Over the years my tech life has changed in so many ways. I remember when I bought an 500Mhz Intel processor and matched it with a whopping 64mbs of RAM. Cutting edge. Future proof, even. So long as you didn´t look too far into the future. My first digital camera with a very respectable 1.3mps. My first Nikon digicam with a class leading 3mps. I remember when I threw away all my floppy disks because I´d bought a great new external CD Rom drive.

Nowadays that all seems a little quaint, if not simply old hat. But there are a few themes that have remained ever present throughout my digital life. Let me give you an example - back up! It´s not something I´ve always done as often as I should have, and on more than one occasion I´ve paid the price. Data lost forever. Nearly nine months of photos went on another occasion when my hard drive went kaput. Truly, backing stuff up is a vital bit of maintenance.

In the old days I used to blame my failure to back up on the tech of the day. It took too long to burn CD´s, or I did burn the CD but which one it is among the huge stack of disorganized blank CD´s....well, I just didn´t know. Today there is no such excuse, and it can be cheaper too if you look at the issue thoroughly.


I´ve been looking at IDrive´s Online Backup solution. Online back up is easier than burning to disk, and with the fast broadband lines most of us have today, it´s quick and convenient. Everything is done discreetly, without hogging all your bandwidth while you´re using your computer, and they even have a free basic account. Although I think the $4.95 a month package that gives a whopping 150gb of storage space is well worth the money.

One of the ways I supplement my standard 9 to 5 income is to put one of my hobbies to good use and build websites. Originally just for friends and family who run their own businesses, but I've gotten a lot more work through word of mouth since starting a few years ago. I enjoy creating websites, both from the design point of view, but more particularly the creation of graphics, which is where my passion really lies.

I don't create any sites that are overly complex or expansive, but concentrate instead in producing pages that are clean, informative, easy to navigate and eye catching. But really, for my customers, my design is only the first part of the project. It's no good having a nice site unless it attracts visitors. Particularly relevant visitors who can be converted into customers. And that is an area where I do an especially thorough job, utilizing link building services to ensure the sites I design get on page one of the major search engines.

In fact my use of search engine optimization services to ensure the high visibility of my customers websites form a key part of my own marketing strategy. The promise of not only a nice looking online presence, but the promise of visitors and customers.