essentially been preserved as it is seen on Facebook’s website, give or take the odd bit of info. Everything has been collated into one massively long HTML file, which can take a while to process.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Selection_052.png" alt="download facebook history" width="580" height="422" />

Images have been subjected to Facebook’s processing and if they were uploaded prior to their recent shake-up of photo standards then you’ll find them disappointingly small, but suitable for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-5-best-open-source-social-networking-software/">sharing on other sites. Videos I’d previously shared were all in class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-flv-converter-a-simple-freeware-to-convert-flv-videos-to-avi/">.FLV format, and appeared to be their original resolution (although I’ve not uploaded any class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-easy-to-use-freeware-video-converters/">HD content).

Conclusion

If I’m honest it’s nice to be able to take a trip down memory lane and see what you were up to a few years ago without the problems Facebook’s website repeatedly experiences. The data downloader gives you fast access to anything you’ve ever put on Facebook, and if you’re planning on shutting your account any time soon, don’t leave without grabbing your archive first. />
/>Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof">MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already! />
/>

href="http://www.facebook.com/makeuseof"> src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/fbfeedfooter.png" />

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-entire-facebook-history-data-downloader/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-entire-facebook-history-data-downloader/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-entire-facebook-history-data-downloader/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-entire-facebook-history-data-downloader/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-entire-facebook-history-data-downloader/&title=Download Your Entire Facebook History With The New Data Downloader&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-entire-facebook-history-data-downloader/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

SpiderOak – An Online Data Backup & Sharing Solution [Cross-Platform]

Posted on 16 September 2010. Tags: Backup, CrossPlatform, Data', Online, Sharing, Solution, SpiderOak

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/intro.gif" alt="online data backup" width="224" height="171" />There are many applications that abound for users concerned with class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-live-skydrive-3-alternative-storage-services/">online class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-best-sites-10gb-free-online-storage/">storage and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-backup-tools/">local class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-services-to-backup-important-data-online/">backup. You might be comfortable using something like class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/four-ways-to-integrate-the-dropbox-file-sharing-program-into-your-life/">Dropbox, but when you have important files outside of your Dropbox, or simply crave a little more than the simple options you get with Dropbox, you can’t go wrong with class="vt-p" href="https://spideroak.com/">SpiderOak.

The beauty of the latter, which has been featured class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/spideroak-secure-online-data-backup/">before in our directory, is that it puts you in complete control over which data gets backed up, synced, and shared. It also offers many options to choose or exclude files to back up by type, size or age.

id="more-53257"> /> For those interested, the class="vt-p" href="https://spideroak.com/download/">installation is pretty straightforward, without any third-party toolbar offerings of any kind. The program does require about a little over 18 MB of hard drive space. Note that you’ll need to create an account so that you can log onto SpiderOak’s website and access your backed-up files.

Backing Up Your Data

SpiderOak lets you choose which folders you wish to backup in the Backup tab of the desktop client – either Music, Movies, Pictures in the default Basic view. If you have specific folders in mind that you want to backup, simply click on the Advanced button at the top right. You’ll be able to select any folders in your main drive here, as well as external and network drives. On the right, you can still pick pre-selected folders, such as Desktop, Documents, etc.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/1.jpg" alt="online data backup" width="580" height="902" />

Since SpiderOak comes with 2GB of free storage, you can preview how much space each folder will take by looking at the bottom storage bar (which becomes red if your folder selection exceeds 2GB), making it easier for you to pick your folders accordingly.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2.png" alt="" width="580" height="49" />

Whenever you finish your selection, click on the Save button to start the backup. SpiderOaks saves any changes in existing files as well as new files. You can modify the backup schedule by clicking on Preferences and heading to the Schedule tab.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/3.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="758" />

Over in the Backup tab to the left, you have more options to maintain control of what files get backed up. You can choose to exclude files that exceed a certain size or age.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/4.png" alt="" width="496" height="546" />

Archiving Your Data

If you deselect folders in the Backup tab, future changes in those folders will not be backed up.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/4b.png" alt="" width="348" height="365" />

However, those folders will remain archived in your SpiderOak account. This also means that those folders will occupy part of your 2GB of storage unless you remove them on the View tab. This can helpful for users that need to archive currently-unused-but-important folders.

Syncing Folders Across Devices

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/5.png" alt="remote data backup" width="572" height="493" />

Unlike syncing applications like Dropbox, SpiderOak lets you sync any folders in your computer (which must also be any currently backed-up folder in SpiderOak). You can be very specific about which folders get synced across, say, your external drive and your computer’s internal hard drive. Just create a new Sync on the Sync tab, give it a name, choose the folders to sync, and voila!

