Small Business Tech

Many of us are now depending on online services to store images, documents, thoughts, and memories. A service has surfaced called Backupify that backs up all of this data. Backupify is an online service that backs up data on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google Docs to Amazon's S3 backup service.

When I first heard of Backupify I was intrigued but wondered why. The whole selling point of online services is that we do not need to worry about our local hard drives and backup routines, etc. What are the chances of an online provider such as Google just disappearing or losing our data? Well there is a point I had not considered. What if your online provider cuts you off. It can happen and it has happened to a few users. Read your Terms of Service. There is probably language in there to prevent you from doing things that are on the wrong side of the law. Whether that includes copyright infringement or defamation or any other nefarious activity. Your provider can cut off your access just based on a complaint. They would rather just anger you then fight a legal case.

The sign-up for Backupify is very straight forward. You use your email as your user name and create a password. They ask if you would like the free version or bring your own Amazon S3 account. Right now the service is free for new users who sign up before January 31, 2010. Once you have signed up you just add your services such as Google Docs or Facebook via your login information for those products. Some products such as Zoho require an API key as well.

I do have a couple of questions about Backupify. How are they going to make money down the road? Will they charge for restoration or access to data? Even if I choose to save the data in my Amazon S3 account is the data accessible via another portal into S3 such as Jungle Disk?

Labels: Amazon, Backupify, Jungle Disk

Spruce Up Cleaning has a good article with tips on cleaning LCD screens.

Labels: LCD

A reader asked via the comment system if he could post my comments in the Google Picasa 3.5 article. The reader did not leave any contact information so - yes, you can.

Labels: comment, Google, Picasa

During this time year we all tend to reach out to family. We all have those family members that are not connected via email, Facebook, or other means. Sometimes you just need to send an old time letter.

I had just such as occasion with a family member that is busy so she is difficult to catch on the phone. The economy has forced her disconnect her Internet connection. Call me lazy, but I did not look forward to typing a letter, locating an envelope, addressing it, and then digging a stamp out of a drawer. What is the proper amount for postage?

I looked for an online service that would send a postal letter. I ran into several. One was free but it did not look very professional. The others ranged in cost and most you had to sign up for an account.

The most drop-dead simple provider that I could find was SnailMailr.com. You pull up the site and fill in an envelope on the first page with your return and recipient addresses. On the next page you write your letter. You can embed color photographs or other graphics into your letter. You then preview the letter and pay just 99 cents to send it. The other great thing besides the features and low price is that they do not requires any site sign-up. You just use your Amazon log in and your prearranged payment method. Amazon handles your receipt and confirmation of your letter printing and being sent. They typically print and send your letter in 24-hours.

Give it a try. It is a great way to send a nice looking letter this holiday season to your relatives or friends that are off the grid.

Labels: postal mail, SnailMailr