1) Lost a hard drive last year (thankfully, it was RAID 1).

2) Two weeks ago, my computer decided to pretend that a hard drive no longer appeared.  I opened up the case, confirmed the cables were connected, and long-story-short my boot record on a secondary drive had vanished.  I was able to recover it, after some difficulty.

After last year’s near-miss, I had signed up for XDrive, but the upload speeds were atrocious, and it stopped working one day.  I didn’t really mind.

Now, though, I’ve signed up for an account with Mozy Home, and I’ve been pleased thus far.  It basically just runs in the background, and uploads any new documents or other files for you automatically.  And it’s fast.  You can also define which files to upload (say, ignore pdb files, but include cs files).  And its free for 2 GB, and only $5 a month for unlimited.

I expect that Mozy will stop working one day, and the cycle will repeat.

P.S. I learned some new googlefu:

<Tech Term> site:lifehacker.com

There’s so much absurd spam and crap in normal google searches, it can be really difficult to find things that actually work.  Thankfully, lifehacker seems to have documented at least some of the tools that work, and is a quick way to find gold.

10,000 feels like a large enough number, and with the diminishing dollar (USD) it must surely be a small fortune or two! Alas. I had a choice between several cheesy trinkets (TiVo Antenna Headbands! TiVo Coasters! TiVo Plush Dolls! TiVo Hooded Baby Bath Towel and Wash Mitten!) and exactly one iPod Shuffle (1 GB). While I like cheesy trinkets as much as the next guy who poses an Orc on his stove, the flammability of the TiVo Plush Dolls was almost certain. I had to go with the Shuffle.

I had no intentions of using the iPod Shuffle, you see. I’ve owned a 30 GB Zune for about seven months now, and I haven’t been unhappy with it. Sure, it really is a little white brick, but its a cute little white brick that plays hours of music and video.

Shortly after vowing to save it for a forgotten birthday or impromptu Christmas gift, I opened the package and loaded on some Guano Apes and Flyleaf. I started listening to it ‘for fun’. I brought it into work. I used it in the kitchen. And I would use it in a boat. And I would use it with a goat… And I will use it in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. And in a car. And in a tree. It is so good, so good, you see!

I haven’t used my Zune since.

How is this possible? How can a small and stupid iPod without a screen compete with a Zune that stores every song in my collection? I’m not entirely sure.

Pro: The Shuffle is small. Really small. Tiny, even. Before I tried the Shuffle, I truly didn’t mind that my Zune was a brick. I just sat it on my desk at work, and I just accepted that my headphones would occasionally disconnect when the cord got hooked on my chair. The Shuffle stays clipped to my clothing, so the cord doesn’t hook on anything.

Con: I tend to lean against walls and desks, which has increased the Shuffle volume to deafening levels. I should really learn how to use the Hold function.

Pro: I’m not tied to my desk with the Shuffle, I can just get up and walk away while listening to music. With the Zune I had to take off my headphones, which takes just a little more effort.

Con: I look like an iPod douche bag while walking around work with white ear buds firmly in place.

Pro: When I attach the Shuffle to my front pocket, I feel like I’m Captain Picard when I press Pause or Play. I almost mutter “Beam me up.”

Con: I don’t like Star Trek. That much.

Pro: The Shuffle is small enough you can wrap the cord around your ears and clip it behind your head.

Con: This is what it looks like:

Con: The Shuffle will blink Green and Orange in obtuse combinations to notify you of its state. I thought you were good when it came to user interfaces, Apple?

Con: There seems to be a significant static hum if the Shuffle volume is very low.

Con: It is not possible to listen to the Shuffle and charge it at the same time, because the headphone jack is also the power port.

Conclusion: I am truly surprised and impressed by the iPod Shuffle. I can’t say that it is worth $50 (USD) to everyone, but I can heartily recommend it if you have 10,000 TiVo Rewards Points burning a firewall in your hard drive.