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/5b.png" alt="remote data backup" width="577" height="1076" />

Sharing Folders Via Password-Protected ShareRooms

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/6.png" alt="remote data backup" width="503" height="342" />

You can create ShareRooms to share specific folders for different audiences. First, you’ll need to create a public login ID, which is known as ShareID in SpiderOak. Then select a name for the ShareRoom, a RoomKey (the password), the folders to share, and you’re done!

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/7.png" alt="backup data storage" width="567" height="644" />

Any changes you make to the folders will be instantly reflected on the ShareRooms (and to your guests via RSS feeds). Your guests can access the ShareRoom if you provide them with the URL, but they can also log in on the SpiderOak website, under Share Login.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/8.jpg" alt="backup data storage" width="579" height="850" />

Viewing Your Backed Up Data

Over in the View tab, you’ll be able to verify which folders are backed-up and shared. You can also view the previous versions of files, which are indicated by the numbers in parentheses in the filenames.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/9.jpg" alt="" width="579" height="357" />

In this tab, you can also remove archived or backed up folders on your SpiderOak account to get back space, without having to worry about getting those same folders deleted from your computer.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/10.png" alt="backup data storage" width="580" height="190" />

Downloading Your Files

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/11.png" alt="online data backup" width="580" height="523" />

You can either download your files in the SpiderOak website, once you’re logged in, or in the desktop client, under the View tab, by highlighting a folder and clicking on the Download button. SpiderOak also comes with a handy Merge option (view a demo class="vt-p" href="https://spideroak.com/howitworks/Restore">here) that you can use when you don’t want to delete any folders.

There may be a bit of a learning curve for this application as it offers so many options, so I highly recommend watching class="vt-p" href="https://spideroak.com/howitworks">SpiderOak’s video demos, which are short and sweet, but also explain visually what I’ve detailed here.

If you’ve tried SpiderOak, feel free to tell us in the comments whether you find it useful and better than other applications or not! />
/> Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/">MakeUseOf Answers!

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spideroak-online-data-backup-sharing-solution-crossplatform/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spideroak-online-data-backup-sharing-solution-crossplatform/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spideroak-online-data-backup-sharing-solution-crossplatform/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spideroak-online-data-backup-sharing-solution-crossplatform/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spideroak-online-data-backup-sharing-solution-crossplatform/&title=SpiderOak – An Online Data Backup & Sharing Solution [Cross-Platform]&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/spideroak-online-data-backup-sharing-solution-crossplatform/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

SpiderOak – An Online Data Backup & Sharing Solution [Cross-Platform]

Posted on 16 September 2010. Tags: Backup, CrossPlatform, Data', Online, Sharing, Solution, SpiderOak

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/intro.gif" alt="online data backup" width="224" height="171" />There are many applications that abound for users concerned with class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-live-skydrive-3-alternative-storage-services/">online class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-best-sites-10gb-free-online-storage/">storage and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-backup-tools/">local class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-services-to-backup-important-data-online/">backup. You might be comfortable using something like class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/four-ways-to-integrate-the-dropbox-file-sharing-program-into-your-life/">Dropbox, but when you have important files outside of your Dropbox, or simply crave a little more than the simple options you get with Dropbox, you can’t go wrong with class="vt-p" href="https://spideroak.com/">SpiderOak.

Backing Up Your Data

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/1.jpg" alt="online data backup" width="580" height="902" />

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2.png" alt="" width="580" height="49" />

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/3.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="758" />

Over in the Backup tab to the left, you have more options to maintain control of what files get backed up. You can choose to exclude files that exceed a certain size or age.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/4.png" alt="" width="496" height="546" />

Archiving Your Data

If you deselect folders in the Backup tab, future changes in those folders will not be backed up.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/4b.png" alt="" width="348" height="365" />

Syncing Folders Across Devices

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/5.png" alt="remote data backup" width="572" height="493" />

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/5b.png" alt="remote data backup" width="577" height="1076" />

Sharing Folders Via Password-Protected ShareRooms

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/6.png" alt="remote data backup" width="503" height="342" />

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/7.png" alt="backup data storage" width="567" height="644" />

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/8.jpg" alt="backup data storage" width="579" height="850" />

Viewing Your Backed Up Data

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/9.jpg" alt="" width="579" height="357" />

In this tab, you can also remove archived or backed up folders on your SpiderOak account to get back space, without having to worry about getting those same folders deleted from your computer.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/10.png" alt="backup data storage" width="580" height="190" />

Downloading Your Files

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/11.png" alt="online data backup" width="580" height="523" />

Data Recovery- Data Loss Scenarios Due to Hardware and Software Issues

Posted on 28 August 2010. Tags: Data', Hardware, Issues, Loss, Recovery, Scenarios, Software

Irrespective of being a PC or a Mac the computer system behavior and consistency are dependent upon certain factors. These factors are broadly divided into software factors, hardware factors and the surroundings.

