As an avid blackberry user and former Network Administrator I have come across a ton of scenarios where backup was needed but not practiced.  Some methods I’ve used to fix these problems come from knowledge base articles, to online forums, to just plain old common sense.  There is one thing that as a tech junkie I have to talk about today.  That subject is about Backing up your data, While there are many articles on the net about backing up your personal (Computer) data many don’t talk about backing up your cell phone data.

I have been a blackberry user for over 5 years now, and in that time it’s come to my attention over and over again, the question is not if I will lose data it’s when?  That “when” you may never know, but since blackberries and Smart Phones in general are the norm now days.  We all have to take the proper precautions to save our data.  Some of us have saved data for years, and while most people can’t understand why someone would want to save so much useless data.  I have a ton of reasons I’ll go into on another post some day.

Why Backup your Smart Phone

Simply you have over time added more and more task, contacts, memo’s, notes, and other things to your Smart Phone that if you lost today, you have no where to get it back.  A lot of these phones can carry an enormous amount of data including files, pictures, calendars and other things.  These items are usually stored in the ROM of your smart phone.  Wikipedia.org defines ROM as Read-only memory (usually known by its acronym, ROM) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. Because data stored in ROM cannot be modified (at least not very quickly or easily), it is mainly used to distribute firmware (software that is very closely tied to specific hardware, and unlikely to require frequent updates). ROM cannot be removed from your phone, it’s a permanent storage area within your device.

This ROM is your internal MEMORY which saves your data, pictures, and other items to your device.  Some smart phones also have a memory flash card that lets you create a place to store more data, that you can also remove from your phone and even access with a computer given the right software sometimes. Usually this flash card only saves pictures, music, video, and items that you record, but it does not save any contacts, calendar, task or other items that are part of the phones software.

I understand ROM, but tell me why I need to backup

A Smart phone is just like a computer it can fail, and if it does will you be able to recover that special number, or contact calendar from your device?  In most cases NO, you will never get that data back and it’s over.  You have to start from scratch with entering all your contacts again, which means an enormous amount of your personal time, not to mention the loss of critical items that are gone forever.  Don’t even think about sending your device to a specialty tech shop that deals in lost data, if you do plan on spending hundreds of dollars.

You don’t need to lost your data, at least you can always have a backup with in reach at any given moment.  Most Smart phones come with software that you can use to import contacts, task, calendar functions and other things that help.  Along with that most of them allow you to backup your data right to the same computer that you use to do all these functions.  I’m only going to discuss the blackberry method today but remember there are many manufactures out there that also do this, please consult your device manual for more information.  Better yet call your carrier, and ask for the data team or someone that can help you set up backups with your phone and the accompanying software, that is what they are there for in my opinion.

Blackberry backup method

You will need:

• Blackberry device
• USB Cable

Since I’m all about saving time and allowing you to get the best resources for answers I took the time to sift the net and found some resoruces that should help you in the process.  They tell you how to make that backup of your device and should help as a written example of how to do this, I hope my words hit home.  Remember this can happen to anyone, it’s only a matter of time.

Indiana University With a Blackberry, how do I backup and restore data

BlackBerry Cool Backing up your Blackberry (Cool Screenshots)

BlackBerry Rocks How to backup and restore your Blackberry (Even Cooler updated Screenshots)

TBTR (Comments are always welcome)

Tr.im is resurrected along with the fire storm that started it all, We discuss the new Microsoft Zune HD which is gonna try once again to compete with the Apple iPod, and last we discuss the New Mac OS X snow leopard software that hit shelves on 8/28/2009.

Thanks,

TBTR

In this edition of TBTR we talk about Google Chrome beta, Google OS and netbook plans for 2010, and the Twitter DDoS Attack from Thursday morning.

TBTR

I just gotta say WOW I am amazed at the Google Voice Application for my blackberry.  You can read about it here “Google Voice for Android and Blackberry) While those iPhone users are pissed they didn’t get an application for their OS, I’m so excited I was able to download and update my new Google Voice Application on my Blackberry.

From the Google Blog: So with that, we’re excited to release the Google Voice app for Android and Blackberry. You can use the app to make outgoing SMS messages and calls from your Google Voice number. What’s more, this app improves the mobile experience of Google Voice in a number of ways.

