"Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve."

-- Benjamin Franklin, statesman

by Jami Petersen

Technology is a blessing but can feel like a curse whenever something goes wrong. Anyone who has a computer knows the feeling. When information is lost, it can be disastrous for any business. Tony Beecher has some ideas and solutions for protecting all that precious data.

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Press Releases

News you can use about the latest media coverage of hot trends, noteworthy events and dynamic industry leaders. Learn more about the current headlines in arts and crafts by clicking on the title of each article segment.
 

Pentel Rolls out this Season's Hottest New Back-to-School Products. Check out Three of Pentel's Coolest New Products for the 2010 School Year— From the Eco-Friendly to the Totally New

"Shake Things Up" with the new Jolt Mechanical Pencil. This updated version of the geeky mechanical pencil, works in a new way. Two quick shakes of the pencil advance the lead in Pentel’s brand new Jolt mechanical pencils. Clicking your mechanical pencil to get more lead is so last year. With four young colors to appeal to students, this innovative new product will be shaking students through the three Rs in a fun way. MSRP: $2.75. Note: Pentel Lead is guaranteed to scan on tests and documents.

Back-to-School Goes Eco-chíc with the Handy-line S Retractable Highlighter. Highlighters are on everyone’s school list. Why not use a highlighter made from 54 percent post-consumer recycled plastic? This highlighter is refillable so the barrel is reused throughout the school year. It’s an easy way to be green. Highlighter ink colors: yellow, orange, light green, pink, sky blue and violet. MSRP: $1.79

Get Ready to Schoolhouse Rock & Roll with the Rolly 4-Color Pen. Four colors in one pen! Black, Red, Blue, and Green ink is all the student needs this school year. Use to color code notes, use different colors in projects, or underline textbooks in different colors. The colors are easily chosen by sliding down the preferred color indicator. The Rolly has an attractive metallic finish on a comfortable barrel. Comes in four barrel colors: light green, pink, sky blue and silver. MSRP: $6.90

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by Tony Beecher, Vice President of Technology, A-Z Media Group

I have been burned more than once by a catastrophic hardware failure where my single backup method failed and I was reduced to starting from scratch. I have since done an incredible amount of research into backup strategies. I hope that my research can help save you from the pain of losing your business-critical data. System failure is not only extremely stressful; it can break a business.

Steps to a good backup strategy are:
1. Back up your business-critical data every day
2. Perform a secondary backup to your data
3. Take a copy of your data offsite
4. Test your recovery process before you need it

Protect Your Data

Too many business owners feel that they are too busy to take the time to back up their data. This mindset can be easily cured when their disk drive kicks the bucket, taking all of their customer information, sales, financial data, inventory, and email with it. Try to imagine how you would run your business without this vital lifeline. You need to remember that a disk drive will die one day. It is just a matter of time.

Popular backup methods include:
- Backup to tape
- Backup to a disk drive
- Backup to CD/DVDs

The most common defense method is a backup to tape. This can be performed unattended using a variety of software programs; some are even built into the operating system. My backup strategy is to copy all of my important data from both of my servers to a 4mm tape every night, using Symantec/Veritas Backup. Every morning I swap the tapes. I maintain a continuous supply of 2 weeks’ worth of tapes. The stockpile of tapes allows me to go back in time in case someone deleted an important file a week ago and just now noticed.

Another backup method utilizes an additional disk drive. This drive should be either a network drive or a self-contained USB external disk drive. This is a lower-cost alternative, but I recommend that you use this as a secondary backup since the backed-up data will live in the same place as the main computer.

If you do not have a great amount of data to protect, you can always back up to a CD or DVD. This can be a lower cost method, but it requires more manpower than the other options.

As a backup to my backup plan I also use Second Copy to copy my critical data from my mail server to my file server every night. I also have Second Copy perform a copy of the user files from file server to mail server nightly. This way if I have a catastrophic failure that is confined to one machine, I can simply rebuild the server and perform a file transfer to quickly put the data back in place.

Take a Copy of your Data Offsite

One of the most important steps in your backup strategy is to maintain a copy of your data offsite. By physically taking a copy out of the building, you are protecting yourself from a major building catastrophe. With a copy of your data you can rebuild a computer and have access to your financial, inventory, and receivables data.

Another way to get your data offsite is to use an online storage facility. There are many companies who have backup servers on the Internet. They offer programs that run on your computer and copy your important data to their servers on a scheduled basis. Two of the companies that I use are Mozy and Xdrive. You can do a Google search for ‘online data storage’ for other similar companies.

