Hardisk Recovery

Today I'm going to talk about hard-disk failures. More and more people are storing important data into huge hard-disks in excess of 200gb in sizes. And when the drives fail (and trust me - they eventually do fail), most people do not have backups and cry over the data-loss.

So what can we do about it? Several things:

1. Backup,backup and backup
2. Drive maintenance and monitoring


1. You can just do file backup - just backup your data into another hard-disc or DVD-R
or you can do image backup where the whole hard-disk is copied bit for bit into an image file where you can store elsewhere.

2. Drive maintenance comes in many forms
a. Defragment your files - reduces wear and tear - hence good for the drive.
b. Monitoring drive error rate and also to strengthen the magnetic signal on the drive.


So what kind of software tools we can use to get the results we want?

1. Macrium Backup <-- I'm testing the free version of this so far. Some people say Norton Ghost would do the job. I do not have a definitive answer to this yet.

2a. Windows have a built-in defragment tool, but if you want something more fancy, try out Diskeeper, OO Defrag, Perfect Disk etc

2b. SpinRite <- a friend swears by this tool, small yet effective.

G1 Love Rap

Everything 64-bits

It's been quite a while since Vista has been launched and enough time for the OS to mature and iron out some of the major flaws. I am just curious whether is it time to bite the bullet and move to Vista Ultimate 64-bits.

The main advantage is probably the memory addressing capability. I would like to start a discussion group and perhaps even come out with a "reference" Vista x64 setup with a default suite of must have software :

So far, I think the setup should be something like

1. Vista Ultimate x64 SP1
2. Graphics drivers (Nvidia or ATI)
3. MS Office 2007 ( <-- not sure about this one, need comment)
4. Adobe CS4
5. Norton Antivirus x64
6. Nero x86 (32-bit)
7. K-lite mega codec pack (32-bit)
8. K-lite codec pack (64-bit)
9. uTorrent (32-bit) or maybe Artic Torrent (64-bit)
10. isobuster (32-bit)
11. PowerArchiver 2009 (32-bit)
12. ........ more to be added

Starhub blocking/shaping Bit-torrent traffic

This is probably old news, but have anyone compare download speeds of Singtel vs Starhub for their broadband service?

http://www.hardwarezone.com.my/news/view.php?id=10759&cid=8 reports that study shows that Starhub blocks or throttle network traffic for BT.

and when HWZ reached them for comment, the response was

"It is a known fact that P2P traffic is bandwidth intensive and can use up significant network resources. Hence, all ISPs employ bandwidth management tools to ensure that all traffic is given equal priority such that the service expectations of their online users are met. We do not specifically block P2P traffic. Like all ISPs in the world, we do, however, employ bandwidth management tools to ensure that all our customers receive an optimal surfing experience."

which sounds like the long answer to YES, they do block traffic, not just P2P SPECIFICALLY.
hmm.. maybe I should rethink my ISP choice

OLED keyboard - Optimus Maximus

The multi-talented Optimus Maximus keyboard by Art. Lebedev Studio is finally available for ordering - though not at an affordable price (USD1742+)for the everyday Joe.

A demo of how the keyboard can/will function can be found at this URL. A must for the serious Photoshop fan!





Another upcoming product from the company is called the Upravlator. I think it may be more affordable and perhaps be more successful than the expensive Optimus Maximus - yet to be seen but I think by mapping important keys to the device, a professional user can get to frequently used function quite rapidly - while still having the standard keyboard at his disposal.