Google released the application today and when I saw the topic trending I went to get a copy immediately m.google.com/voice the site started my OTA download and I was able to input my information to get the application working.  At first it didn’t seem to want to download my info, but after a few minutes it showed my last few calls, and also all the text messages I still had in my Google Voice messages area.

If you want a invite to Google Voice please signup at the google voice invitation link

TBTR

Google latitude is a new service where you can share your location with friends or anyone else you trust.  Certain cell phone users can use this new service also it runs as a gadget on igoogle.  If you don’t download the phone app you have to manually update the location by typing in your city and state.

Google Video Explaining Google Latitude

If you don’t have a cell phone but, want a real time update of location you can download Gears plug in which uses your wireless signal to determine your computers location. You can also update your status which is tied into your Google talk.  Pictures can even be updated on the fly so you can change your icon.

When I tried to change my pictures from my Blackberry Curve 8320 it froze my phone for a few minutes while it accessed my Media Card, but it was back to normal soon after

Remember this service is opt-in so you don’t have to add all the people you know.  You can even deny people from seeing your location but add them to see their location only.

I think this will change the laws for stalkers, it’s so easy for people to follow you now a days on the net.  As social networking grows, it gets harder and harder to hide from a stalker.  So watch who you follow and more importantly who you allow to follow you.

So as a G33K I had to ask myself how this service works.  I think Google Latitude works by knowing which cell towers your transmitting with.  Then by knowing your carrier they can guess with in so much distance where you are located.  I’m pretty sure their are some other things involved, but I like to guess.

Visit google.com/latitude for the mobile info, and the gears info

Also more links to Google latitude resources:

• See where friends are with Google Latitude
• Locate your friends in real time with Google Latitude
• Official Google Latitude site

When it comes to download Wednesday I’m always thinking of new and exciting FREE software to write about. Today’s Free download comes from Pidgin which formally had the name GAIM.

I remember using GAIM along time ago when you had to download and install the 3 major players in IM AIM, Yahoo, and MSN. GAIM was one of the first but they changed the name to Pidgin. I heard they changed the name for legal reasons but that’s another story.

Pidgin is a multi-protocol Instant Messenger client that allows you to use all of your IM account at once from ONE program.

Pidgin runs on all Windows and UNIX platforms.

Pidgin can work with:

• AIM
• YAHOO
• Google Talk
• MSN
• IRC (Wowzer I’m excited about this one)

And about 12 other services

Give Pidgin a try you just might like it.

Link to Pidgin Site
Link to Download Page
Link to Third Party Plugins

Enjoy,

TBTR

We have all heard the saying “Nothing is Free” I guess it depends. Today one of my Twitter friends posted a link to a free download from ZoneAlarm. It seems ZoneAlarm is trying to get the word out about a product called ForceField.

The product creates a virtual bubble while you surf so if you hit the wrong website by accident it will protect you. Lately the best way hackers have figured how to install software on your computer is by creating websites that mirror the original site like instead of you going to google.com you type goolge.com by accident. This is only an example but if you hit the site goolge.com there is code that installs on your computer through your browser and with in seconds your infected. ForceField is supposed to help you ward off these threats.

Totally FREE Patch Tuesday – for 24-hours (ending Wednesday August 13 at 6am PST), you can download a free copy of ZoneAlarm ForceField, a $29.95 value.

ZoneAlarm ForceField provides a protective layer around your browser, shielding you from drive-by downloads, browser exploits, phishing attempts, spyware and keyloggers. So your passwords, your confidential information, and your financial data remain protected.

Here are some links to help you understand why you should take advantage of this opportunity.

Well the video does nothing for really explaining what ForceField does but I added it anyways.

I found the better video to explain what ForceField does…YES….FTW

This is the link for the offer:http://www.zonealarm.com/patchtuesday

Don’t forget to pass this link along to others TODAY.

TBTR

Today I wanted to let you know about OpenOffice which is the clone of Microsoft’s costly product Office. OpenOffice while different gives you some great features such as:

• Text Documents
• Spreadsheets
• Presentation
• Drawing
• Database

The products listed are FREE you don’t pay for them because OpenOffice is a Open Source product. If you don’t have the money to purchase the most popular product Microsoft Office, download OpenOffice here.

Enjoy

TBTR

While I love taking pictures I don’t like the high cost of photo editing software such as Corel, Paint Shop Pro, and Photoshop. I have always looked for a free way to edit and do cool things with photo software then I came across GIMP.

