Competitive Hard Drive Recovery ServicesThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

Well, well, hard drive management and recovery are topics in my mind these days. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I recently had to reformat THREE computers in the past THREE MONTHS. Ugh, what a chore! In one reformat, I lost some data. *bangs head* I’ve been working on redoing the documents that I lost… I thought I had saved it on an external hard drive for safe-keeping, but it must have slipped through the cracks. Ugh ugh! That’s the tough part about using external hard drives– I’m never 100% sure that I have included everything when I copy stuff over. I tried using a sync software program, but that crashed, so I ditched it. I’m just grateful I didn’t have a dead hard drive on my hands. And in another chain of events, quite a few of my friends have had a flurry of hard drive problems and deaths. Always so sad. Especially when you don’t backup your data!!

One thing you can do if you have important data on your dead hard drive is to remove the drive from your computer and place it in a Ziploc bag. Then, place the drive in the freezer. I have actually heard that this works! You can send the hard drive to a Hard Drive Recovery company, where there’s a slightly better chance of recovering your data. Although, hard drive repair is getting more sophisticated, so there’s a chance you don’t have to put your hard drive in deep freeze.

There are some good hard drive recovery companies out there, certainly– one thing to look for is good reviews, and if the company is an manufacturer authorized data recovery company. Some companies, like DTI Data (dtidata.com) offer a data recovery guarantee– in other words, they will not charge you unless some data is recovered on all single hard drive recoveries (unless you have previously sent the drive to be opened elsewhere, of course). That is a nice guarantee, as it ensures that something will be recovered. It’s an attractive guarantee. You want to be sure that your hard drive will be in good hands!

Plus, DTI Data offer free upfront flate-rate price quotes on all HD data recovery- very nice! They are also one of the very few companies in the United States that maintain a “class 100″ clean room; it’s a biometrically-secure clean room where they do all the recovery work. This ensures that any possible data can be recovered without corruption.

Of course, nothing beats BACKING UP your data on a regular basis. You DO back up your data, don’t you? You can either use an external hard drive or use an online service. Some services are free, some charge monthly or yearly. I like free. DTI Data Recovery has a very nice backup solution, a Remote Restore Point MFT Save– and it’s FREE! You basically upload your NTFS Master File Table Record to DTI Data’s servers. It’s a full-version free program (freeware) and you can read more about it by clicking the link to their website.

It is very important to back up your data regularly and to have a plan in case something happens to your hard drive. More and more of us are digitizing our lives– records, documents, photos, videos, emails…. don’t be careless with this stuff! Hard drives fail. Be sure you back up and that you have a contingency plan. Check out DTI Data for their free quotes and more information.

Use the Computer To Find Your Cell PhoneThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

Lost your cell phone? Dagnabbit, those things are so easy to lose! Well, you could always give the Department of Homeland Security (heil!) a buzz to see if they can locate it (smirk), but here’s a less invasive way: WheresMyCellPhone.com. What a cool invention! It’s free to use– just type in your cell phone number and the software will cause your phone to ring. And *hopefully* your phone is nearby and will hear it ring. But if you suddenly get a call from the Sewage Wastewater Treatment Plant, it means that Junior has flushed another phone down the john….

P.S. NOT a paid post! Are you happy, Google and the FTC??

I Only Have Eyes For YouThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

I know quite a number of people who have had LASIK eye surgery, and sing its praises. It’s been very successful, and this branch in ophthalmology is becoming more and more popular. I’ve looked into it myself, with the hopes that such an uninvasive and simple procedure would solve my four decades of glasses-wearing. Unfortunately, I do not fit the bill for a successful outcome. It’s been determined that no corrective laser surgery will fix my eyesight; I simply need new eyeballs. Which I DO intend on getting someday!

If you have had LASIK surgery and are deeply appreciative of your new-found freedom and vision (and who wouldn’t be?!), or have been wanting to get laser surgery, maybe you’d like to get the word out, and win some terrific prizes in the process. Abbott Medical Optics Inc., a global company specializing in laser corrective eye surgery, is having a contest to promote the benefits of improved vision through laser surgery. It’s the iLASIK Video Contest, and it’s very easy to enter. All you have to do is create and submit a video based on one of these topics:

• “My contacts are getting in the way of my good time”
• “My favorite sport or activity would be so much cooler with better vision”
• “You should see life after the iLASIK® Procedure”

Upload your video, and it is entered into the contest! You can notify your friends and family to se your video and vote on it. Prizes are very nice– a $5000 Grand Prize; HDTV packages valued at $2500; and Flip UltraHD camcorders, valued at $200 apiece.

So if you’ve been eager to tell everyone about how you want/need/have had laser surgery, make a short video and give the contest a try! You don’t have anything yo lose! And you just may win a prize that pays for your eye surgery and more!

Terrific and Free Educational SoftwareThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

I’ve got a couple of kids working on Geography studies right now, and once again we’ve discovered a marvelous online tool to assist us. I’ve mentioned this site before, but it’s worth mentioning again and again! It’s Owl and Mouse Educational Software, and they are FANTASTIC. I’ve been going to this site and using their free software for eons– probably close to seven or eight years now! They still have all the old software up, too. I have never seen such simple, excellent software for kids.