I currently keep the last 2 days’ worth of backup tapes in my briefcase. By keeping 2 copies I am hedging my bet in case the first tape has a problem. I figure that it is better to recover from data that is 2 days old instead of losing my data completely.

Test your Recovery Process

It is also important to test your ability to retrieve your data from your backup device before you need it. This test will insure that you can perform the task in an emergency. My recommendation is to build a folder structure on your disk with some sample files. After you have performed the backup you can delete the test folder and then restore the folder from the backup.

Taking a few moments to rehearse your recovery strategy can save you an incredible amount of stress when a disaster occurs.

Apply These Methodologies at Home

It is also important to note that these processes can and should be applied at home. I am sure that you have known somebody who had something go horribly wrong with their home computer and lose their data. These days a typical home PC holds your finances, investments, email, home inventory list, digital photos, and much, much more. Imagine you came home and found your computer missing. What would you do?

Here is what I do. Every night my home computer uses Second Copy to move any new or changed data to my wife’s computer at 1:00 A.M. At 3:00 A.M. my wife’s computer moves her critical data to my computer. In order to get a copy of our data offsite I use Mozy to take a copy of our critical data and store it every couple of hours. It only copies new or changed data. I also occasionally burn a copy of my data to a DVD and take it to work for storage.

Paranoia? I don’t think so. We all know that computers are far from perfect, and that they can betray us by crashing without warning. You’ve worked hard to build your business; don’t allow your critical information to disappear. I learned the hard way that one backup system is not enough. Use multiple strategies to protect your hard-earned data.

New Die Cutting and Embossing Machine Brings Inspiration and Provides a Larger Level of Detail

Spellbinders™ Paper Arts, LLC, an award-winning inventor, manufacturer and marketer of cutting edge tools for crafters, introduced its eagerly awaited Grand Calibur™ at the 2010 Summer Craft & Hobby Association Trade Show (CHA).

“Based on input we have received from crafters over several years, Spellbinders is excited to bring the Grand Calibur to market,’ said Tobianne Hall, Vice President of Marketing. “Along with our Grand Nestabilities die templates, the Grand Calibur is an innovative, large format die cutting and embossing machine that is certain to be a big hit, allowing crafters to take their creativity to a larger level. The new die templates will mix and match with our regular Nestabilities and offer endless possibilities for every type of paper crafting.”

Compatible with all Spellbinders’ die templates, the Grand Calibur accepts 8.5” x 11” paper without trimming, as well as cuts and embosses up to 8.25” wide with the turn of a handle. The Grand Calibur is portable and has an integrated handle design with a stability base that keeps the machine in place during use. Able to cut and emboss a variety of shapes and designs in one pass, the Grand Calibur and Grand Nestabilities continue to provide crafters with the extraordinary detail Spellbinders is known for in its highly creative product lines.

Grand Nestablilities die templates were launched along with the Grand Calibur and include a variety of Grand sizes, ranging from 4 to over 9”. Each shape picks up where the regular-sized Nestabilities leave off and continue in the 1/4” increments that are unique to Spellbinders. The Grand Nestabilities introduction includes three regular geometric shapes, three scalloped geometric shapes and two labels.

Suggested Retail Pricing (SRP) for the Grand Calibur is $129.99 and the SRP for the Grand Nestabilities die templates is $49.99. Please visit http://spellbinderspaperarts.com for more product information and crafting ideas.

About Spellbinders Paper Arts
Spellbinders™ Paper Arts entered the craft and hobby market in 2003 with the introduction of the Wizard® Universal Craft Tool and a unique, patented collection of dies unlike any introduced before - or since. Always on the cutting edge in introducing innovative tools to the market, the Grand Calibur™ and Presto Punch™ are the company's latest offerings for crafters. Presto Punch makes punching easy, is portable and economical, and stores in a fraction of the space of traditional punches. Spellbinders' products allow crafters, hobbyists, artists and teachers to create one-of-a-kind, beautiful paper art projects.

The company manufactures, markets, and sells the Presto Punch, the Wizard, and a family of dies including more than 250 patented and patent-pending products under the following trade names: Nestabilities®, Shapeabilities®, Impressabilities™, Borderabilities® Petite, Borderabilities® Grand, and Shapeabilities® Nested Sets.