GIMP is released under the GNU free software license which lets you use the program for free. The GIMP software project has been around for a long time since about 1996 according to the website. Currently the stable version of GIMP is 2.51.

GIMP was created because Linux users wanted a way to be able to use great photo editing software on a Linux computer build.  So they did what they always do, make a better mouse trap. It was later compiled for Windows but the first intention of GIMP were for Linux users. Plug-ins have been created for GIMP to expand the capabilities.

While I would love to really go into the specifics and show you how it really works, I’m gonna let you look the GIMP website over and see for yourself. Tons of Tutorial sites have been created to show you how to set up GIMP and how to do simple things with this extensive software.

• The tutorials here go from beginner to expert helping you to get aclimated to GIMP
• Tons of YouTube videos have been created showing you how to use GIMP here, last count was about 946 videos.
• An awesome Wiki has been created here

Remember you can complain but why? It’s FREE

TBTR

A few weeks ago I discussed my fascination with Meebo in my article “What? You can’t log on at work…I got a solutions” an Online IM program that works from your web browser no application install needed. I found another IM program that goes a step further, the Digsby application has the following connections which any well connected person should have especially a social geek:

······IM (Instant Messenger) – AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber, Facebook
······Email – Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo, AIM, IMAP, POP
······Social Networking – Facebook, Twitter, Myspace

With all those connections from one applicaiton, oh and a recommendation by a reader of this blog I decided to add this program and try it out so here are my findings.

The Digsby interface is fully customizable from the layout to the fonts the whole experience

After downloading the applicaiton from Digsby.com I was able to install the program with no problems. I did like the fact that I could Signup right from the application and create my name with digsby. Once the application was installed I decided to kick the tires and set up all my accounts. I noticed the interface was pleasing to the eyes and was not just thrown together it worked.

It just so happens that a friend of mine was online while I was setting all this up and started a conversation with me. I noticed the window popped up and we started chatting as ususal. Sometimes at work you want things to be a little more private so I minimized the chat window and to my suprise a little little window popped up which I could see what my friend was saying and at the same time it was big enough that I could reply back without opening up the huge chat window cool feature.

While the program has given me some issues once I got it up and running properly this application has turned out to work very nice

Because the system is logged into my Gmail, Yahoo, and Hotmail account I can see the number of messages or emails that are waiting for me to look at, another cool feature. Everytime a new email is received the Digsby interface shows me a small blurb of the subject line, I also have a small ICON in the bottom right hand corner that represents my Gmail account with a small number that shows how many emails are waiting for me.

The Digsby interface is fully customizable from the layout to the fonts to the whole expericence. Now for the really cool part if you have a blog or website and you want to interact with your customers and/or friends you can place a chat widget on your site. When people see this they can start talking to you right from your website as long as you have Digsby running on your computer at that time, if not I beleive it leaves you a message. This is cool when you want real time communications on your site, no tons of time trying to set everthing up you paste the code on your site and it’s working.

Click here to send me a message in the test area of my site.

All and all i had a great time using Digsby and I’m going to continue to use it for the future, there was only one problem I had which might get a little technical. After using Digsby for a couple of days I noticed now when I start my laptop in the morning I see digsby boot, then display a message from some user who sent the note overnight my Digsby program then freezes. It has happened two days in a row. So the only thing I can do is press Ctrl+Atl+Delete and end task on the Digsby program.

I have gone into the preferences and changed it so Digsby no longer boots on my computer during startup. I’m hoping to get a better response when I boot again, UPDATE>>>well I have booted the system again and now it works properly.

While the program has given me some issues once I got it up and running this application has turned out very nice.

If you are going to download this program remember you have to have administrative right on your machine especially if this is a work machine, if you don’t have rights like that remember to use meebo which I talked about before right here.

TBTR

Have you ever spent money today only to find out tomorrow you could have downloaded that program for free? Today’s Wednesday download brings you a great tested, tweaked, and seasoned free Anti-Virus program.

We all know how important it is to have a Virus program installed and actively running on your computer.

Most new computers come with commercial grade Virus Programs but after just 90 days those programs deactivate leaving you high and dry.

While you could just purchase the upgrade for that Virus program your using, what about alternatives. Free programs are always great and AVG free is the one I recommend.

I have used AVG commercial and Free Versions for over 4 years with great success. So if your looking for a Virus program or your pre-installed Virus program has deactivated after trial try AVG. Understand again there is a commercial version of this program which has many more features, so if you like the free version, please purchase the product in the future.

