A New Way to Back Up Important Files; Try DropBox, Boomers

First, I want to apologize for the length of time between blog posts. As you know, I returned to school to get my Master's degree, and now I'm working on my thesis. The deadline for the thesis is nearing and I've been spending a lot of hours working on it, and so I've neglected this blog.  Today I pulled myself away from that work because I found something I think will be really interesting to most Boomers.

Specifically, I came across an article called The 25 Worst High-Tech Habits (and how to fix them) in The Washington Post  online and believe it or not it's written in a way most of us can understand. Getting to the gist of it, the author, who is with PC World, says there are certain things that people do when they have computers and high tech gadgets that are not in their best interest. I had to laugh when I saw the list, because a few of my bad habits are on there.

The very first thing the author deals with is Avoiding Security Software. Some people think they can just be careful on the web, and they won't get infected by all the viruses out there, but it's really impossible to surf that carefully. Many sites that appear to be legitimate aren't. However, I do understand why some people won't put up with security software. I've found that my security software sometimes interferes with some of the other programs I want to run. And my software often does a mini-scan of my systems when I'm in the middle of something important. All I can do is wait for it to finish because it slows down the entire machine. However, you should run some kind of security software on your computer, Boomers.

The author also takes to task people who don't back up their computer, something with which I can relate. The author has a wake up call for those of us who don't back up. "All hard drives crash eventually. All of them. Yours will too." The article provides a link to a simple guide to get started with backup, although I looked at it and didn't find the guide so simple. I haven't found backup all that simple period. Every time I purchase a hard drive to back up my data, something happens to it that I can't undo. I have to go running to my computer savvy son to help me out. Still backing up is important, and I encourage you to back up your important docs. For another point of view on this matter check out the web site, and my competitor, BoomerTechTalk (www.boomertechtalk.com), and their article Backing Up is Not Hard to Do.

While I don't back up my disk as much as I should, I've found a way to protect my important documents (including the thesis I've been working on so diligently that has kept me from updating this blog more frequently) by using a program for my PC called Dropbox.(www.dropbox.com) Once again, I have my son to thank for introducing me to this ingenious app.  When you arrive at the Dropbox site, you are greeted by this:

Have you ever seen anything so simple on a web page? When you click to watch the video, you get a very good explanation of how to use this application, which is simple and smart. Basically, you are dragging documents you've created to the Dropbox folder, which is a kind of locked box that only you can access. No matter where you are, you can open your Dropbox and get your important documents from this locked box. One word of caution though, be sure to remember your password. (I'll have more on keeping track of passwords in a future blog post.)

So if you are working on a particularly important document, you can store a copy in the Dropbox, and if your computer crashes, the document will be there, accessible from the website. Dropbox even keeps the document updated for you, so you don't have to worry that the version in your computer is different from the one you are accessing at your hotel or, in my case, on the school computer. You can also download the app for the iPhone and iPad and open your documents on these devices.  Many Boomers would probably be worried about the security of this app, but Dropbox has thought of this and says it uses " military grade encryption methods to both transfer and store your data."

Well, I'm heading back to work on my thesis now, Boomers. I'll check back in to this blog as soon as I can.

The Controversy Over Technology on the Dashboard

I love my GPS and I know many other boomers who can't live without theirs. I've figured out how to put in the address I want to go to and how to turn it off when the voice gets too annoying. While my GPS system isn't accurate all of the time, it is usually reliable, and I do rely on it.

I also have a Bluetooth interface in my car that lets me dial my cell phone by saying "Call Randy's Phone" or by finding a contact in an imported phone book which appears on a screen on my dashboard. My car has trouble recognizing my voice commands sometimes, and then I turn to my imported phone book.  When I have to use the imported phone book, however, I pull over. I cannot select a name from many names while I am driving. It's just too distracting. Which brings me to the topic of this blog entry: the controversy over technology on the dashboard.

I've been reading all the news from both the Detroit Auto Show and the Consumer Electronics Show (which took place in early January) and especially the New York Times article that covered the pros and cons of putting more technology in a car's dashboard.

The debate seems to focus on the advantages of technology versus the danger of distracted driving. Another boomer, Fran Jones, put in her two cents on this matter on her blog Boomers and Beyond. Fran appears to be very much against this trend and for many good reasons! While she doesn't blame the makers of this equipment she says, "People, lacking the common sense to admit that hurtling around in a few tons of steel requires paying attention while you hurtle, are going to kill people with these new toys."

I was especially disturbed by the New York Times description of the Audi system, which lets you pull up a great deal of information as you drive. "Heading to Madison Square Garden for a basketball game? Pop down the touch pad, finger-scribble the word “Knicks” and get a Wikipedia entry on the arena, photos and reviews of nearby restaurants, and animations of the ways to get there," the article says.  I see how trying to read all this info while en route could be devastatingly distracting.

As far as I can tell, boomer drivers are just as guilty as all other drivers who drive with distractions. I still have friends who think it is OK to talk on a hand-held cell phone while driving, fiddle endlessly with their radios or eat in the car. However, I  don't think that many boomers would particularly want to Tweet (post messages on Twitter) or text, for example, while driving, just because it's not part of their culture. Yet at least one dashboard manufacturer is working on a way to let people Tweet using their voices while driving.

Unlike Fran, I think that the makers of devices for the dashboard and the car companies have a responsibility to make the technology they put into cars safe for ALL drivers. Manufacturers should be looking at the interfaces between drivers and their gadgets and make them as simple as possible. Here is one area where the needs of boomers intersect with the needs of the rest of the generations. We all want our cool technology, and we want to be able to work with it without swerving off the road or hurting someone else.

Ford seems to be getting the idea right. They previewed the My Ford Touch Connected Car at the Consumer Electronics Show and their Ford Sync technology which uses a better than average voice command system, consistently gets good reviews from car enthusiasts and technology geeks.

Ford's own research (if you can trust it) says that voice activated commands are less distracting than touch commands. Unfortunately, according to Jared Newman in PC World, there will be three tiers for the interface, so some car buyers will still get inferior, and more distracting, technology.

Voice activation, however, doesn't address one of the problems for many of us boomers: how to remember all the commands we should use to make this technology work. Will the voice activated systems be flexible enough for our boomer memories? This remains to be seen.