May 17, 2008 9:06 AM PDT
Judging techies
It takes one to know one. So, how can non-techies form an opinion on the abilities of a computer nerd? There is a language gap, a knowledge gap and, likely, a personality gap to overcome. Here's a tip.
Ask the techie about the system (meaning hardware, software and manual procedures) used to backup the computers they are responsible for.
I see three possible answers.
- The techie will brag about what a great system they devised or inherited.
- The techie will gripe about how management has held them back from implementing a much better system than the one currently employed. They may go on and one about the flaws in the way things are done.
- The techie will blow off the question, as if it wasn't important.
In real estate, the three most important things are location, location and location. In computers, they are backup, backup and backup. Any techie that blows off the question about backup, is a normal person in techie clothing.
Where do I fit in? See for yourself: The Best File Backup Scheme
See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.
Michael Horowitz is an independent computer consultant and the author of several classes on Defensive Computing. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
The problem with home backup schemes is that as the data volume increases, the time taken to backup keeps increasing till it becomes intrusive to using the laptop. I have to do aggressive space management to keep the backup time within limits.
Acronis is another very good software if you are ready to spend little bit. It has too many features to mention here. The True Image Echo Workstation is $79.99 and home solutions are $49.99. I tried the Echo Workstation and it is amazing. With Universal restore, for a total of $110, you can get a professional backup/restore solution.
For backing up my Iomega network attached disk to server, I use the free XP Sync Toy. It just creates a copy of all the files. Very handy and no complicated interfaces to go through. Since the backup is just in the form of copy of original file, it is available for immediate use.
As the article says, the importance of having a backup cannot be emphasized enough. The ability to quickly recover from the backup is also very important.
- by DrollTroll May 20, 2008 11:22 PM PDT
- Dawg, that's like putting the cart before the horse. A techie shouldn't even be in your house being asked a "backup" question, if he ain't got "references, references, references." You don't take your car to a mechanic whose references aren't good (andTHEN ask him if he can fix your cooling system) , and you don't have a geek in yoiur house so that you can smugly test him with the backup question. First, check up on your geek squad commando by verifying he has lots of good references, from friends, businesses, as reviewed in articles in a competent magazine or newspaper column, etc. Then, ask for his certifications and training, and his clients and check those. Hopefully, he'll give you a hard time about an appointment because good techies are rare birds and his appointment book should be filled. If he has too many openings, you might wonder about how highly valued his skills are. If his time is taken up by corporate or business contracts, that's a good thing--you want this guy. The fact someone is willing to trust him with their livelihood (as PCs are these days) means he's damn good. Being able to answer a backup question means he can answer a backup question; it has little or no barering on his competency to resolve your technical problem. The client should've implemented a backup system well before the time there is a need for a nerd. Why even ask the nerd about his backup system--do you want him to replace yours or debate him on which system is better?
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