Clickfree backup, $129.99 (U.S.) for 120 GB model; $159.99 for the 160 GB model
The holy grail of software salesmen is to have programs that are stunningly easy to use while also being useful. Now some programmers are catching up, making normally complicated tasks much easier. Following are three such results.
Backing up your data has been an inexplicably difficult operation for many people, but the Storage Appliance Corp. of Richmond Hill, Ont., has produced a product that is not only foolproof, but also reasonably cheap. The Clickfree Automatic Backup is a small black or chrome-coloured pocket-sized case a little larger than the 2.5-inch hard disk it contains, and it connects to your computer via a USB cable.
The name Clickfree is a trifle mendacious — if you're a Vista user, you'll probably get Vista's pop-up box asking whether you really want to run the backup, and you'll have to click on that.
After that, Clickfree runs on its own. It will rummage about your computer for your files, photos, videos, e-mail and e-mail attachments and other data files (not program or system files), and back them up. The box comes in two sizes — 120 gigabytes and 160 GB — which should be enough for most home-computer needs. (It can back up several computers, but only when connected directly to each; home networks will require a more powerful product.) When Clickfree has finished, a box appears on the screen that will show you the statistics of the backup, allow you to browser the files and search through them or view the photos. There is also an option to erase the entire backup.
Clickfree derives its power from the PC's USB port and, if you need more power, the cable has an extra connector, so you can draw power from two USB ports at once. If you lose the USB cable, Clickfree can run on a 5-volt DC power supply (not included).
It runs on the fast USB 2.0 standard, which let me back up 4,031 files, a total of 63.6 GB, in only 75 minutes. The second time it's connected, Clickfree looks only for files that have changed, and replaces its own copies with the newer ones.
There is nothing revolutionary about the hardware; the secret sauce in the product is the software embedded inside, which requires no installation or configuration or any kind of tweaking from the user. Plug it in, wait a minute while Windows finds the driver (it runs only on Windows 2000, XP or Vista, not OSX or Linux), and forget it.
It doesn't get much simpler than this — although simplicity has a price. If you use a program that creates files Cklickfree doesn't recognize, you will have to do some configuration to add those files as well; you might have a folder with many different kinds of files in it, so you will have to tell Clickfree to add all of them, and if you want to restore your files to a new computer, you'll have to do that manually. Another thing Clickfree doesn't have is the ability to schedule regular backups; you'll have to actively plug it in periodically, and remember to do so.
One popular option Clickfree doesn't cater to is the scheduled backup. Most back-up systems, both hardware products and online services, offer to perform back-ups at a specific time, usually in the middle of the night while you are away and your computer is not in use. With Clickfree, the onus is on you to actively pull it out of your drawer or storage area and use it on a regular basis.
For more modest backups, Clickfree also sells, separately, packs of almost-blank DVDs that do exactly the same thing as the hard-disk version does, but with the intent of burning the backups into a permanent storage. The software is designed to find specifically photos, music or office files, and comes in three sizes: a package of three ($9.99), five ($14.99) or 10 DVDs ($27.99), with each disk having a capacity of about 4.5 GB.
Know Your Stuff, from the Insurance Bureau of Canada , freeware.
An acquisitive society requires something to keep track of all our possessions in case fire, fate or felons take them away from us. Enter the Insurance Bureau of Canada, a national industry association representing private home, car and business insurers, with a free software program designed to keep track of your things, and it has a name the late George Carlin would have loved: Know Your Stuff.
The IBC suggests using it to keep bills, receipts, warranties and instruction manuals, including scanned paper documents, and even attack a photo of the object to the file. The list can then be burned onto a CD, which can then be placed in a fire-proof safe or a bank safety-deposit box. It will even store a video of your home and its objects, including your voice describing the items.
Now in version 3.06, Know Your Stuff has added a few new features, such as a secure storage for your data file, the ability to add and edit the names of rooms in the house, and an alphabetized summary by category or by room.
The software (it runs on Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or MAC OS 10.3 or higher) starts with a short wizard to get all your particulars and co-ordinates, and then makes suggestions for things to itemize. It even has a section to keep track of your charitable donations. There is a PDF file downloadable from the IBC site suggesting places you might include in your list, grouped by room or by category.
Although it's logical to burn the finalized inventory to a CD or print it out as a document, the IBC also offers an option to sign up with a commercial on-line storage company called Vault 24, which we're told is in a “meteorologically and politically secure Swiss location” and is locked by a 256-bit high-grade encryption algorithm.
One word of warning: Running this program requires dedication, such as entering data every time you make a significant purchase. That's usually at the bottom of your agenda when you're bringing your shopping home, and you'll have to get used to doing it. The difficulty here is that you won't appreciate the work you put in until after a burglary or a flood.
OrganizeMy Electronic Filing Cabinet for Dummies, from Org-Matters Solutions, priced variably
I reviewed this product in March last year, and it should be mentioned again because it seeks to do what both products above do separately.
It now comes in three flavours — a Personal Finance Edition ($8.99 for the downloadable version and $13.99 for CD) for bank statements, receipts, contracts, Web receipts or scan-in documents; a Personal Finance and Life Edition ($19.99 and $24.99) for medical, career, school records, renovations, vehicles, travel and moving house; and a Professional Edition ($49.99 and $54.99) for business planning, banking records, investments and assets, legal and accounting documents and insurance records.
OrganizeMY Electronic Filing Cabinet For Dummies is the first software release from Toronto-based Org-Matters Solutions Inc. under the For Dummies brand, is designed to find, save and track important documents and save them in encrypted form. It will also keep track of appointments or bill payments.
You know the brand — its logo is that triangular-headed pop-eyed character from the yellow-and-black For Dummies series of books published by John Wiley & Sons. It's based on the premise that the paperless society is inevitable, so we better start now, preferably with a birth certificate, digitized documents and photos (scanner not included).
The trick with this kind of software is simplicity and logic for people not thoroughly conversant with the way computer storage logic works. The EFCD starts with a pre-loaded file structure, beginning with net worth and going on through investments, home inventories, personal identification numbers, weddings, business plans, financial dealings, car loans and then funeral arrangements.
In this respect EFCD succeeds admirably — everything is clearly laid out and the organization intuitive for people who are not computer literate. But it requires dedication.
Every time you make a purchase or get another document you want so save, you have to fire up the Windows box (XP and Vista only), create a new folder for what you're entering and start typing and scanning. The only major problem with this program is that it turns you into a fanatic for keeping track of things. Moreover, this changes nothing — despite Org-Matters' new pitch that its product is “green” and friendly to the environment, you should still keep paper versions of your documents in case of hard-disk failure or running into one of those government martinets who go by the rules.
Org-Matters has partnered with an online storage company called Carbonite, which offers a free three-month encrypted online backup for the program's users ($5 per month after), and a 30-day trial for Selkie File Transfer, made by B.C.-based Tugboat Enterprises, which is a fast and reliable way of moving files from one PC to another.