The common software factors leading to a logical failure are:

i.) System files responsible for handling control to the operating system missing or corrupt

ii.) Unsigned drivers or drivers trying to access read only system area

iii.) Operating system files corruption due to incomplete automatic update, malicious software

The common hardware factors leading to a physical failure are:

i.) Problems related to mainboard in terms of the chipset or connector, power supply issue like incompetent power supply to run the hardware setup

ii.) Problems related to hard drive itself or the data or power cables

iii.) Improper setup of hard drive cooler fans (if any)

The common surrounding factors leading to data loss are:

i.) Heat dissipation issues related to closed or poorly ventilated surroundings like in a basement or store

ii.) Moist surroundings leading to the formation of thick dust layers and thus increasing heat

iii.) Direct sunlight leading to extra heat and thus hardware failure

We should logically negate these scenarios so that we can narrow down to the root cause of the problem and take corrective measures.

In case we find that the data loss is due to any logical failure, we can use data recovery software as they are programmed to meet the challenges due to all kind of logical crashes. They scan through the file system, locate all the files which are marked as deleted and are distributed as fragments across the partition, logically rearrange them as per the file system information and then recover them. The data recovery software are indispensable in cases like file system corruption, hard drive formatting operating

system corruption, accidental file deletion or malicious software like virus, spyware etc. We can perform a ‘Do It Yourself’ data recovery using these utilities as they are self descriptive and User friendly.

We need to install the data recovery software on another hard drive which is bootable. We can also use a different working system preferably using the same operating system platform as for MS Windows. Then, we can attach our hard drive to the same for scanning. For attaching the hard drive we nowadays use USB 2.0 Hi Speed or IEEE 1394/Firewire Cables, Attachments or Enclosures. The same can be achieved by a Master and Slave setup that requires hard drive jumper operations and thus is a little complex. We should avoid any other jumper operations as of the mainboard as they may lead to unstable system behavior based on BIOS settings.

We should always save the recovered data on a healthy hard drive.

In case of data loss due to hardware failure where the hard drive is either not getting powered or can not be recognized by the BIOS, we need to go for hard drive recovery service. The data recovery service is personalized help, delivered by data recovery experts. Such experts can extract your data in all possible scenarios of physical data loss.

Both these data recovery solutions are completely different from each other and have unique approaches in recovering data. There are several data recovery companies, which offer data recovery software and services, a user should opt for the best among them by comparing their features, reviews that is quality and pricing.

Stellar Information Systems Limited is the best bet to solve all our data loss issues. Stellar provides high quality data recovery softwarefor almost all operating systems and file systems.

The Data Recovery Service of Stellar is the global numero uno. The reason behind is Stellar’s sheer commitment towards the highest quality standards in terms of Research and Development and Software Testing as a dedicated and never ending approach.

It is carried out in safe environment of State Of The Art Class 100 Clean Rooms by skilled data recovery experts. It is available for all types of hard drives including SATA, SCSI, IDE/EIDE (PATA) and ATA interface hard drives.

To know more about these products, we should download and use free demo versions that are available on Stellar’s website.

Posted in UtilitiesComments (0)

Document Scanning Solutions – Easily Save & Export Scanned Data!

Posted on 07 August 2010. Tags: Data', Document, Easily, Export, Save, Scanned, Scanning, Solutions

If you are in the process of searching for document scanning solutions but you feel a bit overloaded with all the options out there, you first need to think about what you want to use it for, which will guarantee that you buy an appropriate scanner for your requirements. A portable scanner can be lifesaver in the way you handle digital data, primarily when the storing of valuable documentation is of the utmost importance. Prior to committing to a particular scanner, we encourage you to browse the information that follows.

The same as any current and sophisticated hardware device, mobile scanners have been made a lot more accessible and user-friendly. They can answer many purposes, which include items such as business cards and receipts that have accumulated, documents, and even checks. You won’t believe the speed, and these small scanners deliver high resolution images in a variety of output. In most cases nowadays, the cost of document scanning solutions is a very manageable expense for the business person as well as the hobbyist.

