Backups and file access while on the road
Nov 26, 2013 | 8:13 am
#16
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A slightly different option.
I travel a lot, and used to live in fear of losing client sensitive info, even with passwords on the laptop etc.
I now leave the office desktop running all the time, which has all the client info on it. I travel with an iPad now. I remotely access the office desktop using LogMeIn. You can try it for free! I did for a while and then was happy to pay for the premium iPad app.
I can now travel with access to everything as long as I have internet access, and if can get everything that is in the office. I don't have anything with me to lose, which is a bonus!
I can fully take control of the office desktop from anywhere in the world. I can sent emails as if from there and attach documents just as if I was sitting in front of it. I would say to give it a go and see if it meets your needs.
I travel a lot, and used to live in fear of losing client sensitive info, even with passwords on the laptop etc.
I now leave the office desktop running all the time, which has all the client info on it. I travel with an iPad now. I remotely access the office desktop using LogMeIn. You can try it for free! I did for a while and then was happy to pay for the premium iPad app.
I can now travel with access to everything as long as I have internet access, and if can get everything that is in the office. I don't have anything with me to lose, which is a bonus!
I can fully take control of the office desktop from anywhere in the world. I can sent emails as if from there and attach documents just as if I was sitting in front of it. I would say to give it a go and see if it meets your needs.
Nov 26, 2013 | 8:46 am
#17
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Mine is three years old. (Must admit that I'm hard on my computers, but slow to learn lessons. I'd bought a succession of HP laptops that often spent weeks at their service center and needed to be replaced every year to 18 months. Finally got wise and bought a Dell with the extended in-home warranty. The hard drive died on me in the summer of 2012--got repaired in my living room the next day--but it's otherwise been a great machine. I'm now a Dell convert.)
I've got an M3800 on order, which is the "professional" version of the new XPS 15; I got it because once I bumped up the warranty it was actually cheaper on my company's corporate discount. Looked like a very nice system when our rep brought by a pre-release sample, although I only got to play with it for a few minutes, and BOY are they pricy (on the open-market price, essentially at cost parity with a comparably equipped MacBook Pro 15".)
Depending on which way you're rounding, a 3-year old XPS 15 could either be http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...ll-xps-15.aspx or http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...dy-bridge.aspx -- the former should be pretty easy to replicate the power level of (the i7-640m or i5-540m/460m are all pretty basic by today's standards) while the latter will depend on how big a processor you put in (the quad cores are still pretty comparable with today's high end, the duals with today's midrange.)
--
antichef's idea about remoting is not a bad one, and while I'm with you on not wanting a tablet, a lightweight, less powerful notebook (whether technically an ultrabook or not) might be very good for that.
I'm pretty fond of some of the business-class ultrabooks; the new Lenovo T440s, or the Dell E7440 (aka "7000-series 14-inch" with their new branding) are both going to be fast enough for most people (and more importantly, certainly fast enough for remoting), ergonomically better than many 13" consumer ultrabooks, and very very thin and light.
I've had very good luck with Dell refurbs, and they have 15% off on all refurbished Latitudes right now: http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/28/c...52&lid=5071718 -- theit last-generation business ultrabook, the E6430u -- did not have as nice design as the new one, and it will be a little slower, but it is extraordinarily cheap for a business-class system as a refurb ($636 after discount, before tax if applicable in IL, for the cheapest model with an i5.)
Nov 26, 2013 | 8:56 am
#18
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Depending on which way you're rounding, a 3-year old XPS 15 could either be http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...ll-xps-15.aspx or http://www.laptopmag.com/review/lapt...dy-bridge.aspx -- the former should be pretty easy to replicate the power level of (the i7-640m or i5-540m/460m are all pretty basic by today's standards) while the latter will depend on how big a processor you put in (the quad cores are still pretty comparable with today's high end, the duals with today's midrange.)
I'm glad you mentioned ultrabooks--I knew the lighterweight laptops were no longer called "netbooks" but couldn't remember what they were called. A friend has a work Dell that I think is an ultrabook and I absolutely hate it. Definitely need to spends some time with them before buying one.
Nov 26, 2013 | 9:09 am
#19
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I'm self-employed and I like to travel. I never tell my clients, "I'm going on vacation for a month...hold all requests until I'm back." In fact, they seldom know whether I'm working from home or a hotel room halfway across the world. Needless to say, I always have a laptop with me while traveling.