OK, enough gushing! The main site is here, and the free geography games are here. You can play the games online or download them, for free. They are not technically games– not in the sense that you and I think of games– but more like interactive study tools. I much prefer software like this instead of the “racing cars” or “shooting spaceships,” which, in my opinion, don’t do much to educate the child.

I spent some time doing some of the quizzes myself. I took a screenshot of the World Monuments game.

I think I need to study more, though. :-p There are other games, for continents, world features, countries, capitals, etc. There is Easy Mode and Hard Mode.

The Owl & Mouse software is a perfect tool for the homeschool or as an educational supplement. I’m very impressed with the way it is put together. And I’m thankful it’s all free! Well done! Thumbs up!

Web Design and Content Management ServicesThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

I try to be the “Do It Yourself” kind of gal, in everything from electrical wiring to landscaping to blog design. But some things are way over my head. And if you run any kind of small (or large) business, not only is content management and Web Design over our heads, oftentimes we do not have the time or resources to put everything together. And take it from me– a classless, sloppily-built design or e-commerce site makes a very, very bad impression indeed.

Thus, with this in mind, I’ll put a bug in your ear if you have need of some help: Great Minds Design. They are a top-notch company based in Los Angeles and London, comprising of a brilliantly talented, motivated group of designers and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) geeks. They will create your website’s unique, creative, and functional web design; will code your design with the latest web technology; and build the site so that it is search-engine friendly and easily read by all the major search engine bots (Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, Bing).

If the Great Minds Design website is any precursor to what is to be found in the talent of the company, then Great Minds is superior! The web site is very, very classy! Check out the portfolio to get an idea of their style and service offered. Looks great! You can visit their website, or call their offices: in Los Angeles: +1 310 425 9639; London: +44 (0) 7796 955 335.

Gotta Getta….This is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

Hm. Wonder what brand computer THIS poor kitty has.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

ROFL!!!

Completely Wipe Your Hard DriveThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

I remain totally baffled at the amount of pre-owned computers out there today, just handed over to complete strangers without data removed completely. I’ve heard stories of individuals buying old bank computers on eBay, and lo and behold, the bank data is still there! Or of someone just giving someone else his/her computer without making sure the data is completely erased.

Part of the problem is that people don’t know what erasing data really entails. Just tossing documents into the Recycle Bin on your desktop does not erase data. Just selecting “Empty Recycle Bin” doesn’t completely remove the data, either. The data technically still remains on the hard drive– it’s just jumbled now. For data to be completely removed from your hard drive, you have to do one of the following:

• Remove your hard drive from your computer and smash it to smithereens with a hammer.


• Delete your data and have the hard drive rewritten.

There’s a neat, free (!) program I’ve recently heard of that erases data. Not surprisingly, it’s called Eraser. It’s open source, so that means it’s free! Eraser rewrites information onto your hard drive several times. This erases your old data. It’s definitely safer than handing over your old unit to an eBay auction!

P.S. this is not a paid review! I know there ar ea lot of readers who buy and use older, pre-owned computers. I hope this program helps you.

Get Bids for Your Graphic NeedsThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

Well, this is a very interesting concept: crowdsourcing. I’ve been seeing it done by news outlets, but this is the first I’ve seen for a design need.

Crowdsourcing is outsourcing a task to a “crowd” of people, kind of like an open call for something like employment, or services needed. My local news organization has been doing this for a long time, regarding their annual calendar fund drive– they ask the public to submit photos for the weather calendar. A certain group of people vote on the selections, and the winners get their photos published in the calendar with attribution. The news company makes out well– they sell the calendars for $20 a piece. Nice.

Anyway, crowdsourcing is a new way to get out your need to a large group of people; but that’s the thing- how do you go about this? There’s a website called Prova.fm and they are making known their ability to help small businesses (and of course, large businesses) and individuals with their graphic needs. For example, let’s say your new business needs a logo and a website. Through Prova.fm, you can have advertisement design contests– inform them of your needs and how much you want to pay, and Prova.fm can connect with experienced designers from all over the world to submit their designs and ideas.

Prova.fm is having a promotional event: they’re offering 1,000 free printed postcards and business cards for your business for signing up with them; see their site for details. Crowdsourcing is knd of cool!

Web of Trust Firefox AddonThis is from Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook and is copyrighted material.

I’ve been testing out a few newer Firefox Addons (post to come about that), but I wanted to mention a new one called Web of Trust that has been a pretty good one. It’s touted as:

WOT is a free Internet security addon for your browser. It will keep you safe from online scams, identity theft, spyware, spam, viruses and unreliable shopping sites. WOT warns you before you interact with a risky website. It’s easy and it’s free.

The price can’t be beat.

I like the search features– a green circle appears on images and next to links that are approved as safe; gray circles are not known, and red circles are warnings of security problems (spyware, etc). I do not like the window that sometimes pops up when I enter a site warning me of a problem. Well– let me clarify that– if I select “ignore” I am allowed to pass on, but the next time I visit the site, the same window appears with the same warning. :S Maybe it’s an issue with my install?? I find it odd that it would not remember my choice.

So far, so good. It’s a solid addon (doesn’t make Firefox crash or work too hard). Might want to be something you check out, especially if you do a lot of web surfing.