Rants, especially those on the web, typically fall into the category of “things that feel good and are no fun for others to read.” But occasionally someone will pen an angst-laden diatribe worth perusing, if only for its ability to do nothing more than stimulate thought.
Yesterday Gizmodo ran this piece, which spends time talking about the idea of the idiot’s PC – in this case, a machine with built-in drive mirroring, a la RAID (redundant array of independent/inexpensive disks). Having been written by someone with an obvious level of technological competence, I found it particularly interesting.
I rarely back up my data, and I know this complete negligence may very well come back to haunt me someday. But the idea of asking computer manufacturers to include built-in disk redundance (possibly without even mentioning it) is curious. Unfortunately, the author’s confession that he would gladly pay an extra $200 for the pleasure of never having to think about backing up his data is something that I can guarantee will not necessarily be well-received by our hyper price-conscious public.
But the piece still resonates. I guarantee that most people (myself included) only have a limited understanding of what it would/could mean to have complete and utter hard drive failure. At work or at home, we’re so aloof to the simple fact that large percentages of our lives rest inside plastic and metal boxes. The prevalence of digital cameras, home video production and digital music mean that our hard drives are holding more than just word documents and e-mails, and when it comes to preserving these things, being safe and not sorry means paying more attention to safeguarding our electronic lives.