That said, I grapple with a few issues while traveling:
* I need to have access to all of my files while on the road, because it's tough to predict which ones I may need at any given time.
* I want to ensure that everything is backed up at all times in case my laptop gets stolen.
* For trips where I'm moving from location to location, I'd prefer to travel with something lighter than my Dell XPS 15", which can get heavy.
Because of some Chicago commitments, I haven't done much international travel in the last two years. Before that, I used a two-prong approach that seemed to work, but wouldn't any more:
* I traveled with an Asus netbook
* I used Windows Live Mesh to sync files between the Asus and my home laptop, so all of my client files and trip photos would be saved at home in case something happened to my Asus. (It would be set to push new files from my Asus to my home computer, but files that were deleted from my Asus remained on my home computer in the event the Asus got stolen and wiped clean.)
Windows Live Mesh is shuttered, so that option no longer works to sync files, and I hate my Asus with a passion--inevitably I'd have wrist pain at the end of a long trip because it's so un-ergonomically friendly.
I'd love suggestions on how I can tackle this for future trips. Preferably solutions that don't cost an arm and a leg, and aren't particularly complicated to set up. FWIW:
* I have NAS on my home network (a 1 TB Buffalo drive), but I don't know how to access it remotely (if that's even possible).
* I have a Carbonite subscription for one laptop, but could upgrade to a subscription with more features.
* I use Google Drive for some client documents, but not everything.
* I have a free Dropbox account that is full and have free subscriptions to some other backup services that I'm not using. The largest is probably Box.com, where I think I have 20GB.
* I'm a Windows user. Main laptop is running Windows 7 Home Premium. I'm probably a year away from needing to replace my main laptop, but I'd be willing to consider a low-cost (lightweight) 2nd laptop.
* In my ideal world, I'd use this same solution at home so I always had a backup laptop that had a mirrored copy of all of my files in the event my main laptop broke or needed repairs.
Thanks for any and all suggestions!
That said, I grapple with a few issues while traveling:
* I need to have access to all of my files while on the road, because it's tough to predict which ones I may need at any given time.
* I want to ensure that everything is backed up at all times in case my laptop gets stolen.
* For trips where I'm moving from location to location, I'd prefer to travel with something lighter than my Dell XPS 15", which can get heavy.
Because of some Chicago commitments, I haven't done much international travel in the last two years. Before that, I used a two-prong approach that seemed to work, but wouldn't any more:
* I traveled with an Asus netbook
* I used Windows Live Mesh to sync files between the Asus and my home laptop, so all of my client files and trip photos would be saved at home in case something happened to my Asus. (It would be set to push new files from my Asus to my home computer, but files that were deleted from my Asus remained on my home computer in the event the Asus got stolen and wiped clean.)
Windows Live Mesh is shuttered, so that option no longer works to sync files, and I hate my Asus with a passion--inevitably I'd have wrist pain at the end of a long trip because it's so un-ergonomically friendly.
I'd love suggestions on how I can tackle this for future trips. Preferably solutions that don't cost an arm and a leg, and aren't particularly complicated to set up. FWIW:
* I have NAS on my home network (a 1 TB Buffalo drive), but I don't know how to access it remotely (if that's even possible).
* I have a Carbonite subscription for one laptop, but could upgrade to a subscription with more features.
* I use Google Drive for some client documents, but not everything.
* I have a free Dropbox account that is full and have free subscriptions to some other backup services that I'm not using. The largest is probably Box.com, where I think I have 20GB.
* I'm a Windows user. Main laptop is running Windows 7 Home Premium. I'm probably a year away from needing to replace my main laptop, but I'd be willing to consider a low-cost (lightweight) 2nd laptop.
* In my ideal world, I'd use this same solution at home so I always had a backup laptop that had a mirrored copy of all of my files in the event my main laptop broke or needed repairs.
Thanks for any and all suggestions!
Nov 26, 2013 | 9:09 am
#20
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8 GB of RAM, which was pretty good, I seem to recall, when I bought it.
But I know my battery is dying (extended battery, which I insist on)
and replacing that it $150, which seems sort of silly for a 3 year old computer.
Other than that the hardware seems to be holding up, but I'm sure the keyboard may give out sometime soon...they always seem to!
