The method, or rather, the medium chosen for backing up data will depend on the volume of data to be stored, as well as the nature of the data

The news always leaks out or is methodically publicised by a rival or a gleeful hacker. Thereafter, insult is added to their injury as irate customers and the eager press demand explanations about every unsavoury detail of the incident. But data loss is not a problem affecting only the big players only any more. All of us deal with some amount of data and almost all of it is important to us. Albums have been replaced by .jpeg files, our music is inside the hard drive of our PC or laptop, and our emails are stored in offline folders or software like Microsoft Outlook. Students keep their study material in their machines, and a doctoral thesis is usually a file on the hard disk instead of being a thick volume bound in leather covers. It is, therefore, strange that we keep losing data because we have not taken the precaution of backing it up elsewhere. Several start-up home businesses have not seen the light of the day anymore after an initial incident of data loss. All of this underlines the importance of backup, which really cannot be overstressed.

Some Methods of Obtaining Backups

The method, or rather, the medium chosen for backing up data will depend on the volume of data to be stored, as well as the nature of the data. Some common methods are being enlisted below:

CD and Floppy:

The floppy has largely gone out of use by now, due to its many limitations, small capacity and security problems. The CD is a good choice for obtaining backups, and is one of the favourite choices in both domestic and corporate spheres. It is cheap, readily available, portable and compatible with several file formats. Storing a CD and sharing information from it are also quite simple.

DVD:

The DVD is a good choice for storing audio visual information. It may not be as cheap as the CD, but offers better quality, often lasts longer, and has way more space. DVD RWs can be used in such a way that literally every bit is used to store information. A DVD also has the same facilities when it comes to sharing and easy transporting. However, the DVD RW, many market observers feel, may turn out to be an intermediate technology and be replaced by something superior but very similar in function, or may evolve in such a way that the problems would get solved. It must be noted here that the constant research in this regard, and inventions like the Blue Ray disk etc. point out that we can hope for a better technology soon.

USB Storage Devices:

These are the new favourites all over the world. The greatest proof of the popularity of this technology lies in two facts. Firstly, the storage space of pen drives / flash drives/ memory sticks is constantly increasing. Secondly, their prices are plummeting downwards rapidly. Almost all kinds of files can be stored on these; they are very easy to carry, do not require a separate software or booting up of the machine to start functioning, and it is very convenient to share the data stored on them. For storing smaller music libraries, an iPod may be an option too.

External Hard Drives:

For larger data storage requirements, external hard drives are excellent solutions. Arrays or stacks of hard drives are available for corporate purposes and are provided by all good hard drive manufacturers. Seagate, Maxtor, ASB, LaCie all make external hard drives of varying capacities and prices.

Online and Offline Storage Spaces:

These are Storage Spaces provided by professional firms, and are extremely secure for sensitive data storage.

Tape Backup Vs. Online Backup

Here are the new ones:

1. 15% off for Acronis True Image 11 Home, expires December 31, 2007. Code: ACRO-UCIP
2. 15% off for Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0, expires December 31, 2007. Code: ACRO-VFKY

WD ships 320 GB capacity 2.5-inch hard drives for Notebooks and portable storage devices

Western Digital Corp. announced it is now shipping its new WD Scorpio® 320 GB 2.5-inch SATA (Serial ATA) hard drives for notebook computers and portable storage devices.

WD uses advanced head and media technology to achieve the world's highest capacity 2.5-inch, slim, 9.5mm form-factor hard drive and includes proprietary features that make the drive extraordinarily quiet while running at cool operating temperatures. The WD Scorpio 320 GB hard drives deliver high performance with 3 Gb/s transfer rate and are destined for use in OEM notebook platforms that offer the highest storage capacities to the worldwide market.

"Consumer demands for high capacity storage are stronger than ever. WD is again leading the industry by delivering high quality, high capacity product to the market with the introduction of its new WD Scorpio 320 GB hard drive," said Campbell Kan, vice president of mobile computing business unit, Acer Inc. "WD understands the increasing storage requirements of the notebook market, allowing Acer to introduce high-capacity notebook solutions that meet our customer's ever-growing demands."

"In today's market, new notebook systems are increasingly targeting heavy duty applications in the office and home," said Jim Morris, WD's vice president and general manager of notebook storage. "As system manufacturers improve performance and add data hungry features, high-capacity hard drives become a key ingredient that allows users to fully benefit from the latest computing technologies."

The WD Scorpio 320 GB SATA hard drive is a direct result of the significant investments WD has made in proprietary head technologies. With the introduction of its latest-generation WD Scorpio drives, WD continues to offer mobile computing and portable storage customers the same outstanding quality, reliability and performance that have earned the company a leadership position in the desktop PC market.

The new WD Scorpio drive further expands the company's breadth of 2.5-inch, 5400 RPM, mobile hard drive offerings to capacity points up to 320 GB.

WD Scorpio Exclusive Features

• WhisperDrive™ - WD's exclusive WhisperDrive technology combines state-of-the-art seeking algorithms to yield the WD Scorpio 320 GB as one of the quietest 5400 RPM, 2.5-inch drives available.
• ShockGuard™ - Leading-edge ShockGuard technology combines firmware and hardware advancements to protect the drive mechanics and platter surface to meet the highest combined shock tolerance specifications required for mobile and notebook applications.
• IntelliSeek™ - Another unique WD Scorpio 320 GB feature is its IntelliSeek technology, which calculates optimum seek speeds to lower power consumption, noise and vibration. For a demonstration on IntelliSeek, visit the WD Web site at http://www.wdc.com/en/flash/index.asp?family=intelliseek.

Availability

WD Scorpio 320 GB drives (model WD3200BEVS) are available on the company's online store (www.shopwd.com). More information about WD Scorpio mobile drives may be found on the company's Web site.