data.insights.ideas: In New York: The Hipster Guide to Manhattan

scoopst:

Welcome to Manhattan, hipster. Venturing outside your Williamsburg art loft may be scary, we understand, but fear not. IN is here to provide the comprehensive guide to navigating New York City’s central island so that you needn’t worry about accidentally finding yourself amidst…

How I recovered from a failed hard drive

The hard drive on my work laptop failed last to boot last week after encountering a bunch of corrupted files. After trying all the options for fixing it myself—solutions like “reset the PRAM”—I took it to our sysadmin and asked him to completely wipe the hard drive rather than try to fix the files and risk dragging out a repair.

Here’s why I was so confident about wiping the hard drive:

Dropbox: day-to-day storage, synching, and versioning

We used Dropbox at Knewton to sync files with groups who need them, but I also keep most of my important files in the Dropbox folder. I use one folder called “Current Work” that always has recent stuff—the same way someone typically uses the “desktop” folder. It removes any hassle from working on multiple computers. Plus, every single file is versioned, so I have access to old versions if something goes awry.

I use a Pro 50 account that backs up 50 GB for $10/month.

After HD refresh: installed Dropbox. All the files were re-synched over the course of 4 hours.

Download Dropbox ›

Backblaze: continuous backup

My entire hard drive backs itself up continuously for $5/month.

After HD refresh: downloaded a 37 GB zip file of my old files—6 hours overnight thanks to FiOS—and unpacked it using StuffIt Expander (free). Copied over the files I wanted to recover, trashed the rest.

Sign up for Backblaze ›

Xmarks: bookmark synching

This syncs my bookmarks across all browsers on all my computers. Free.

After HD refresh: installed Xmarks on all browsers, logged in, and got my bookmarks back.

Sign up for Xmarks ›

What was missing?

My applications. Before wiping the HD, I wrote down a list of the apps I wanted to reinstall. After getting a fresh OS X install with MS Office, I spent another 30 minutes downloading and installing everything and entering registration keys (thanks, email confirmations). I recovered the plist (preferences) files for some of the important apps like Coda, but otherwise it wasn’t a big deal to start fresh.

Here’s the list of essential apps:

UPDATE - more apps

  • rdio - unlimited music. legally.
    Whenever you find yourself starting a sentence with, “I don’t want people to pirate my game, so I am going to …” you are very close to making a big mistake.

    The Bottom Feeder: The Final Answer For What To Do To Prevent Piracy

    Solid advice on selling digital stuff.

    “I collect bad wines.”

    Lessons from a man who survived the plane crash on the Hudson River. [via my mom]

    natedern: Books.
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    natedern:

    Books.

    The World Peace Game. Just watch it.
    Pop-upView Separately

    The World Peace Game.

    Just watch it.

    staff: Name Grace HelbigFirst post November 2009 It was during a road trip in fourth grade that Grace first felt the allure of comedy. A family discussion of South Park led to her attempts at a Cartman impression, which immediately cracked up her three older brothers. From that moment, she knew she loved making people laugh. Later, Grace got her communications degree, worked for Viacom, and served some overpriced burgers, but now finds herself as the creator of The Daily Grace for My Damn Channel and an improviser at The Peoples Improv Theater. Also check out… […] Rhythm, Rhyme, Results Educational rap music. Like Schoolhouse Rock, but even cooler. Thanks for the RRR shout out, Tumblr staff!
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    staff:

    Name Grace Helbig
    First post November 2009

    It was during a road trip in fourth grade that Grace first felt the allure of comedy. A family discussion of South Park led to her attempts at a Cartman impression, which immediately cracked up her three older brothers. From that moment, she knew she loved making people laugh. Later, Grace got her communications degree, worked for Viacom, and served some overpriced burgers, but now finds herself as the creator of The Daily Grace for My Damn Channel and an improviser at The Peoples Improv Theater.

    Also check out…

    […]

    Rhythm, Rhyme, Results
    Educational rap music. Like Schoolhouse Rock, but even cooler.

    Thanks for the RRR shout out, Tumblr staff!

    BRYCE DOT VC: Opportunity in Rejection

    brycedotvc:

    Over my break last week I decided to crack the spine on a book that I’ve been meaning to read for some time now- Jay Z’s DECODED. Even though my own history with hip hop ended just before he came on the scene (post ‘93 hip hop lost a lot of appeal to me) I’ve long admired his story which can be…

    8tracks Brings Its Mix Tapes (And Curated Music Discovery) To The iPhone

    gordonc:

    This is the first project that I’ve worked on that is in regular use on my iPhone homescreen.

    This little app has the longest development time of any project I’ve worked on (almost 2 years.)  It’s been an amazing learning experience to work with DP, Rich, Remi, Kate and the rest of team 8tracks to figure out how launch (what we consider) the best free mobile streaming music experience in the world with a team in 4 different timezones working nights and weekends for love of music and a bit of equity.

    This is V1.  Much, much more to come.

     

    YES

    fascinated: Morning, New York
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    fascinated:

    Morning, New York