Click here to download this free program

Enjoy,

TBTR

HTTrack is a Free/Open Source program that can copy a website to your local hard drive. You could set it up to copy a small website or even a huge website, but I would caution you from downloading a site with gigs and gigs of data. The program has some settings you can change but for the most part out of the box it’s ready to go.

Why would you copy a website 1.) To show people how a website works, 2.) To Grab all images out of folders. I could give you many more reason but lets just stop here. As you look at the HTTrack website there are alot of things from documentation, FAQ information, to how not to use this program.

The following video is one I found on youtube Mike explains this pretty well the video is about 4 1/2 minutes enjoy:

Video by: Mike from Northern Kentucky University

TBTR

Are there times when you wish you had done something amazing, something special, interesting, or even by the seat of your pants? Tomorrow is one of those days in technology when you want to be a part of something big maybe even huge.

Mozilla’s new Firefox 3 browser is ready for release tomorrow June 17th. Mozilla hopes to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. They have been working on a new version of the popular browser for a while. Honestly version 2.0 didn’t need much help it’s stable, and fast, but progression is the name of the game in technology.

This event reminds me of when the latest record would come out and I would watch the stats to see who was the top selling Album of the week. I had to ask myself if I even cared about this launch and this attempt at a world record.

I’ll give you 5 reasons why I’m overly interested:

1. I want to support the Open Source movement. (Free Software)
2. Firefox helps me surf the internet without harm from IE(Internet Explorer) exploits.
3. In years past this browser has beat other browsers (IE, Opera, Etc) in testing over and over.
4. Cool features in Firefox let me customize my browser, and adds plug-ins to extend the functionality without alot of time and effort.
5. I wanna be a part of history once again.

My last check on the number of people who have pledged to join this attempt was at 1.34 Million and growing check here.

So if you want a better browser then the auto installed Internet Explorer join me in helping the open source community and possibly setting a World Record on Tuesday June 17th 2008.

Spread the Word

Follow Firefox’s Twitter Account

FAQ (Frequently Ask Questions)

TBTR

What is Flock?

Flock is a cross platform browser meaning you can install the browser on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines. Flock is build on another favorite of mine from Mozilla called Firefox. Since Flock comes from the Open Source movement you don’t have to pay a dime for it, remember nadda, nothing. A better introduction on what Flock does is here:

When was Flock Build?

Flock was founded in 2005. The flock founders in my opinion, noticed that the internet was changing when social websites started popping up on the net. They have positioned themselves to understand first what was happening, and make a move in a different direction from a browser/surfing perspective.

Why use Flock?

If your into social sites and you want to better surf the web and stay connected Flock. The Flock browser lets you reach across multiple networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pownce, Flickr, and others. Flock lets you share things easily such as photo’s Video’s and links. The Flock browser even gives you a build in blog editor to make blogging even easier right from the browser. More about social surfing of the internet with Flock here:

Conclusion

Try out Flock if your really starting to get bogged down by all the social sites out there Flock has a great way of keeping this stuff in a nice group. The experience is enlightening and I think you will see the rewards very quickly. Remember Flock is different so take your time getting to understand Flock, but I assure you once you get the hang of it your in love.

Get your copy of Flock now

Comments about your experience and recommendations are appreciated.

TBTR

FileZilla (website link) is a FREE FTP program which has been released under the GNU Gneral Public License. FTP stands for file transfer protocol and is used to transfer data from one computer to another through a network, such as over the Internet. You can use this program to upload pictures to your website or blog, you can also use it to download files from companies on the internet such has documents, instructions, drivers and much more. Click here for more information on FTP from wikipedia.org

I came across this program one day while I was looking to purchase a FTP program. This program makes it very easy to upload and download files over the internet.

Here are the features:

• Easy to use
• Supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
• Cross-platform. Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD, OSX and more
• Available in many languages
• Supports resume and transfer of large files >4GB
• Powerful Site Manager and transfer queue
• Drag & drop support
• Configurable Speed limits
• Filename filters
• Network configuration wizard
• Remote file editing
• Keep-alive
• FTP-Proxy support

The program can be installed on Windows, Linux, and get this Mac OS X. I personally have been using the program for about 2 years, it has the guts to stand up to any of the price heavy programs such as cuteftp, smartftp, and others.

Leave comments about your experience and recommendations are appreciated.

TBTR