Kiran Upadhyay

After receiving a portable hard drive as a gift this Christmas, I became very excited to make full use of that hard drive as a way to back up and protect all of the important family photos, videos and research documents that I wouldn’t want to lose if my laptop hard drive ever failed on me. The problem I have with most of the synchronization applications out there is that they are either too simple or too complicated. For example, in the case of  Synctoy , which Shankar covered, it is about as easy to use as you would want – but it’s a little bit limited in terms of functionality.  Pure Sync , which Stefan covered, is another great tool for taking backups of entire drives or large folders, but for targeted, select file syncing or multiple sources to one target, it isn’t quite so easy. I finally came across  Synkron  at SourceForge and realized that it’s exactly what I was looking for. Synchronize Individual Folders When it comes to synchronizing folders individually from your sourc

With 2011 just around the corner, this is a great time to think about all the different things you could commit to doing for the next 365 days. We’re probably all working on our New Year’s resolutions but how about committing to something that will last the entire year? There’s no limit to the kinds of things you could commit to doing on a daily basis throughout the year – and possibly beyond that. To get you started, here’s a list of 6 year long project ideas that you might want to try – from creative projects to good deeds. Get started with these guidelines, ideas and places where you can keep your project going for 365 days. Write a Novel If you’ve been itching to finish your novel, giving yourself a specific time frame may be the trick to finally getting it done. Set aside a certain amount of time per day and write a set number of pages. Getting organised could be a good way to motivate yourself – setting goals and achieving them can often lead to great momentum. Louise Dought

The easiest way to restore a Windows computer back to its factory defaults is to simply use the included recovery program to reinstall or recover Windows. This works well in many situations, and you can use this method to completely wipe your computer clean and start from new. But what if you don’t want to wipe your computer clean? If this is the case, you’ll need to use a few specific utilities if you’d like to clean up your computer to return it to a near-new state. This method isn’t always quicker than reinstalling Windows, but it’s often preferable if you don’t want to worry about losing files or you don’t have a Windows install disc handy. Let’s take a look at what you’ll need to finish the job. Use Windows Backup and Restore Recent versions of Windows, including Windows Vista and 7, include a Backup and Restore feature in the control panel. This feature lets you restore your computer to a previous state by using the Open System Restore option, which begins a simple process th

Even though  Ubuntu  and most other  Linux  distros have beautified their interfaces and made them more user-friendly, most everyday computer users still shiver when they hear the word Linux. Maybe this is because Linux used to have a reputation as “geek-only”, thus non-geeky computer users are afraid to even try it. That’s why the folks behind Ubuntu have created a feature which allows users to try the OS – either from the live CD or from a USB drive – before deciding whether to install it or not. But having a bootable Ubuntu installation inside a thumb drive (some people prefer to call it a “ jump drive “) goes beyond just trying it out. It’s – after all – a fully working computer OS inside the USB drive, complete with all of the necessary applications. You can use it as a portable computer, with the ability to save and store all documents and settings inside the USB drive itself (persistent mode). More advanced Linux users usually use this persistent mode boot drive as a recovery

If you’re looking to create (or revise) your New Year resolutions, you might want to peek at mind-mapping software to organize a master plan or outline to house the steps you’ll take to follow through with each resolution. If you have an idea of what resolutions you want to keep in the upcoming year, a good idea might be to set up a system to facilitate getting those goals completed. Even if you’re jotting down ideas on a napkin or piece of paper, you should know that mind-mapping software can ensure that you won’t get that napkin lost, you can keep an image of the whole outline as your desktop wallpaper, you can move items around cleanly, etc. There are many mind-mapping solutions online, such as the ones we profiled  here . We’ll be using  Bubbl.us , a web-based mind-mapper, to create our outline or plan since it’s very easy to use and has got the basic tools we need. Break Goals Down Into Tasks Let’s say your goal is to become a more seasoned cook because you can save money and

The FBI reports that 97% of stolen laptops are never recovered or returned to their owners. In this regard, MakeUseOf has published several articles about anti-theft tracking software, such as  Adeona  and  Prey . But to deal with the likelihood you may never recover your stolen or lost laptop, you will want to have a plan to secure sensitive information on the laptop. Taking a few steps to pass lock, encrypt, hide, and most importantly back up the most important content on your laptop only takes a few minutes, and it can save you the agony of having sensitive information fall into the wrong hands. While the tools below are geared towards Mac users, similar tools are available for other users as well. So let’s take a look at some of the things you can do right now to make an insurance policy against laptop theft. Password Lock Your Laptop For Mac laptop users, Apple includes a secure way to access your computer’s content. Apple’s OS X security features can be found in System Pref

As  previously mentioned , Chrome recently launched its new Web Store. Many of the apps included are, to the typical end user, little more than an icon for launching websites already known and loved. A few, however, give Chrome users access to something that more closely resembles iPad apps than traditional websites. It’s these web apps that show clearly what the Chrome Web Store could become, and the direction of the web in general and Chrome OS specifically. If you want a look at that future, here it is. If you’re less high minded than that, though, and just want to play with some cool new technology, you’re still in the right place. Below are just a few apps that I think bring something new to the web; a few even work without Chrome itself. News There were two main newspaper apps on the web store’s launch day: The New York Times and USA Today. Both apps are similar to their iPad counterparts, and both support offline reading. The New York Times app is my favorite, but that’s m