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- Quick Tip: Backup Checkup
Whether you backup via an online service, Time Machine, a cloned backup or manually, you’ve probably forgotten something critical: testing.
A good backup strategy is generally something simple and automated. You “set it and forget it,” but you really shouldn’t. In my day job, I see too many teary eyes from people who thought data was backed up but it wasn’t. Just this week I had my own little panic attack when I realized Time Machine hadn’t run in a week. Somehow I accidentally unplugged the FireWire cable moving things around and my Mac really didn’t warn me Time Machine wasn’t running. Ouch.
Too often I see backup systems “glitch.” Maybe the hard drive was corrupt or a folder was moved. Unless you check backup logs way closer than everyone, you don’t find out the backup failed until you try to do a restore — and the time to do that restore isn’t when you are missing data. Even reviewing logs is no substitute for testing.
Ultimately, backing up your data isn’t important, but restoring it is! If you don’t know how, now is the time to open up the manual or call tech support and find out. Time Machine, of course is built into Mac OS, so no additional software is necessary, and Apple’s tech support can help you with it. If it’s an online backup service, do you remember your password? For local backups, do you have the software to do the restoration? Does someone else in your family or organization know how to do the restore in your absence?
Once you know how to do a restore, the key is to actually try it, and do it regularly. This is no matter how bulletproof you think your strategy is. No software or process is foolproof and do you really want to pay for forensic-style data recovery like Drivesavers? I recommend creating a short list of files to restore. Mine usually includes the following:
- Absolutely mission critical files. The files you are least willing to lose. For me that’s my financial data, my customer list and my calendar. Each time I test a restore I choose one of these. Most people also choose their pictures, but I leave pictures to the spouse.
- Critical folders. These can be broad. I use my main business folder as the test restore. When doing a restore, I always restore this folder.
- Important stuff. These are files that would be nice to have, but you could live without. For many, this may include their iTunes data. You could repurchase or re-import these items but it would be a pain. For the important stuff, just pick a few files at random.
When you do a test restore, you’ll want to make sure to restore the files to an alternate location — don’t accidentally overwrite your current version.
How often to test? That’s a difficult question and ultimately is answered by “how much data are you willing to lose?” Testing too often becomes tedious and is quickly abandoned, but waiting too long to test could lead to data loss. For no particular reason, I’ve determined once a month is a good strategy for me. Because my most critical data is financial, I run a test backup each time I do a reconcile. The process usually takes less than five minutes and I keep a quick spreadsheet of which files to test.
What have you got to lose by spending five minutes a month testing your backups by doing a restore? Just your data…that’s all.
Переслать - Hands On: Gaming With Parallels Desktop 6
I was thrilled when I first saw a tweet about the release of Parallels Desktop 6, followed closely by an e-mail from Parallels saying, “Upgrade NOW for the low, low price of $49.95.” In the press release it promised two things that immediately intrigued me:
- Launch Time: Run Windows applications 41 percent faster than Parallels Desktop 5
- Enhanced 3D Graphics: Enjoy more life-like visual action and play a wider range of modern games with 40 percent improvement over Parallels Desktop 5
Earlier this year, I wrote a lengthy evaluation of gaming on virtual machines. I thought I’d run the same games through Parallels 6 to see how its claims work out in the real world. Before we get going, though, one quick note: upgrading to this version will force your copy of Windows to re-authenticate, so, if like me you’re near your limit, be warned.
The Test Bed
The fine print. These tests were run on a MacBook Pro 13″ with 4GB of ram, 500GB hard drive and an NVIDIA 9400M graphics chip. The release version of Parallels Desktop 6 was used — at least the version that was available on September 9 — with Windows 7 Professional (the virtual machine was accessing the boot camp parition) with all the latest service patches as my OS of choice. The games tested were Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, and EverQuest 2. These were scientifically chosen from a pool of games that, frankly, are the ones I play a lot. Also, MMOs tend to be the most demanding of games so they make great test subjects. Also, note: Lord of the Rings Online has gone free-to-play, and this or Boot Camp are the only ways to run it currently on a Mac.
Claim One: Improved Launch Times
For the most part, the claims held true. Without breaking out a calculator, I did find the load times for games to be better on Parallels 6 over Parallels 5. Interestingly, EverQuest 2 was slightly longer on the load times with version 6. The OS itself took exactly the same time to load on both versions. The oddity I mentioned in the earlier article, where it took Parallels longer to launch on a clean boot of OS X, still holds true.
Claim Two: Increased Performance
After seeing increased load performance, I expected to also see much better FPS. Now, the FPS tests aren’t scientific; none of the games have a true benchmark test. If I’d been thinking straight, I’d have run Speedmark tests on both versions. However, I’ve never really trusted the benchmark tests over actual in-game observations.
I did not see the increased performance Parallels was claiming. The tests were pretty much a wash, with both versions testing within any margin of error of each other. They may appear slightly better or slightly worse than the previous version, but statistically it’s a wash.
The Intangibles
Version 6 has support for 64-bit and 5.1 surround sound. Frankly, I couldn’t tell a difference with the 64-bit support and I don’t have 5.1 surround on my MacBook.
Conclusion
Before version 5, upgrading Parallels quickly became a regretted decision. It felt like things were worse, not better, and I’d have a host of performance-related issues. That’s changed, and after an afternoon with Parallels 5 I don’t regret upgrading.
That said, I can’t really tell a difference. It does feel slightly more responsive, but I can’t measure how. I really wish there was quantitative way to say “It’s snappier!”
Do I recommend upgrading if you’re a gamer? Yeah, I do. While “It didn’t make things worse” is hardly an enthusiastic recommendation, I’ll be the first to admit that testing three games by two different developers is an incredibly small sample set. That said, since upgrading is a one-way street (I’ve never had much luck backing down a version), I can’t recommend checking the Windows Guest forums at Parallels’s official site before upgrading. There is no shame in letting people like myself be your canaries.
Переслать
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