Back up! Back up! Back up!

Sooner or later, it happens to all of us in the computing world.  We lose an important file or piece of data.  it could be a report, graphic file, video home movie, accounting file, etc.  It can happen due to our system becoming infected with the latest Windows virus.  Or, a freak  accident  occurs (ie: a power spike, lighting strike, etc.) and your hard drive gets zapped.  If anything, if we become the victim of lost data, we should learn a valuable lesson and that's to always backup your data! 

Backup! Backup! Backup!  I can't say it enough.  The simplest way to do this is to just buy a USB thumb drive. 

Thumb drives are becoming quite inexpensive. They cost anywhere from $8.00 on up.  (I got the one pictured above from MicroCenter for free as part of an in store promotion!)  Just plug it into your computer and move your important files from your hard drive to the thumb drive.

There.  You're now backed up. 

I also find myself doing multiple backups. I back up to more than one USB drive.  I also move files to other Linux computers I own. 

Since I work with digital tools to create my cartoons, I need to make sure I always have the files in a safe place.  This is another reason why I run Linux. Because Linux is free of Windows viruses and malware, it's one less thing I need to worry about when storing and accessing my digital files.  I know they won't get trashed or infected or become the victim of a hard dive that won't boot due to a Windows virus.

This is not to say something else (like a power spike) can't happen.  This is also why I do the multiple backups.

Luckily, Linux has a really neat utility for automatically backing up your system and important files. It's called Keep.

Keep is very easy to use.   ow it works is very clearly stated on its website, "Keep is a backup system for KDE. The behavior is quite simple: you choose the files you want to backup, you set up the frequency and the number of backup you want to have, and Keep will backup them automatically."

You can see additional screen shots of Keep here. This gives you a great overview at exactly how easy it is to use.

Keep is available in Linux Mint.   now youhave one more resson to tryLinux.Automatic backups of your valuable data! 

So, get Linux, stay secure, and Keep your data!

Linux In Your Pocket

The great thing about Linux is how adaptable it is. Linux is everywhere. It runs Tivo, MP3 players, cell phones, computers, computer servers, and many other electronic devices. Linux even runs Google! And, by now, you know that Linux can be run directly from a Live CD.

But did you know that Linux can run directly from a thumb drive? That's right! It's possible to install Linux to a thumb drive and, simply by plugging this drive into any computer, you can run your own Linux desktop on that host computer.

You can install software to the thumb drive, edit and save documents, surf the web, etc. When you unplug the drive, you take everything with you. Nothing is left on the host computer! It's pocket-size Linux!

You can purchase a thumb drive from any electronics store, then simply install your favorite flavor of Linux. You're going to need at least a 4 gigabyte thumb drive in order to completely install Linux. Anything smaller won't work as well.


PenDriveLinux.com is one site where they take you through the entire formatting and installation process, step by step, for specific Linux distributions.

However, for the beginner, I highly recommend you save yourself some time (and money) by checking out KiowaLinux.com. Right now, they have 4 gigabyte, 8 gigabyte, and 16 gigabyte thumb drives on sale with Linux pre-installed. These Kiowa Linux thumb drives are part of their 25 days of Christmas sale.

For the same amount of money it costs for a blank thumb drive, you can purchase one from KiowaLinux.com already pre-installed with Linux!


It' a perfect stocking stuffer and a great way to easily introduce someone to Linux!

Imagine giving a friend or family member (or even yourself) an entire computer operating system on a thumb drive! And it'll run on any Windows PC! (Remember, it does this by booting and running Linux from the thumb drive. Linux runs on the computer, Windows does not.)

Linux, is everywhere! It should be on your computer. At least, get it on a thumb drive and take Linux with you!