Defensive Computing

Following up on RAID Level Zero

My previous posting (Don't get burned by RAID Zero) on RAID Level Zero was a warning - both that it can be dangerous and that you may inadvertently be using it.

To make an analogy, consider the old joke regarding the purchase of a yacht. The potential buyer asks how much the yacht costs and the seller responds "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." In the current context: if you don't know what RAID Zero is, you shouldn't be using it.

But, the devil is in the details.

The danger with Raid Zero more

The blinking lights on a router are talking to you

Can't get on the Internet? Can't print to network printer? It's bound to happen sooner or later. Wired Ethernet networks are pretty reliable, wireless ones can be brutally finicky. But no matter what type you're using, it's good to be prepared for networking failures in the future.

When there is a networking problem, the knee jerk reaction may be that there is something wrong with the computer. Perfectly understandable.

But the first step in debugging a networking problem should not involve any of the computers. Rather, you should look at the lights on the box(more

Mistakes in Wall Street Journal editorial

Today, July 10th, the web site of I mention this to draw attention to an editorial that appeared in the paper on July 3, 2007 entitled Google v. Microsoft.

Background

Windows Vista includes desktop search functionality out of the box and Google offers a free desktop search application that anyone can download from their web site and install. Google complained to Microsoft's antitrust regulators at the Justice Department that there isn't a level playing field when it comes to competition for Vista desktop search applications.

Mistakes

The editorial says

"Web-based applications like desktop search are increasingly central to more

Don't get burned by RAID Zero

To a computer nerd like myself, RAID refers not to a bug spray but to various ways of hooking together multiple hard disks. The various approaches are referred to as levels. Raid levels one through five are designed to decrease the chances that a hard disk failure will result in lost data. Typically RAID configurations are used in server machines as opposed to personal computers.

Raid level zero, however, is the black sheep of the RAID family. It's goal is performance rather than reliability. I'm writing this posting because two of my clients have been burned by their more

Introducing the defensive computing blog

If Carl Sagan were alive he might point out that there are billions and billions of blogs. So why read this one?

This blog is for people for whom the health and well being of their computer and/or data is important.

Computer problems are inevitable, and to someone who depends on a computer problems can be disastrous. That's why I'm here.

Defensive computing is about taking steps when things are running well, to avoid or minimize problems down the road. In short, it's about being smart and planning ahead. This blog will not be computing for more