Winners, Top Downloads, and Friday Fun
Here it is, Friday again. My, how time flies, doesn’t it?
Today I will do something a wee bit different. Yes, there is a video… it is “a very basic introduction”, and I hope you will enjoy (and maybe learn something you didn’t know). Also, a second video you downloaders and lovers of freebies will wanna see.
This week I again had the privilege and pleasure of handing out $500 worth of software licenses – ten licenses for a 5-star data backup program. Even better news, it seems every Tech – for Everyone reader already has a backup solution in place, protecting their important documents and images from disappearing forever in some digital disaster. Yay!
(This is quite different then my experience as a technician.. where, in all my years, I have only encountered 4 clients who had a recent backup of their files…)
Well.. every reader except for the 8 who entered the drawing, I guess…
Winners announced: If you entered my Backup4all License Giveaway Drawing, look for an email with the subject Backup4all License Winner in your Inbox (and/or, maybe, check your Junk folder).
… it is probable that this utter lack of interest and participation spells the end of license giveaways. (Though I have never received so many requests for reviews from vendors as I have this week.. Weird, ironic, dichotomy.) And, I’m glad to give up the job. These product testing+review/contests are time consuming work, so, yay for me!
Congratulations to the winners, and my sincere thanks to the folks at Softland for making the Giveaway possible!
Today’s quotable quote: “The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” ~ George Bernard Shaw
Top 5 back to school downloads
Vodpod videos no longer available.
The weekend is almost here.. yay!
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
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• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
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Tech - for Everyone 
Thank you for the software Paul, and congrats to all the other winners. I knew my left hand was itching for a reason today!!
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Cappydog,
I appreciate the courtesy and good sportsmanship, and I do hope you enjoy the software!
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Thank you for the software license! Although I *Do* have a backup solution in place, this product looks better than what I use.
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Cindy,
I have been trying to spread the word about the vital importance of backups for years and years; and am always delighted whenever I hear “yes, I have a backup”. I do hope you enjoy the software!
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Thank you Paul.
I never win anything. This is pretty strange, but I’m not complaining. I’ll put the software to good use!
Keep up the great work… without you here I would be lost.
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Balmy33,
Well.. now you can’t say that any more, can you? I do hope you enjoy the software!
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I for one am saddened to hear of your decision to stop testing software. I rely on your reviews as unbiased factual information that is important to me. I hope you change your mind someday. The license give-away isn’t an issue for me, but your opinion surely is.
I backup 3 computers once every week. It’s a serious pain and I dread doing it, but I had an internal hard drive fail in the past when I didn’t make backups. I lost downloaded software that I had paid for but made no copies of, licensing information, along with documents and photos that can never be replaced. I don’t know for sure what all was lost. Once bitten twice shy, or whatever saying you want to insert here. Suffice it to say I learned a valuable lesson: Keep a current backup.
For me it’s similar to AV software. I didn’t have any until a virus munched my computers’ hard drive about 20 years ago. I’ve paid for up to date AV software ever since. Apparently I’m more reactive than proactive. I wonder if that’s typical.
I have to add that after having an external hard drive fail fairly recently, I keep two copies of each backup on separate external drives. External hard drives aren’t real cheap, but what price do you place on your memories and important data? I got a pretty good deal on two 2TB externals. They’re big enough to handle backups from all three computers.
Hopefully I made myself clear. I’m not bragging about doing good. I want my experience to help someone else avoid losing their valuable data…
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kstinman,
A very kind thing to say, and such support is appreciated here. I very much hope your testimonial will help motivate someone.
In reference to analogies for data loss, and backup strategies, I do like “once bitten”.. The industry likes the phrase “don’t get burned”..
And I have tried various others over the 4 years I have been writing tips and advice (with a constant refrain, “backup!, backup!, backup!”).
As a tech, I have been the “doctor delivering the bad news to the patient”, and I don’t like that feeling. And I have to harden myself. It is incumbent upon to people to protect themselves in all aspects of life.. take out the proper insurance, so to speak. Those that don’t, pay the price. (There is no government bailout for data loss.)
But – back to review/giveaways – while there are many factors, bottom line: I really don’t have time to road test and review programs. It was something I made time for, often at a sacrifice (say, like, getting to bed, or eating a proper breakfast). Maybe I will again someday.
But I wouldn’t hold my breath… if you know what I mean.
Many other sites are writing software reviews, so.. there’s no shortage. (Myself, I like PC Magazine, PC World, and CNET for software reviews.)
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A tour with the artists…their great works…a delight to watch…thanks Paul for the nice change.
Gaia
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Gaia,
I am glad you enjoyed the video. I do need to “take a break” from tech every now and again….
And the Impressionist are interesting to me.
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