I thought I'd take a few moments and talk about Carbonite.  However, but we talk about that software specifically, lets talk about a more generic problem.  Most everyone has things on their computer that they definitely do not want to lose.  Whether that be family photos, tax documents, homework or that code you've been working on its a real pain the butt if you lost them.  So what do most people do?  They burn a copy to CD or DVD and stick it on a shelf somewhere and forget to update it regularly.  Or they buy an external hard drive and backup things to it, occasionally, again forgetting to update that regularly as well.  So let's assume you are one of those methodical people who regularly perform backups to CD/DVD or an external hard disk.  That's great but your data still isn't protected.  So what is the best solution to regularly back up your data so its safe from not only computer failure, but catastrophic failure like your house burning down? Carbonite.

Last year or so, I discovered an online backup software program called Carbonite.  So what makes this software awesome? I'd thought you'd never ask.  For starters, all my information is stored on their servers.  Meaning in the event of a fire, I still have my data.  Secondly, it monitors the files and directories I tell it to and detects changes in real time.  This is absolutely a killer feature, because the largest amount of data I could lose would be the amount of data that hasn't yet been uploaded to their servers after the save starting at the failure.  Third, they don't place an upper limit on the amount of data you can back up.  They do mention on their site, that the limit is really set by your ISP and the limits of your upload speeds.  However, I believe I have upwards of 30 gigabytes backed up and never have a problem, but I'm not changing gigs of data every single day either.  Fourth and the best reason, price.  Its only 55 buck for a one year subscription or 100 for a two year subscription.  For my money and time, that is a price you simple can't beat.  Fifth, security.  Carbonite stores your files encrypted and they encrypt them twice prior to storage so you can rest assured those embarressing Christmas photos will not get leaked out to the internet.  I have also recently discovered a new reason to love Carbonite and that is for setting up a new computer.  I recently purchased a new computer and was transferring my iTunes music manually when I realized I could simply restore the files from my Carbonite backup, which I needed to transfer to my new computer anways.  Let me tell you, the transfer of data is much, much easier with Carbonite.  I simply pick the files I want from the Carbonite backup and tell it where to put them and wait.  As of this writing, it has restored almost 900 files with another 250 or so to go. 

So whats the moral of the story?  Get out there and find an online backup solution that fits you and your particular needs.  However, I doubt you'd find a better deal than Carbonite.

I did it.  I simply could not take it anymore.  It sang its siren song until I crashed my boat on the rocks.  What is "it" you may ask?  If there is one fundamental truth in life, its that men love electronic gadgets.  Its in our blood.  Ever since man discovered electricity, we adore things powered by it.  T.V.'s, stereos, MP3 players, video game systems, cell phones and even computers.  

So, what is "IT".  It is a computer.  A beautiful, glorious computer with an Intel Core i7 processor running at 3.0 GHZ with its 64bit awesomeness.  You may say to yourself, "Nick, that is cool, but its really just a fancy-smancy quad core, its not THAT awesome".  I beg to differ.  Due to its hyper-threading goodness, it essentially is a fancy-smancy eight core processor.  And with its glorious 64bitness, I will no longer be shackled by a mere 2 or 3 GB (let's face it, Windows XP does good to utilize 3GB). How much memory does it have you ask?  4 gig?  4 gig is for peasants.  6 gig? Nay! A whopping, 9GB of memory is at my disposable.  It will truly be an amazing machine.

So, now that I'm done with my nay-ing and what not, my new system will come equipped with Windows 7.  duh-duh-daaaaaaa.  (That was dramatic music.)  I keep hearing that Windows 7 is a lot better than Vista and that it "seems" faster than Vista.  I say it "seems" because everyone says exactly that.  There are simply no numbers out there that indicate a huge performance jump from Vista.  However, I am optimistic because I am making the leap from Windows XP 32bit SP3 to Windows 7 64bit.  

Well, I should be getting my computer in a couple of weeks.  I'm going to do one of those lame unboxing pictures, as well as an overview of my impressions and any new cool features I think you might want to know.  Its going to be a long couple of weeks.

In my continual mission to be awesome, yet frugal.  I present my dual 22 inch monitor LCD monitors and monitor stand.  I found the monitor stand for only 40 bucks on the world's best website, Amazon.com.  You'll also note, I left the side of my computer off for added affect or is it effect?, whichever.  Feel free to be jealous and/or leave comments about how jealous you are.