Backing up your phone's contact list

I recently replaced my SIM card with a new one because the old card stopped working. I handed over my old SIM to the service representative who gave me a new one and told me that the new SIM will be functional after 5pm. And indeed, at 5pm my number was again functional. But alas! I discovered that I lost my entire contact list with phone numbers, which was stored on the old SIM card. Had I planned better, I would have copied the list from the SIM to my phone. Admittedly, I use a "dumb" Nokia 6070 phone.

Many smart phones save contact lists automatically or even back them up to the cloud. On  iPhones, iPads etc. with iOS 5 or later, data can be automatically backed up to iCloud if you enable the Backup option. On Android phones running version 2.2 or later, turn on the automated and free backup to the Google cloud servers. This type of backup helps if even if you lose your phone.

Simpler "dumb" phones require manual backup through the phone's Contacts menu (here are instructions for Nokia phones), by saving the contact list both on the phone and on the SIM card. That way your contact list will remain with you whether you replace the SIM or your phone. But if you lose the phone (with the SIM), tough luck.

Power cuts and computers (K2 #48)

Question of the Week 

There are many power cuts lately. How do I protect my computer at home la?

--R.C., Thimphu

Answer

Dear R.C.,

I've also noticed more blackouts. With the increasing number of urbanites, we might be heading into rougher times, especially in the winter months. It is a good idea to be prepared for planned - as well as unplanned - blackouts, “brownouts” (drops in voltage), surges (a sudden increase in voltage) and other power instabilities.

All equipment is affected by these voltage irregularities, but in different ways. For example, a light bulb will be dimmer when there’s a “brownout” (that is where the name comes from), but the bulb itself will not be damaged. Other types of equipment can be more sensitive and more expensive to replace. IT equipment falls into this category: Computers, monitors, modems, and routers definitely need protection. Not to mention that if you are working on important documents and the power suddenly disappears, you’ve lost your work. That’s where an Uninterruptable Power Supply, or UPS, becomes indispensable.

A home UPS - a small but heavy box-shaped appliance - provides stable, surge-protected, battery-backed power for your equipment. It’s simple to use: First, you connect the UPS to the wall socket. Next, you connect your computer and monitor to the UPS sockets. Normally, the UPS will use the wall electricity to power your equipment. The moment there’s a power cut, however, the UPS will start using an internal rechargeable battery to provide power to your equipment. The switch from the “wall” power to the battery power is instantaneous. As the internal battery does not last forever, you will probably want to save your files and gracefully shutdown the computer as soon as possible after a power cut starts. When that’s done, it’s time to start searching for candles and matches!

Which UPS to buy? When buying a UPS, make sure that its power ratings are suitable for your equipment. For example, if you want the UPS to power two 80W desktops and two 50W monitors, make sure that the “output power capacity” of the UPS is at least 260W. Also, UPS batteries have a lifetime of around 4-5 years, so check the manufacturing date carefully. The most popular UPS brand in Bhutan is APC (www.apc.com), and their products are generally very good. The market is currently flooded with the bare-bones APC Back-UPS 1100 (660W) model. Its fan is noticeably noisy, so unless you can tolerate a very loud noise round-the-clock, I would not recommend this model for the home. On the other hand, I found the “fan-free” models - such as the APC Back-UPS ES 650VA (390W) and 700VA (420W) - to be excellent.

Got an unplanned power cut? It’s time to call BPC’s toll-free complaint line (1250). The sooner BPC knows about the disruption, the sooner power will be resumed.

---

Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Is there any way to get my photos back? (K2 #13)

Question of the Week
My hard disk crashed. Help! Is there any way to get my photos back?
- R. Chhetri, Thimphu

Answer (Part 2 of 2)
In the last column, I wrote about backing up your files to an external hard drive, and promised to discuss another option. Thanks to broadband Internet, there's now the attractive alternative of storing your files online. This is also known also as storing the files in "the cloud", a phrase that originated from cloud computing. The idea of cloud computing is that you buy a computing and data storage service from a provider and then access it using the Internet, instead of the hassle of buying and maintaining your own hardware and software. This is similar to buying electricity from BPC, which is much simpler than running your own diesel generator.

Many of us are already taking advantage of "cloud computing" without even knowing it. For example, if you use web-based email, such as Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, or Hotmail, then you are already using "cloud computing". Your email messages are in "the cloud". You don't know (and don't care) where the data is physically stored, but you can rest assured that after signing into your email account, your messages will be magically waiting for you.

Like web-based mail, quite a few services now offer free online file storage. Storing your important files online is an excellent way to back them up. Even if your hard disk crashes or your laptop is stolen, your files are still in up there in "the cloud" (and being here in the Himalayas, the clouds are never too far!). To use these services, you must first create an account, sign in, and then follow the instructions which will explain how to upload your files. You can then access your files from any web browser. Many of these services offer various additional features, such as the ability to share photos with friends.

Note: If you use a broadband connection at home, remember that uploading 1GB-worth of data (1024MB, or about 250 songs) will cost you around Nu 160.

Here's a list of recommended services, sorted by alphabetical order:

Amazon Cloud Drive (www.amazon.com/clouddrive/learnmore) The newest of the bunch offers 5GB of free storage. A nifty feature is the Amazon Cloud Player which plays mp3 songs that you saved on the Cloud Drive.

DropBox (www.dropbox.com) Simple to use but requires software installation. After installing the DropBox application, a special folder is added to your computer. To store your files online, you simply drag-n-drop them to the folder. The first 2GB are free.

Google Docs (docs.google.com) and Picasa Web Albums (picasaweb.google.com) These two very popular services from Google are convenient for storing files and photos, respectively. Each offers 1GB of storage, are packed with various features and definitely worth a try, especially if you already have a Google account.

SkyDrive (skydrive.live.com) Microsoft's entry offers a huge 25GB of free online file storage. You can use the SkyDrive to share photos and even edit Microsoft Office documents online (see www.officelive.com).

Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Business Opportunities Corner: Data Recovery Service

If your hard disk just crashed, you are probably having one of those blissful, blood-pressure-lowering, mantra-inducing Buddhist moments, realizing that indeed nothing is permanent.

Is there any way to get my photos back? (K2 #12) (Part 1 of 2)

Question of the Week
My hard disk crashed. Help! Is there any way to get my photos back?
- R. Chhetri, Thimphu