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Microsoft eyeing cloud backup service for its phones

Microsoft aims to help Windows Phone owners safely store their personal data on its servers as part of a future service.

An software engineering job listing picked up by WMPoweruser seeks someone to join its "Windows Phone Backup, Migrate, and Restore team."

"Our goal is to ensure that no matter if someone loses their phone, drops their phone in a lake, buys a new windows phone, or just has their toddler wipe their phone by entering the wrong PIN over and over, a user can quickly and seamlessly get their phone back to a good state," the listing reads. … Read more

How to get more work done in Google Docs

Not many people use only one computer. In fact, most of us hop from machine to machine in the course of a workday.

The best way to make sure you can access your important files from any of the various machines in your digital life is to store the files online. If you use Google Docs as your online file repository, these tips will help shorten your workday.

Send a zipped copy of all your Google Docs files to your hard drive Most PC users back up their important files by copying them to an optical disc or USB storage … Read more

How to access a hidden autocorrect keyboard bar in IOS 5

Apple iOS 5 users can now hack into a hidden autocorrect keyboard bar, courtesy of a few steps revealed by the folks at 9to5Mac.

When the feature is enabled, you type the first few characters of a word, and then the keyboard displays a bar with a list of suggested complete words. Such an option has long been available on Android devices, but has yet to see the light of day in iOS--at least officially.

Thanks to research done by self-proclaimed hacker and 9to5Mac researcher Sonny Dickson, anyone running iOS 5 on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch can now … Read more

Data backup: Top portable drives for home users (roundup)

Having up-to-date backups of your data is like insurance, we all need it and at the same time never want to have to resort to it.

Though backing up data is not required by law, the consequences of not doing it are often so huge that it's fair to call those who don't frequently back up their important data, well, reckless, irresponsible, or just simply foolish. The truth is, when you realize that the originals of your important documents or photos are gone because of a hard-drive crash or losing your laptop, being called names is the least of your worries.

Now there's an easy fix. Here's a list of our top portable hard drives that make backing up data a no-brainer. Take a look and get yourself one if you don't already have a backup solution in place. … Read more

How to move the My Documents folder

Are you afraid that your computer will crash one day and take all your valuable data with it? A proactive way to help avoid data loss is to move your documents, photos, music, etc., from the Windows system drive to another physical drive.

Windows uses special folders like, My Documents, for quick access to files, but are stored on the system drive (C:), alongside the Windows operating system. Here's how to change the default location of the special folders:

Step 1: Browse to C:\Users\username, where "username" is the name of your Windows user account.

Step … Read more

Pogoplug Mobile adds backup, storage, streaming to Android, iOS devices

Cloud Engines' new Pogoplug Mobile is a small box that plugs into your home router and streams your media libraries to your Android or iOS device.

That may sound familiar to anyone already familiar with the Pogoplug line of products, but the Mobile adds one key feature to the mix: it automatically backs up photos and videos captured with your phone or tablet.

Its name and diminutive size notwithstanding, the Mobile is not a portable device. Instead, it resides alongside your router and relies on one of three sources for storage: your PC(s), a USB hard drive or flash drive plugged directly into the unit, or an SD card.… Read more

How to manage iCloud storage on iOS 5

One of the growing pains for iCloud users is the fact that 5GB just might not be enough space, and paying for more space isn't that appealing to most.

Thankfully, Apple allows you to manage what information is backed up and stored on iCloud from your iOS device, giving you the capability to free up valuable space on your iCloud account.

To manage iCloud storage on your iOS device:

Go to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage.You will be presented with the device(s) you are backing up to iCloud. Tapping on the device … Read more

Tackling Time Machine slowdowns in OS X

Having a full-system backup is highly recommended for any computer, and for most people Apple's Time Machine backup utility is a great way to make hourly backups that each can be restored as a full and bootable image of your system. Unfortunately, despite its benefits Time Machine does have a number of glitches that a small number of people continually experience, with one of them being slow and hanging backups.

When slow backups occur in Time Machine, the system may sit constantly in its preparing mode, or it may crawl through a few kilobytes of data and seem to … Read more