Archive for August, 2009

A Few Words About Enterprise Level Backup Solutions

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

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No matter what backup solution you use, redundancy is very important.  Even a backup system should be redundant.  Today, many companies use a combination of tapes, disks and offsite (online) backup solutions to have this redundancy.

Many believe that tape backup solutions are obsolete.  But a recent survey in the UK suggests that over 70% of SMEs still use tape as their primary form of backup.  Tapes are low cost and portable but their reliability has always been an issue.

http://www.continuitycentral.com/news04328.html

Disks-based backup solutions has recently become very popular as the costs of disk drives continues to drop.  It is also much faster than tape backup systems.  However, if you are look for portability, it could be costly.

http://searchstorage.techtarget.com.au/tips/28723-The-upside-and-downside-of-disk-based-backup-for-small-business

Online backup services have sprouted up everywhere in the last couple of years and some are very simple and cost effective.  However, users sometimes forget that startups may not be someone you want to trust your critical data to.

http://www.pcsupporttips.com/data-protection-tips/online-backup-services-86.html

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10 Steps on How to Buy a Computer

Monday, August 17th, 2009

(1) Decide if you need a new computer and determine its’ use.  No matter how long you wait for the best deal, the same computer will cost less in six months.  Also, think about what the computer will be used for.  A computer used for surfing the Internet could cost as low as a few hundred dollars.  A state-of-the-art video graphics workstation can cost over ten thousand dollars.

(2) In determining the use of the computer, you will also determine its’ hardware configuration and Operating System.  For example, a graphics workstation will need a fast CPU, lots of RAM; and, a fast and large hard drive.  Also, certain software applications may work better on an Apple PC than a Microsoft Windows-based PC; and , vice versa.

(3) Decide if you need portability.  If you will not travel with the computer, a desktop can save you some money.

(4) Chose a computer brand that you feel comfortable with the price, quality and technical support.  You may want to speak to colleagues and friends about their experiences with certain brands.

(5) Determine the core configuration of the computer system.  For example, amount of RAM, speed of CPU, hard drive space, type of video card, type of sound card, etc.

(6) Determine if you need a CD reader/writer, DVD reader/writer, etc.

(7) Select peripherals…for example, printer, monitor, speakers, webcams, etc.

(8) Decide if you need your new PC to be scalable.  If so, additional internal card slots and drive bays may be required in the configuration.

(9) Determine what type of pre-installed software you require.  For example, Office Suites, anti-virus programs, graphics software, productivity software applications, etc.

(10) And lastly, decide how long and extensiveness of a warranty you will need for your needs.

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