One of the most unique advantages of transportable scanners such as these is that they are so easy to work with wherever and whenever you need them. Included with the scanners is tailored scanning software that enables you to capture both printed images and text and easily save them as images or text or in a database. As an example, an id card scanner has the ability to pull out the full card image, face image, signature image and full text data of the identification and then categorize it in various files, which can then be exported to a clipboard or another software program.

Before purchasing document scanning solutions here are several factors you need to keep in mind: (1) what will your scanner’s main purpose be? (2) search the web for relevant scanners; (3) compare the scanners’ technical pros and cons; (4) check the company behind the product and read reviews by customers of the scanner; (5) establish freight charges and procedures for returns.

Posted in UtilitiesComments (0)

Unistall Adware and Start Protecting Your Data Today

Posted on 28 July 2010. Tags: Adware, Data', Protecting, Start, Today, Unistall

You’ve traced all your crazy computer problems back to a nasty adware infection. Now what do you do? You want to get rid of the problem and a great way to do that is to find a program that will uninstall adware. Lucky for you there are plenty of such programs out there. A little investigation will find tons of helpful information to help you choose the best program to meet your needs. Once you uninstall adware from your system you’ll be able to rest easy knowing you’re protected.

Adware sneaks itself onto your system without your permission or even knowledge. Most people don’t even know they’re infected until their computers start running amok. If your system starts slowing down and you’re inundated with pop-up ads, chances are good that you’ve got an adware problem. The problems with adware don’t just end with computer slowdowns. Some adware programs track your surfing habits and keystrokes. This gives them access to all your online transactions as well as your account numbers, passwords and user names. The only solution is to find a way to uninstall adware that is hiding in your system.

There are a lot of different software programs available to help you with this nasty problem. Some programs alert you whenever adware tries to install itself in the first place. But this doesn’t help much if you’ve already become infected. You’ll want to start with a software program that scans your computer and then helps you uninstall adware. You can’t just do this once though. Some programs allow you to automate scans so that you don’t have to worry about it. Some require that you launch the scan yourself. Whether you do this daily, weekly or monthly is up to you. But since the devious adware developers are constantly coming up with new programs, you’ll want to make sure your anti adware program updates its database regularly to offer you the maximum protection.

It can be overwhelming to try to find a good anti adware program since there are so many available. Where do you start? And, how do you avoid downloading a program that is really adware in disguise? Find out whether a program will let you set automatic scans and how it updates itself as well as whether it helps you uninstall adware it finds. See if it offers a free trial as well.

Just knowing the source of a problem isn’t enough. You’ll need to take action to fix it, which can be a daunting task. How do you uninstall adware if you don’t know which programs are causing the trouble. Anti adware software is the key. Just as you protect yourself against computer viruses and lock your door against intruders, a program that will help you uninstall adware makes good common sense.

http://spyware-adware-removal-software.com/

Posted in Cell PhonesComments (0)

Older Entries »

Tag Archive | "Data’"

A Few Things To Remember

Install Pandora Recovery

The Recovery Process

Conclusion

Using Cloud Export

Currently Supported Cloud Backups

Ubuntu Instructions

Conclusion

Similar articles:

Similar articles:

To Reroute & To Compress

Let’s Start Saving

Settings & Removing

Similar articles:

Cloud Messaging: Email

Online File Storage: title="Dropbox" href="http://www.dropbox.com/">Dropbox

Brain Online: title="Evernote" href="http://www.evernote.com/about/home.php">Evernote

Passwords Anywhere: title="LastPass" href="https://lastpass.com/">LastPass

Bookmarks Sync: title="Xmarks" href="http://www.xmarks.com/">Xmarks

Cloud Entertainment: title="Amazon Cloud Drive" href="https://www.amazon.com/clouddrive/learnmore">Amazon Cloud Drive & Player

How To View The Data

Mac:

PC:

Possible Uses For This Data & A Reality Check

How To Turn It Off

How To View The Data

Mac:

PC:

Possible Uses For This Data & A Reality Check

How To Turn It Off

Introducing The Data.Gov Apps Showcase

The 5 Best Data Mashups

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

Why Do I Want All That Data?

Download Instructions

Ding! Data’s Done

Conclusion

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

Backing Up Your Data

Archiving Your Data

Syncing Folders Across Devices

Sharing Folders Via Password-Protected ShareRooms

Viewing Your Backed Up Data

Downloading Your Files

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

Backing Up Your Data

Archiving Your Data

Syncing Folders Across Devices

Sharing Folders Via Password-Protected ShareRooms

Viewing Your Backed Up Data

Downloading Your Files

Similar MakeUseOf Articles

Stay up to date

Categories

Recent Posts

Blogroll