Something bad happened at work the other day. A big folder for one of our projects was deleted. Nobody knows how, but it just magically disappeared. The backups we have of that folder also disappeared. Months of man-hours, by multiple coders, just went bye-bye.

Fuuuuuuck.

But wait, there's some good news and bad news.

Good news. There was one sole surviving backup, tucked away safely on an old server.

Bad news. The backup is over three months old.

We've employed the services of a data recovery specialist (the same kind of forensics that the CIA and FBI use). But that shit is hella expensive and can take a few days. Even then, 100% data recovery is not realistic.

Luckily, we have notes, bits and pieces of our work on our personal computers. It'll take a few days, but we'll be able to recover.

The point I'm trying to make here is the importance of backing up your shit. And no, I'm not just talking about your work, mp3s and porn. I'm talking about the important shit like your digital photos.

A few months ago I read someone's Facebook status message that said, "[I'm] depressed cuz my computer died and lost all my photos."

disappointed:

Work can be redone. Mp3s can be re-downloaded. And porn really isn't that important.

But those photos you've been taking on your digital camera of all your since high school -- shit like your graduation, your wedding and the birth of your first born -- are absolutely priceless. Photos are something that should last for the rest of your life. Something that you can show to your children and your children's children. Not backing up your stuff is just as bad as taking all of your parents old photo albums, putting them out on the sidewalk and hoping nothing bad happens to them. That's just retarded.

And to those of you who don't know, lemme tell you something about hard drives -- they will die on you. 100% guaranteed. The same way that a car engine will break down completely.

So please, do yourself a favor. Buy an external hard drive and use some kind of backup software. Or use an online backup service like Mozy.com (secure, unlimited space for just $5/month).

I use both. :bigthumbup: