NOTE: since writing this, it’s gone out of date and some of the links are dead.  Updating it is on my to-do list … but in the meantime if you have any tips on this to share, please send them to me or put them in the comments.  Thanks!

The scenario:  you just spent $24.95 on a new DVD for your kids.  You pop it in the player, sit on the couch with them, and they have fun watching it over and over again.  You, on the other hand, fall asleep.  Time passes, and you wake up with your youngest one shaking you.  “Watch again!” she says.  “Want to watch again!”

Then she hands you two halves of the DVD disk she mysteriously destroyed while you were napping.

Goodbye $24.95.

Now, without getting into a legal debate [I'm in the camp which believes any laws prohibiting the circumvention of copy protection are invalid because they violate pre-existing fair use laws] I’m going to outline how you can do this, for the explicit purpose of protecting your investment in legally purchased DVDs.

The following programs are free, and they work together:

First, go to www.ripit4me.org and download the main piece of software, RipIt4Me.  This is a small program that coordinates and controls three other programs.  Download and study it.  It goes a long way toward making this complex process simple.

When you run this software it will, in turn, instruct you to download and install the following free programs:

• DVD Decrypter
• FixVTS
• DVD Shrink

Once you have these software applications installed, RipIt4Me takes control of them and makes it a easy process.  This combination gets around most known copy protection schemes (at least, it does at the time of this writing) and enables you to make copies of your legally purchased DVDs, so that you’ll put wear and tear on the cheap copies instead of the valuable originals.  Also, you’ll be able to use single layer discs, and not the more expensive and finicky dual layer blanks.

Now, even though RipIt4Me simplifies the process, it still takes some reading and there is a learning curve.  If you’re not that technically inclined, you might consider buying a commercial DVD copying solution, such as those produced by SlySoft.com.  SlySoft is supposed to make some of the best and easiest to use tools available, and they offer free updates to keep it current, so that newly released copy protection schemes don’t render it useless.

These software titles, both the free and pay versions, also have the added benefit of being able to make good copies of some DVDs that are otherwise damaged.  As in, if you’ve got a scratched up and skipping disc, these give you a good chance of resurrecting a playable copy from it.

Unfortunately if your little girl has already snapped the disk in half, then you’re out of luck no matter what software you have.

Microsoft’s new operating system “Vista” has a lot going for it, and it’s beautiful to behold.  The things you’d normally have to add are already part of the operating system:  anti-spyware, disk-imaging backup, a screen capture utility, etc.  I was very excited to get a evaluation copy of it.

Installation on my HP laptop seemed to go smoothly.  Seemed to.  Unfortunately my system, while rather fast and with plenty of memory, did not have the sticker on it that read: “Vista Ready.”

Now, I’m always up to a technical challenge, and so when my wireless network adapter didn’t work, I simply tracked down the beta drivers directly from Intel.  I got everything on the computer working except for the memory card reader.  And in doing so, while also installing software (Office 2007 rocks, by the way) I also began to realize something…

Windows Vista took my zippy and cool XP laptop and turned it into a moderately slow and slightly crippled laptop.

The turning point for me was when I discovered that no one, anywhere, had bothered to write even beta drivers for the memory card reader.  I use that reader a lot, as it’s how I get info on and off of my camera and PDA.  And I know if I am patient, someone will eventually write the driver to make it work.  But still…

With XP, it already worked.  Everything worked.  It worked great, it was fast, and it had the benefit of running an operating system that Microsoft had been working to perfect for several years now.  Why on Earth would I want to replace it with something brand new, full of bugs, not completely working, which made everything run much slower?

I uninstalled Windows Vista.

When I get a new computer that comes with Vista, that is when I will use Vista.  Maybe.  Or I might uninstall it and load XP and make that machine really fast.

I’m somewhat famous for having erased an entire novel, and since then have become a fanatic about safely backing up my files. I use a combination of methods, all of which has saved my butt a number of times.

Tip #1: Invest in a USB Hard Drive

This is your first and foremost defense today against losing files.

Don’t bother with a tape drive, because those are so slow and unreliable it makes backing up nearly as painful as losing the data. If performing the backup is such a horrid experience you’ll end up putting it off, and you don’t want to put it off.

Burning data to CD’s or DVD’s is a better answer, but as our hard drives get bigger and we accumulate more stuff over the years, even that can become tedious. So a nice big external hard drive — which have become fairly inexpensive lately — is the fastest and easiest answer. Most come equipped with backup software, too, but if you are like me and you put together one for yourself, go get a free copy of SyncBack and use that. I have yet to run across a better file-based backup software.

Tip #2: Invest in a Good Disk Imaging Program

If you want to backup your computer as a whole, and not just the data you’ve created, I highly recommend Norton Ghost. It’s not free but the expense is worth it, and you’ll be thanking yourself for spending the money the first time you have to use it. Ghost has rescued me more times than I can count. This will put your computer back exactly the way it was, operating system and all. Windows Vista users won’t need it, as Vista has that built in … but all you XP or earlier users will find it a godsend. With either, though, you’ll want that external USB hard drive.

Tip #3: Backup Data Among Multiple Computers

If you’ve got a home network with two or more computers, and those computers have some extra space on the hard drives, you can use a synchronization program such as SyncBack to automatically back up data files from each computer to the other. Obviously you don’t want to do this with private data, but if you’re in a trusted environment and others in your family understand not to go in and mess with those files, then this is a good way to keep all the computer data backed up without having to have a separate system such as the USB hard drive.

The trick is to create shared network folders on each computer, usually in the root directory, so that the other computer can map to it and use it as the destination for the backed up files. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, or are nervous about sharing files on your home network, then I would instead go with the USB hard drive.

Tip #4: Use Off-Site Storage

There are many free and paid services on the Internet where if you have broadband access you can store gigabytes of data. The two I use (even though they’re still a bit buggy) are XDrive.com and Jubii.com. XDrive offers 5 gigabytes of space for free, with an optional 50 gigabytes (not free), and also offers backup software as part of the deal. Jubii offers 10 gigabytes free if you sign up during their beta (hint, sign up now). I use both these sites to back up irreplaceable data, such as manuscripts etc. (Remember what happened to my novel?) That way you’re protected even if you get hit with a disaster and lose your computer and the USB hard drive.

The added benefit of these online systems is, if you are away from home and need a file, you can log in from any Internet connection and access what you need. That recently saved my butt at a SF convention where I was scheduled to do a reading — and forgot to bring the story! Lucky for me I had it online and also had my Wi-Fi enabled PDA with me … I downloaded the story at the very last second and was able to do the reading.

If you are uncomfortable storing files on the Internet, or if you don’t have broadband, the alternative is to back up select files to CD or DVD disk and put them somewhere else, like your office, a friend’s house, or even a safe deposit box. If you already have a box, then, there you go. Here’s something else to store inside it.

Tip #5: Remind Yourself To Actually Do It

Why? Because your computer hard disk WILL FAIL. It’s not a question of if, only of when. They are mechanical devices that experience wear and tear, and even though they’re more rugged and reliable than ever before they are still the Achilles heel of your computer.

I use Yahoo Calendar to send my cell phone various reminders via text messaging, and one of them is to do a backup every Thursday night. You don’t have to be so high tech. A calendar or even just a post-it note might work just as well. Just remember to do it, because … and I have seen this so many times … people usually lose their hard drives the day before they intend to back it up.

You have to perform the backup while everything seems to be running fine. Don’t wait, just do it. You will thank yourself.

As I write this, giant lightning storms are marching across the area I live, and have been all day long. It’s a serious situation, and it reminds me of the time lighting struck our neighbor’s chain link fence which separated the two properties. The jolt blew out all the electronics at my neighbor’s house, but only killed my network router and gave my daughter’s TV a permanent rainbow across the screen.

The difference between my house and theirs is that every electronic device I had was plugged into a surge suppressor. Not really expensive ones, either, just the little $15 dollar jobs. However, all my computers were not only plugged into one, but two surge suppressors joined in series.

My neighbors suffered damage directly from the surge of electricity that came streaming through their power outlets. The damages I suffered were due to the EMP, or Electro-Magnetic Pulse, from the huge magnetic field projected by the metal chain link fence. It permanently warped the magnetic field in the picture tube of my kid’s television, and it sent a surge of electricity via induction directly into the small transformer which powered my router — bypassing the surge suppressors altogether. There was nothing to be done about that.

What I’m advocating here, though, is the use of more than one surge suppressor. If you’re paranoid like me, plug your electronics into a surge suppressor, then plug that — and only that — into another suppressor. Then plug that other suppressor into the wall.

If a surge does get through the first one, it’s not likely to make it through the second. But, if you’re REALLY paranoid, you can put in a third. Anything that makes it through the first and second will not make it through a third one. If it does, well, the lightning must have come through the window and hit the electronics directly.

If that happens, let’s hope your insurance company doesn’t try to claim it’s an act of God.

UPDATE as of August 9th, 2008:  I’ve stopped using this because for some reason it started crashing like mad, and taking the whole machine down with it.  I tried updating to the latest version with no luck, it still crashed.  Suspect it’s an incompatibility with something else that got loaded on my computer, though I have no idea what.

I’m testing the beta version of Microsoft’s “Windows Live Writer” which you can download for free from writer.live.com. It’s set up for Microsoft Spaces but will supposedly work with a number of other Blog platforms, including WordPress (which I use). So I downloaded it, installed it, pointed it over at my WordPress site on MojoWriter.com, and sure enough it sucked down my blog’s look and feel, and enabled me to write an entry offline. The main advantage is that it gives advanced control over formatting, including that of images (including nice effects such as drop shadows and watermarks). Also included are a full spell checker and an accurate preview of what your blog will look like after uploading.

So far I am very impressed. VERY.

It’s also supposed to work with Blogger, LiveJoural, TypePad, Movable Type, Radio Userland, and others, but it does not currently seem to support the likes of Xanga or MySpace.

Anyway, yes, by all means grab it and play with it. It’s awesome.