I'm glad you mentioned ultrabooks--I knew the lighterweight laptops were no longer called "netbooks" but couldn't remember what they were called. A friend has a work Dell that I think is an ultrabook and I absolutely hate it. Definitely need to spends some time with them before buying one.
There are plenty of systems out there with full-size (if generally rather skinny) chassis but ultrabook CPUs (with the long battery life relative to the size of battery, and rather slow by some standards, although compared to an i5-480m it probably won't be going back wards by much.)
Keyboards in general are getting worse with the move to thinner and thinner laptops
Nov 26, 2013 | 9:39 am
#21
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I know! It's better now that airplanes have real plugs and not cigarette lighter plugs, but I still value (and use) the extra battery life.
They actually swapped the keyboard when they replaced the hard drive, and you're right--it seemed pretty easy. But whether it's battery or keyboard or something else, I just have a hard time justifying spending money on a computer that's this old. I'd rather stop using it before it's completely falling apart so it can serve as a backup unit in a pinch.
It was one that had the mouse integrated into the palmrest/keyboard with no defined mouse buttons and I kept brushing against it. It also seemed as if pressure anywhere on the palmrest seemed to activate the mouse, so I really hated both ergonomics and the keyboard.
I've never gotten into the guts of one of those, but most Dells make a keyboard replacement pretty easy, and they're one of the cheaper parts.
Hate which part? Keyboard and ergonomics?
Nov 26, 2013 | 3:43 pm
#22
Join Date: Nov 2006
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A little more info about remote operating using the LogMeIn route. Just try the free version on your laptop to your desktop or office setup, from the next room or the next seat, so you can have confidence that you can do what you need. You don't need a tablet, but you can use one. I usually can get away with a tablet, but occasionally take a laptop where I know I might have a lot of typing.
As they do a free version, you can't really lose! There are videos on YouTube of how to do it. The premium version allows you to transfer stuff between your computers and stream music etc, but the free version lets you just sit with your home screen in front of you and your laptop acting as if you were a thousand miles away back in the office, when you are on a beach in another hemisphere!
Feel free to PM me.
As they do a free version, you can't really lose! There are videos on YouTube of how to do it. The premium version allows you to transfer stuff between your computers and stream music etc, but the free version lets you just sit with your home screen in front of you and your laptop acting as if you were a thousand miles away back in the office, when you are on a beach in another hemisphere!
Feel free to PM me.
Nov 26, 2013 | 4:10 pm
#23
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I just have a hard time justifying spending money on a computer that's this old. I'd rather stop using it before it's completely falling apart so it can serve as a backup unit in a pinch.
It was one that had the mouse integrated into the palmrest/keyboard with no defined mouse buttons and I kept brushing against it. It also seemed as if pressure anywhere on the palmrest seemed to activate the mouse, so I really hated both ergonomics and the keyboard.
There does tend to be some tuning you can do about the overall sensitivity (and often a feature you can turn on that detects palm instead of finger) but it's not clear how well that works out.
Lenovo has stuck with the dual-pointer, and some of the chunkier business-line Dell Latitudes are still dual-pointer, but it's worth trying to get your hands on things in person if possible, or at least a very close examination of keyboard/palm rest pictures and reviews if not.
Nov 26, 2013 | 7:40 pm
#25
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Upcountry Maui, HI
Posts: 13,708
If you want something that can automatically sync directories between different computers (you choose the directories and the computers that share them) and does cloud backup of directories of your choice, and you pay per account (based on the how much total storage you want), not per computer, take a look at sugarsync.
I'm still (somewhat stubbornly I suppose) using sugarsync 1.x + a free dropbox account.
They have tech support, it's not that great, I've solved more problems myself, though some were self-inflicted (upgraded to SSD, leaving Users directories behind on the hard drive confused sugarsync. took a while to figure out what to do to fix it, tech support blamed it on Mavericks, which had nothing to do with it, suggested I upgrade to 2.x, which didn't solve anything. I had to treat it like a new computer, and then clean up the cloud mess that was left behind.)
Despite mentioning OS/X Mavericks, it is X-platform and I use it on both Win and Mac, syncing some directories between them.
The 1.x interface is very powerful, you can add sync folders, manage exclusions (by sub-folders), and do all that pictorially. 2.x probably lets you do the same thing (and maybe more) but I hated losing the 1.x pictorial interface.
ETA, here's a pic of what the 1.x "manage sync folders" interface looks like. Despite the name you can add/manage folders that aren't synced across computers here also.
