If you are in a part of the world now undergoing a snow/slush/rain season you probably have some waterproof boots made of rubber/plastic/Gortex/etc. But since you don’t always want to look like you are going on a backwoods expedition you probably also have some nice leather footwear (I’m partial to Fluevogs, though recently got some Durango boots as well). Here are some tips for protecting your leather from the elements:
Category Archives: Geek Tricks
Transferring Files To Others
I’ve recently shown you how to share files among your various devices. But you probably will also want to share files to other people. While your first thought is probably to send them a file attached to an email, that is not always workable for several reasons, including:
- the file is just too big for your or their email server’s limits (usually over 5 MB is problematic).
- the file is of a type that their email server prohibits in order to avoid the delivery of a virus (usually files ending in .exe, and frequently in .zip)
If the intended recipient is someone you see in person, you can always put the files on a flash drive or burn to a CD or DVD and hand the device/disk to them. But in many cases the recipient is not local – what then?
Friday Faves 12-14-12
Friday’s roundup of interesting items:
GravityLight: lighting for developing countries
A new approach to storing energy and creating illumination. It takes only 3 seconds to lift the weight which powers GravityLight, creating 30 minutes of light on its descent. For free. Designed to replace unhealthy and expensive kerosene burning lamps in developing countries.
This project is already fully funded, but you may still contribute, and even get one for yourself:
DNA Genotyping Now Only $99
23andMe is a DNA analysis service providing information and tools for individuals to learn about and explore their DNA. You give them a saliva sample and they run it through a machine to provide a report on your genotype – the data is also used anonymously for other projects requiring large amounts of DNA data. They used to charge several hundred dollars plus a yearly subscription fee, but due to new funding they have lowered the price to a one-time fee of $99 plus shipping cost for the collection kit. More information here.
Sharing Files Across Multiple Devices Part 2: Carbonite
In Part 1 I discussed using Dropbox as a cloud storage solution for sharing files among your devices. Today I want to discuss using Carbonite, which is advertised as a backup solution but can also be used to retrieve files.
You ARE backing up your computer, aren’t you? Unless you are only using it to read Facebook and your Gmail account, you really ought to be doing so. If you are a Mac owner, all you need for basic local backup is an external hard drive and the built-in Time Machine software (you do not need to buy a special Time Machine Capsule from Apple). If you have a PC, you need an external drive and either Windows built-in backup application or another one.
But even if you do perform regular backups to a local hard drive, that does you no good if your home is damaged due to flood or fire, or someone breaks in to seal all of your electronics. To cover you in those instances, or if you don’t want to need to remember to connect to something to back up, a cloud backup service like Carbonite can save your data bacon, as it is constantly updating its copy of your files in little bits every time you are connected to the internet.
But there is another trick you can perform with Carbonite once it has backed up your files: