Keeping Your Treasured Photos Safe

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Just imagine all the thousands of photos stored in phones, digital cameras and laptops. The Daily Mail estimates that almost 40 percent of such individuals have no backup of those files. 

These devices break, wear out or are damaged every day, and with them thousands of photos are lost. Make sure you have backup plan for your treasured memories. Those moments in time can be lost forever if you don't protect them.

Local Backups and Broken Hard Drives

Most people know they should back up their files regularly. This often happens at home to a computer hard drive or maybe to an external drive. Local backups are a good idea because it does make a copy of the files. However, it's not such a good idea for long-term storage because hardware does break.

Backblaze estimates that 22 percent of hard drives, on average, fail in the first four years of use. The failure rate is higher if the computer or hard drive is used continually, or is used in hot, dusty environments. You also could experience a failure if there is a sudden spike on the electric circuit, such as during a lighting storm. You could lose years of photos on one failed drive.

While there are recovery services who will attempt to retrieve files off of a dead hard drive for you, these are expensive with no guarantee the recovery will be 100 percent successful. A better option is to have multiple ways of backing up your photos.

Backing Up to the Cloud

Cloud Storage Services have matured into an easy way for people to save all types of files, including photos. Most are easy to set up. Some offer automated backup, so you don't even have to remember to do the backup yourself. Some vendors require you to load small programs onto your computer to do the backup while others rely on a browser-based online application.

Having a combination of backups is safest. Do a local backup of your photos from your phone or camera to the computer and a regular backup to your cloud storage. One way to use your cloud storage is as an archival system.

Since your files are in the cloud, you have access to them anywhere. For example, photos you take during a vacation can be uploaded to your cloud storage from your hotel room and then you can access them again when you get home. Or you can check on photos you took during your last trip to your destination to see if you already have photos of certain scenic spots.

The Safety of Your Photos

USA Today finds that cloud storage is as safe as other storage options. Most cloud service providers use encryption to store your files so they can't be viewed by others. Data is stored on huge disk farms, which are constantly monitored for potential disk failures. The systems cloud providers use allow the replacement of disk drives without creating any downtime. You don't have to worry about a drive failing and losing photos.

Keeping Those Non-Digital Photos Safe

If you have a number of regular film photos, you can keep them save as well. CNET shows how you can scan those photos to create digital copies. Or you can have a service do that for you. A digital copy of a film photo is easier to store, doesn't fade, or get damaged by water or fire. You could scan your print photos and store the originals in a fireproof box or in a safe deposit box with your bank.

RECOMMENDED: 5 Ways to Preserve Precious Family Photos

We'd like to take a moment to thank everyone here for being a member of THE OFFICIAL ANDREASCY club! It's because of your great feedback and constant support that we're able to continue as a powerful community. More will come. 😊😊

*by andreascy*

5 Ways to Preserve Precious Family Photos

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

It's worse than a punch in the gut—that awful realization that your computer has crashed and your wedding photos are gone, your beach vacation photos are gone, and your baby's first birthday photos ... gone. 

You scold yourself for not backing them up, saving them to a disk, or leaving them on your memory card. You swear you'll never make that mistake again, but how can you prevent a virus from wiping out your priceless photos again? Here are a few ways to make sure they're stored safely and securely.

1. Keep them in the Cloud

Upload your precious photos to cloud storage where they'll be safely stored until you need them again. Accessing them at any time is easy, and you'll never again experience that sinking feeling that comes with knowing you've lost an entire year's worth of memories to one annoying computer crash. Different features and fee structures are available at the various providers, so do your research—decide what type of storage you need and research cloud storage rankings for dependability.

2. Save them to Disc

Another efficient way of saving your digital memories is to burn them onto a disc. According to the International Journal for the Preservation of Library and Archival Material, CD-R discs made with phthalocynine dye are the ones that stand the test of time. They're less likely to exhibit laser rot and deterioration over time. The fact that the disc is a CD-R instead of a CD-RW, also means you can't accidently copy over the photos you have stored.

If you choose this method of storage, it's still a good idea to have a backup system in place. Even the best CDs deteriorate over time, so have an alternative storage method.

3. Use an External Hard Drive

Although external hard drives can be susceptible to viruses, they're a good back up to discs and to the regular hard drive on your PC. External hard drives hold a ton of photos without slowing things down and they're easy to retrieve when you need them. PC Magazine recommends the top five external hard drives, which include: 

•  LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt (1TB SSD) 

•  LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 Thunderbolt (120GB SSD) 

•  Lenovo ThinkPad USB 3.0 Secure Hard Drive 

•  Seagate Backup Plus 

•  Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive for Mac (1TB) 

4. SD Card

SD Cards are the small memory sticks that go inside your camera before you leave on a photo expedition. These are a viable option for storing photos, except that they have a size limit and can fill up quickly if you're not cautious of your volume of large file sizes. These are also not foolproof for life, but they'll do until you have a chance to upload your memories to the cloud.

5. Combination Storage

Of all these options, cloud storage is the safest file storage method of hanging onto precious digital files. Be extra safe, however, by using a combination of storage solutions. With more than one dependable storage solutions in place, your cherished memories will be safe and secure for years to come.

SEE ALSO: Keeping Your Treasured Photos Safe

We’ve shared our ideas, now we want to ask you – how do you preserve your family memories and not lose them forever? Share them with us in a comment below!

*by andreascy*

3 Creative Raspberry Pi Projects

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

A Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer i.e. it has a processor, R.A.M, I/O and other features that a computer is required to have on a single circuit board. It does not have a long term memory of its own so instead it uses a SD card for that purpose. 

The Raspberry Pi is extensively used in portable appliances. Moreover, since it is programmable and can control devices, it can be moulded in to some very exciting gadgets. Herein you will find some creative examples of using a raspberry pi in some cool projects.

1. Control Things Around The Home With Remote Control Raspberry Pi

What is better than controlling all the appliances in the house without getting up from your comfortable sofa? Just imagine how annoying it is to wake up in the morning and realise you left the lights and the fan on, or when someone asks you to turn off the water pump in the lawn while you are watching an intense major league baseball match. That hurts big-time! 

Here is the solution to all such ‘getting up and do work’ problems. Thanks to the miniaturized computer, and a simple combo of hardware cum software, you can sit back and relax all day long with your remote control, cleverly avoiding trivial work stuff. For this project items needed are :

       - Raspberry pi

      - Programmable remote control

      - Remote control switches

      - Lego pieces (to make your Raspberry Pi look cool) 

2. Remote Control Raspberry Pi Boat Another interesting idea is a remote control boat 

There’s no need to mention how much fun you can have with a project of this type playing with it in a local pond or swimming pool.This might be considered a project for the big kids, but the reality is that engineers are working on a drone water vessel called FishPi to sail on the Atlantic Ocean and collect data. So it may not be long before there is a prototype model for this project. 

 How a motor can be controlled by a Raspberry Pi? For this purpose a USB controlled motor driver is necessary and it needs to be configured to the projects needs. Other than the controller, two small DC motors are needed; one for the propeller and the other for controlling the direction of the propeller. The wattage of motors depends on how large the vessel is going to be. You can command the direction of the boat using a low-profile Wi-Fi dongle but the key component is of course the Raspberry Pi. 

 3. Physical Gmail Notifier 

Now there’s no need to be in front of the PC to know that a new email has arrived. Get notified about the newly received mail through the physical email notifier. All this cool gadget needs is :

       - An LED

       - A GPIO(General Purpose Input/Output) module 

       - Internet enabled raspberry pi 

       - Software required : Python 

Configure GPIO with one Gmail account using Python, with GPIO-pin status as true if email is received, else status should be false. Connect GPIO output pins with terminals of LED. The LED will glow if a new inbox message has been received. 

 Of course some intricate electronic components are involved in each of these projects but as they say, “Well begun is half done” and projects begin with ideas. It doesn’t end here…you too can think of some creative ideas and with some effort you can achieve something great. Just a little brain storming is needed and you’re off! 

We managed to get a Raspberry Pi computer on its first release in February from Premier Farnell Element 14. This has kicked off an avid obsession into exploring its capabilities and the creativity of others in the Raspberry Pi community.

*by andreascy*

Sony's New and Slimmest Voice Recorder ICD-TX50 IC

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Check out this newly unveiled IC recorder from Sony, the ICD-TX50. 

Measuring only 6.4mm thick and weighing just 50g, this thin and light device comes with an organic EL display, a high-performance digital microphone, a 4GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, a USB port and a built-in rechargeable Lithium-ion battery.

Ultra slim, ultra sleek, this just may be the best looking digital voice recorder you've seen yet.

 

 

The ICD-TX50 will become available from February 21st for around 15,000 Yen (about $195).

READ ALSO: How to Easily Edit and Rename Voice Recordings in iOS

Thanks for reading! ✌

*by andreascy*

Panasonic WiGig 1Gbps Wireless SD Memory Card Concept

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Panasonic is currently developing applications for the new WiGig gigabit wireless communications technology. In this concept demonstration, a communications module which supports WiGig is embedded on an SD memory card.

Although Panasonic is still in the process of prototyping the WiGig-enabled SD card, the company demonstrated how it will be possible to transmit videos, photos and other local data from a wireless controller such as a tablet, to the displays mounted in the passenger seats of a car. At gigabit speeds, it will be possible to wirelessly transfer a full DVD video in one minute.

The tablet can also connect with the car's computer, so the user can easily see relevant information such as battery capacity and tire pressure.

Panasonic's WiGig implementation uses the 60GHz spectrum to transmit data at gigabit speed, but it is limited to a range of 1-3 meters. Due to this limited range, it will not take over from the current Wifi standard, but Panasonic is coming up with a range of situations where it can be used effectively.

Panasonic also plans to design a directional antenna, which will allow radio waves to be transmitted from the SD card slot, to effectively transmit data wirelessly. It is aiming for the commercialization of WiGig SD cards for in-vehicle use in summer 2013.

*by andreascy*