Can you read that? The top row is the list of computers, the white section shows pictorially directories being synced ("Magic Briefcase" is there default folder that's synced everywhere, like Dropbox, but you can change or eliminate that if you want to.) The next section shows the regular (non-synced) directories being backed up for that computer.
If you click on a folder, you get to "manage excluded subfolders" and if you select that, you get to pictorially uncheck any subfolders you want to exclude from that entry, and you can expand any subfolders below them as well, so you get complete control over what's backed up, what's synced and where it's synced, etc.
Instructions for finding/downloading the 1.x versions for pc/mac are in this support post - https://sugarsync.custhelp.com/app/a...etail/a_id/623
-David
I'm still (somewhat stubbornly I suppose) using sugarsync 1.x + a free dropbox account.
They have tech support, it's not that great, I've solved more problems myself, though some were self-inflicted (upgraded to SSD, leaving Users directories behind on the hard drive confused sugarsync. took a while to figure out what to do to fix it, tech support blamed it on Mavericks, which had nothing to do with it, suggested I upgrade to 2.x, which didn't solve anything. I had to treat it like a new computer, and then clean up the cloud mess that was left behind.)
Despite mentioning OS/X Mavericks, it is X-platform and I use it on both Win and Mac, syncing some directories between them.
The 1.x interface is very powerful, you can add sync folders, manage exclusions (by sub-folders), and do all that pictorially. 2.x probably lets you do the same thing (and maybe more) but I hated losing the 1.x pictorial interface.
ETA, here's a pic of what the 1.x "manage sync folders" interface looks like. Despite the name you can add/manage folders that aren't synced across computers here also.
Can you read that? The top row is the list of computers, the white section shows pictorially directories being synced ("Magic Briefcase" is there default folder that's synced everywhere, like Dropbox, but you can change or eliminate that if you want to.) The next section shows the regular (non-synced) directories being backed up for that computer.
If you click on a folder, you get to "manage excluded subfolders" and if you select that, you get to pictorially uncheck any subfolders you want to exclude from that entry, and you can expand any subfolders below them as well, so you get complete control over what's backed up, what's synced and where it's synced, etc.
Instructions for finding/downloading the 1.x versions for pc/mac are in this support post - https://sugarsync.custhelp.com/app/a...etail/a_id/623
-David
Last edited by LIH Prem; Nov 26, 2013 at 8:19 pm
Nov 26, 2013 | 8:44 pm
#26
Join Date: Feb 2013
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A slightly different option.
I travel a lot, and used to live in fear of losing client sensitive info, even with passwords on the laptop etc.
I now leave the office desktop running all the time, which has all the client info on it. I travel with an iPad now. I remotely access the office desktop using LogMeIn. You can try it for free! I did for a while and then was happy to pay for the premium iPad app.
I can now travel with access to everything as long as I have internet access, and if can get everything that is in the office. I don't have anything with me to lose, which is a bonus!
I can fully take control of the office desktop from anywhere in the world. I can sent emails as if from there and attach documents just as if I was sitting in front of it. I would say to give it a go and see if it meets your needs.
I travel a lot, and used to live in fear of losing client sensitive info, even with passwords on the laptop etc.
I now leave the office desktop running all the time, which has all the client info on it. I travel with an iPad now. I remotely access the office desktop using LogMeIn. You can try it for free! I did for a while and then was happy to pay for the premium iPad app.
I can now travel with access to everything as long as I have internet access, and if can get everything that is in the office. I don't have anything with me to lose, which is a bonus!
I can fully take control of the office desktop from anywhere in the world. I can sent emails as if from there and attach documents just as if I was sitting in front of it. I would say to give it a go and see if it meets your needs.
Nov 26, 2013 | 11:00 pm
#29
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Nov 27, 2013 | 3:29 am
#30
Join Date: Nov 2006
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Posts: 5,561
No, it really is easy!
https://secure.logmein.com/welcome/W...WakeonLAN.html
I have an even easier solution that may work for the OP. I have the phone number for the cleaner. I send her a text to go into the office and press the start button on the desktop.
Works flawlessly every time
https://secure.logmein.com/welcome/W...WakeonLAN.html
I have an even easier solution that may work for the OP. I have the phone number for the cleaner. I send her a text to go into the office and press the start button on the desktop.
Works flawlessly every time